Cleaning Out My Pantry - A Math Activity

I love teaching volume.  It can be so much fun.  

One way is by cleaning out my pantry and recycle bin at home.  All those empty boxes, or almost empty boxes, I pull out and then tape shut.  I bring them to school and we play grocery store.

Because kids are still kids, and they like to play make believe.  

Some years I make a Supermarket and the kids pick and choose boxes from our "store" to figure out volume.  I leave out rulers and they have to measure the height, width, and depth.  Then they make a chart with the different measurements and we go over it later in the week.

This year I still cleaned out my pantry, but instead we did it full class.  

I brought it in one of my insulated totes and asked them what they were hungry for.  We took turns in class vs. at home, choosing items... They are always amazed that my family is just like theirs - we shop bulk food at Costco, my boys like Cheez its too, we all drool over the brownies box...  Anyhow, this year I measured with the ruler, rounding to the closest inch, and they did their part with figuring out volume.  

In a normal year we have gone a little further with the review and measured to turn into decimals and fractions, but there isn't time this year.  We've already done that in our regular lessons though.

Then I switched the online group to reviewing via task cards that I had uploaded to our TEAM, while the kids in the classroom created rectangular prisms using linking cubes from their desk pouches.  My in class were using their 16 cubes to create the many different ways to rearrange the cubes... then as they finished they took turns coming close to the webcam to show it off for the kids at home.  The kids at home were told the dimensions and solved the volume for the kids in class.  It totally worked and I had this moment that it was all going to be okay.  

That was Monday, and then on Tuesday my new group of in class kids used their linking cubes to come up with composite figures.  Same kind of thing, I worked with online doing review task cards while in class were building, and then in class was ready to share. 

Tuesday I pulled out the same pantry boxes again, and held up two of them to have the kids find the composite volume.  It clicked for some of my kids.  

I think this all might just work...  at least that's my hope.  

Hope you had a great day!