- Home
- Canvas Guide
Partial Progress - Circles (browser only)
Measures
Objectives
To measure liquid in cupfuls.
Resources
Abacus Workbook 3 | Empty 2-litre plastic bottle | Strip of paper | Washing-up bowl | Food colouring | Large bowl for mixing coloured water | Plastic cup | Funnel | Water jug | Four empty containers of different sizes | Lined paper | Filming device | 📄 Capacity Table
Vocabulary
capacity | cup | cupful
Today's Lesson
What to Get Ready
Glue the strip of paper to the 2-litre plastic bottle, from the bottom to near the top.
Add a few drops of food colouring to some water in a large mixing bowl to colour it.
Introduction
Note: Do not use the word litre yet with your student.
Stand the bottle in a washing-up bowl to catch any spillages. Ask your student to fill a plastic cup with coloured water and to pour it into the plastic bottle (you might need to use a funnel). They should then mark the level of the water on the strip of paper and write ‘1’.
Then ask your student to do the same again and to write ‘2’ on the paper. Repeat this until no more whole cups of water will fit (around 8).
Then empty the water out of the bottle.
Say, ‘We’ve made a measuring bottle! We can use this to find out how much water other containers can hold. We call this their capacity.’
Show your student a water jug.
Ask, ‘How many cupfuls of water do you think this might hold? Less than 5? Between 5 and 10? More than 10?’
Take your student's suggestions and then ask your student to fill the jug with water and to carefully pour the water into the empty measuring bottle.
Ask, ‘What is the capacity of this jug to the nearest cupful?’
Read this off the scale, then fill the cup and tip into the jug, repeating until it is full to confirm that this is the same number of cups.
Main Activity
Ask your student to discuss with you how many cupfuls each of four empty containers might hold and to record this in a table. Look at the 📄 Capacity Table for guidance.
They should then use their measuring bottle to measure the capacity of each container to the nearest cupful.
Workbook
To help your student to recap upon previous learning from this course, please ask them to complete the activities on page 34 of Abacus Workbook 3.