Explain how to calculate the volume of compound shapes

I can explain how to calculate the volume of compound shapes.

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Year 5

Explain how to calculate the volume of compound shapes

I can explain how to calculate the volume of compound shapes.

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Share activities with pupils

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Lesson details

Key learning points

Compound shapes can be split into cubes and cuboids in different ways.
Compound shapes can be split in different ways but the volume stays the same.

Keywords

Compound shape - A compound shape is a shape created with two or more basic shapes.
Strategy - A strategy is a planned approach used to solve a problem.

Common misconception

Pupils may default to trying to use the same strategy for every shape, for example, the 'partition and add' can be applied to most shapes although it might not be the most efficient.

Spend time exploring each strategy with basic dimensions for compound shapes at first. Explore different strategies for the same shape and encourage children to reason which strategy might be most efficient to use.

Making and breaking compound shapes with cubes will support pupils to visualise what parts of a compound shape can be manipulated. Pupils should spend time doing this with concrete objects and also spend time thinking how this can be represented in two dimensions.

Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).