Script: Hello and welcome back to the Ingenia Design Department! We’re glad to have your help again today. The Ingenia Interior Design Department just got new software to help us with our work. The software is called CAD or Computer-Aided Design. This software allows us to design things on a computer before using real resources to prototype and build it. We could use some help learning this new software, and that’s where you come in! Can you help us learn how to use CAD?
Read each riddle aloud and invite students to guess the object.
TIP: As needed, after reading a riddle, break it down into the individual sentences and have students make guesses at each part.
1. You can rest upon my seat and watch the world go by. I’m often made of slats to keep your bottom dry. Through wind, rain, and sunshine, you’ll always find me here. A place to pause and rest year after year. What am I? A park bench.
2. I protect you from the bright, shining sun. Put me on and have some fun. Any color, any shape. I add style to your face! What am I? Sunglasses.
3. I may seem simple, but you’ll soon see that words are all inside of me. Sentences, paragraphs, poetry and more. With me around, you’ll never bore! What am I? A book.
4. You can count on me. I’ll hold things up. A book, a lamp, a glass or cup. In kitchens, bathrooms, and in halls. Put me on the ground or hang me on a wall. What am I? A shelf.
Students will learn about CAD and how it is used in various careers.
5 min Script: CAD allows us to do a lot of the design work on a computer. That means we can save time and resources. Before CAD, people drafted and sketched ideas using large pads of paper or drawing boards, graph paper and tools like protractors and compasses. Using CAD has made it easier and more efficient to iterate, or continuously improve, design ideas. It also allows us to create things in both 2D and 3D. A 2D object is flat, while a 3D object has depth. Let’s check out some CAD software to learn more.
10 min Display the main page of this TinkerCAD tutorial to observe and discuss the differences between 2D and 3D shapes. Click the “View in 3D” button to be able to move and manipulate the space the shapes are in: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/9xldFeCQZci-2d-and-3d-shapes (www.tinkercad.com)
10 min Script: CAD can be used to help design many different types of things. Let’s take a look at some of the ways CAD is used to help make things we use in our everyday lives.
Display slides 3-9 of this PDF: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/about/outreach/resources/Tinkercad/what_is_cad.pdf
Read the information on each slide aloud or ask a student volunteer to read it aloud. After viewing the slideshow discuss the following:
Students will learn how to use Tinkercad to create basic designs.
10 min Script: Now that we have a basic understanding of what CAD is and how it is used to help design different items and technologies, it’s time for you to try out CAD software. We will be using Tinkercad. Tinkercad has been created in a way that makes CAD simple and fun. You’ll be following a series of tutorials to learn some basics like placing a shape, turning it, moving it, and more. I recommend you follow the tutorials in order, from left to right on the screen.
Display the main page of the Tinkercad tutorials, click the “3D Design” button and scroll through the page. Ask:
60 min Tell students to start with the “Place It” tutorial, then work their way from left to right through the first 6 tutorials (Place It, View It, Move It, Rotate It, Size It, Group It). They can continue through more tutorials as time allows (Copy It, Duplicate It, Hide It, Align It).
Dismiss students to work through the Tinkercad tutorials. Circulate as students work to support their process.
If students get stuck, you can give the following tips:
If students complete the tutorials early:
5 min Lead a class discussion of using Tinkercad. Ask the following questions:
Students can continue to gain familiarity with Tinkercad working through tutorials at home. Consider selecting 2-3 tutorials that will be engaging to your students to assign as homework assignments.
