It's amazing the complex figures that can be made using only a few simple shapes. Following a class reading of the children's book Grandfather Tang's Story by Ann Tompert, young mathematicians use sets of tangrams to create models of the book's characters. If sets of tangrams or patterns blocks are unavailable in your class, a template is provided for creating your own. This fun, engaging lesson would make a perfect addition to a geometry unit in the primary grade level.

Concepts

rhombus, polygons, quadrilaterals, squares, triangles

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Additional Tags

triangle, square, rhombus, composing shapes, composite shape, two-dimensional shape, 2-d shape, math

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Pros

• A worksheet is include that shows how to make each character using tangrams
• Lesson allows for cross-curricular connections between math and language arts

Cons

• A copy of the children's book Grandfather Tang's Story by Ann Tompert is required for the lesson

Common Core

1.G.A.2 MP5 MP7