6th Grade Math Lesson Plan: Volume of a Cube and Rectangular Prism

Objective: Students will be able to identify and find the volume of a cube and a rectangular prism.

Lesson Opening

1. Ask your students to remind you of the things you learned yesterday about surface area and volume. The key points to hit are: the definitions SA and V, squared units vs. cubed units and how you can find the SA of a cube by finding the area of one side and multiplying by six. Ask them to also remind you of the SA equations we formulated.

Guided Practice

1. Say, "Today, we are going to find volume. Volume is simply the amount of space inside a three dimensional figure. Look at these two figures: which has a greater volume." Hold up two waterproof containers (Tupperware works great). Show the children how one easy way to find volume is to fill something with water. The more water it holds, the greater the volume.

1. Say, "Today, you are going to build shapes, try to guess which has a greater volume, and then prove it, in much the same way that I did. The only difference is that you won't be using water, you'll be using (marbles, paper clips, cereal etc.)

Independent Practice

1. Pass out the cut-out for creating two different rectangular prisms. (You can also use one of the prisms from the previous day.) Have the children cut and paste them individually (glue sticks work best) or have them work with a partner if you don't have enough materials. Have the children look at the prisms and make a guess as to which one has a greater volume.

1. Have the children fill up the two prisms with cereal, then dump it out and count how much cereal they used. Have them record which one actually had a greater volume.

1. Say, "However, just as with surface area, knowing what volume is isn't enough. We need to know the formula." Explain that the formula of any rectangular prism is V = l x w x h. Have the children find the volume of the two prisms and see if the numbers match up.

Closing

1. Ask the children when in real life they would need to measure the surface area. One example: a cereal box maker needs to know surface area so he/she can figure out the manufacturing cost.