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Do your students love building their own worlds in video games? Then this is the perfect educational virtual building game for you! Build a farm, a house, or even a medieval town! Your imagination and creativity are the limit with this exciting building game. 

You can build using two main strategies. You can start using a set or start from scratch. 

Build from a Set: So, you’d like to get started with a pre-built set! This gives you a base from which to add your own pizazz. Tap the “set” button on the bottom right-hand corner. Then, select the set you’d like to use. Next, use the “build from scratch” instructions to add your own special touches to the world. 

Build from Scratch: Choose the “category” button which is in the bottom left-hand corner. Once you’ve selected your category, use the next button to the right which looks like a grid to select a building tool. You can select the color and position of your blocks or objects using the next two buttons. Make sure you have the “add” button selected to add new objects to the grid. Use the “delete” button to erase blocks. The trash can erases the grid completely. 

Take a look at some of the other tools in detail:

Paint: Use this tool to change the color of items already on the grid. Just tap the paint button, then tap the color button to choose your color. Finally, tap the item and watch it magically change color! 

Rotate: You can use this tool to rotate objects on the grid. Tap the button. Then, tap the object and it will rotate. Keep tapping until it reaches the position you’d prefer. 

Move: You now have the power to teleport objects! Tap the move key. Then, tap the object you’d like to move and it will disappear. Tap where you’d like to move it to and it will magically reappear. 

Replace: Replace one block with another one using the replace tool. Tap the replace tool before selecting the block you’d like to use. Then, tap the block you’d like to replace and the new block will appear and the old block will disappear!

Duplicate: This makes creating easier than ever! Once you have some blocks on your grid, you can duplicate any of them with the tap of your finger. After tapping the duplicate button, tap the block you want to duplicate. Then, tap anywhere and the block will appear. 

Diagonal Arrow Buttons: These buttons move all of the blocks in the direction indicated.

Up and Down Arrows: Sink your world or watch it rise into the sky with these arrows. You can build layers upon layers of worlds! 

Magnifying glasses: Zoom in or out to see your world in detail. If you zoom out, your grid will get bigger. See how big you can grow your world!

Turn Around: The top button that has a circular arrow will turn the grid around so that you can see it from a different angle. 

Save: Do you want to come back to your world later? As long as your Toy Theater session is open, you can save your world. Tap the “Save as” button. Then, choose a world number. Then, you can move on and build something else. To see your world again, use the “open” button. Then, you can tap the world you saved and work on it again. 

If you’re struggling to build here are some tips to help:

• Remember, the tool you’re using will be highlighted in black.
• Zoom in to see what you’re doing!
• Some building styles require you to build by stacking blocks and then removing the ones you don’t need. 
• Try changing angles to see what’s behind you or to place a block better. 

Using this fun building activity can encourage children to explore history. Invite them to explore the Ancient Greece category to rebuild the Parthenon. Alternatively, teach about perimeter and area as children build houses. Or, simply allow students to use their creativity, problem-solving skills, and ingenuity to create whatever they’d like. 

What will you build? 

Visit libraryforkids.com for more resources related to Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. 

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Are you ready to build? Use your imagination and create a castle, pool, park, or something else completely.

The online cube builder helps students develop many different skills including spatial reasoning, creativity, problem-solving, and an understanding of 3D objects. Using the 3D cube builder is easy after you experiment with it for a bit. This key will help you:

• Plus Button: Adds new cubes to the space
• Hammer: After selecting this button, you can remove specific cubes.
• Crosshairs: Centers your creation. Simply click once.
• Paint bucket: After choosing a different color in the top right hand color selector, click on the block of your choice. It will paint the block that color.
• Dropper: Use the dropper to select a color from one of the blocks. Then, with the color selected, you can then choose the paint bucket to use the color again.
• Trash can: Use this button to start over. You can also use this tool to reset the activity if you’ve deleted all of the cubes.
• More: Located in the bottom left-hand corner, press this button to select from the drop-down menu. Of particular interest is the duplicate tool. With this tool, you can click on your project to add another block of the same style right beside the other one. Use the rotate tool to turn or twist a block in different directions.

Remember, when selecting tools, they will show up highlighted in yellow. This will help you determine which tool is active at any given moment.

What will you build?

Visit classplayground.com for more resources and printables related to geometry.

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