Lets Learn About Capacity Focus Area 2

ESH 320 Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics
Kiara Davis
AT1 Diagnostic assessment and Unit Plan
Mathematics Unit Plan Template

Title/topic of unit:
Year level/Class:
Duration (lessons):
Lets Learn About Capacity!
5 x 30 minute lessons
Unit overview:
-
Prerequisite knowledge:
Students are introduced to the concept of capacity.

Students are presented with a range of ways to measure different
capacities.
They learn and use informal language and compare and order objects
according to capacity.
Specific objective/s:
Students should have been exposed to full/empty and holds

more/less concepts. Given the diagnostic assessment outcome they
may require more scaffolding on the holds/more and less concepts;
this is included in the unit plan.
Australian Curriculum content and proficiencies:

This unit will lead to development of aspects of:
At the completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify from observing two containers which holds more and which
holds less (problem solving).
2. Uses known strategies to ascertain the capacities of different informal
containers (problem solving)
3. Order a range of informal containers with regards to capacity such as
holds most to holds least or holds least to holds most (problem
solving).
4. Can explain using everyday language reasoning behind decision making
when ordering (reasoning).
Compare and order several shapes and objects based on length, area,
volume and capacity using appropriate uniform informal units
(ACMMG037) (ACARA, 2015).
Problem solving
- Sequence containers according to capacity
- Use strategies to discover and compare capacities of containers.
Reasoning:
- Explaining/justifying reasoning using informal language behind
decisions made
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Kiara Davis
Resources required:
Key Vocabulary:
Containers many varieties/sizes

Unifix cubes
Dry beans
Interactive whiteboard with internet access
Student workbooks
Pencils
Worksheet Jumpy is Thirsty! (Appendix A)
Worksheet Ordering Containers: Holds Most to Holds Least (Appendix
B)
Large images of items filled to different levels
Capacity
More
Less
Holds Least/Most
Wider fatter
Thin skinnier
Lesson Plans
Lesson 1: Learning activity/ies (LA), Key Concepts (KC), Focus Justification and Theoretical Links
Questions (FQ), Teacher Explanations (TE) and Formative Assessment
(FA), Discussion (D)
TE: Define the word capacity in simple informal terms on board.
ie: The amount that a container can hold
Discuss.
Identifying and understanding the attribute. In order to start the students on an

effective path towards measuring capacity they must first be introduced to the
new concepts, skills and language, as some concepts to be measured may not
yet form a part of the students conscious (Booker et al., 2010, p. 472)
LA: Watch Will an Elephant fit in a Bathtub? (http://www.pdflibrary.org)
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Kiara Davis
Figure 1: Example pages from the Will an Elephant fit in a Bathtub?

While viewing discuss the items listed for each task and why one is more
suitable than the other.
KC: Students should quickly provide the correct answers. Aim to discuss the
why of their answers and have them explain their reasoning.
LA: students draw something that holds more than and less than
- A cup
- A swimming pool
- Their water bottle
Make it easier and more difficult as required with different items.
Class share and discuss their pictures.
FA:
Questioning and active observation
Assessment checklist/notes utilised here (Appendix C).
Collect work samples
According to the Framework for Engagement with Mathematics provided by

Attard (2012) effective student engagement occurs when questioning and
activities can be linked and applied to students lives.
Planned and explicit formative assessment strategies are used throughout the
unit plan provided. These include observation, questioning, anecdotal notes, a
checklist and the collection of work samples. Using a variety of assessment
techniques provides opportunities for all students with individual abilities and
learning differences to demonstrate their levels of understanding (Bobis,
Lowrie & Mulligan, 2013).
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Kiara Davis
Lesson 2: Learning activity/ies (LA), Key Concepts (KC), Focus Questions Justification and Theoretical Links
(FQ), Teacher Explanations (TE) and Formative Assessment (FA),
Discussion (D):
LA: Each child in the class is given a different container.
This lesson and the previous aims to establish simple knowledge of language
and the basic concept of capacity. The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics
(ACARA, 2015) explains that before year two students should be able to use
suitable language that is associated with measurement such as holds more
There four of the same sized cup (to make the lesson more expedient) and a big and holds less.
bucket of sand.
They must all measure how many cups of sand will fit in their container. Visual representations provide new layers to understanding allowing students
Teacher records the amount for each students container on the board next to to communicate mathematical ideas to themselves and others (Siemon et al.,
their name.
2011)
Class discusses how they can find out, from looking at the information, who
has the container that holds the most and whose container holds the least?
Teacher and class order the information from most to least
Containers are ordered respectively.
Continued awareness development and adopting new language associated with

the attribute (Siemon, et al., 2011).
FA: Class Share.

