- Survive or Die: In this technology-rich lesson, students will design a habitat in which a plant or animal can survive. Students will focus on the adaptations that allow certain plants and animals to live in specific habitats.
- Building Apartments: Connecting Volume of Centimeter Cubes to the Formula V = B x h: Students will build "apartments" with centimeter cubes by packing boxes (template included). In addition, they will use centimeter cubes to build a variety of rectangular prisms and record the area of the base (B) and height (h) on a worksheet. They will use that information to complete the volume formula, V = B x h. Students will think about how the volume changes as the height and base of rectangular prisms change.
- Lunchbox Volume: This lesson focuses on the application of volume knowledge. Students will need to add the volumes of individual right rectangular prisms to find total volumes.
- Volumize Your Brain To Its Capacity: Students will be able to apply and understand the meaning of volume with shoe boxes and cereal boxes.
- Getting the Top Mini-Fridge not a Small Deal: In this MEA, students will create a procedure to rank five mini-refrigerators to determine which one should be purchased for the school by the PTA based on size, type, features, energy usage, and cost. In the process, students will solve real-world problems involving the multiplication of multi-digit numbers with decimals to the hundredths, including using money. Students will also determine the volume of a rectangular prism using a formula.
- MEA Bait Shop Baffle: Students will first review rectangular prisms and the formula for finding the volume of rectangular prisms. After students have determined the volume of a given set of rectangular prisms (aquariums), the students will use that information to help Seymour Phish in determining which aquarium he should purchase for his minnows.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
- Volume, Mass, and Density Boxes: This activity was designed for blind learners, but all types of learners can utilize it to investigate volume, mass, and density. The learner will create several boxes with different materials in each. They will then compare the sizes and masses and do the math to figure the densities. Educators could also create a data collection chart for this activity.
- Volume: Let's Be Efficient: This lesson provides a hands-on approach to develop the formula for finding the volume of a right rectangular prism. Students will apply the formula. Students will determine the volume of figures composed of two right rectangular-prism solids. While students will decompose simple 3 D shapes into two rectangular prisms, this decomposition is not required in the standard. It is used here to help deepened student understanding.
- Volume: It's All About the Count: In this lesson, students will learn the concept of volume as an attribute of solid figures, using unit cubes in various arrangements with a focus on rectangular prisms.
- Manipulating Cubic Units: Students will recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement. They will measure volumes by counting unit cubes, using cubic centimeters and cubic inches.
- Cereal Box Volume Varying Predicament: Students will review rectangular prisms and the formula for finding the volume of rectangular prisms. Once students have determined the volume of a number of rectangular prisms (cereal boxes), the students will use that information to help a fictitious company in determining which cereal box they should use for their new product.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
- Pick A Pet: This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) asks students to develop a procedure for choosing a reptile or amphibian to place in a school reception area. Students will need to consider safety, price of animal, cost by week to feed animal, size and cost of the enclosure, and the life span of the animals they are considering. In the second portion of the problem statement, the students will need to prepare a budget and cost analysis for the year to consider if they have still made the correct choices while adding three more animals for consideration. The culminating activity for this MEA will have the student write a proposal for the Principal to state their choice of animal, give a year's budget for cost and care for the animal.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
- Building Pools: I
In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students will work in teams to determine a the most suitable pool for a home construction company to build. Students will need to calculate the volume of the pool, make decisions based on a table of data, and write a letter to the customer providing evidence for their decisions.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
- Storage for Storage: In this MEA, 5th Grade students will work in teams to determine a procedure for ranking Storage Sheds for a construction company that is moving to a new facility to purchase. Students will need to calculate the square feet and cubic feet of space for the Storage Shed, make decisions based on a table of data, and write a letter to the client providing evidence for their decisions.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
- Building Rectangular Prisms Part 2: This is the second part of a two-part volume lesson. In the first Building Rectangular Prisms (attached) lesson, foundational volume concepts are taught and students count cubes to find volume. In this lesson, students will discover the volume formulas length x width x height and base x height as they build rectangular prisms. They will use the formulas to find volume in real world situations.
- Pump Up the Volume: In this 5E lesson, the students will explore the concept of volume. The students will build rectangular prisms, identify the dimensions of the prism and discover the volume of the prism.
- Building Rectangular Prisms Part 1: This is the first part of a two-part volume lesson. In this lesson, students will build foundational concepts for volume and count cubes to find volume. In the second part lesson Building Rectangular Prisms Part 2 (attached), students will discover the volume formulas length x width x height and base x height as they build rectangular prisms. They will use the formulas to find volume in real world situations.
- Formulating Volume: Students will use situational stories to help them apply the formulas V = l × w × h and V = B × h to find the volumes of right rectangular prisms with whole-number edge lengths.