5.M.4 & 5.M.5 RTI Lessons

Misconceptions and errors may result if students don’t understand how finding the volume of a prism using unit cubes relates to finding the volume of a prism using its dimensions. Errors may also result if students: • add the dimensions, instead of multiplying.

• incorrectly find the number of unit cubes per layer.
• think that two rectangular prisms that have two dimensions the same must have the same volume.
• use subtraction instead of division to find the length of a missing dimension.

Two Grade Levels Below

Students may be having difficulty with the skills and concepts related to measurement and may struggle with understanding visual representations and the mechanics of finding area. Challenges with solving real-world and mathematical problems using multiplication to find the area of rectangles often relate to a need for tiling and counting activities to help students solidify their ability to visualize area as a number of square units before they begin to multiply to find area. Math terms related to the essential concept at this level include area and square unit. These students will benefit from additional instruction and practice with:

• tiling rectangles with unit squares.
• counting the unit squares that fill a rectangle without gaps or overlaps.
• drawing rectangles as a number of square units.
• participating in discussion of area concepts, using area vocabulary.

One Grade Level Below

Students may be having difficulty with the skills and concepts related to measurement and may struggle with understanding visual representations and related vocabulary. Challenges with finding volume often relate to not understanding the relationship between area and volume, or between multiplication and counting the number of equally-sized squares needed to tile a two-dimensional figure. Students are also likely to need to develop fluency with basic multiplication facts. Math terms related to the essential concept at this level include formula, perimeter, and area. These students will benefit from additional instruction and practice with:

• drawing diagrams to solve problems involving the area of rectangles and explaining how the diagrams represent the problem.
• writing equations and using the formula for area to solve area problems.
• daily review with basic multiplication facts.

Review the questions students missed on the assessment. This will help you find the misconceptions they have and specifics on their weaknesses, which may help guide your RTI teaching. The video below will show you how to find their test results and access the test questions.

These are the recommended lessons, in order, to build these students from their current level toward grade level. Use your professional judgement in choosing which pieces to use and the appropriate pace for the students in your group.

Talk to a member of the RTI Math Leadership Team:

• Lori Dickey
• Rachel Porter
• Diana Spence
• Matt Taylor
• Whitney Tharp
• Katie Wilson