Free Grade 3 Surface Area Lesson Plans
Free Grade 3 lesson plans for Surface Area: 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
20 min
24
Learning objectives
Every objective is checkable, and each one maps to an activity and an assessment.
- UnderstandExplain surface area
Explain surface area accurately in a familiar context.
Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items
- ApplyCalculate surface area
Calculate surface area accurately in a familiar context.
Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items
- AnalyseCompare surface area
Compare surface area accurately in a familiar context.
Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items
- EvaluateJustify surface area
Justify surface area 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 Surface Area 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 4 cm × 4 cm × 5 cm.[1]
- 2.Find the volume of a cuboid 8 cm × 6 cm × 10 cm.[1]
- 3.Find the volume of a cuboid 7 cm × 9 cm × 7 cm.[1]
- 4.Find the volume of a cuboid 10 cm × 6 cm × 10 cm.[1]
- 5.Find the volume of a cuboid 2 cm × 7 cm × 9 cm.[2]
- 6.Find the volume of a cuboid 9 cm × 10 cm × 6 cm.[2]
- 7.Find the volume of a cuboid 10 cm × 9 cm × 10 cm.[2]
- 8.Find the volume of a cuboid 2 cm × 2 cm × 3 cm.[2]
- 9.Find the surface area of a cuboid 8 cm × 5 cm × 2 cm.[3]
- 10.Find the surface area of a cuboid 8 cm × 9 cm × 5 cm.[3]
- 11.Find the surface area of a cuboid 7 cm × 5 cm × 8 cm.[3]
- 12.Find the surface area of a cuboid 2 cm × 2 cm × 9 cm.[3]
Show answers and working
1. 80 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 4 × 4 × 5 = 80 cm³.
2. 480 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 8 × 6 × 10 = 480 cm³.
3. 441 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 7 × 9 × 7 = 441 cm³.
4. 600 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 10 × 6 × 10 = 600 cm³.
5. 126 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 2 × 7 × 9 = 126 cm³.
6. 540 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 9 × 10 × 6 = 540 cm³.
7. 900 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 10 × 9 × 10 = 900 cm³.
8. 12 cm³
Volume = length × width × height. 2 × 2 × 3 = 12 cm³.
9. 132 cm²
Three pairs of faces: 40, 10, 16. 2 × (40 + 10 + 16) = 132 cm².
10. 314 cm²
Three pairs of faces: 72, 45, 40. 2 × (72 + 45 + 40) = 314 cm².
11. 262 cm²
Three pairs of faces: 35, 40, 56. 2 × (35 + 40 + 56) = 262 cm².
12. 80 cm²
Three pairs of faces: 4, 18, 18. 2 × (4 + 18 + 18) = 80 cm².
Worked examples
Find the volume of a cuboid 3 cm × 8 cm × 9 cm.
- Volume = length × width × height.
- 3 × 8 × 9 = 216 cm³.
- Answer: 216 cm³
Find the volume of a cuboid 9 cm × 2 cm × 9 cm.
- Volume = length × width × height.
- 9 × 2 × 9 = 162 cm³.
- Answer: 162 cm³
Find the surface area of a cuboid 8 cm × 6 cm × 7 cm.
- Three pairs of faces: 48, 42, 56.
- 2 × (48 + 42 + 56) = 292 cm².
- Answer: 292 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 Surface Area
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Learn — Meet the idea.
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Frequently asked
- Is this Grade 3 Surface Area 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 Nets, Perimeter and Area. 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 Surface Area?
- Move on to Volume of Prisms, Volume of Cylinders, Volume of Spheres, Angles, which build directly on this idea.
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