Lesson 10

Represent Volume with Expressions

Lesson Purpose

The purpose of this lesson is for students to write, interpret, and evaluate numerical expressions that represent the volume of solid figures composed of two right rectangular prisms.

Lesson Narrative

In previous lessons, students used formulas to find the volume of right rectangular prisms. They also learned to apply these formulas to find the volumes of figures made up of two non-overlapping right rectangular prisms. In this lesson, students use what they have learned to write and interpret numerical expressions in the context of finding the volume of figures composed of rectangular prisms (MP2).
Students recognize that subtraction can be used to find the volume of figures composed of two non-overlapping rectangular prisms.

  • Action and Expression
  • MLR8

Activity 2: Find the Volume in Different Ways

Learning Goals

Teacher Facing

  • Write and interpret numerical expressions to represent the volume of a figure decomposed in different ways.

Student Facing

  • Let’s write expressions for the volume of figures.

Required Preparation

CCSS Standards

Lesson Timeline

Warm-up 10 min
Activity 1 10 min
Activity 2 25 min
Lesson Synthesis 10 min
Cool-down 5 min

Teacher Reflection Questions

How did the work of the previous sections in the unit lay the foundation for students to be successful in this lesson?

Suggested Centers

  • Five in a Row: Multiplication (3–5), Stage 4: Three Factors (Addressing)
  • Rolling for Fractions (3–5), Stage 1: Equivalent Fractions (Supporting)

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