Math Is Fun Forum

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#1 2005-05-08 02:39:31

agoulding
Member
Registered: 2005-05-08
Posts: 3

Making capacity fun

can anybody suggest a fun way for children to learn the concept of capacity? I am going on teaching practice in a couple of weeks and i have to teach my year 3 class about capacity. maths isnt really my strong point but i would love to be able to help the children develop there knowledge and understanding and make maths fun for them. HELP!!!!!

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#2 2005-05-08 03:29:39

lemonade
Guest

Re: Making capacity fun

Get 30 cups and pour lemonade into them and say "These cups can all hold 20cl of lemonade," and then let the children drink it.

#3 2005-05-08 04:11:31

Roraborealis
Member
Registered: 2005-03-17
Posts: 1,594

Re: Making capacity fun

Hey, good idea, erm.....lemonade!


School is practice for the future. Practice makes perfect. But - nobody's perfect, so why practice?

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#4 2005-05-08 04:25:01

agoulding
Member
Registered: 2005-05-08
Posts: 3

Re: Making capacity fun

thanx 2 all the secret lemonade drinkers out there u shud get royaltiyes from R.Whites! sound gud but not sure how i could assess the understanding maybe i could get them all to puke in a bucket and measure that!

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#5 2005-05-08 04:53:32

Roraborealis
Member
Registered: 2005-03-17
Posts: 1,594

Re: Making capacity fun

What's very odd is that my grandad's name is Richard, and his last name is White. Whenever I see the R. White's lemonade I crack up!


School is practice for the future. Practice makes perfect. But - nobody's perfect, so why practice?

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#6 2005-05-08 10:18:05

MathsIsFun
Administrator
Registered: 2005-01-21
Posts: 7,711

Re: Making capacity fun

I have 3 ideas.

One is Piaget's capacity idea - you know - short fat holds the same as long thin. Use glasses of different widths/heights and coloured water.Get the kids to estimate before you pour. (Young kids often assume the tall will hold more - it is so funny when they stare in amazement as you keep pouring from tall to short and it doesn't overflow!) But older kids can do things like use measuring cups and  pens to mark things out.

Another idea is to have rocks, pebbles sand and water. Get a large glass container and fill it with rocks. Then add pebbles, and they fit (around the rocks - give it a shake)! Then add sand, and it fits! Then add water and it fits! You can show how this works by emptying then filling with water, then show the water spilling out when you add rocks, pebbles, sand.

My third idea: give them a challenge with one of these measuring puzzles


"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..."  - Leon M. Lederman

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#7 2005-05-09 05:23:42

stewie
Member
Registered: 2005-03-28
Posts: 820

Re: Making capacity fun

Roraborealis wrote:

What's very odd is that my grandad's name is Richard, and his last name is White. Whenever I see the R. White's lemonade I crack up!

well, i think wot u've just said explains a lot neutral

Last edited by stewie (2005-05-09 05:26:16)


HAPPY HAPPY, JOY JOY  big_smile
cool Fatboy Slim is the band of the 90s, thats if you want to call it a band because its really a one man name cool

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#8 2005-05-09 07:34:03

Roraborealis
Member
Registered: 2005-03-17
Posts: 1,594

Re: Making capacity fun

Nice.


School is practice for the future. Practice makes perfect. But - nobody's perfect, so why practice?

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#9 2005-06-07 02:03:07

mathsyperson
Guest

Re: Making capacity fun

You shouldn't give them R. Whites lemonade because it has sweeteners in it which means that they will be healthy children with perfectly white teeth and cancer.

#10 2005-06-07 04:20:10

utter_jeff
Member
Registered: 2005-06-07
Posts: 3

Re: Making capacity fun

i dont understand algerbra so plez help

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#11 2005-06-07 04:22:43

utter_jeff
Member
Registered: 2005-06-07
Posts: 3

Re: Making capacity fun

so r u gonna reply?

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#12 2005-06-07 09:58:42

MathsIsFun
Administrator
Registered: 2005-01-21
Posts: 7,711

Re: Making capacity fun

Hi, utter_jeff, and welcome to the forum.

Sure we can help! But this is a forum, where people "post" messages and then other people come along later, read the messages and then perhaps "post" a reply ... this means you may have to wait a while for a reply.

Algebra just uses letters in place of "?"

So "x+2=6" is just "?+2=6", or in plain english "what is the number that when you add 2 becomes 6"

You could probably figure the answer to be 4, right?

Well, in algebra there are rules that let you get the answer automatically.

