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Volume can be a difficult concept for students. Fifth-grade students are expected to understand the concept of volume, calculate volume by counting cubes and by using a formula, and understand that volume is additive. Here are my tried and true tips for teaching volume.

1. Review Area Concepts

Before tackling volume it is important to make sure that students understand the concept of area. Students that are clear on what area is and how to calculate it will have a much easier time understanding volume. I review the concept of area, the area formula (A = l x w), and why we use square units when talking about area.

2. Define Volume

Many students come to math class without knowing the mathematical definition of volume. So, I begin by explaining volume. Volume can be defined as the amount of space a three-dimensional object takes up or volume is the measure of how much space a solid object takes up. My students record the definition of volume in their math notebooks. We add in additional information as we continue through the unit. I have also used a digital version of the notebook. You can check that out here.

Spend time looking at two dimensional and three dimensional objects. This will help students to see the difference between them.
3. Hands-On Practice with Non-Standard Units
Hands-on activities help students make sense of mathematical ideas. I begin my volume unit by investigating rectangular prisms. I collect a variety of small boxes for students to explore. Empty tea boxes, paper clip boxes, and granola bar boxes work perfectly. I place 2 or 3 different boxes, a set of pattern blocks, a container of marbles, and some dollar spot erasers at one of my math stations. Students investigate how many of each unit it takes to fill the boxes.

We discuss the observations that were made while filling the containers. Students will discover that the pattern block shapes, marbles, and erasers did not fill the boxes as they expected and that gaps and overlaps were noticed.

Next, students are asked to fill the same boxes with cubes. I use centimeter cubes and Unifix cubes for this activity. Unifix cubes are great for boxes that are bigger in size. Once students have filled the boxes with cubes we discuss their observations. This leads to a discussion on cubic units.

4. Model

My classroom floor is made up of square tiles. I explain that we can find the area of the classroom floor by counting the square foot tiles. Then, I explain that we could find the volume of the classroom by using cubic feet. I use rulers to help students understand what a cubic foot looks like. I place one ruler along the length of a tile, one along the width of a tile, and use a third ruler to show the height. Then I add construction paper to make a cubic foot. This really helps my students to see what it means to measure with a cubic unit.

Next, model how to find the volume of a rectangular prism by filling and counting cubes. Nets are perfect for this. Students fill the nets with cubes and count the total to find the volume.

This leads to a discussion of using multiplication to calculate the volume of objects. From this discussion, the formulas for volume can be introduced. I teach my students two different formulas:

V = length x width x height or V = l x w x h

V = area of the base x the height or V = B x h (B = l x w)

5. Practice, Practice, Practice
The best way for students to master the concept of volume is to practice. Begin by practicing with cubes and then have students shift to using formulas to calculate volume. This can be done digitally or by using paper-based practice sheets. You can check out my favorite resources to practice volume here.

Would you like to try a digital resource to practice volume? Click here.

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Volume can be a difficult concept for students. Fifth-grade students are expected to understand the concept of volume, calculate volume by counting cubes and by using a formula, and understand that volume is additive. Here are my tried and true tips for teaching volume. 1.

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Recycled Volume

Review the concept of volume by asking students to bring in clean, empty food containers from home, such as cans, jugs, and cartons. Explain that these containers are labeled with different ways we measure volume (e.g., gallons, ounces, liters, cups). Start a word wall that displays both the terms and the items, using tacks and glue to hold up containers. Kids can peel labels off cans and cut out catalog items and magazine ads. Soon they'll be fluent in the language of volume.

Rectangle Art

Distribute rulers, and have students use them to help draw squares and rectangles of different sizes from graph paper, construction paper, or magazines. After they've cut out the shapes, challenge kids to create pictures or designs by gluing the shapes onto cardboard, making sure they don't overlap. Ask them to find the area of each shape and then the total area of the design. Have students display their works by hanging them on a bulletin board or shelf in order from least to greatest area. Make a class mural by asking students to arrange their designs on one sheet of butcher paper and then calculate the total area of all the shapes.

