So as you guys know, we've been studying volume.
So, what is volume again?
Volume is the space within a 3-D shape.
My name's Betsy Hustler.
I am a Grade 4-5 teacher at Ross Park Primary in Alice Springs.
We're a school with a lot of different cultures
and a mixture of different students from different places.
I select and use resources that cater for
a lot of the learning needs of my class.
I've noticed that a lot of the kids can pick things up a lot easier
if they're able to build something and then visualise how it is
after it's been built.
The mathematical outcomes that I'd like to achieve in this lesson
is that children are able to work out the formula for volume.
So our scenario is that Mrs Blanchfield has asked us
to provide her with six cubic metres of balloons for the spring fair.
Alright, so how do you think that we'd work this out?
-Ruby? -We could make a cubic metre.
The resources that I've chosen will be
the group task, role cards...
I think that they're really important
to have an allocated role for the children
to make sure that there's accountability, for one,
and everyone knows that they've got something that they need to be doing
and they need to be taking ownership of.
What's your job, Nathan?
BOY: I am a leader.
You're a leader? Wow! What do leaders usually do?
After that, I'll be explaining the resources to them.
So I've provided them with some newspapers
which I'm expecting that they'll roll up to make their cubic metre.
I've given them straws. They're going to have one metre-ruler.
And there's going to be some sticky tape and some cellophane.
And they will be problem-solving together
to decide how they can construct this cubic metre
with things that aren't actually a metre long.
So it will be a challenge for them and they'll have to problem-solve
on the way.
Alright. Now we just need two more poles.
Then we can get the top roof on.
Are we making it so, like, it's a box that you can get inside of?
We will use cellophane. Write that down.
The best thing I find, having the iPads in the class,
as a teacher,
is it gives me some anecdotal evidence
to actually see afterwards...
I'm not there for all of the conversations with the children
and how they constructed their things.
So I can collect in the iPads and then I can sort of
reflect and assess based on what I've seen on there.
It's always good to assess the kids
not just on an addition algorithm or something like that.
It's the thought processes that went behind everything
rather than just the finished product.
Well, I reckon we should use the bamboo sticks,
because they would be really good for support.
We could use the four at the bottom and then use one to go to the top
so we know how high to make everything else.
The next step with me as a teacher
is using the resources that we've actually made as a classroom.
What we'll do tomorrow or maybe the next day
is we'll use our cubic metres
and we'll discuss how many cubic metres might fit in this classroom
and work it out based on my actual hands-on learning.
We know that there are how many balloons in one cubic metre,
by working out the volume?
You times 100 by 6, and that's 600.
Then times the 25 by 6,
and that's 150.
I think the kids' understanding with maths went really well today.
It wasn't just addressing the formula that we needed for volume.
It was also assessing
what materials they were going to use to make one metre,
and how they were going to use these informal tools
to actually make what they needed to make.
I feel that having really hands-on, exciting activities
really makes kids want to come to school.
Something that seems quite small for you
is a really big deal for the kids,
and they really look forward to actually doing it
and working with their friends and having a good time.