Ben Friedman

Note: The portion of the lesson adapted to integrate technology is

in blue.

Lesson Plan: Day 2 (Volume of a Pyramid)

Lesson Objectives:

Students will be able to demonstrate that the volume of a pyramid can be

approximated by finding the volume of many discs that can be stacked upon
each other to represent the pyramid. [Bloom 2, 3, 4]
Students will be able to determine the volume of pyramids in given examples.
[Bloom 3, 4, 5]

Topic Goal Alignment:

Explain volume formulas and use them to solve problems

Standards:

G.GMD.1 Students will be able to give an informal argument for the formulas
for the circumference of a circle, area of a circle, volume of a cylinder,
pyramid, and cone. [Bloom 2, 3, 4, 5]
G.GMD.1 Students will be able to use dissection arguments, Cavalieris
principle, and informal limit arguments to show the proofs for volumes of
solids. [Bloom 2, 3, 4, 5]
G.GMD.3 Students will be able to use volume formulas for cylinders,
pyramids, cones, and spheres to solve problems. [Bloom 1, 3]

Materials:

Smart Response transponders

Laptop/Computer (x 25)
Promethean Board
Projector
Objects that represent different types of pyramids, including triangular,
square and hexagonal pyramids
Access to images of pyramids in the world around us (either internet access
for each student or images on the projector to view)
Problems about pyramids
Access to Geometers Sketchpad or Geogebra, or my own design files in one
of those platforms
Google Sheet for discovery activity
Exit Tickets (x 25)

Day 2 Activities:
(1) We will begin the class by writing down the lesson objectives. (V, K)
Minute 0-2
(2) We will then have a pre-assessment (Appx. 1), if available by using
Minute 2-7
Smart Response, to determine that students remember the definition of
volume as we defined it in class the day before and the formulas for finding
the dimensions of right triangles. I will also prompt students to ask any
questions they have about either yesterdays lesson or the pre-assessment.
(3) I will ask the students in the class if they would like to share their
Minute 7-9
experiences in describing volumes to other people, as assigned in the
homework from the previous lesson.
(4) I will give a quick breakdown of what we will be doing for the day. (V, A)
Minute 9-11

This is the portion of the lesson plan adapted. The goal of

this portion is for students to discover the formula for the
volume of a pyramid through a process of discovery:
(5) We will then break into groups of three for a discovery activity. (V, A, K, T)
Minute 1123
a. The discovery activity will involve finding the volume of a square
pyramid in groups by visualizing the prism as a series of stacked discs.
(App. 2)
i. Students will first analyze the pyramid as a series of three discs
and add their volumes.
1. We will have a short discussion period about what we
have discovered.
ii. We will then go through the same process with five discs.
iii. *Differentiation* If computers are available, we can apply this
for even more discs. GT students, especially, may find this
process engaging and stimulating.
iv. We will have discussion about comparing this volume to the
volume of a prism with equal Base and height.

v. We will try to come up with a formula that will enable us to find

the volume of any pyramid. We should eventually arrive at the
formula V = 1/3 *Bh, where B is the area of the shape that the
Base of the pyramid is.

20 minute technology integration/adaptation for discovery

activity:
1) (0:00 - 0:30) We will begin by displaying a google search for
Rectangular Pyramid images on the projector. There will
be a brief introduction to our goal of discovering the
formula to find the volume of any rectangular pyramid. The
class is a 9th grade Geometry class. We started our volumes
unit the day before and learned how to find the volume of a
rectangular solid. I will emphasize that our activity is simply
a discovery activity; most of the assignment will simply be
to use the volume formula to find the volumes.
2) (0:30 4:00) We will have a quick recap of the process of
finding the volume of a rectangular solid. We will use the
link to the first Geogebra file, which contains an arbitrary
rectangular solid whose dimensions can be adapted by
means of sliders.
i. We will emphasize that the rectangular solid is our
favorite shape when it comes to volumes, as we
can easily imagine the space filled with unit cubes
(which is the standard method of measuring a
volume), and the measurement of that volume is
simply (length) x (width) x (height).
ii. There will be a Rubiks Cube and another cube that
the class will be able to pass around and look at to
understand the basics of volumes. For instance, we
can say that the volume of the Rubiks Cube is the
number of the smaller cube-pieces that make up the
Rubiks Cube, which can be found by multiplying
3x3x3 = 27.
3) (4:00 8:00) We will then open up the link to a second
Geogebra file, this time to a rectangular pyramid with
dimensions of length, width and height provided. I will ask
the students to click on the circle on the left next to Prism