Shoe-Box Solution

Ask students if they can find the volume of a shoe box using Unifix cubes. Do they need to fill the box to find the answer? Line the bottom of the box with cubes. How many cover the bottom? What is the area of the base of the box? Now ask how many layers they will need to fill the box. Let students experiment in small groups. Some will want to fill the box entirely with cubes to find the volume, while others may realize they only need to find the height of the box in cubes and multiply it by the area of the base. When reflecting on the strategies they used to find the volume, students should discover that the "shortcut" to finding volume is to multiply length and width and height.

Tall and Short Containers

Use two identical pieces of construction paper to make cylinders-one tall and skinny, the other short and stout. Tape each cylinder together by lining up the seams so they do not overlap. Ask students which cylinder holds more. Place the tall, skinny cylinder inside the short, stout cylinder. Fill the tall cylinder to the top with dry ingredients such as rice, popcorn or Styrofoam peanuts. Lift the tall cylinder, letting the dry ingredients fill the short cylinder. Children will see that the short cylinder still has room for more, and thus has a larger capacity.

Math Museum

Give each student 20 square units and ask them to make any shape or design they'd like to with their squares. Lead students on a tour to see the shapes made by others in the class. Once they've returned to their seats, ask what all of the designs have in common (they're all made of squares, and they all have an area of 20 square units). Next, have the students find the perimeter of their shapes by counting the units along the outside edges. Whose shape has the smallest perimeter? The largest? They'll discover that perimeter does not depend on area.

Mystery Figures

Have students work in pairs with a partition between them. Give them each a pile of square tiles and challenge them to make a figure with a specified area of square units. Once they've constructed their figures, let them lift the partition and compare. Do two figures with the same area have the same perimeter or shape?

Tangram Teaser

Give students sets of tangram puzzle pieces and have them find the area of each piece. (For the rhombus, they will need to divide it into two triangles and one square, find the area of each, and then find the total.) Have students write the area on each puzzle piece. Now ask them to put the pieces together to form one large square and find the area of the square. If they add the areas of the seven smaller pieces, their answer should be equal to (or close to) the total area of the large square.

Capacity Challenge

Line up five or six containers of different sizes and shapes and have students figure out how they compare in volume. This can be done with water on a warm day, or with dry ingredients indoors. Have groups of students share the strategies they used.

Sponge Math

Solid containers aren't the only ones with capacity. Containers that change shape, such as balloons, sponges, and even our lungs, also have capacity. Bring in a selection of sponges that have different sizes, shapes, and density. Have students predict which sponges will hold the most water, arranging the sponges in order from least to greatest capacity according to their predictions. Place the sponges in a tub of water for 10 minutes, then let students squeeze the water into individual graduated cylinders to get an estimate of how much water each sponge held. Older students can measure the volume of each sponge (length times width times height for rectangular and square prism shapes) before and after it sits in the water, as if it were an empty container. How does the calculated volume relate to the amount of water a sponge can hold?

Geometry Online

Finally, for a digital twist, introduce Setting the Stage with Geometry, a new math program designed to help students build basic skills for measuring 2D and 3D shapes. It includes extension activities and worksheets.

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Hands-on Teaching: Area and Volume | Scholastic

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Review the concept of volume by asking students to bring in clean, empty food containers from home, such as cans, jugs, and cartons. Explain that these containers are labeled with different ways we measure volume (e.g., gallons, ounces, liters, cups). Start a word wall that displays both the terms and the items, using tacks and glue to hold up containers.

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This breakout escape room is a fun way for students to test their skills with finding the surface area and volume of rectangular prisms.
Important: (How to Make Completely Digital)
This product normally requires the printing of the questions to accompany a digital form for students to input answers. But if you follow a couple simple steps, this can be made entirely digital! Just use the following tool:

https://smallpdf.com/split-pdf

(choose "extract pages")

to extract the pages containing the questions into its own PDF. You can then upload that PDF to your Google Classroom, or something similar, so that the students can view the puzzles online.

