Grades 6-8
11-day unit—80 pages

Measurement of Prisms, Pyramids, Cylinders, and Cones is part of the AIMS Essential Math Series that uses real-world investigations, comics, and animation to engage students and help them discover and make sense of key mathematical concepts. The units in this series are narrowly focused, conceptually developed, and carefully sequenced to provide a continuum of introduction, development, and reinforcement of the essential ideas.

In this book, students will develop fundamental understanding of key measurement and geometry concepts. Through building prisms, cylinders, pyramids, and cones from flat nets, students see how solids are made and develop the process of calculating surface area. Filling those prisms and cylinders with layers of cubes develops the meaning and calculation of volume. Pouring cereal from the pyramids and cones into their corresponding solids establishes a relationship from which the formula is developed.

The “big ideas” expressed through creative activities in this book are:

• Surface Area:  All solids (boxes) can be folded from a flat form called a net. This net forms the surface of the box and its measure is called surface area.
• Volume: The space inside a solid is its volume. By finding the area of a layer that covers the base and multiplying by the number of layers, one determines what it takes to fill the solid.
• Relationship between Volume and Surface Area: The volume of a pyramid or a cone is one-third the volume of a prism or cylinder with the same base and equal height.

The book includes a CD with interactive PDF instructions. Interactive links in the digital format enrich the learning experience with videos, animation and Flash® applications. Using a projector or interactive whiteboard allows the materials to display for the class and supplements the teacher’s instruction.