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©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

  

rf ace  
me ,  su
 v o lu on.  
  teach alizati
ay  to l  visu
i w
ng    spatia
a g
ng a,  and
A n   e
are

By Brad Fulton
Educator of the Year, 2005
brad@tttpress.com
www.tttpress.com
530-547-4687
P.O. Box 233, Millville, CA 96062

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©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

 Brad Fulton
Educator of the Year

♦ Consultant
♦ Educator
♦ Author
  ♦ Keynote presenter
Brad Fulton ♦ Teacher trainer
 
PO  Box  233,  Millville,  CA  96062   ♦ Conference speaker
(530)  547-­‐4687  
b r a d @ t t t p r e s s . c o m  
 
Known throughout the country for motivating and engaging teachers and students, Brad has co-
authored over a dozen books that provide easy-to-teach yet mathematically rich activities for busy
teachers while teaching full time for over 30 years. In addition, he has co-authored over 40 teacher
training manuals full of activities and ideas that help teachers who believe mathematics must be
both meaningful and powerful.

Seminar leader and trainer of mathematics teachers

♦ 2005  California  League  of  Middle  Schools  Educator  of  the  Year  
♦ California  Math  Council  and  NCTM  national  featured  presenter  
♦ Lead  trainer  for  summer  teacher  training  institutes  
♦ Trainer/consultant  for  district,  county,  regional,  and  national  workshops  
 
Author and co-author of mathematics curriculum
♦ Simply  Great  Math  Activities  series:  six  books  covering  all  major  strands  
♦ Angle  On  Geometry  Program:  over  400  pages  of  research-­‐based  geometry  instruction  
♦ Math  Discoveries  series:  bringing  math  alive  for  students  in  middle  schools  
♦ Teacher  training  seminar  materials  handbooks  for  elementary,  middle,  and  secondary  
school  

Available for workshops, keynote addresses, and conferences

All   workshops   provide   participants   with   complete,   ready-­‐to-­‐use   activities   that   require  
minimal   preparation   and   give  clear  and  specific  directions.  Participants  also  receive   journal  
prompts,  homework  suggestions,  and  ideas  for  extensions  and  assessment.  
 
Brad's  math  activities  are  the  best  I've  seen  in  38  years  of  teaching!  
Wayne Dequer, 7th grade math teacher, Arcadia, CA
“I  can't  begin  to  tell  you  how  much  you  have  inspired  me!”  
Sue Bonesteel, Math Dept. Chair, Phoenix, AZ
 “Your  entire  audience  was  fully  involved  in  math!!  When  they  chatted,  they  chatted  math.  Real  
thinking!”  
Brenda McGaffigan, principal, Santa Ana, CA
“Absolutely  engaging.  I  can  teach  algebra  to  second  graders!”  
Lisa Fellers, teacher

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  aReferences available

nd  TTT  Press     upon request
Like my activities? How about giving me a favorable
rating on the Teachers Pay Teachers
website? Four stars would be much ✩✩✩✩  
 
appreciated and would help me sleep better at
night.
Like me even more? Then please don’t make copies

D
for your colleagues. I know it’s tempting
when they say, “Wow! Groovy activity! Can
  I have a copy?” But this is how I make my
money, and why are they still saying “groovy”
anyway?
If we make copies for our friends, can we
honestly tell our students not to copy or take
things that don’t belong to them? (Ouch!)
L  
Half priced site licensed copies are

B  
available on the TPT website. Please
encourage them to take advantage of
this affordable option. Okay?
Thanks and happy teaching,

Brad J

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

 a) Effective staff development

b) Affordable staff development

c) Ongoing staff development

d) ALL OF THE ABOVE!

 
www.tttpress.com
brad@tttpress.com

Great DVD
presentations offer
quality mat he matics
staff developme nt at
a fraction of
the c ost!

♦ Effective because they are classroom-tested and classroom-

proven. These popular DVDs of Brad’s trainings have been utilized
by teachers throughout the country for years.
♦ Affordable because they are site-licensed. Buy only one copy
for your whole school, print as many copies of the handouts as you
need.
♦ Ongoing because when you hire new staff, simply hit “play” and
the training begins. There’s no need to bring back the consultant.

