Real Life Surface Area and Volume Calculations: 6th Grade Math

Here's a fun and engaging lesson that helps students apply the geometry skills they are learning in the classroom to a real world mathematical situation: painting a doghouse.

It is designed to address the Common Core State Standards 6.G.A.2 and 6.G.A.4: Finding volume and surface area and drawing nets.

Students will:

Determine how many faces there are on a compound three dimensional shape (including a rectangular prism & a triangular prism).

Sketch the faces/create a net on the grid provided (one face includes a fractional length of ½ inch).

Use a table to help calculate the surface area of all of the faces.

Calculate the volume of this compound shape using a table to organize the information.

Answer the provided discussion questions. These are provided to get students thinking about the concepts of geometry and include the questions:

• Explain why you didn’t calculate the area of the base of the doghouse.

• If each container of paint covers 200 inches², how many containers should you buy?

• Why would it be useful to know the volume of the doghouse?

Students are also asked about the formulae for volume of a rectangular prism and triangular prism.

Grades to Use With: This lesson is designed to target Common Core State Standards for 6th grade geometry. It could also be used for enrichment in 5th grade, review in 7th or 8th grades, or in a high school special education classroom.

What's Included:

6 Page PDF

Title Page

Grid for Drawing Nets

Extra Grid Paper

Tables for Calculating Surface Area and Volume

Discussion Questions

Complete Answer Key

If you enjoy this geometry activity, check out others in my store:

Geometry Project: Park Design: Area, Perimeter, and Volume with Budgeting

Middle School Math Stations or Centers: Triangles, Angles, Area

Middle School Math Stations or Centers: Area, Perimeter, and Volume

Relationship Between Area and Perimeter: Math Inquiry Prompt