Teacher asks questions.
Assessment checklist utilised here for understanding (Appendix C).
Discussion (D):
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D: Show a picture of a dog.

- Jumpy the dog is very, very thirsty and needs a big drink. Which
container do you think would be better for him to drink out of? Show
two containers- small and large. Discuss.
This lesson aims to move forward from learning language and demonstrating
that understanding to high quality inquiry where students can build on
knowledge to construct and make sense of the concepts involved. This type of
LA: Show bowls of similar capacity. One is taller but holds less as the other is teaching progression is highly appraised by Booker et al. (2010) who explains
that through this type of enquiry students can construct knowledge that is
wider but shorter.
personal and owned. They have control over their learning experiences and are
allowed to experiment with their own strategies.
FQ: How can we find out for sure which container holds the most water for
Jumpy?
Simple, problem-based lesson with planned content and task decisions. More
LA: Give each group the same similar bowls, a bowl of water and a small cup. than one way to approach the task in order to achieve an outcome. Real
They must figure out a strategy to work out which bowl holds more.
learning can be achieved when there is some new ideas and challenge (Van de
Walle & Lovin, 2006).
FA: Teacher floats, asks questions/scaffolds, focusses activity and helps
students measure when required. Students record their answers/findings on Vale (2003) explains that probing and thinking questions stimulate deeper
their worksheet (Appendix A).
thinking and move away from the typical initiation-response-feedback pattern
- Why did you choose that way?
(as cited in Booker et al., 2011).
- Do you think there is another way to find out?
- How do you know that is correct?
Note: Activities throughout lessons 4 and 5 have been adapted from First Steps in Mathematics: Measurement (Department of Education Western Australia,
2013).
Discussion (D):
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Kiara Davis
Notes: Teachers set up work stations. Each station has four different containers Continued developmental progression is advocated during this lesson.
of varying height and width, a large pile of unfix cubes and four worksheets Teachers use information gathered from previous lessons to tailor instruction
(Appendix B).
to the students knowledge and understandings (Institute of Education
Sciences, 2014). Students can use their new knowledge from previous lessons
to predict, collect and record information and decipher answers.
Use terminology throughout lesson.
TE: Teacher models activity.
Ask questions and discuss. Teacher shows students how to correctly measure
and count the containers capacity with unifix cubes. Students help the teacher
order the example containers from holds most to least and discuss.
LA: Move to stations and conduct same experiment in groups. Each group of
four students must draw their predictions on their worksheet first.
Modelling is an effective type of metacognitive learning, significantly

important as it helps develop conceptual understanding in action. Modelling
can be the prefix to making connections between aspects of mathematics and
students own lives (Siemon et al., 2011).
Students can develop further understanding using non-standard units

and manipulatives to make direct comparisons (Siemon et al., 2011).
FA: Class share time. Which groups predicted correctly and which did not.
- Whydidtheygetitright/wrong?
-
Whatcouldtheydodifferently?
(FQ), Teacher Explanations (TE), Formative Assessment (FA), Discussion
(D) and Summative Assessment (SA):
KC/FA: Play the interactive online game Which Holds Most?
(http://abc.net.au) on the interactive white board. This game gives the teacher a Virtual manipulatives that give many different visual representations of the
chance to gather the students understanding of the concepts of holds same concept which help students to build complex and richer mathematical
least/holds most. Some students may need more than one turn teacher understandings (Siemon et al., 2011).
discretion.
- Which of these two containers holds less/the least or more/the most, change
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the terminology around to ensure the students know all of it not just one or two
words.
Figure 2: Example of Which Holds Most? Online game.

LA: The middle of the room has:
- Manydifferentcontainers
-
Largebowlsofdrybeanswithcups.
Students choose a container and three people to work with. Teacher explains
that they are to do a similar task to the last lesson (model if required).
Predicting who has the container that holds the least to the most and then
testing them.
Teacher says switch! when required, children choose three different people to
work with and repeat the process with different containers.
Predictions and results are drawn in students own workbooks.
FA: Record results in checklist (Appendix C).
Working in different groups, students have the opportunity to construct

knowledge socially by interacting, discussing/sharing ideas (Siemon et al,
2011). Multiple means of constructing knowledge also provides differentiation
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Kiara Davis
Collect work Samples.

Questioning/observation/anecdotal notes.
(Bobis, Lowrie & Mulligan, 2013).

