Baric Tablets

Baric Tablets
Sensorial - Sense of Weight
Level	Primary
Age	4+
Prerequisites	Touch Boards Touch Boards Fabrics
Materials	2 or 3 boxes of Baric Tablets blindfold (optional)

This activity teaches the child to discern differences in weight.

Presentations

Sorting Two Different Weights

1. Take the box of the heaviest tablets and the box of the lightest tablets to a table or mat.

   

2. Mix up the tablets from the two boxes and place them in a stack in the middle of the table.

   

3. step three

   

4. step four

   

5. step five

   

Sorting Three Different Weights

1. Carry three boxes of baric tablets to a table one at a time. Place them in the upper right corner.

   

2. Mix all the tablets and place in a stack in the middle of the table.

   

3. Sort in the same way as with two sets.

   

Control of Error

• Many commercial baric tablets are made of different woods which have very different specific weights.

Being of different colors and appearance (think pine, beech, oak, balsa, mahogany...), the baric activity is done with eyes closed, and control of error with eyes open.

• The tablets, or other materials used for this activity, can be marked in the back in case they have the same appearance. Thus, once they have been paired or sorted, the child can confirm visually.

• Also, a weight scale can be used.

Variations and Extensions

• A variation could be made to allow for paired matching or grading by weight (see Make Your Own below).

• weight scale

Material

The baric tablets consist of two or three types of wooden tablets. These are all the same size and shape, but because they are made of different types of wood, they have different densities and so, different weights.

Make Your Own

• This is a baric matching activity made with painted baby-food jars filled with different numbers of pennies. These could also be used for grading by using just half (one color) of the set.

  

  (For a detailed description of how this was done, see Little Schoolhouse in the Suburbs.)

Where to Buy

IFIT $18.00
Nienhuis €68.07
Thinkamajigs $23.95
montessorialbum $25.5 (Color Tablet Box 3)

Further Reading

• Teaching Montessori in the Home: The Pre-School Years by Elizabeth G. Hainstock, page 58, 91