so that a rectangular solid with equivalent dimensions

appears. I will allow the students to play around with the
images with and without the rectangular solid to get a feel
for what we are going to be exploring.
i. I will prompt the students to calculate the volume of
the rectangular solid with the shown dimensions. The
answer is 90. I will have the student who provides
the answer quickly explain how they determined that
volume. We will emphasize that the width and length
of the Base of the pyramid are the same as the width
and length of the rect. solid, and that the heights of
the two objects are the same as well.
ii. We will then use Kahoot! to survey students about
what fraction the pyramids volume is of the
rectangular solids. They can access Kahoot either on
its website or through a phone app. I will tell them
the access code and write it on the board. We will not
immediately discuss the results or the correct
answer, but will instead keep them in mind as we
move through the lesson (if there is time, I may ask a
couple students for reasoning behind their choices.
4) (8:00 9:30) Discussion Question (we may skip this if time
is running low): We know that the volume of any solid is the
sum of unit cubes that fit into its interior, and thats easily
calculated for a rectangular solid, but what about a solid
like a pyramid? It may be awkward to figure out what that
number of cubes is. I will open up the floor and take
suggestions for finding a handy formula that may apply
to any pyramid.
i. We should eventually arrive at some idea that we
may be able to find a close approximation of the solid
by comparing it to a close fit set of rectangular
solids. (They dont have to express that word-forword, just a general connection.) This leads into our
derivation of the formula.
5) (9:30 16:30) Formula Derivation: The students will follow
the next link to a Geogebra file, this one apparently the

same pyramid we looked at previously. However, I will

direct them to show the images of the three prisms from
the menu on the left. These will represent an approximate
model of the pyramid itself, but as three rectangular solids.
i. I will direct them to follow the link to the Volume of a
Pyramid Google Sheet, and to look at the 3-Layer
Approximation Tab. I will introduce them to the
sheet: the dimensions for that original rectangular
solid and its volume, the dimensions of each of the
three layers of our pyramid model, and where they
will input the volumes for each layer below (each
student has their own column to do so).
ii. They should work on finding the volume for each
layer and the sum of these volumes. If they need, I
will direct them to the Calculator tool in the Start
Menu. Students who find incorrect answers (these
cells turn red) can consult other students until
everyone understands the process.
iii. We will then briefly discuss our findings. We will ask,
Do you think this sum will be the exact volume of
the pyramid? (No) Is there any way we could find a
more precise volume in a similar fashion? (Yes,
increase the number of layers) If our answer is close
to correct, what do you think the correct answer to
the Kahoot! survey is? (1/3, because were getting
around 29 and the rect. solid has volume 90)
iv. Time allowing, we will repeat the same exact process
(Geogebra image, fill in table in Google Sheet) with a
6-layer model of the pyramid. We will compare our
answer to the one prior and notice that it has gotten
considerably closer to 30 (the exact volume).
6) (16:30 19:30) We will then look at the final tab on the
Google Sheet (n-Layer). We will show how this sheet can
approximate the volume of any rectangular pyramid, given
a width, length, and height, and any number of layers
between 1 and 2000. I will start by demonstrating with the
same dimensions we were using in our exploration, both

with 3 layers and 6 layers. I will then call on someone to

think of any number of layers between 1 and 2000 and
have them input that value. We will repeat this several
times until we see how the increase in the number of layers
increases the accuracy of our approximation. I will also
have students pick various values for the dimensions, to
assure them that our formula of 1/3(width)(length)(height)
will work for any pyramid.
7) (19:30 20:00) We will have a follow-up summary about
how this is a neat way to take an unfamiliar object and
break it into objects that we are more familiar with to find a
formula for its volume. We notice the pattern that is
followed as we increase the number of layers and this
enables us to make a conclusion about any rectangular
pyramid. Math does not preclude being incorrect or making
guesses, it merely asks that we use the patterns that we
see in our guesses in a logical fashion.
(6) We will then work on several problems as a class. (V, A, K)
Minute 2343
a. I will first go through one problem, taking suggestions from students
about how to proceed. I will then go through two or three more
examples, as time allows, first allowing the students to solve the
problems individually, then coming back and discussing the solutions
as a class. On the Volume of Rectangular Pyramids handout, we will
focus on problems 1, 4, and 8. (App. 3)
b. If every student has access to Sketchpad or Geogebra, we will spend
some of this time looking at a file that I have created that has a couple
different pyramids and looks at their volumes. Students will be able to
manipulate the file and discover how it changes the values of the
surface area and the volume.
i. *Differentiation* The ELL student and the struggling readers
will likely find this file very helpful to aid understanding, as it is
very visually oriented and does not require usage of vocabulary
to understand the concepts. I will encourage these students to
express their discoveries as I go around the class looking at
their work, and slowly incorporate the technical vocabulary as
the lessons and unit progress.
c. As a formative assessment, I will have students show me their
individual work from class so I can quickly scan it over and evaluate
what level of understanding students are maintaining.

(7) Formative Assessment - Exit Ticket:

50

Minute 43-

Find the volume of a regular hexagonal pyramid whose base edge is 4 and whose
lateral edge is 10. I will emphasize that students show the process of how they are
reaching the solution, and we will go over this on Day 3. (App. 4)