Last Updated on October 11, 2022 by Editorial Team
Children have their ways of finding out answers, and they run on their imagination. But, to make them imagine, you have to make sure they understand the concept first. One of the essential concepts for children to learn is ‘Volumes’. As we see in our surroundings, we are swamped with shapes of different sizes.
Be it the number of ingredients in a dish, or the amount of detergent needed to wash clothes, the knowledge of volume is pivotal. We use many objects in different shapes and sizes that account for different capacities. All these make us appreciate the significance of volume in our day-to-day life.
Volume, as we know, is just ‘LengthxWidthxHeight’. But it is not easy to make young learners of 5th grade grasp it. This is where interesting activities come into the limelight, making learning entertaining and leaving a long-lasting impact. To realise more about this, you can check out this post adorned with our favourite picks for volume learning activities.
Volume learning activities- How do these add value?
There are numerous ways to know more about Volumes— the traditional way and learning through activities. When students of the 5th-grade are introduced to this topic, activities become the pick of the bunch due to many reasons; some of which are –
- These activities will make students understand the concept through the practical implications of the formulas. It becomes a tedious task to explain certain concepts to young learners through theoretical approaches
to students. When students would indulge in practical activities, they would comprehend their usage and utilization. - Indulging in activities makes the child more creative and imaginative as they brainstorm hard. Moreover, these are small activities that can be done with minimal things or even the things you can find around yourself.
- Students can improve their calculation skills by learning about Volumes and how to figure them out, which can positively impact academics. Gradually, students would start developing a love for such concepts that only benefit them in their life ahead.
- As students start implying these formulas in the form of activities, they will get more interest in learning about more subjects. By running activities regularly, students will be curious about doing similar in other subjects.
SImple volume learning activities for 5th graders
Let us have a look at a few activities that will help students have a better and clear concept of Volumes:
1. Lego Volume Test
Lego is ideally a toy for kids, but it has more than one use. From being used by architects to contractors, teachers too can make the use of legos to teach about volumes to the children.

For 5th graders, Lego means infinite possibilities. In this activity, you need many Lego bricks and a time of at least 45 minutes. This activity can be conducted solo or in a group. Build a random object through lego and apply the formula to find out the object’s volume. You can start by building a simple rectangle or square. Children can learn calculating square units. For this activity, all you require is Lego, ruler, and calculator.
2. Rectangle Mural

Starting with something straightforward— take cardboard, tell the students to draw different shapes on the cardboard. After students complete drawing the figures, they will line up to find out the volume of the shape drawn by another kid. This way, they can challenge their mind to force upon critical thinking and apply formulas whenever necessary. After this activity, a Mural can be prepared for decoration as well. This activity must be conducted in a large group of kids for better results.
3. Empty Container Volume

Again with the use of Lego, you can conduct another group activity. This activity will require an empty container, lego/Unifix cubes, calculator, and volume formula. Take an empty container— In the next step, children can fill the container with lego or Unifix cubes to figure out the volume of the object. Once the container is filled, take out the cubes to determine Length, Width, and Height. This short experiment can be done with a small group of children. Through this experiment, children can learn about how many layers are required to fill the container and what is the best way or the shortcut to determine the volume.
4. Volumes of two different objects together

Sometimes students will come across an incident where they will have to measure the volume of two different objects simultaneously. For this activity, take a hollow Cone shape object and a hollow cylindrical object. Both the objects must have the same radius. Fill the Cone with Salt till the top, pour it in the cylinder, repeat the same until the cylinder is filled and the cone is empty. This will determine how many times the cylinder is more significant than the volume of the cone. It is a simple activity with minimum things required and children gain maximum knowledge.
5. Different Volumes of Different containers

Every solid object possesses a different volume. Measuring a rectangle, square, or circle can be different, and measuring a sponge or balloon can be altogether different. In this activity, take a sponge or part of the sponge and measure its volume when dry. After this, dip the sponge into the water and let it absorb water. Take it out and measure the density of the sponge. Compare both the results and discuss them with the teacher. With this activity, students can learn about the same object having different volumes with changes in density.
Every object has its length, width, and height. Use the right tools to measure and have the calculator handy to get the result. This will sharpen the mind of the young genius and can help focus on studies. With academics, it is essential to challenge the mind now and then. Keep conducting such experiments and you can learn new concepts.
Golden rules for engaging students in activities
Be it concepts of English like fluency and phonics, or mathematical concepts like statistics— activities help profoundly with all the concepts which are otherwise a task for educators to inculcate. But, how do you make sure that these activities do not lose their essence, and children really learn while engaging in them?
Here are some golden rules to follow so that you can be assured that the activities are going to be a sure shot success!
- Making the activity meaningful and full of engagement will ensure that students perceive it the exact way you intend. To set the seal on this, you can pay more attention and use the child’s previous knowledge about the concept, which is volumes in this case. Later, you can get into more detail as you go deeper into the activity. Moreover, when activities are crafted to make a child believe that they are mimicking a real-life situation, they will get more ardent and passionate about it, which would lead to better learning.
- Being around peers generates a sense of competitiveness; thus, when an educator involves more students, each student is vying to be the first one to finish it. This not only helps the student to understand better but also faster. However, if the child is performing the activity alone, the competition can be the child himself. The educator can ask the child to finish the activity in a shorter time than before or in a better manner; this way too, a sense of competition will be the invigorating factor.
- Being supportive and open to receiving new ideas by the students can act in a much positive manner. For example, if while introducing the activity, the student points out a fun addition to the same, the teacher must find a way to integrate that suggestion in the activity. This way, the student would feel included, and this will ultimately show in their performance. Moreover, students feel valued and more enthusiastic about the activity.
- Teachers, parents and mentors should be open to helping the children in between, especially when they are stuck in between. If they are puzzled and jammed somewhere, they will somehow lose out interest, and the rest of the activity would lose its essence. This will also establish a positive educator-student relationship.
- Keep the students motivated by introducing new twists and turns in the activities. When one activity is repeated and performed regularly in the same pattern, the children can lose out interest. Moreover, new twists would keep their curiosity levels high, which will eventually help them become masters in volumes and all related concepts.
Conclusion
So, do you still think that Maths and especially Volume is not your cup of tea? After going through the various activities, you will definitely get a clear perspective as to how to really deal with your worst nightmare to date. Perform these activities at your home, school, or class, observe how other students perform the same experiment, and learn if they have a better technique. Did you find this article appealing? Give your feedback in the comment section below. Share it with people around you and help them master Volume.
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,