Volume Questioning



Volume is a major part of the 5th grade CCSS for math.  This activity took place after several weeks of hands on volume activities. 
Standards addressed:
       *Recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand the concept of volume measurement.
                      * A solid figure which can be packed without gaps or overlaps using N unit cubes is said to have a volume of N cubic units.
      * Relate volume to the operations of multiplication and addition and solve real world and mathematical problems involving volume.

Essential questions:
     *For what purpose do we calculate volume?
     *What information helps me decide whether I am finding perimeter, area/surface area or volume?

Process:  Students were given the above volume question.  They had to work in groups and each member had to participate in the discussion.  Before the students began their discussions we determined that students would have to use schema, monitoring for meaning, and determining importance when solving the problem.  Groups also had to agree on which box would work for shipping the robot.  After calculating and choosing the appropriate box the students had to write and explanation of their thinking.  They then had to present their work to the whole class.  Several groups were able to determine that because of the dimensions of the boxes only one would work because of the height.  However, the expectation was that they calculate the volume of each box regardless.  Below are samples of their thinking.