Hanger balance scale: a 25-minute kindergarten measurement activity
What it is: a measurement activity where kindergarten students make a balance scale from a clothes hanger and two cups, then compare classroom objects to find which is heavier and which is lighter.
Time: about 25 minutes. Grade: kindergarten.
Materials: a plastic clothes hanger, two paper cups with yarn handles, a hook or a door handle to hang it from, and small classroom objects (a crayon, an eraser, a glue stick, a block, a spoon).
- Hang the empty scale. Ask: "What do you notice? Why are the cups level?"
- Hold a block and a crayon. Students guess which is heavier by holding one in each hand.
- Put one object in each cup. Ask: "Which side went down? What does that tell us?"
- Groups test 3 pairs of objects and draw each result: the heavier object on the low side.
- Line up 4 objects from lightest to heaviest using the scale, and compare to the first guesses.
Safety: hang the scale low, at table height, and keep objects small and light so nothing falls on feet.
Differentiation: students who need support compare two very different objects first. Students who are ready can find two objects that balance. English learners can use the words heavier, lighter and the same with a gesture.
Quick check: show a picture of the scale tipped to one side. Ask a student which cup holds the heavier object.
Save this activity to your library so it is ready when you need it.
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About this resource
- Shared by
- @UpOnlyLearning · Curriculum team
- Posted
- Oct 29, 2026
- Type
- Lesson plan
- Grade
- Grades K–2
- Subject
- Math
- Language
- English
- License
- Free for classroom, co-op and tutoring use. Please don't resell.