Common Core Math - Volume of Cones,Spheres and Cylinders. Water Lab

Are you looking for a way to raise the rigor of your math class to meet common core standards but also keep it age appropriate and fun? That is exactly what I was looking for so I created this volume lab for my students. It worked so that I will be using it for many years.

Before you download, please know that you will need to have a set of fillable geosolids like the ones found here: http://www.hand2mind.com/item/relational-geosolids/1382

You might be able to improvise but the set I have works great. The basic idea is that you will have them estimate then prove the relationship between cones, spheres and cylinders. With the fillable geosolids you can pour water from one shape to the next for instant comparisons. (**The geosolids all have the same height and width.)

The first half of this lab allows students to derive volume formulas from area formulas. The second half has them creating complex volume formulas from their observations.

I found that this experiment really helped the kids make sense out of the formulas and understood them a lot better.

A full key is included along with other helpful hints for teaching this lesson.

Please take a moment to leave feedback if you are pleased with this download and don't forget to check out my other math listings!

Thanks for looking and happy teaching!


Common Core Volume Lab by Dana McCaskey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.