Providing meaningful focused practice to acquire fluency with a mathematical
concept (Reys et al., 2012).
Potential Misconceptions
Justification and Theoretical Links
Confuse the fullness of a container with capacity - difficulty understanding These misconceptions can be caused by the underdevelopment of Piagets
that the liquid within a container does not have an effect on the physical measurement operations conservation and transivity. Conservation is the
capacity of a container.
ability to understand a concept while ignoring irrelevant distractors. Transivity
is measuring two objects or properties with the same instrument and deducing
conclusions about the relationship of those two objects (Barmby, Bilsborough,
Attribute height to capacity - believe that taller containers can contain more Harries, & Higgins, 2009).
than shorter containers because of the visual impression.
Differentiation
The following are suggestions of how one might differentiate tasks or lessons.
These are dependent on the teachers detailed knowledge of how their students
work and achieve.
Teacher allocated groups or pairs ensure mixed abilities which can in turn
support lower learners. Teacher may need to group lower learners together and
Designed to enable and allow access to all levels of learner. This type of
scaffold steps more clearly for them while the others work.
process differentiation allows for different entry and exit points to learning.
This enables opportunities for lower learners to achieve the intended outcome
High achievers can be extended throughout the unit by labelling their and extends learning for high achievers (Department of Education Tasmania,
worksheets and taking part in the same activities with more challenging 2014).
containers such as those much closer in capacity. High achievers might be
asked to explain their reasoning and predictions in more detail and draw more
than one representation on worksheets.
Across the unit, students are given many opportunities to show and express
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Kiara Davis
their understandings - orally, with hands on tasks and written worksheets.
Product differentiation. Students have multiple opportunities to demonstrate

their learning by their preferred means across different fields of
communication. (Department of Education Tasmania, 2014).
Summative Assessment Task Overview:
SA: For summative task teacher has similar containers to the ones shown in
Figure 3 from original diagnostic assessment.
The assessment tasks throughout are outcome-based and final judged skills
and knowledge are presented against objectives on a rubric describing the
typical level of understanding.
This provides an assessment method that is fair to all students as they have all
had ample opportunity during the unit to show their understanding through a
multitude of differentiated tasks (Bobis, Lowrie & Mulligan, 2013).
Figure 3: Example of the types of containers that might be used.

- Teacher asks the student to order the containers from the one that they think
holds the most to the one that they think holds the least or vice versa.
- Student is asked to explain why they think their reasoning is correct
Final results recorded on an individual student rubric from all data gathered
(Appendix D).
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Attachments
Appendix A: Jumpy Is Thirsty - Worksheet

Appendix B: Ordering Containers - Worksheet
Appendix C: Formative Assessment Checklist to be used throughout first two lessons
Appendix D: Rubric for final assessment of overall understanding
Appendix E: Envisaged Student Response for Summative Assessment Task
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ESH 320 Pedagogical Content Knowledge

for Teaching Mathematics
Kiara Davis
References
Attard, C. (2012). APPLYING A FRAMEWORK FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH

MATHEMATICS IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM. Australian Primary Mathematics
Classroom, 17(4), 22-27. Retrieved from
http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
vid=5&sid=e8a9b8be-160e-4089-9c21-641bf0242215%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4202
ACARA. (2015). The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics version 7.3. Retrieved from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/mathematics/curriculum/f-10?layout=1
Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace. (2009).

Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.
Retrieved from
https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_ear
ly_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf
Barmby, P., Bilsborough, L., Harries, T., & Higgins, S. J. (2009). Primary Mathematics.
[electronic resource]: Teaching for Understanding. Maidenhead : McGraw-Hill Education
Sept. 2009 Blacklick : McGraw-Hill Companies, The [Distributor]. Retrived from
http://reader.eblib.com.au.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/(S(lytcebzhicysikwyyurirdut) )/Reader.aspx?
p=480596&o=170&u=rqFNYEtMtFl7WjGUwwUcVQ%3d
%3d&t=1429951172&h=06F94D7A23155CC1CDAE22E418C6C8E47C13B188&s=187113
45&ut=554&pg=1&r=img&c=-1&pat=n&cms=-1&sd=1#
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Bobis, J., Lowrie, T. , Mulligan, J. [2013], Chapter 11. Linking assessment and pedagogy. In
Bobis, Janette Maree, Mulligan, Joanne Therese, Lowrie, Tom: Mathematics for children :
challenging children to think mathematically, Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW
Booker, G., Bond, D., Sparrow, L., & Swan, P. (2010). Teaching Primary Mathematics (4th
ed.). Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson Australia.
Department of Education Tasmania. (2014). Good Teaching: Differentiated Classroom Practice Learning for All.
Retrieved from https://mylo.utas.edu.au/content/enforced/82260-
AW_EED_15S1_6773/General%20Information/Good-Teaching-Differentiated-ClassroomPractice-Learning-for-All.pdf?
_&d2lSessionVal=x0pfKEMqZizBHTAQpiPaXYtcx&ou=82260
Department of Education Western Australia. (2013). First Steps in Mathematics:

