E3 Students will be expected to make and interpret isometric drawings of shapes made from cubes.    

What is an isometric drawing? An isometric drawing is a three-dimensional drawing of a three-dimensional structure. Isometric drawings are drawn on isometric dot paper. This dot paper presents the rows of dots in such a fashion that triangles are formed. Isometric drawings are always done from a front-right, front-left, back-right, or back-left view, not by looking straight on.

Using a Mat It is helpful to use a paper mat like the one below to place your structures on. Then you can move the mat to the desired position, e.g. front right, as you draw that particular view. BACK LEFT RIGHT FRONT

Student Activities Activity 1: Following the instruction given by the teacher using the overhead projector, create an isometric drawing of one cube. Activity 2: Next, build a two-cube structure using a pink and a yellow cube as shown to you by the teacher. Create a front-left view drawing of this structure. Then draw a front-right view drawing of the same structure. (Remember to turn your mat so you can see the required view. Label each drawing with its view.)

Student Activities Activity 3: Build a three-cube structure using a pink, yellow, and red cube as shown to you by the teacher. Create a front-left view drawing of this structure. Then draw a front-right view drawing of the same structure. Label each drawing with its view.

Student Activities E3.1 Make a three-cube vertical tower consisting of a black cube on the bottom, a blue in the middle, and a yellow at the top of the tower. Topple this tower straight back and make isometric drawings from the front-left view and the front-right view. Label each drawing with its view.

Student Activities E3.2 Use five cubes to make a T-shape. Then make four different isometric drawings of this structure, one from each of the different views: front-right, front-left, back-right, and back-left. Remember to label your structures.

Student Activities E3.3 Construct with cubes each shape shown to you on the copy provided by the teacher. These shapes are drawn from the front-left view. Make your isometric drawings from the front-right view.

Student Activities E3.4 Are there any hidden cubes in the drawings in E3.3? If so, where they could be?

Student Activities E3.5 Make a structure using eight cubes and draw an isometric view of it. Exchange your drawing with a classmate and build each other’s structures just from the drawing. Pass in your structure and its drawing to the teacher to be used in the next activity.

Student Activities E3.6 Use the set of student structures and drawings completed in the E3.5 task. Match the drawings and structures. E3.7 Find all the different shapes that can be made from four cubes. For each one, make an isometric drawing to record it. Remember to label its view.