Tangrams come from China, and are ancient Chinese puzzles, which
are still used today by people of all ages.
A tangram consists of several pieces each called a tan. Legend has it that
the tangram came about when a young man was walking into town carrying a square
tile,
when all of a sudden he tripped and fell! When he fell, the square tile broke
into seven pieces ranging in shapes and sizes. The young man tried to put the
tile back together, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to succeed at this
task. Instead, he wound up creating pictures with all of the “puzzle pieces.”
Today tangrams are used in creating pictures, where all seven pieces must be
used, and they must touch, but none may overlap. Besides creating pictures, tangrams
are also used in storytelling, where tans show the shape of a character in a
tale.
After reading “Grandfather Tang’s Story,” by Ann Tompert and
working on tangram puzzles, 2C incorporated all of their knowledge on tangrams
to create their own “Tangram Tales.” In order to create the “Tangram
Tales,” the students worked in groups of tree to write short stories. They used tangrams to illustrate their stories.
The students of 2C had a fantastic time learning about tangrams and their history, and enjoyed coming up with their own tangram stories. The energy level for this activity skyrocketed and the students did a wonderful job of not only working collaboratively, but also feeding off of each other’s ideas and being creative.
This project designed and implemented by Barbara Cipolloni, Second grade teacher for Germantown Academy. Web page design and technical assistance furnished by Carol Siwinski, Curricular Technology Specialist.
April, 2007
