Use seven simple shapes to encourage an exploration of shapes and the relationship a small shape has to a larger shape.
Include tangrams in your study of area, fractions, even coordinate graphing! I, personally, can get quite frustrated with spatial puzzles so this one is great for helping me increase my patience and perseverence. |
For your kiddos it could be a great way to help teams learn to build on each others’ strengths as this task can be easy for some and challenging for others. The ones who find it easy can practice explaining their thinking to the ones who may get frustrated, like me!
I included tangrams in my Math Night product at TpT and I’ve collected a bunch of free resources to make this easier for you to add this to your math resources.
- Tangram Polygon Explorations, Laura Candler at TpT – maybe a team activity or an activity to challenge a capable student?
- Make animal shapes from AIMS – pdf to print
- Create a dog, rabbit, house, and much more! – online activity
- National Council of Teachers of Math – another online activity
- Challenge your very capable students to solve the Magic Cup Paradox - I created a pdf file with three puzzles, solutions, and tangrams that are the same size as the puzzles to make them easier to solve!
I tried to find an app for my iPad to suggest. I found apps that require cash, a sign in, have ads about gambling :-(, or used the name but not the same shapes. I’ll keep looking and try to find one that would be suitable for kids. If you happen to find one, share it in the comments below!