Volume discovery lesson using kinetic sand - cylinders, cones, prisms and pyramids

This year I am tutoring kids to pass our state math and biology tests. Here in Massachusetts, the MCAS has been in place since 1993 and a graduation requirement for around 20 years. 

In November 2024, the graduation requirement was repealed, and districts are currently putting new competency standards in place. Most of my students are still coming to tutoring, and now we're allowed to have a bit more fun than just practicing on old MCAS exams. Students will still take the MCAS, it just won't prevent them from getting a diploma anymore.

The MCAS allows students a reference sheet of formulas. As is often the case, the fractions in the volume formulas can be confusing, so we did a discovery lesson. I've seen volume discovery lessons, so what we did was nothing new, but it worked so well that I wanted to share with you in case your students also struggle with the 1/3 in the pyramid and cone formulas.

Needed for this lesson: a bag of kinetic sand and a box of fillable plastic 3D shapes. I got both on Amazon. The lesson plan with worksheets for follow up is a free download here.

I wrote the volume formulas for cylinder, cone, prism and pyramid on the board, along a couple questions: 

• How many cones fit into a cylinder?
• How many pyramids fit into a prism?

We used the cube as a prism because it has the same base and height as the pyramid. The cone and cylinder have the same dimensions.

Next comes the fun part. Students fill the cone with sand and transfer the sand to the cylinder to find that 3 cones fill up a cylinder. They did the same for pyramid and prism (cube).

follow up worksheets

We go back to the questions written on the board and students can easily answer them. We then discuss how we can go from the prism/cylinder formulas to the pyramid/cone formulas with division, and that dividing by 3 is the same as multiplying by 1/3. Then students complete a couple follow up worksheets. Wouldn't it be great if the formulas used division instead fractions?

Free volume discovery lesson plan and worksheets

You can get the free, editable lesson plan and worksheets here.

More posts:

Math Word Walls

Digital Math Escape Rooms

Teaching Volume and Surface Area with Interactive Materials

Free math resource library

New Year 2025 Algebra Review Coloring Activities

In this post are two algebra review coloring activities (and one for 8th grade math) for after winter break. They can be used to refresh skills or as midterm review. The first one is a PDF coloring activity, and the second is editable, based on Facebook feedback for an editable algebra review activity.

Ease back into algebra this new year with a 2025 coloring worksheet that reviews important algebra skills. The worksheet has 15 problems covering: 

• Solving equations 
• Calculating slope 
• Exponent rules 
• Integer addition and subtraction 
• Solving systems of equations with substitution 
• Converting from standard form to slope-intercept form 

Students solve each problem then color their 2025 based on the key. There are 15 questions on the coloring sheet. Includes answer key.

New Year 2025 Algebra Review Coloring Activity

You can find this activity here.

"Is it editable?"

The above activity isn't. However, since different states cover different topics in different orders each semester, I wanted to make an algebra 1 review activity that is editable.

Editable New Year 2025 Algebra Midterm Review

Today I finished this Editable New Year 2025 Algebra 1 Midterm Review Activity that comes with 2 worksheets and a 2025 coloring sheet. Topics covered in this algebra review activity include:

• Multiplying binomials 
• Factoring quadratic trinomials 
• Finding parallel and perpendicular lines through given points
• Calculating slope and y-intercept from a table 
• Converting standard form equations to slope-intercept form 
• Identifying domain and range of graphs

This activity is editable in PowerPoint and includes 20 questions. Students answer the questions on their worksheets, then color their 2025 based on the key. An answer key is included.

More math review coloring activities:

Editable new year 8th grade math review and coloring activity

 

Editable new year 7th grade math review and coloring activity

I hope that you have a very happy New Year!

Happy New Year 2025!

More posts:

Math Word Walls

Digital Math Escape Rooms

Math Word Wall Photos Shared By Teachers

New Consumer Math Curriculum Map

"Does the consumer math curriculum include a curriculum map?"

I'm so sorry, but it doesn't.

It does!

I'm so excited to be able to share with you that the Scaffolded Consumer Math Curriculum now includes a curriculum map. You can preview the full curriculum map here. The version included with the curriculum is an editable Google Sheet.

This was something that should have been included right from the start, and I have been kicking myself for never having built a curriculum map while writing the curriculum. A couple months ago, I found a super organized, awesome, 22-year veteran teacher who was willing to take on the job, and I am SO HAPPY to now be able to say the curriculum does include a curriculum map.

Overview of the curriculum map:

The curriculum map has 2 tabs for each of the 18 curriculum units. One tab is in color and the other tab is in black & white, in case you'd prefer printing. 

The very first tab is an overview of the curriculum. From there, each tab is a detailed breakdown of what is included in each unit.

The curriculum map is an editable Google Sheet. You can download it as a Excel spreadsheet, if you prefer.

You can find the Scaffolded Consumer Math Curriculum here on my blog and here on my website for download.

The Scaffolded Consumer Math Curriculum is a printable high school math curriculum written especially for teens with mild to moderate learning disabilities. While the curriculum covers all topics all teens are interested in learning -- budgets, taxes, credit score, insurance, etc. -- it's written in a way that is approachable for students who have difficulty reading. My focus was to write a personal financial literacy curriculum that feels age-appropriate to older teens while making the material easy to understand.

BROWSE ALL CONSUMER MATH

Why does my Google Form say publish instead of send?

It looks like Google Forms is rolling out an update where Send is replaced by Publish. Once the rollout is complete, I will be updating every digital math escape room's PDF directions with this new information about publishing Google Forms instead of sending them.