Measurement book 1. Retrieved from
http://det.wa.edu.au/stepsresources/detcms/navigation/first-steps-mathematics/
Reys, R. 2012, Chapter 3. Planning and Teaching (in) Reys, Robert E: Helping children learn
mathematics, John Wiley and Son Australia, Milton, Qld. Retrieved from https://elibraryutas-edu-au.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/utas/file/96db926a-c786-431f-80d313129cd66ab3/1/esh320-9781742168234-ch3.pdf
Siemon, D., Beswick, K., Brady, K., Clark, J., Faragher, R., & Warren, E. (2011). Teaching
mathematics: Foundations to middle years. South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press
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Will an Elephant Fit in the Bathtub? (2015, January 11) Retrieved from
http://www.pdflibrary.org/pdf/download-will-an-elephant-fit-in-a-bathtub.html
Van de Walle, J.A, & Lovin, L.H. (2006). Foundations of student-centred instruction. In
Teaching Student-Centred Mathematics: Grades 3-5 (Vol 2). Boston, MA: Pearson Education
Inc.
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Appendix A
Worksheet Jumpy is Thirsty.
Jumpy is Thirsty!
The blue bowl is __________ than the red bowl.
The red bowl is much _____________ than the blue bowl.
The blue bowl holds __________ than the red bowl.
Jumpy should use the
_________________ bowl because it
holds ________ than the
______________ coloured bowl.
For lower learners - words to cut out and stick in :
red
more
blue
shorter
fatter
wider
taller
less
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Kiara Davis
Appendix B
Worksheet Ordering Containers: Holds Most to Holds Least.
Ordering Containers
Holds Most to Holds Least
I Predict:
Holds Most
Holds least
How many Unifix cubes do the containers hold?

_______ cubes
_______ cubes
_______ cubes
_______ cubes
Was I right?
YES
NO
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Appendix C
Assessment checklist for lesson one, two and five to check students understanding and
progress.
Lesson Two:
Understands
and can
demonstrate
and/or
articulate
meanings of
learned
terminology
more than, less
than, more, less
Lesson Five:
Can correctly
identify
containers
that hold
more, less,
least and most
Notes
Alana
Mark
Mia
Amanda
Insert students
name here
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Needs more
scaffolding
on

Kiara Davis
Appendix D
Rubric example for final assessment of overall understanding throughout unit.
Identify from
observing two
containers
which holds
more and
which holds
less.
Uses known
strategies to
ascertain the
capacities of
different
informal
containers
Orders a
range of
informal
containers
with regards
to capacity
Beginning
Can regularly
determine which
of two
containers holds
more or holds
less.
Cannot explain
why.
Teacher
prompting
sometimes
necessary.
Needs teacher
assistance to
carry out
strategies and
come to correct
conclusion.
Shows
understanding
when aided.
Sometimes
orders
containers
correctly with
regards to
capacity.
Still possible
misconceptions
demonstrated.
Can explain
using
everyday
language
reasoning
behind
More teaching
required.
Can explain
basic principles
of learned
informal
terminology.
Consolidating
Can consistently
identify which of
two containers
holds more or
holds less.
Provides limited
explanation
using learned
terminology.
Little or no
teacher
prompting.
Mostly
independently
uses one or
more strategy to
correctly
determine
conclusion.
Regularly orders
containers
correctly with
regards to
capacity.
Normally selfcorrects
Articulates
acceptably
using learned
informal
terminology the
reasons for
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Proficient
Consistently and
independently
identifies which
of two
containers holds
more or holds
less.
Provides reasons
for choices
using learned
terminology.
Independently
uses more than
one strategy to
correctly
determine
conclusion.
Consistently
orders
containers
correctly with
regard to
capacity.
Always selfcorrects
Articulates and
justifies
accurately using
learned informal
terminology the
reasons for

Kiara Davis
decision
making when
ordering
Unrelated to
orders chosen.
decision making.
Thought process Thought process
unclear.
mostly clear.
Appendix E
Envisaged correct student response to final summative task.
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orders chosen.
Thought process
clear.

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ESH 320 Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics

AT1 Diagnostic assessment and Unit Plan

Mathematics Unit Plan Template