Comparing Capacity
Compare and describe capacity and volume using language such as full, empty, more than, less than, half full
Lesson
Set out your lesson
“Capacity is how much a container can hold. We describe containers as full, empty, half full, or holding more or less than another container.”
Bring to the table
- Two clear cups of different sizes
- A pitcher or bottle of water
- A towel for spills
Extra for the adult
Worked example. A full small cup may only make a large mug partly full, so the mug can hold more. A cup with water to the middle is about half full.
Optional challenge. Estimate first which cup holds more, then test by pouring, and describe the result as more than or less than the estimate.
What to notice. Save a parent note quoting the capacity words used and which cup held more.
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Teaching approaches
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1 approach
Capacity is how much a container can hold. We describe containers as full, empty, half full, or holding more or less than another container.
Spend about 10 minutes filling and comparing two cups with water.
Family records and proof options
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Save photos, notes, and attendance. Export a proof packet for compliance or portfolio reviews.
Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
Illustrative Mathematics · Practice link — not the full lesson
How Many Containers in One Cup / Cups in One Container?
Before you open · source notes
Container and cup comparisons support comparing capacity. Not every mass-balance lesson.
Free, no sign-in. A teacher solution is on the same page, so use the student view with your child.
Before you openAsk the learner which container holds more and how they compared the amounts.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public Illustrative Mathematics task page. The .html address responds HTTP 308 to this URL. An anonymous GET of this URL on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt. Where a teacher solution is present, it is on the same page as the student task; this check did not find a separate locked student view. An adult can use the student view section and should not read a solution aloud. Advertising was not observed in the fetched HTML text; that is not a browser, device, or ad-free guarantee. This is a paper or discussion task, not an automatically marked interactive game. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. Diagrams on the page use missing or filename-only alt text, so they are not an accessible image equivalent. Accessibility still depends on an adult describing the picture.
Illustrative Mathematics. “How Many Containers in One Cup / Cups in One Container?.” Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. External task; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute it.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — link only
Check understanding
- Compare two containers and say which holds more/less
- Use 'half full' and 'quarter full' to describe a container
- Solve practical problems like 'Which cup has more water?'
“If your child has two cups of different sizes, can they tell you which holds more water — and describe one as "more full" or "less full" than the other?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Procedural
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Measurement
- Age range
- Ages 4–9
Standards