Mathematics

Intermediate

50 mins

Teacher/Student led

Learning Goals

Learning Outcomes

Lesson Files

+80 XP

What you need:
IWB/Projector/Large Screen
Building cubes

Volume: Counting Unit Cubes (a First Look)

Learn to measure volume by counting the equal-sized cubes that fill a solid, including the hidden cubes underneath and behind that you cannot see.

Warning: Your screen size is quite small for viewing this. Rotate your device into landscape mode if you can.

1 Getting Started
2 Watch and Notice
3 Try It Together
4 Build and Sketch in Your Copy
5 Class Challenge
6 What Did We Notice?
7 What's Next
Pupil practice

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

Illustration for Getting Started Look at the little tower of building cubes on the screen, and the one loose cube beside it.

If that one loose cube is our unit, how many cubes do you think are hiding inside the whole tower?

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - Watch and Notice ~9 mins

Volume means how much space a solid fills. We measure it by counting the equal cubes that fit inside.

Watch two solids on the screen. Each one is filled with cubes that are all the same size.

The first solid is one row of cubes. Count them with me.

The second solid has cubes stacked in two layers. Watch for the ones hiding underneath — they still count.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+10 XP

3 - Try It Together ~9 mins

First, watch how the three steppers work. When I move the width stepper on its own, one more cube appears in the row and the count goes up. Height stacks cubes upwards; depth adds cubes behind. We change one at a time and read the new count each time.

Key point

Now we build solids together and read the cube count. We will build a solid of 4 cubes first. Then we will build one of 8 cubes. Then we will build one of 6 cubes.

Tip

Set the width, height and depth, then read the count off the cubes — remember to count the cubes we cannot see.

Build the solid and read the count

+15 XP

4 - Build and Sketch in Your Copy ~3 mins

COPYBOOK MOMENT

In your maths copy, build a solid from 6 real cubes. Then sketch your solid and write underneath how many cubes you used.

+10 XP

5 - Class Challenge ~10 mins

Key point

Today we build a solid to match each target and press Check. First, build a solid of 4 cubes. Next, build a 2 × 2 × 2 box of 8 cubes. Then build a 3 × 2 × 2 box of 12 cubes. After that, build a 3 × 2 × 3 box of 18 cubes. Last, build any solid at all with 6 cubes.

That last one has more than one right answer — see if you can find a second solid, shaped differently, that also makes 6.

Build the solid to match the target

+15 XP

Pupil practice

Module 5 · Area, Perimeter and Volume Measures

Lesson 62 · Volume: Counting Unit Cubes (a First Look)

Download Activity Book page (PDF)

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