The Emperor’s Army
This is a measurement activity based on the picture book The Emperor's Army.
About this resource
This activity, Lego units, is based on the book, The Emperor’s Army (words by Virginia Walton Pilegard and illustratrations by Adrian Tans).
Specific learning outcomes
- Model an understanding of volume through creating models and calculating volume using a formula.
The Emperor’s Army
Achievement objectives
GM4-3: Use side or edge lengths to find the perimeters and areas of rectangles, parallelograms, and triangles and the volumes of cuboids.
Description of mathematics
The volume of cuboids is found by multiplying the length by the height by the width. This is expressed in cubic units.
Required materials
- lego
- The Emperor’s Army by Virginia Walton Pilegard
Activity: Lego units
This is another “mathematical adventure” in the Warlord series that takes place in ancient China. After being forced to flee the palace, the young apprentice discovers the terracotta army being built. He calculates the size of the army based on his measurements of the clay hole being dug.
1.
Prior to reading, explore your students’ understanding of volume and seek out examples from their own lives when volume needs to be calculated or considered (filling drink bottles, packaging, pumping up sports balls, etc.). Compare and contrast the concept with those of perimeter and area. Create a chart to remind students about the measures.
| Feature | dimensions | expressed as |
|---|---|---|
| perimeter | length (fence line: 1-D) | units: u |
| area | length and width (carpet coverage: 2-D) | units squared: u2 |
| volume | length and width and height (box: 3-D) | units cubed: u3 |
2.
Share the book with your students. As you read the story, emphasise how the apprentice calculates the volume of clay used for the soldiers and how he knows there must be more than the first ones they find. Explain that the units being used are imperial based on the old measure of the “foot”.
3.
Discuss the formula used for calculating the volume of cuboids.
- How would you find the volume of a wedge?
- What about a triangular prism?
4.
Using the following formula, issue these challenges to be completed as independent activities in small groups.
Lego is your building material, and 1 block cube block is the base unit. Thus, an “eight” block has a volume of 1 x 4 x 2 = 8 Lego3 and a “two” block would have a volume of 1 x 2 x 1 = 2 Lego3.
- Create as many different objects as you can that have exactly a volume of 1000 Lego3.
- Create a hollow tower with walls that have a volume of 1000 Lego3 .
- Calculate the volume of the hollow space inside your tower in Lego3.
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