How to teach volume of liquids

Video showing how volume is measured.

It is reasonable to expect that Year 2 students may confuse capacity with the height of containers when they first learn about volume of liquids. In order to avoid this misunderstanding, the Mathematics teacher can explain the meaning of 'capacity' and 'volume' in the lesson and show that different containers have different capacities which hold different amounts (volume) of a liquid.

One way to help students understand this topic is by using teaching aids. Students will carry out certain activities under the supervision of the teacher. By performing specific tasks, they get to observe how the volume of liquids changes with vessels of different shapes and sizes.

When preparing teaching aids, the teacher will need to create two different sets - one set for the low achievers and the other set for the high achievers. The objective is to ensure that every student knows the meaning of capacity and volume and be able to measure and compare the volume of liquids in different containers using unform non-standard units.

Teaching aids for these activities should be created from objects or things that are easily found in the home or school laboratory. They should also be easy for the students to manipulate without exerting much effort. Using commonly available objects avoids incurring unnecessary costs for buying new items.

Containers of different heights are used in the activities to challenge their belief that height instead of capacity determines the actual volume of liquids. The activities create fun because the students will be performing tasks that are different from their normal class work. They will also learn new words to build up their vocabulary.

The hand-on activities will boost the students' interest and deepen their understanding of volume. The following two activities are examples of how teaching aids may be used in the classroom.

 ACTIVITY A (LOW ACHIEVERS)

The acvitity for this batch of students is simplified to make it easy for them to learn about volume of liquids. Components of the teaching aids are a water bottle, an oval container and a round container. A pail of water and a cup are also required.

Teaching aids for Activity A

The teacher will attend to the following:

1   Tell the students to form groups of 4.

2   Ask a student from each group to record how many cups of water are required to
fill the different containers. Provide a printed form to the student. (Attachment 1)

3   Tell the other 3 students to take turns to scoop cups of water from the pail and
pour the water into the containers. Each student will fill one container with water.

4   Get 2 students from each group to fill the pail with water.

5   Give instruction to begin the activity.

6   Have a few mops in the classroom to mop the floor when water is spilt.

7   Ask each group to present the results of the activity to the class.



Sample of form for recording the results of activity



ACTIVITY B (HIGH ACHIEVERS)

For fast learners, the activity requires them to first estimate the number of cups of water that are required to fill up the containers. After filling the containers with water, the students will compare their prediction with the actual results. Items that make up this set of teaching aids include a water bottle, a rectangular container and a round container. A pail of water and a cup are also required.

Teaching Aids for Activity B

Class teacher will do the following:

1   Tell the students to form groups of 4

2   Get each group to predict the number of cups of water required to fill the
containers.

3   Ask a student from each group to record how many cups of water are required to
fill each container. Give a printed form to the student. (Attachment 1)

4   Tell the other 3 students to take turns to scoop cups of water from the pail to
pour into the containers. Each student will fill one container with water.

5   Get 2 students from each group to fill the pail with water.

6   Give instruction to begin the activity.

7   Have a few mops in the classroom to mop the floor when water is spilt.

8   Ask each group to present the results of the activity to the class.



Sample of form for recording results of Activity B



The action-based learning activities would help Year 2 students to better understand the lesson on volume of liquids. As the containers are of different heights, students will soon discover that a taller container does not necessarily hold more water than a low container. When this happens, it means that they have been observant and have engaged their mind to form reasonable deductions.

If the teacher knows that her students have assimilated the basic lesson on volume, she may introduce the actual units used for measuring volume and capacity, for example, litres and millilitres. By showing them the units of measurement printed on the product labels, the students will realize that the study of

volume is useful in real life.

On the whole, the aim of the classroom activity is to enable the students to take measurements and compare volumes of liquids in different containers using standard non-uniform units. When they can do this, they have understood the lesson on volume of liquids.