Virginia Department of Education
Similar Solids and Proportional Reasoning
Double the dimensions, quadruple the surface area. Pairs build similar prisms and compare the ratios of their surface areas and volumes to the ratio of the heights. Given two similar cones, partners determine the ratios of the lateral...
Curated OER
Party Volumes: Measurement
Second graders explore liters and milliliters. They estimate volume and accurately measure the volume. Students plan a party and measure volume using liters and milliliters as part of the planning process.
Curated OER
A Rectangular Prism and Its Net
Identify the nets for prisms and other geometric shapes. Learners calculate the surface area of the rectangular prism then sketch the shapes of prisms and other polygons. Unfolded cereal boxes are used as a visual aid, great idea!
101 Questions
Pyramid of Pennies
Go big or go home! Learners watch a video rendition of the creation of a penny pyramid. Their task is to determine the number of pennies in the pyramid. The lesson encourages multiple methods, including function building or volume formulas.
Teach Engineering
Floaters and Sinkers
Whatever floats your boat. Young engineers learn about density by measuring the masses and volumes of boxes filled with different materials. Using their knowledge of densities, they hypothesize whether objects with given densities will...
Curated OER
Volumes of Prisms and Cylinders
Students calculate the volume of prisms and cylinders. For this geometry lesson, students are give part of the formula, and must calculate the missing parts. They use 80% accuracy for their dimensions.
Curated OER
Pump Up the Volume
Fourth graders calculate volume. In this volume lesson, 4th graders calculate, estimate, and compare units of volume in English and metric systems.
Shodor Education Foundation
Volume of Prisms
Explore the concept of volume of prisms using an applet to perform the calculations. The link to the interactive applet is embedded into the lesson plan as well as a link to associated data sheets. Get your math class to the computer lab...
Curated OER
Body Balance
Examine measurable characteristics of objects to build an understanding of the different ways you can discuss an object's size when comparing it to other objects. After whole group instruction, the class compares and organizes several...
Curated OER
Measure Twice, Cut Once
Elementary schoolers learn about metric units and how they are used by engineers. They learn how engineers use the units to measure mass, distance, and volume. Then, they estimate measurements of units, and compare them to actual...
Curated OER
Solving Math Problems In the Real World
Upper elementary and middles schoolers discuss and solve real world applications of math. They use formulas for volume and percents to answer real world questions. In the second part of the instructional activity, groups write and solve...
Space Awareness
Oceans on the Rise
Temperature rises and land disappears! Through a lab exploration, learners understand the effect of temperature increase on water similar to the effect of global warming on our oceans. As they heat the water in a flask, they measure the...
Curated OER
Dilations of 2 and 3 dimentional figures and their effect on area, surface area, and volume.
Seventh graders investigate the area and volume of 2D and 3D figures. In this geometry instructional activity, 7th graders create a storyboard explaining their knowledge of 2D and 3D shapes. They analyze their data and interpret their...
Curated OER
Pythagoras' Theorem
Students are introduced to the Pythagoras' Theorem and its history, proofs and practice in application. Students find perimeters, areas and volume of everyday objects. Students state and explain the theory.
Captain Planet Foundation
Shape Shifters in the Math Garden
Combines mathematical measurement with gardening skills. Third graders hunt for worms in the garden and try to find the longest one. They also measure and weigh vegetables that they harvest from the garden, measure rainfall amounts, and...
Curated OER
A Package of Pringle
Here is a problem-solving lesson that has learners take the role of a packaging expert to design an inexpensive means of packaging a potato chip. It could benefit from having more specific detail about the lesson itself, but it does make...
Curated OER
Candy Land
In this activity middle schoolers pretend that they have been hired by a candy manufacturer to design a box for a new product they are beginning to market. The manufacturer has pre-determined the volume of the candy box. It is the...
Curated OER
Surface Area of Cones
Students find the surface area of cones. In this geometry lesson, students calculate the dimensions of each three-dimensional shape and use the correct formula to solve the problem. They relate concepts of cones to the real world.
Willow Tree
Measurement
Build a basic understanding of units of measure and create a great foundation for your learners. The lesson gives a complete overview of everything measurement, from types of measurement to rounding to conversions — it has it all!
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Water Cycle
Learners identify the stages of the water cycle. They listen to the book "Magic School Bus: Wet All Over," examine the Build Your Own Water Cycle website, predict and measure the amount of water in a jar for a week, and read a short play...
Curated OER
Task: Grain Storage
Farming is full of mathematics, and it provides numerous real-world examples for young mathematicians to study. Here, we look at a cylinder-shaped storage silo that has one flat side. Given certain dimensions, students need to determine...
Science Geek
Measurement of Pressure and Temperature
We all have standards and scientists are no exception. Presentation covers standard temperature, standard pressure, temperature conversions, and absolute zero. It explains pressure using pascals, mm of mercury, atmosphere, and torr, then...
Curated OER
Cylinders and Scale
Students review what a cylinder is and how a cylinder is measured. They build a variety of cylinders with different heights and radii. They compare the surface area and volume of each cylinder and discuss anything that surprises them...
Curated OER
A Cone and Its Net
Create and investigate nets for solid shapes with your class. They identify the different parts and faces of each polygon and solid then calculate the surface area and volume of cones. They use circle sectors of varying sizes to build...