The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project
Designing a room
Creating 3D furniture in Tinkercad
Creating models to scale
Crafting 1:12 Scale Bedroom
A [6-8] grade STEM lesson
Stephanie Nichols
June 2024
Notes for teachers
In this project, students practice using scale by designing and crafting items for a model bedroom using a 1:12 scale ratio. They learn how to accurately shrink real-world dimensions down to miniature size, improving their understanding of proportions and measurements. For additional practice, students will use Tinkercad to create one additional item, which is 3D printed and added to the model. Students learn how to use the measurement tools in Tinkercad to ensure their 3D model is also to scale.
List of Materials
Standards
Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.
Use proportional relationships to solve multistep ratio and percent problems. Examples: simple interest, tax, markups and markdowns, gratuities and commissions, fees, percent increase and decrease, percent error.
Educational Tech Standard 4. Innovative Designer - Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.
6-8.4.a. Students engage in a design process for generating and testing ideas and developing innovative products to solve problems.
Objective(s):
Students will create a 3D bedroom in 1:12 scale that includes a chair and 3 other furniture items.
Students will use Tinkercad to create one additional item of their choice to add to the room.
Agenda (lesson time)
3-4 days
40-60 min per day
Slides with agenda for each day follow
Intro/Driving Question/Opening 10 min
Show clips from the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guz_Vkg2ERA&t=84s
Discussion question: What would you have in your dream bedroom?
think time: 1 minute
partner share: 2 minutes
random share/volunteers: 3 minutes
Optional: Show AI generated images of kids building models and ask students the differences in the images
Hands-on Activity Instructions Day 1
Students will work alone or in groups
Day 1: Introduction to Scale Modeling
1. Begin by explaining the concept of scale modeling and its importance in creating realistic representations of objects and spaces.
2. Show examples of 1:12 scale models, pointing out details such as furniture size, room dimensions, and how they relate to real-life objects.
3. Guide students through the process of calculating 1:12 scale by dividing the real-life size of an object or room by 12. Provide examples and assist students as they calculate scale measurements.
4. Instruct students to gather materials for constructing a miniature chair.
5. Model how to construct a chair using scaled measurements, guiding students through each step of the process.
6. Allow students to follow along and construct their own miniature chairs, providing assistance and feedback as needed.
This youtube channel has kid accessible diy examples of miniature building and shows techniques
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrVYs9u4zAM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqPlRW_-q58
Image by Freepik
Hands-on Activity Instructions Day 2
Students will work alone or in groups
Day 2: Planning and Designing the Room
1. Instruct students to sketch a layout for their room, considering space and functionality based on the 1:12 scale.
2. Provide examples of well-scaled room layouts and furniture arrangements, highlighting how they translate to the miniature scale.
3. Assist students in gathering materials and constructing the base of their room, ensuring that measurements are scaled appropriately. Teacher may choose to have all students work within the same size room or give precut pieces for the walls. Alternatively, students could be asked to first design the room with walls and then translate the measurements to ensure the correct scale could be used.
Hands-on Activity Instructions Day 3
Students will work alone or in groups
Day 3: Crafting Furniture and Decorations
1. Provide examples of properly scaled miniature furniture and decorations. Provide a 4-6 inch human figure to use as a visual reference.
2. Give each student a copy of the worksheet. The worksheet includes the measurements and items students will convert. Teacher will demonstrate converting these measurements into 1:12 scale. Students will select 3 items to include in their room and convert the measurements.
3. Students will craft the 3 items using cardboard and other crafting supplies.
Hands-on Activity Instructions Day 4
Students will work alone or in groups
Day 4: Designing and Printing 3D Objects
1. Instruct students to brainstorm ideas for a small object to add to their room, considering practicality and scale. There is space on the worksheet from day 3 to complete this work.
2. Instruct students to estimate the size of their real life object and measure with a ruler or research the size of the item online, then use the method previously employed in days 2-3 to scale the item down to 1:12 scale.
3. Review how to set up a project in Tinkercad and navigate the interface, emphasizing the importance of scaling designs to match the 1:12 scale. (This should not be an intro lesson for tinkercad-students should be familiar and have accounts. If this is the first use of tinkercad, an additional day or 2 should be added for exploring the tools).
4. Model how to adjust dimensions and proportions in Tinkercad and access the ruler tool.
5. Assist students in exporting their designs for 3D printing and preparing files for printing.
6. Print the objects using the 3D printer.
Assessment
Because real world measurements were provided, student projects should have uniformly sized objects if scale was calculated correctly and construction was precise. Worksheets can be used as part of the grading criteria if desired.
Craftsmanship and Scale Calculation | |||
4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Design includes more than three pieces of furniture. Furniture and decorations are finely crafted. Student decorated all objects and added additional items. Scale is consistent and accurate. | Design includes three pieces of furniture. Decorations are well-made with minor imperfections. Scale is consistent and accurate. | Furniture and decorations show craftsmanship but may lack consistency or attention to detail in some areas. Scale accuracy is often flawed. | Furniture and decorations are poorly constructed with significant flaws. Scale is not accurate. |
Assessment
Tinkercad Component | |||
4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
3D object is skillfully designed with intricate details and accurate proportions. Scale matches the room model precisely. | 3D object is well-designed with clear features and reasonable proportions. Scale matches the room model adequately. | 3D object design does not have details or is unrecognizable. Mistakes in calculating scale. | 3D object design is incomplete. No attempt to use scale. |
Differentiation
Teacher will pull small groups and guide them in calculating the scale of each piece as needed.
Example items may be shown.
If cardboard cutting and related fine motor skills are an issue, the project can be done completely in tinkercad.
1:6 scale can be used if that is easier.
Remediation
Extension/Enrichment
Students may add additional items or rooms as time permits.
Students can use extra time to find the cost of items similar to those in their bedroom design.
Students can create humans or animals on 1:12 scale using clay to go in the room.
Students can learn about circuits and add lights or another feature like a fan or doorbell.