10th Grade — Unit 6: Intro to 3D Design: 3D Modeling with TinkerCAD: Designing & Printing a Keychain

🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep

Gather/set out: Paper and ruler (for the design sketch, in millimeters), Computer with internet access, TinkerCAD account (school Google login), 3D printer + slicer software (Cura), Filament.
If today includes physical/hands-on work: make sure the classroom cameras are charged, working, and have a cleared SD card ready for photo uploads.
Pull up today's slide deck (see 🖥️ Slide Deck below) so it's ready to project.

🖥️ Slide Deck (project or share with students)

Short, on-the-board pacing slides for today's Do Now, agenda, vocabulary, and exit ticket -- the full detail lives in the handout above, not here.

🧑‍🏫 Substitute Teacher Guide

A scripted, step-by-step runsheet for today's class -- hand this to anyone covering the room who doesn't know the daily routine.

🎯 Essential Question

How do we create a 3D printable design that uses multiple shapes?

📈 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson (3 Days), students will be able to:

Sketch a keychain design on paper, including exact measurements in millimeters.
Create a TinkerCAD account and use solid and hole shapes to build a 3D model.
Add custom text to a 3D model using the text tool.
Export a finished design as an STL file and prepare it for 3D printing.

📐 Standards Alignment

CDOS (Career Development & Occupational Studies)

CDOS 2 — Integrated Learning -- students will demonstrate how academic knowledge and skills are applied in the workplace and other settings.
CDOS 3a — Universal Foundation Skills -- basic literacy, communication, and problem-solving skills required for a career.
CDOS 3b — Career Majors -- knowledge and skills required for success within a specific career pathway (here, Digital Design).

ACP (Adobe Certified Professional) Photoshop Exam Objectives

ACP 1.1 — Identify the purpose, audience, and audience needs for preparing images.

🎓 Study this for the ACP exam: Domain 1: Working in the Design Industry

📚 Key Vocabulary

TinkerCAD: A free, browser-based 3D design tool commonly used to introduce CAD (Computer-Aided Design).
Solid / Hole (Negative Shape): A solid shape adds material; a hole (negative) shape cuts material away when combined with a solid.
STL File: The standard file format used to export a 3D model so a 3D printer can read it.
Slicer Software: A program (like Cura) that converts a 3D model into instructions a 3D printer follows, layer by layer.

🧰 Materials & Tools

Paper and ruler (for the design sketch, in millimeters)
Computer with internet access
TinkerCAD account (school Google login)
3D printer + slicer software (Cura)
Filament

🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)

On a blank piece of paper, draw all the shapes you'll use for your keychain design. What size do you want it to be? Use a ruler to measure the exact size in millimeters.

📤 How You Submit This — For Credit

How you submit today's work depends on what kind of work it was. Physical/paper work (most of this semester so far): photograph it with a classroom camera, upload the photo from its SD card onto a computer, and save it into your portfolio -- that upload is your submission, and the physical piece itself is yours to keep, the same as in Grade 9 (your notebook is the one thing with a home base in the room, and even that's your call to bring home when you want it). Digital work (once you're producing files in Photoshop, second semester on): no camera needed -- instead, EXPORT the file. Export your finished project as a JPG, as a PNG, AND save a copy as a PSD (all three), then upload all three into your portfolio. Either way: the portfolio upload, with a description, is what actually counts as turning the assignment in for credit.

📁 Portfolio Update — Once a Week

Once a week, add your best finished or in-progress piece to your portfolio (the Google Drive folder you started in Grade 9, becoming your Google Sites portfolio in Lesson 10) with a 1-2 sentence caption: what it is, what tool/skill it used, and one thing you learned. Keep it current -- don't save it all for the portfolio-website lesson.

✍️ Example description for your Google Sites portfolio (fill in YOUR blanks -- don't just copy this):

For this piece, I made ______________ (name what you made) for “3D Modeling with TinkerCAD: Designing & Printing a Keychain.” This project asked: “How do we create a 3D printable design that uses multiple shapes?” I used TinkerCAD by ______________ (explain how you used it in THIS piece). The hardest part was ______________, and I solved it by ______________. I'm proud of ______________ because ______________.

📋 Main Workshop / Lesson Sequence

This lesson spans 3 Days. Suggested pacing:

Day	Focus	Plan
Day 1	Sketch & Set Up	Do Now (5 min): sketch initial shape ideas for your keychain on paper. Mini-lesson (5 min): what makes a good 3D-printable design (size limits, sturdiness). Independent sketching (20 min): finalize your keychain sketch with exact measurements in millimeters, using a ruler. Guided account setup (10 min): create your TinkerCAD account and join the class. Share (5 min): show a neighbor your sketch and get one piece of feedback.
Day 2	Build in TinkerCAD	Do Now (5 min): review your paper sketch -- what shapes will you need? Mini-lesson/demo (8 min): teacher demos combining solid and hole shapes and adding text in TinkerCAD. Independent build (27 min): recreate your sketch digitally in TinkerCAD, combining solid and hole shapes and adding personalized text (e.g. your name). Save & screenshot (5 min) for your Drive portfolio.
Day 3	Export & Print	Do Now (5 min): what do you think "STL" stands for? Take a guess. Mini-lesson/demo (10 min): teacher demonstrates exporting an STL file and using the Cura slicer. Independent work (20 min): export your design as an STL file, load it into Cura, and prepare it for printing. Documentation (10 min): document each step of your process in your Google Drive portfolio.

✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket

Teacher reviews each TinkerCAD project individually and gives feedback before export; final printed piece checked against the original paper sketch for accuracy.

Exit Ticket: Why is it important to sketch and measure a design on paper before building it digitally?

📊 Pull up the anonymous Class Check-In for students to fill out before they go.

🧩 Differentiation & Accommodations

English Language Learners: provide translated or bilingual glossaries, visuals, and sentence frames; pair with a peer for meaningful participation. Students with IEPs: provide extended time, step-by-step checklists, and one-on-one or small-group support as specified in each student's plan. Attention-related needs: break the task into smaller steps, use visual timers, and minimize distractions. Students who finish early: extend the task by adding a second design variation, mentoring a classmate, or writing a short reflection connecting today's skill to a career pathway.

🔗 Resources & References

Tinkercad Lessons