Rule 1: You can add,subtract,multiply or divide by anything, so long as you do it to both sides of the "="

So, you can use Rule 1 to make the "x+2=6" easier to solve.

What you want is answer like "x=", and the 2 is in the way of that ... so subtract the 2, but you have do it both sides (Rule 1) !

x+2 -2 = 6 -2

A little arithmetic (2-2=0 and 6-2=4) becomes

x = 4

SOLVED!

OK, that was too simple, but you get the idea.

How am I going so far?


"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..."  - Leon M. Lederman

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#13 2005-06-08 06:30:28

Mr T
Member
Registered: 2005-03-30
Posts: 1,012

Re: Making capacity fun

Hazaa!!!


I come back stronger than a powered-up Pac-Man big_smile
I bought a large popcorn @ the cinema the other day, it was pretty big...some might even say it was "large
cool Fatboy Slim is a Legend cool

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#14 2005-06-24 04:47:58

mathsyperson
Moderator
Registered: 2005-06-22
Posts: 4,900

Re: Making capacity fun

If agoulding is still here, I've got an idea.

Me and loads of friends had a free period (thankyou A-levels!) and so we went to the nearby park.
It was very hot and so we decided to all climb a tree to get the combination of fun and shade.

Anyway, we managed to get thirteen people and a football up there at once, so you could say that the capacity of the tree was thirteen people.

A possible demonstration would be to see how many children could get up trees of different sizes. Too bad about health and safety... How about a car or a small room in the school? A phone box?


Why did the vector cross the road?
It wanted to be normal.

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#15 2005-06-24 11:05:44

MathsIsFun
Administrator
Registered: 2005-01-21
Posts: 7,711

Re: Making capacity fun

What an idea, mathsyperson. You could get some large packing boxes and see how many kids you could fit in.


"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..."  - Leon M. Lederman

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#16 2005-06-24 20:56:40

Roraborealis
Member
Registered: 2005-03-17
Posts: 1,594

Re: Making capacity fun

LOL !!!! Just the thought made me laugh!


School is practice for the future. Practice makes perfect. But - nobody's perfect, so why practice?

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#17 2005-06-24 20:59:14

justlookingforthemoment
Moderator
Registered: 2005-05-26
Posts: 2,161

Re: Making capacity fun

Once I remember the teacher brought her car along to school and we tried to fit the whole class in - there were about 25 of us, I think. And there were people in the boot too!

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#18 2005-06-24 21:03:57

Roraborealis
Member
Registered: 2005-03-17
Posts: 1,594

Re: Making capacity fun

HAHAHAHA!! The only funny thing that happened to us was when we were on a school trip (must have been about 6 years ago now) and we got a public bus, and when our teacher paid for us all there was a huge, huge long ticket.


School is practice for the future. Practice makes perfect. But - nobody's perfect, so why practice?

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#19 2005-06-26 21:33:29

Polly
Member
Registered: 2005-06-24
Posts: 221

Re: Making capacity fun

stewie wrote:
Roraborealis wrote:

What's very odd is that my grandad's name is Richard, and his last name is White. Whenever I see the R. White's lemonade I crack up!

well, i think wot u've just said explains a lot neutral

hi stweie we dont no u but me N my m8 wanna no how u got those smilies on.
p.s Im Jaz1 [ jasmin ]and my mates Polly

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#20 2005-06-26 21:35:29

Polly
Member
Registered: 2005-06-24
Posts: 221

Re: Making capacity fun

lemonade wrote:

Get 30 cups and pour lemonade into them and say "These cups can all hold 20cl of lemonade," and then let the children drink it.

Hi


Do u like maths?

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#21 2005-06-26 21:37:49

key
Member
Registered: 2005-06-26
Posts: 5

Re: Making capacity fun

no

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#22 2005-06-26 21:39:04

Polly
Member
Registered: 2005-06-24
Posts: 221

Re: Making capacity fun

hi wot shall we talk bowt

r u saying no 2 liking maths

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#23 2005-06-26 21:40:55

key
Member
Registered: 2005-06-26
Posts: 5

Re: Making capacity fun

yes i am and i don't knoww what to talk about

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#24 2005-06-26 21:43:55

Polly
Member
Registered: 2005-06-24
Posts: 221

Re: Making capacity fun

hi
i hate maths 2 r u a boy or a girl .polly.

hi im jaz 1(jasmin)

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#25 2005-06-26 21:45:20

key
Member
Registered: 2005-06-26
Posts: 5

Re: Making capacity fun

where do u live r u a girl

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