Teaching Volume to 5th Graders Using Guided Notes
It can be so frustrating when students don’t seem to grasp the math skills we work so hard to teach them. I’ve been there. You plan what you think is the perfect lesson, and somehow my students just didn’t fully grasp the volume skills and concepts. I’ve come up with the perfect solution that has changed how I teach volume to my upper elementary students.
Why Teaching Volume is Important
Volume is HUGE in fifth grade. It’s one of the larger math topics. Kids need to understand more than just how to use the formula. It’s important they learn by first manipulating unit cubes so the kids can build an understanding of how volume is additive. They also need to retain all of this knowledge.
How to Grab the kids’ Attention
Pass Out the Unit Cubes
I always begin teaching volume by passing out unit cubes. Hands-on learning is the first step to making learning engaging and fun. I give my kids 2-3 minutes to just play with the cubes, this allows you to keep their attention when you need it once the lesson begins. It also allows the kids some fun time building and exploring with the cubes on their own.
Engage your students with guided notes
I’ve found that the best way to keep my kids engaged while teaching volume is to use guided notes. The notes give your kids an opportunity to not only listen to you but to actively participate with you while teaching. It ensures that your students are engaged in many ways, which helps with how much of the lesson our students remember.
Teaching volume using guided notes allows your 5th-grade students to create their own personal volume guide. By adding the notes in a math notebook, students are able to create a personal math book. By completing the guide as you teach the volume mini-lessons, your students will gain a better connection to the content due to the notetaking, auditory, and visual presentation. Using multiple means of taking the information in will allow students to remember more of the information long-term. We all know that is the end goal.
The most important part of teaching volume or any topic is to keep the kids’ attention by providing them with a way of becoming a part of the learning. This is why guided notes are perfect. The notes provide the perfect about of time spent copying notes versus watching and listening to the teacher talking. They also make sure to keep those lessons mini so you can get to small groups each day.
Break Your Lessons Up
Your lessons should be short and sweet but full of rigor. I suggest you teach a 10-15 minute lesson whole group lesson before jumping into small group workshop time. Kids’ attention span is pretty short. The quicker you can introduce a skill whole group and then get them to practice that skill, the sooner your kids will be able to master the skill. I typically give my kids a Must Do assignment every two days. They also work on Reflex for fact fluency, and they have monthly centers they can play as well while I’m meeting with groups. You can read more about my monthly centers here.
As soon as the mini-lesson is over, we go into small groups. I usually will pull the highest group to the table first because they typically don’t need as much time. It’s a quick check-in to see if they have any questions. It is between five to ten minutes of small group time.
Next, I’ll pull the mid-level group to spend about 15-20 minutes with them to ensure they understand the skill. The last group I pull is the lowest group. I do this because I can now spend as much time with them as they need. It also allows me not to feel bad if the group session goes longer than expected. I also like that it gives them some independent time to try the assignment independently before bringing it to the table. I can quickly see who needs the most help or if they just need the reassurance they are on the right track.
What are Must Do’s When Teaching Volume
Must Do’s are the independent activities that kids will complete to show mastery when teaching volume. I usually give my students two Must Do’s each week. The reason behind this is I may only get to pull two of the groups in one day. Students lose independent work time when they meet with me. They will need additional time to complete the assignment the next day. It also gives kids time to process the skill and usually additional time to practice. If the kids finish the Must Do’s early, they can choose a review center to play on their own or with a partner.
Ideas for Must-Do’s When Teaching Volume
Highly engaging activities are always a crowd-pleaser in my classroom. My 5th graders love pixel art, mazes, puzzles, and Boom cards. I love those as well because most of those assignments are self-checking, with not only helps to save me time but also helps students. They also know if they are truly getting a skill or need more help.
Below are a few of the activities that are 4th & 5th-grade kid-approved. Click on any of the images to take a closer look.
Try Guided Notes for Yourself
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