Topic: Exploring Volume

Grade Level Category: 4 - 6

Strategy: Observation/Checklist

Objectives Being Assessed and/or Purposes for the Assessment:
To explore volume using centimeter cubes to build rectangular prisms.

Materials Required:
Centimeter cubes for each group (approximately 100)

Description of the Activity:
Divide the class into groups. Ask students to build a prism with a length of 2 centimeters, a width of 3 centimeters and a height of 2 centimeters. Have students record the length, width, height and volume on paper. Continue to build prisms of various dimensions and record. Have groups discuss how to find volume using the information on the charts.

Build the original 2x3x2 prism. Have students predict the volume of a container that is twice as long, twice as wide, and twice as high. Build the prism and record and compare the results with their prediction.

Reproducible Page:
Observation Checklist

Extensions:
Have students build a prism and describe it to the group. For example, "This prism has 12 cubes. It is 2 cubes long, 3 cubes wide and 2 cubes high." Have the other students build a different prism using the same number of cubes.

References:
Based on activities from Silver Burdett and Ginn. Mathematics 4. Silver Burdett and Ginn, Morristown, N.J., 1994.



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