Free Grade 3 3D Shapes Lesson Plans
Free Grade 3 lesson plans for 3D Shapes: 12 real questions with a full answer key and worked solutions. Volume is how much space a 3D shape takes up. For a cuboid, multiply length × width × height. Surface area is the total area of all faces.
Free
Stretch
25 min
24
Learning objectives
Every objective is checkable, and each one maps to an activity and an assessment.
- UnderstandExplain 3d shapes
Explain 3d shapes accurately in a familiar context.
Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items
- ApplyCalculate 3d shapes
Calculate 3d shapes accurately in a familiar context.
Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items
- AnalyseCompare 3d shapes
Compare 3d shapes accurately in a familiar context.
Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items
- EvaluateJustify 3d shapes
Justify 3d shapes accurately in a familiar context.
Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items
Prerequisites
Close these gaps first — each has its own free lesson, worksheet and quiz.
How 3D Shapes works
Volume is how much space a 3D shape takes up. For a cuboid, multiply length × width × height. Surface area is the total area of all faces.
12 practice questions
Easy to hard, 24 marks in total. Try them first, then open the answers.
- 1.Find the volume of a cuboid 3 cm × 4 cm × 5 cm.[1]
- 2.Find the volume of a cuboid 6 cm × 5 cm × 8 cm.[1]
- 3.Find the volume of a cuboid 3 cm × 2 cm × 6 cm.[1]
- 4.Find the volume of a cuboid 9 cm × 3 cm × 10 cm.[1]
- 5.Find the volume of a cuboid 2 cm × 5 cm × 9 cm.[2]
- 6.Find the volume of a cuboid 6 cm × 9 cm × 10 cm.[2]
- 7.Find the volume of a cuboid 9 cm × 10 cm × 7 cm.[2]
- 8.Find the volume of a cuboid 2 cm × 4 cm × 4 cm.[2]
- 9.Find the surface area of a cuboid 9 cm × 8 cm × 8 cm.[3]
- 10.Find the surface area of a cuboid 9 cm × 3 cm × 7 cm.[3]
- 11.Find the surface area of a cuboid 10 cm × 5 cm × 3 cm.[3]
- 12.Find the surface area of a cuboid 3 cm × 6 cm × 3 cm.[3]
Show answers and working
1. 60 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 3 × 4 × 5 = 60 cm³.
2. 240 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 6 × 5 × 8 = 240 cm³.
3. 36 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 3 × 2 × 6 = 36 cm³.
4. 270 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 9 × 3 × 10 = 270 cm³.
5. 90 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 2 × 5 × 9 = 90 cm³.
6. 540 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 6 × 9 × 10 = 540 cm³.
7. 630 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 9 × 10 × 7 = 630 cm³.
8. 32 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 2 × 4 × 4 = 32 cm³.
9. 416 cm²
Three pairs of faces: 72, 64, 72. 2 × (72 + 64 + 72) = 416 cm².
10. 222 cm²
Three pairs of faces: 27, 21, 63. 2 × (27 + 21 + 63) = 222 cm².
11. 190 cm²
Three pairs of faces: 50, 15, 30. 2 × (50 + 15 + 30) = 190 cm².
12. 90 cm²
Three pairs of faces: 18, 18, 9. 2 × (18 + 18 + 9) = 90 cm².
Worked examples
Find the volume of a cuboid 4 cm × 9 cm × 8 cm.
- Volume = length × width × height.
- 4 × 9 × 8 = 288 cm³.
- Answer: 288 cm³
Find the volume of a cuboid 3 cm × 7 cm × 3 cm.
- Volume = length × width × height.
- 3 × 7 × 3 = 63 cm³.
- Answer: 63 cm³
Find the surface area of a cuboid 3 cm × 8 cm × 4 cm.
- Three pairs of faces: 24, 32, 12.
- 2 × (24 + 32 + 12) = 136 cm².
- Answer: 136 cm²
Interactive practice
Free, no account required — answer on screen or print it.
Common mistakes
What learners typically get wrong, and how to fix it.
Adds the dimensions instead of multiplying.
Correction: Volume = l × w × h.
Counts only three faces for surface area.
Correction: A cuboid has six faces — three matching pairs.
Teacher tips
- · Build cuboids from cubes before using the formula.
Parent tips
- · Work out how many sugar cubes fit in a box.
Real-life applications
- · Filling a fish tank, wrapping a present.
Assessment objectives
How mastery is evidenced, and which standards it maps to.
Every free resource for 3D Shapes
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Learn — Meet the idea.
Practice — Build fluency.
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Assess — Prove mastery.
Apply — Use it in context.
Teach — Deliver it to a class.
Frequently asked
- Is this Grade 3 3D Shapes lesson plan really free?
- Yes. Every lesson plans on FreeMathWorksheet is free to use, print and share — no account, no paywall and no watermark.
- What should a learner already know before this?
- Start with Perimeter and Area, 2D Shapes, Algebra. Each one has its own free lesson, worksheet and quiz.
- How is the lesson plan sequenced?
- Recognition first, then understanding, application, reasoning and finally mastery — the same ladder used across every free resource on the platform.
- What comes next after 3D Shapes?
- Move on to Transformations, Constructions, Number Sense, Algebra, which build directly on this idea.
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