In the meantime, I wanted to write a simple set of directions explaining how to navigate this new publish button that replaced the send button in Google Forms. Now instead of sending students a Google Form's link, the Form gets published and the link is shared with students. There's a cheat sheet here in my Google Drive if you'd like to print the directions.

First, open the Google Form and click the purple Publish button in the top right corner.

Next, click Manage.

Under Responder view, choose "anyone with the link".

Click Done, then click Publish.

Next, click the Published button at the top right.

Lastly, click Copy responder link. Make sure Accepting responses is clicked on.

This is the Google Forms link to share with students. Students who complete the Google Form will show up in the Responses tab.

Do your Google Forms have the publish button yet or do they still have the send button?

Middle School Thanksgiving Math Activities

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday to relax and eat delicious food with loved ones. Around here, it's the first time during the school year that we get multiple days off, so we're extra thankful for the extra downtime. In this post, I want to share with you some fun Thanksgiving-themed math activities that will keep students motivated while practicing their skills, perfect for both classroom and home learning leading up to the Thanksgiving break. 

Thanksgiving puzzles digital math escape room

First up is a new Thanksgiving puzzles digital math escape room, where students solve for the values of Thanksgiving pictures. The digital version is no-prep in Google Forms, and is answer-validated so that it collects student work for you. The activity also comes in PDF printable form.

Students solve for each picture, then type their 4-letter code to move to the next puzzle. They can only move to the next puzzle if their code is correct. I added a graphic organizer to the activity to help students keep track of each picture's value as they find it.

Fun Fall Math Pennants - Engaging Math Activities for Halloween and Thanksgiving Classroom Decoration

In this post are a bunch of fun fall math activities perfect for Halloween and Thanksgiving! Each math pennant activity allows students to create festive classroom décor while reinforcing their math skills. Transform your classroom with these fun, interactive projects that celebrate the season! 

High School Consumer Math Budget Project

Over the past few weeks, I have been working on a budget project where students mix and match a career, apartment, car and habit to see if their spending falls within given budget guidelines. Will students stay within budget with their choices?

Students pick a career (6 choices), a car (4 choices), a home (4 choices) and a habit (6 choices), and calculate their net monthly income using the 70% approximation. 

Why use 70% to estimate net income? This is an approximation of net income from gross income that we learn in consumer math when all deductions are not known. It's a helpful estimation when deciding to accept a job offer, if car payments will fall within transportation budget, or if an apartment is affordable. It's also a nice workaround to estimate net monthly income for those 2 vs. 3 paycheck months when paid biweekly, or those 4 vs 5 paycheck months when paid weekly.

After choosing their 4 cards, students walk through their 7-page answer packets calculating costs and analyzing budgets. Will they be in budget in each category or over?

There are 576 possible career/home/car/habit combinations! I included 2 sample answer keys-- one for a budget-friendly lifestyle and one for the most expensive lifestyle. Which will your students choose?

I made this project for high school students who are taking a consumer math class. It has also been added to the consumer math curriculum into the budget folder. A few teachers have mentioned having looked it over and that they felt it would also work for middle school students. The math is all based on percentages, so if your students have already learned how to calculate percentages, the project should work for them, even if they are not yet in high school.

Budget Project

Browse all Consumer Math

Recent Math Vocabulary Word Wall Feedback

While replying to feedback on TPT recently, I was struck by a few math word wall reviews and wanted to share them with you: 

“This package was FANTASTIC! My only regret is that I don't have more wall space! My walls have become a resource for my students. And we know that students' visual memories of these important math concepts each time they look up and view them! The resources were very clear - great font. Absolutely love this resource!” 

– Michelle A, Grades 6-9 {MIDDLE SCHOOL and ALGEBRA} Math Word Wall Bundle 

“This is such a great resource! My students loved being able to reference things using this awesome word wall! Highly recommend!” 

– Cajun Kinder Queen, 5th Grade Math Word Wall 

“This is so beautifully created. It makes the math learning wall more clear. Thank you.” 

– Vivian T, Grades 2-5 Math Word Wall Bundle 

“Great visuals which really helped students remember and understand vocabulary.” 

– Hillary H, 7th Grade Math Word Wall 

“Absolutely fantastic - clear, and readable text that students readily refer to!” 

– Carolyn P, Grades 2-5 Math Word Wall Bundle 

“My students and I love this resource. It stays up year round with my other anchor charts for the students to reference. This is highly recommended if you teach a financial literacy class.” 

– Patty P, Financial Literacy Word Wall

"What a clean presentation to hang up in a classroom. I absolutely love this resource, it is just what I was looking for in my middle school math room." 

– Sharon L., 6th Grade Math Word Wall

"This is the best thing since sliced bread! I am on such a non-existing budget this year. This allowed me to make a magnificent Word Wall for my Algebra I students efficiently and effectively. It printed very easily and students can easily refer back to it as needed. It has all the topics of conversation we have had/are having/and will have throughout the semester. I love the various options to print in color or black and white and I LOVE the virtual Word Wall feature. This allowed me to post it to my Google Classroom for my students to refer back to if they are either not here or just prefer computer learning. I like being able to offer them both options. I also have the Financial Literacy Word Wall and love it just as much." 

– Brittney A., Algebra Word Wall

You can find math word walls for 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade, algebra, geometry and algebra 2 on TPT here:

BROWSE MATH WORD WALLS

Each comes in printable color, printable black & white, interactive digital in Google Slides and includes Spanish vocabulary.