Course Guide - USAID Teacher Education Project

4. Class Activitiesa) Begin by reminding students of their work finding the area of 2-dimensionalirregular shapes, polygons, and circles. Note that this will be a key element as theywork with the 3-dimensional concept of volume.b) Divide the students into groups of four, giving each group both a box and acylinder. Ask them to calculate their objects' volume in cubic units.As you circulate around the room notice if they use the area of the base as a startingpoint and how they incorporate the object's height into their calculation.c) Have students record their findings on chart paper and present them to theirclassmates.• For cuboids: length, width, height, and volume• For cylinders: radius, area of the base, height, and volumeAs students present their work, note if their method was to build layers upon theobject's base area in order to find volume. Ask students to derive a generalizedformula for their work.d) Finally, fold one sheet of computer paper into thirds and another into sixths,creating triangular and hexagonal prisms.Ask students how they might find the volume of these two new prisms, given whatthey discovered by working with rectangular boxes and cylinders. What generalitiesdo they notice?5. AssignmentsHave students visit this online tutorial about Volume vs. Capacity:http://tinyurl.com/Volume-vs-Capacity