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Lesson 6 of 8
  • Year 5

Manipulating 3D shapes

I can manipulate shapes in Tinkercad to meet a design specification.

Lesson 6 of 8
New
New
  • Year 5

Manipulating 3D shapes

I can manipulate shapes in Tinkercad to meet a design specification.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Previous knowledge of 3D shape design in Tinkercad can be applied to create additional features.
  2. The Tinkercad shapes library has a range of prepared shapes that can be added to our designs.
  3. If too many shapes are added from the library it can reduce the performace of the workspace.

Keywords

  • Features - special parts of an object that makes it interesting or useful

  • Shape library - a collection of shapes you can use to build and design 3D models

Common misconception

Shapes in Tinkercad can only be created from scratch.

The shape library has a range of prepared objects that can be added to a workplane.


To help you plan your year 5 design and technology lesson on: Manipulating 3D shapes, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Encourage pupils to create their own shapes and only use the shape library for complicated items. The more objects they include, the more likely the performance of the device will be reduced.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Access to Tinkercad on tablet, chromebook or laptop.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What is an eco-building?

A building made only of bricks
A building that uses a lot of electricity
Correct answer: A building designed to be kind to the environment
A building with lots of floors

Q2.
What shape is a cuboid?

Correct answer: A box shape with rectangles on all sides
A round shape like a ball
A triangle with three equal sides
A shape with only curves

Q3.
Which of these best describes a solar panel?

A machine that uses wind to make power
Correct answer: A flat panel that converts sunlight into electricity
A battery that stores electricity
A mirror that reflects sunlight into space

Q4.
What do wind turbines do?

Heat up buildings in winter
Clean the air using fans
Correct answer: Use wind to make electricity
Collect rainwater

Q5.
Put these steps in order to hollow out a shape in Tinkercad:

1 - Add a solid shape
2 - Add a hole shape inside it
3 - Scale the hole shape down
4 - Group the shapes

Q6.
Why are eco-buildings useful?

They look cool
They are fun to design
Correct answer: They help save energy
They cost more to build

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
Why would you use basic shapes from the shape library when building an eco-building in Tinkercad?

Correct answer: To select and combine shapes that match real parts of a building
To randomly pick shapes for fun
To choose shapes based on your favourite colour
Because it’s the only way to add text

Q2.
What is one advantage of using prepared shapes from the Tinkercad shape library?

They are colourful and fun to use
They make your project spin and rotate
They don't need grouping or changing
Correct answer: They save time and help design realistic models

Q3.
Which of these is a complex shape you might design in Tinkercad?

A single sphere translated 40 mm
A hexagonal prism rotated 90 degrees
Correct answer: A tree made by combining cylinders and spheres
A cube coloured green

Q4.
Why would you not use too many shapes from the shape library?

It makes the model look too good and people will like it too much
Correct answer: It can slow down the computer and make the model harder to work with
Tinkercad doesn't allow more than 10 shapes on the workplane
Your design will disappear if there are too many