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

 Isometric Drawing
A project in spatial visualization, volume, and surface area

Overview:
Required Materials:
To help my students get their minds around the
concepts of volume and surface area, and to foster ý Isometric paper (included)
spatial visualization skills, I had them practice
making three-dimensional drawings on isometric
ý Snap cubes
paper. This paper has a system of triangular lines Optional Materials:
running diagonally in two directions and vertically.
There are no horizontal lines. o Blank paper
o Rulers
Procedure:
1. It is important to orient the paper in the sideways or landscape position before
beginning.
2. Begin by sketching a single cube on the paper (Figure 1). Students should have a
model such as a multi-link cube for this purpose. Another option is to project the
cube onto a television by close-focusing a video camera onto the cube and feeding a
cable from the camera to the TV. This insures that every student has the same view
of the cube.
3. Students can see that its volume is one cube, and they know its surface area is six
square units. However, on the isometric paper, you can see exactly half of the
surfaces. You can see the top, but not the bottom; the front, but not the back; and
one side, but not the other. They realize that one of the advantages of an isometric
view is that it shows them exactly half of the surface area.
4. Shading the drawing helps students visualize the 3-D effect. I ask them to imagine
that the lighting is coming from the upper left corner of their paper. Thus the top will
be lightly shaded, the front will have a medium tone, and the right side away from
the lighting source will be the darkest. However, shadows on Earth are rarely black,
so even the least lighted side should be gray. I usually have the students use colored
pencil to make the three tones.
5. Next snap several cubes together and have them sketch more advanced buildings
(Figure 2). Some students find this challenging, while others show a natural talent
for this. For those students who finish earlier than others, I ask them to try to sketch
how the structure would look from the back without actually turning it around.
Whether students are already proficient at isometric drawing or whether it is a
struggle for them, they all improve quickly and dramatically. Even the students who
initially say the assignment is difficult are genuinely engaged in the activity within a
few minutes.
6. Our next step is to try to sketch block letters (Figure 3). Some letters are simple
while others are more complex (Figure 4). In general, students seem to prefer the

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

 more advanced styles. In each case, students should be asked to find the volume and
surface area of each letter.
7. Students then can make isometric drawings of their names and find the volume and
surface area of each letter and of their total name.
8. As an option, these can be traced onto blank paper so the isometric lines no longer
show.
9. I have included numerous samples of student work ranging from simple lettering to
more complex. While students only were asked to do their first name, some, such as
Derek, went well beyond my expectations creating incredible designs that contained
optical illusions reminiscent of M.C. Eshcer’s art. Though some of Derek’s letters
would be physically impossible to build, he has used the isometric paper to correctly
find the volume and surface area of these imaginary letters. This project engaged not
only my high mathematical thinkers, but many of my more reluctant learners as well.
When visitors enter my room, these fine projects engage them as well and draw
many “Oohs” and “Aahs”!

Assessment:
Prior to turning the students loose drawing their names, it is important to show them how
they will be assessed. I have included a grading rubric on the following page.
I tell students they have to draw at least five letters. That way Al doesn’t get the day off
while Katherine stays up all night. If a student has a short name, they can opt to use their
last name, nickname, or add initials to meet the requirement.
I graded these the hard way for years, counting the cubes and counting the square
surfaces to verify their mathematics. Eventually I noticed some relationships that will
save you a lot of time.
Here are the volumes and surface areas of the simpler letters used in figure 3. The rules
(though not the values) apply also to the advanced letters used in figure 4.
Rule 1: Letters that have closed loops have a surface area of 4 times the volume:
SA = 4V
Letter Volume Surface Area Letter Volume Surface Area
B 12 48 O 12 48
P 10 40 Q 13 52

Rule 2: Letters without closed loops have a surface area equal to 4 times the volume
plus 2:
SA = 4V + 2
Letter Volume Surface Area Letter Volume Surface Area
A 12 50 C 9 38

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

 E 10 42 F 8 34
G 11 46 H 11 46
I 9 38 J 8 34
L 7 30 M 15 62
S 11 46 T 7 30
U 11 46 V 10 42
Y 9 38
Letters that are “disconnected”, meaning they are built in separate sections, are
trickier. Here are the volumes and surface areas for these seven letters:
Letter Volume Surface Area Letter Volume Surface Area
D 10 44 K 9 42
N 12 52 R 11 48
W 13 58 X 9 46
Z 9 42

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

The rules should help you to calculate the surface areas of other letters that the students
design. Here is the full alphabetical list for the simpler letters.

