EARLY STAGE ONE MATHS FOCUS
MEASUREMENT AND GEOMETRY
Volume & Capacity
Learning Experiences
Volume & Capacity
VOLUME & CAPACITY
OUTCOME
A student:
MAe-11MG: describes and compares the capacities of containers and the volumes of objects or substances using everyday language
| TEACHING POINT | The term ‘big’ is often used by students to describe a variety of attributes. Depending on the context, it could mean long, tall, heavy, etc. It is important to model with students more precise language to describe volume and capacity. |
| LANGUAGE | Students should be able to communicate using the following language: capacity, container, liquid, full, empty, about half-full, volume, space, has more, has less, will hold more, will hold less, takes up more space. |
EXPECTATIONS OF ATTAINMENT
Use direct and indirect comparisons to decide which holds more, and explain their reasoning using everyday language | identify the attribute of ‘capacity’ as the amount of liquid a container can hold |
| fill and empty containers using materials such as water and sand | |
| use the terms ‘full’, ’empty’ and ‘about half-full’ | |
| compare the capacities of two containers directly by filling one and pouring into the other | |
| compare the capacities of two containers indirectly by pouring their contents into two other identical containers and observing the level reached by each | |
| establish that containers of different shapes may have the same capacity, eg a tall narrow container may hold the same amount as a short wide container | |
| identify the attribute of ‘volume’ as the amount of space an object or substance occupies | |
| stack and pack blocks into defined spaces, eg boxes | |
| compare the volumes of two objects made from blocks or connecting cubes directly by deconstructing one object and using its parts to construct a copy of the other object | |
| compare the volumes of two piles of material directly by filling two identical containers, eg ‘This pile of rice has a larger volume as it takes up more space in the container’ | |
| compare the volumes of two objects by observing the amount of space each occupies, eg a garbage truck takes up more space than a car | |
| use comparative language to describe volume and capacity, eg has more, has less, will hold more, will hold less, takes up more space | |
| record volume and capacity comparisons informally using drawings, numerals and words |
Learning Experiences
To be added