Intermediate Phase Teaching Resources

Area and Volume Activities

Measuring is the process of comparing the size (muchness) of some property of an object or event:

• Either relative to the same property of another object or event;
• Or to some standard unit of measure.

Measurements that can be determined include (among many others):

• Length (mm, cm, m, km, inches, feet, yards and miles);
• Area (cm², m², acres, hectares);
• Mass (kg, pounds, tonnes);
• Volume (m³; litres; kilolitres, ounces, quarts and gallons );
• Temperature (degrees Celcius and degrees Fahrenheit);
• Speed (m/s, km/h, miles/hour); and
• Time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years etc.) …

What we often take for granted is the existence of the standard units for each of these measurements (listed above).

What is important is that children develop the insight that measuring:

• Is about comparing and quantifying; and
• Involves units/measurements that allow us to quantify and compare in convenient and reliable ways.

The challenge in teaching is to create an environment in which children experience the evolution of measuring in an informal manner so that they can understand units as arbitrary but convenient.

Area: 5mm, 10mm, 15mm, 20mm Grids

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Area: Which leave shape is the largest?

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Area: Which rectangle has the largest area?

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Volume: Which container holds the most?

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Volume: Which block has the the greatest volume?

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