This is a great activity for any middle school class that enjoys going beyond math problems from a book and into the realm of kinesthetic learning. With this activity, students will gain a deeper conceptual understanding of the volume of a cylinder as they determine which cylinder has a larger volume when two different cylinders are formed using an 8.5” by 11” piece of paper. Students will make a prediction, then confirm or reject their prediction using their knowledge of the dimensions of paper and how it relates to finding the volume of a sphere.
Students will also learn how this activity has real world application through the opening exploration activity involving soup and a cylindrical container that ends up being too small. A discussion will revolve around what could have been done to prevent the soup from spilling over the end of the container. Students will then consider the possibility of change the dimensions of the container to increase the volume so that the soup will fit.
Created by: James McInroy, Jehnna Keshishian, Megan Ellis, and Michelle Dollinger