Teaching Volume “The Crown of Syracuse”

In grade 5 the students in NS are introduced to the concepts of volume and capacity in math. Volume can be a tricky thing to teach as student will often confuse it with mass. Even as a teacher I needed to look at several resources to remind myself of the concept and principles.

In addition to book work and work sheets I decided I wanted to tell the students about Archimedes. For those who do not know, Archimedes was the philosopher credited with the concept of volume. I searched for a unique video or book to share this story when I stumbled upon a student made video. The video was done with lego which peeked the interest of my students instantly!





My students watched this video and loved it. They grasped the concept quickly, and we followed it up with this worksheet I created:

1. Why does the king think there is nothing wrong with his crown?___________________________________________________________

2.What does Archimedes suggest? _____________________________________________________________

3. Where is Archimedes when he comes up with his idea to solve the problem?____________________________________________________________

4. What does Archimedes explain about silver and gold?_________________________________________________________

5. How does he decide to determine the volume of the crown?____________________________________________________________

6. How does he test his theory?_______________________________________________________

7. What happens?_____________________________________________________________


Please feel free to print and use this worksheet with this video.

The students got nearly all of the questions right on the first try. We then followed up with a class discussion about volume and how we could apply it to other situations in modern day.

In a follow up math class the students were given the opprotunity to measure the volume of like weighted and like shaped objects using Archimedes method. They graphed their predictions and results and were quite surprised through the process.

This is an example of a hands on and engaging way to teach a math lesson. I could have stuck with a boring old book approach where I wouldn't be sure right away who grasped which concept, but instead we watched a video clip and did an experiment. The students haven't stopped making real world connections since!

Youtube can be such a great tool in the classroom. Just always keep in mind that you should be approved for using it (schools will vary), you've watched the entire clip, you have it loaded beforehand, there's nothing offensive in the side bars or comments, and that you are indeed legally allowed to show the clip.
8. What else could we test this way? How?_____________________________________________________________