In previous lessons, students used the structure of a rectangular prism, namely layers, to find its volume. In this lesson, students describe the number of layers and the number of cubes in each layer in terms of the length, the width, and the height of the prism (MP6). Students choose a base for the prism and recognize that the number of cubes in each layer is the product of the length and the width of the chosen base. They also recognize that the height that corresponds with the chosen base represents the number of layers in the prism. They connect this relationship to the product of the length, the width, and the height of a prism. With this understanding of how to find the volume of a rectangular prism, students do not always need to see the individual cubes that make up the prism. The poster from a previous lesson that displays language students used while building and describing prisms will be revised in this Lesson Synthesis to include the terms “length,” “width,” “height,” and “area of a base.”

Math Community
Tell students they will have a chance to revise their math-community ideas at the end of this lesson. As they work today, students should think about norms that may be missing from the current list.

As students worked in their small groups today, whose ideas were heard, valued, and accepted? How can you adjust the group structure tomorrow to ensure each student’s ideas are a part of the collective learning?