Gr 4–8 · 2 periods
Build the steam train
Coming soon. We're checking this lesson against the app, step by step, so it works when you run it with a class. You can read the plan now. The lesson pack, teaching mode and assigning open once it's checked.
A 1995 classic from TABS+: plan a multi-part build and assemble it as a team.
Ontario Gr 4–8 · Spatial Sense E1
Learning goals
- Plan and assemble a model from many parts
- Match each net to its place on the model
- Work as a team
Plan
- 1
A bit of history5 minYou lead
This train came with TABS+, the program Ontario schools used in the 1990s to design shapes and print nets. FoldNets is its remake.
- 2
Plan15 minStudents
Click each part in FoldNets to see its name and net. Groups take the boiler, the cab, the wheels, the chimney, and the frame with its footplate.
- 3
Build40 minStudents
Print and build the parts. The six wheels are short cylinders that sit on their sides on the train.
- 4
Assemble20 minStudents
Glue the parts onto the frame using the 3D view as the guide.
- 5
Reflect10 minYou lead
Which part was hardest to build? Which shapes appear more than once?
To talk about
- Which 3D shapes is the train made from?
- What would you add to make it a whole train?