Letter Volume Surface Area

A 12 50
B 12 48
C 9 38
D 10 44
E 10 42
F 8 34
G 11 46
H 11 46
I 9 38
J 8 34
K 9 42
L 7 30
M 15 62
N 12 52
O 12 48
P 10 40
Q 13 52
R 11 48
S 11 46
T 7 30
U 11 46
V 10 42
W 13 58
X 9 46
Y 9 38
Z 9 42

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

To grade each project, I typically spend less than a minute. First I count the volume of a
few letters and calculate the surface area using these formulas and keys. I also add the
volume and surface area to verify that their totals are correct. I check to see that they used
the correct labels of units3 for the volume and units2 for the surface area. Then I give
them a score in the mathematics portion of the rubric. If I take off points, I simply circle
the reason (such as “total”) and give them less than full credit. If they want to know what
is wrong, they can ask me and I’ll show them. This saves me the time of writing
comments on their papers and also gives me an opportunity to discuss their grade
directly. Students in my class have the opportunity to fix their errors if they wish.
Next I look at the quality of their measurement. Did they use straight lines? Are any lines
missing? Do any lines go in the wrong directions? Is their name centered on the paper? I
then give them a score on their measurement.
Then I look at the presentational quality. Is the shading and coloring done neatly? Is the
spelling correct? Is each cube accurately drawn? They then get a score on their
presentation.
In the “Other” category I assign extra points based on the complexity of their lettering
and whether they went beyond my five letter minimum requirement. Coloring the
background or adding a border is also rewarded. One year a student drew little stick
figures with ladders, scaffolding, and paintbrushes. His workers were painting the colors
on the letters. However the last letter in his name appeared to have fallen over. Beside it
was an overturned paint can and a pair of feet protruding from beneath the fallen letter.
That tragic project got a chuckle and a fair bit of extra credit!

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
In this project, you will need to write your name using isometric letters. Calculate the
volume and surface area of each letter and the total volume and surface area of your
name. Use at least five letters in your project.
Grading rubric:
Cut this out and tape it to the back of your finished project before turning it in.
 

Mathematics: ......................................... _____/50

Volume, surface area, totals, labels
Measurement ......................................... _____/25
Straight lines, missing lines, wrong directions,
centered name
Presentation ........................................... _____/25
3-tone shading, coloring, spelling, line quality
Other........................................................... _____
Total: ................................................... _____/100

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

The Common Core Connection
This activity addresses some Common Core Math standards specifically while addressing
the cluster titles of other sets of standards. In addition, the project helps students gain
crucial spatial visualization skills necessary for success in upper level geometry.

6th grade
Geometry
Cluster A: Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and
volume.

7th grade
Geometry
Cluster A: Draw, construct, and describe geometrical figures and describe the
relationships between them.
Cluster B: Solve real-life and mathematical problems involving angle measure, area,
surface area, and volume.
CCSS.Math.Content.7.G.A.2 Draw (freehand, with ruler and protractor, and with
technology) geometric shapes with given conditions. Focus on constructing triangles
from three measures of angles or sides, noticing when the conditions determine a
unique triangle, more than one triangle, or no triangle.
 

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

 Figure  1  

Figure 2

Figure  3  

Figure  4  

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

 *  

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press  

 
*   *  

*   *All  letters  on  this  

page  are  built  on  a  3  x  
5  grid  except  those  
marked  with  an  
asterisk.  
©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    
 ISOMETRIC DRAWING TOP   Name________________________________________  
PAPER

 
©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press  
 
  

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

  

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

  

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

  

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press    

  

©  2014  by  Brad  Fulton  and  TTT  Press