Use this teaching resource to demonstrate the representation of 3D shapes using isometric paper.
The top half of the screen displays a variety of shapes that can be rotated.
The bottom half of the screen contains an interactive isometric grid. Clicking on one dot and then another connects them with a red line. Clicking on the line removes it. The rotating shapes include use of perspective demonstrating that the isometric drawing is only a representation of the 3D shape.
Update: There was a bug in this where constant rotations knocked the shapes out of isometric perspective. This is now fixed.
Go to learning resource.
An alternative isometric shape teaching resource.
For a full screen isometric grid use this resource.
Absolutely fabulous. Love the rotational function really helps pupil visualise the shape and draw it accurately. Well done!! 😉
My Year 8 pupils loved tying to draw 3D shapes and it has really improved their confidence. I am dying to see more resources from you. A HUGE thank you!
Very good, but not so sure about using the elastic tween for rotation.
Interesting you say that about the elastic tween. (for those who don’t know, thats the overshoot effect when you click rotate). Originally it was without this and rotated plainly. The elasticity, to my mind, added a sense of weight or solidity to the shapes, emphasising the representation of a 3d shape. Could you add more as to why you dislike it – I’m always open to adjusting the resources to suit the users.
My preference would be for a more dynamic rotation. It looks as though you are using a well-known 3D engine, so this should be possible without tweening. Also, if you use a full rotation, then the sense of solidity should come automatically.
I see what you mean now. You are right that I could have a dynamic rotation as you are also right thats its rendered in Papervision. Really, using a 3d engine is over engineering it a bit as a prerecorded rotation sequence would do the job.
The reason it’s not dynamic is to lock the shapes to a roughly isometric perspective so that teachers at the front of the class only have to tap the IWB once to spin it to a new isometric perspective. By allowing free positioning it adds a level of control that I felt isn’t necessary for this particular subject as the shapes need to always be at the correct angle for the isometric drawings.
Anymore thoughts would be welcome and thanks for leaving your site’s url, I’m sure many visitors here will recognise it.
very helpful.
Thanks very much. It’s my weakness and this really helps both pupils and me!!
Hi. Thank you for this resource. Thought that it is wonderful for showing pupils the shape and how it could be drawn into a 2-D diagram. Thanks!
I teach 7th grade Math and now that I have a smart board I have been using a lot of your resources. I roll the alphabets and students make words from the word wall in teams.They LOVE it.I will be using your isometric grids next week. Keep up the good work. You are awesome!!
Glad to hear you and your class are making good use of the resources. Thanks for taking the time to feed back.
omg this iz awesome i m a year 7 student and diz iz very help ful thank you i could never draw this before and lost marks in tests but no i can thanks 🙂
I like this tool, but it would be even more useful if I could use different colours to show the “invisible” lines. Maybe a solid line and dotted line option to make it easier for students to see the “hidden” edges.
This helped me alot!!! I love it!! I am a student from Year 6 and this amazing!!! Thank You