Here are your seven tasks for your tangram adventure: 

Task 1:  Let's begin by familiarizing yourself with the seven pieces of the puzzle.  Since you already have so much experience with polygons, you will create the pieces yourself.  Get scissors and paper from your teacher and print and follow the directions.  Make sure to ask your teacher to check your pieces. 

Now that you have your pieces, lets go over the rules of the puzzle.

Rules of the puzzle:

• All seven pieces must be used.

• All pieces must lie flat.

• All pieces must touch.

• No pieces may overlap.

• Pieces may be flipped/and or rotated to form the desired shape.

Task 2: Experiment with your tangram pieces.  You will discover the magic they have and the ability to create different figures.  Tangrams come to life when you are imaginative.   Click Here to practice tangram creations.

Task 3:  Let's see how well you do with tangrams.  Print the Tangram Worksheet and practice your skills.  You will need an extra piece of paper to trace your answers.  When you are finished, make sure you hand it in to your teacher.

Task 4:  Now you are ready to begin your tangram project.  The first half of your project is creating an original figure with your seven pieces.  When you are creating your figure, don't forget about the rules of the puzzle.  You may create an existing animal, a made up animal, a real life object, a person, or anything else that you can come up with.  The possibilities are endless. 

Once you have created your figure, get a big piece of colored construction paper and glue your pieces on the left side of the paper. 

Brilliant Job!
Keep it Up.

Task 5:  A Chinese proverb states, "a picture is worth a thousand words."   Chinese storytellers use tangrams to tell stories.  In the next part of the project you will be doing exactly that.   There is a story behind every picture and you are now the author.   Now go grab some yellow lined paper and brainstorm your thoughts and ideas.  Click Here and print a graphic organizer to help you get started.  After you show your teacher your ideas, begin writing your rough draft on yellow lined paper.  Please refer to the rubric on the Evaluation Page as a guide for this writing task.  Since you will be graded on your content, organization, and clarity, you can find an Editing Checklist on the Resources Page to help you edit your work.  It is also a good idea to ask a buddy to read your story and give you some feedback.    After you check your work and show your teacher, you may write or type a final draft.  If you type your story, make sure you double space it and use size 12 font.  This final draft should be glued next to your tangram creation. 

*If you made it this far, you should know that you are a super student and a very hard worker. *

Task 6:  Now that you have all this geometry experience "under your belt," you will be given two online assessments that will be counted towards your web-quest grade.  Go to the Resources Page and find the link for Quiz 1 and click on it.  This will bring you to the beginning of the quiz.  When you come to the end of the quiz, print your score. 

Task 7: Follow the same directions for Quiz 2.  Don't forget to print your score and hand it in to your teacher. 

Author:  Gina M. Graziano

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Last Updated:  05/12/2008