TITLE: Area and Volume
AUTHOR: Timothy Welch, Greenwood Elementary School,
LaGrande, OR
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: (3) math
OVERVIEW: Students sometimes need a break from paper and
pencil math problems in order to keep them interested and
stimulated in math. For some kids certain math concepts are
too abstract and need to be made more hands-on.
PURPOSE: Many students have a difficult time understanding
the concepts of area and volume. Textbooks have pictures
which don't always allow the students to grasp the ideas.
This activity takes away the abstract idea and replaces it
with a concrete model.
OBJECTIVE(s): Students will be able to describe the
difference between area and volume and also be able to
understand how various units of measure relate to one
another.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS: Newspaper, scissors, masking tape,
rulers and meter sticks, cardboard (and something to cut it
with), markers to identify finished models.
ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES: Following an introduction to
area and volume students will work in groups to build models
of square centimeters, square inches, square feet, square
meters, and then cubic centimeters, cubic inches, cubic
feet, and cubic meters. This becomes a good cooperative team
effort at problem solving. Students are provided with
materials, but no initial instruction is given on how to
build their models.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: When the groups have completed their
projects they will send a spokesperson to the front of the
room to share with the class what they have built, what it
is called, and how it compares to some of the other models
built by other groups. This activity leaves students with a
lasting memory of these ideas which are otherwise hard to
grasp.
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