Smoothie Capacity Challenge

Running around pretending to be particles is one way of letting off steam.

Lesson idea. This activity is intended to help young children understand the concept of the capacity of a container being something that can be measured and compared. It is intended that they develop a very practical understanding of this principle as preparation for investigating measuring capacity in both non-standard and standard units.

Teaching approach. This is a practical session to be used with a whole class in small groups^(ta) of 2 or 3 –perhaps with the added supervision of a teaching assistant if the class is excitable or particularly young. There is scope within this activity for the following different methods of learning:

• Whole class^(ta) dialogue - Discussion of each part of the activity
• Open-ended questions^(ta) – How can we find out if the containers hold the same amount? What can we tell just by looking at them?
• Project work – as part of a wider maths topic on measuring volume and capacity.
• Enquiry-based learning^(ta) – children are discovering the answer to questions that they are encouraged to pose themselves.
• Arguing and reasoning^(ta) – persuading each other about their ideas.
• Exploring ideas – developing practical, physical understanding of key mathematical principles.

Resource details
Title	Smoothie Capacity Challenge
Topic
Teaching approach
Learning Objectives	To understand that capacity is the amount that a container can hold To create a method of comparing capacities
Format / structure
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Table of contents
Additional Resources/material needed
Useful information
Related ORBIT Wiki Resources
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Files and resources to view and download	Download the document here File:Smoothie Capacity Challenge.doc, or view it on the wiki Smoothie Capacity Challenge/Lesson Document
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