Lesson Plan One: Introduction to 3D Printing and 3D Space

Setup

• Prepared slide Presentation
• A set of pre-printed 3D objects for students to interact with. Many of these objects can be downloaded from Thingiverse or MyMiniFactory. These objects should include fossils (such as MakerBot's 3D T-Rex skull), as well as more practical or household items (such as a toothbrush holder). Students should be shown a wide range of 3D printed objects to interact with, to gain insight into the potential applications of 3D Printing
• If possible, bring in a 3D printer to demonstrate to students
• Prepare index cards with various filaments attached, and labelled for student exploration during Activity 1

Materials

• Computer
• Projector
• Prepared Slide Presentation
• Chart Paper
• 3D printed objects
• 3D printer (if possible)
• Filament index cards (refer to Image 1)
• Student notebooks
• Writing materials (pencils, pencil crayons, crayons, markers etc.)

Vocabulary List

• 3 Dimensional (3D)
• 2 Dimensional (2D)
• 3D Printing/3D Printer
• Filament
• Computer Aided Design (CAD)

Sentence Stems

Write the following sentence stems on the board prior to the lesson, for student reflection at the end of class

• A 3D Printer is different from a regular printer because: ______________________

• I think 3D Printing can change the world by: _________________________________

Introduction/Attention Getter

Timing: 15 Minutes

Materials:

• Computer
• Projector
• Slides 1-4

Process:

1. State: "Today we will be learning about 3D Printing. Do any of you know what 3D Printing is and what you can do with this technology?"
2. Begin Slide Show.
3. Play the video from slide 3: 'What is 3D Printing and how does it work?"
4. If a 3D printer is available for demonstration, bring into class.
5. Pass 3D objects around the room, state: "These objects were printed on a 3D printer. Let's take a look at this video: can anyone guess what is being printed?"
6. Play the video from slide 4: "3D Printer in Action: Pokeball"
7. After the videos, ask students the following questions:

Question 1: "How is a 3D Printer different than a normal printer?"

Answer(s): A 3D Printer does not use paper. It uses filament made of plastic, rubber, or wood to print 3 Dimensional objects. A normal printer uses paper and prints 'flat,' or 2 Dimensional images.

Question 2: "What kind of objects can be 3D Printed?"

Answer(s): Toys, bracelets, phone cases, body parts/organs, a moon base in space, or another 3D Printer.

Activity 1: Exploration with 3D Filament

Timing: 15 minutes

Materials

• Computer
• Projector
• Slides 6-7
• Prepared filament index cards
• Student notebooks
• Writing materials (pencils, pencil crayons, crayons, markers etc.)

Process

For all grades:

1. Show slides 6-7

2. Ask students the following question: What are 3D Filaments and how do they work? For filament review state: "Filament is the material used in 3D Printers to create objects. A spool of Filament is loaded on top of the printer and fed through the hot-end to be melted. Then layers upon layers of Filament are built up to create a 3D object

3. Pass around index cards with various filament materials (PLA, ABS, Ninja-flex) etc. Discuss the possible objects that could be printed with each filament material. For further information, please see Lesson 1 Supplemental Material.

For Grades 4 and 5:

1. Play the video “Will 3D Printing Change the World”

2. Write the following reflection questions on the board, and instruct students to answer in their notebook:

3. Question 1: What kind of useful objects can be 3D Printed?

4. Answer(s): We can print objects such as casts for broken arms, prosthetics for people or animals missing hands, household items that break down (such as a door handle).

5. Question 2: What are some practical reasons we would we 3D Print something (i.e. not toys)?

6. Answer(s): We would 3D Print something to help others (medical, veterinary), replace broken items, make quick prototypes to test objects for manufacturing (e.g. testing jet engine parts), to see models of anatomy (e.g. a heart model for doctors/medical students)

For Grades 1-3:

1. Instruct students to get out their notebooks
2. Write on the board: The filament type \_________ would work well to make this object: \__________
3. State "Let's some brainstorming. In your notebooks, pick one of the filament types we just looked at on the index cards, and write the sentence I just put on the board. Choose one filament type for the first blank, and pick an object you think that filament would work well to create for the second blank. Next, draw a picture of the object."

Activity 2: Discussion and Brainstorming

Timing: 20 minutes

Materials

• Computer
• Projector
• Slides 8-21
• Chart paper
• Writing materials (pencils, pencil crayons, crayons, markers etc.)

Attention Getter

1. Work through slides 8-10
2. Show the video from Enabling the Future (slide 10) to demonstrate to students how 3D Printing can be used to help others

Process

1. Work through slides 11 - 21
2. Split students into small groups of 4-5
3. Give each group a piece of chart paper
4. Draw Chart 1 on the board, and instruct students to copy the chart in their notebooks. Encourage groups to both write and draw their answers
5. When students have completed their charts, they will present their work to the class

Recap and Wrap Up

Timing: 10 minutes

Materials

• Computer
• Projector
• Slides 22 -24
• Student notebooks
• Writing materials (pencils, pencil crayons, crayons, markers etc.)

Process

1. Work through slides 22 -24

2. Take a student survey to see which item they would like to see printed for the class for the following lesson. The most votes wins the choice. See links to options in supplementary materials.

3. Discuss the following questions with the class to tie back into the lesson: "Why is 3D Printing important? How can 3D Printing be used to help others?"

4. Students will complete the Sentence Stems written on the board at the beginning of class in their notebooks. Encourage students to draw accompaniments to their answers, time permitting.

Chart 1

Image 1