This escape room then becomes completely digital!
Contents: ♦ Teacher Instructions and FAQ ♦ 3 Levels to decode: Multiple Choice, Message Decoder, and Maze ♦ Student Recording Sheet and Teacher Answer Key ♦ Link to an optional, but recommended, digital breakout room
Check out the preview for more details!

Important: If you enjoyed this product, check out my other Math Escape Rooms:

Note: Each topic utilizes the same types of puzzles

Algebra: Get all 56 (50% OFF) in the

♦ Absolute Value Equations

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♦ Equations of Lines

♦ Evaluating Expressions

♦ Exponential Growth and Decay

♦ Exponents - Dividing

♦ Exponents - Multiplying

♦ Exponents - Multiplying and Dividing

♦ Function Operations

♦ Greatest Common Factor of Monomials

♦ Greatest Common Factor of Polynomials

♦ Linear Equations

♦ Literal Equations

♦ Logarithms

♦ Literal Equations

♦ Monomials: Dividing

♦ Monomials: Multiplying

♦ Monomials: Multiplying & Dividing

♦ Multi-Step Equations

♦ Multi-Step Inequalities

♦ One and Two Step Equations

♦ One and Two Step Inequalities

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♦ Proportions

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♦ Radical Expressions: Simplifying

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♦ Radicals: Multiplying without Variables

♦ Radicals:Operations with

♦ Rational Expressions: Adding and Subtracting

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♦ Rational Expressions: Simplifying

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♦ Scientific Notation: Multiplying and Dividing

♦ Scientific Notation: Operations with

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♦ Simplifying Expressions

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♦ Systems of Equations by Elimination

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♦ Angles/ Slopes of Parallel and Perpendicular Lines

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♦ Area and Perimeter (2D Shapes)

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♦ Equations of Lines

♦ Midpoint and Distance Formula

♦ Missing Angles

♦ Missing Angles of Triangles

♦ Pythagorean Theorem

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♦ Surface Area and Volume

Grades 6-8: Get all 11 (55% OFF) in the

♦ Equivalent Fractions

♦ Fractions: Adding and Subtracting

♦ Integers: Adding and Subtracting

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♦ Mixed Numbers: Multiplying and Dividing

♦ Negative Exponents

♦ Percent Change Word Problems

♦ Proportions Word Problems

♦ Rational Numbers: Adding and Subtracting

♦ Rational Numbers: Multiplying and Dividing

♦ Ratios

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♦ Capacity

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♦ Decimals: Adding and Subtracting

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♦ Fact Families

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♦ Fractions: Multiplying by Whole Numbers

♦ Fractions Word Problems

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♦ Long Division: Grade 4

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♦ Mean, Median, Mode, Range

♦ Metric Measurement

♦ Mixed Numbers: Adding and Subtracting

♦ Multi-Digit Multiplication

♦ Multiplication Word Problems

♦ Multi-Step Word Problems

♦ Number Patterns

♦ Order of Operations

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♦ Addition: 2 Digit

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♦ Subtraction: 2 Digit

♦ Telling Time

♦ Word Problems: Addition and Subtraction With Regrouping

♦ Word Problems: Addition and Subtraction Without Regrouping

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Surface Area and Volume of Rectangular Prisms Activity Escape Room Geometry Game

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This breakout escape room is a fun way for students to test their skills with finding the surface area and volume of rectangular prisms. Important: (How to Make Completely Digital)This product normally requires the printing of the questions to accompany a digital form for students to input answers.

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How many cubes fit in a prism that measures 3 by 4 by 1?, What is the volume of a prism that measures 3 by 6 by 2?, What is the volume of a rectangular prism with measurements of 3 by 5 by 6?, What is the volume of cube made with 6 identical cubes, each cube has 5 inch edges.

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Volume of a Rectangular Prism | 5th Grade Math (Mastery Check)

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Volume of a Rectangular Prism | 5th Grade Math