Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Geometry and Tangrams

Every year when I get to teaching polygons I have a worksheet I give out so students can use certain pieces out of a tangram set to create shapes that are either concave or convex.  This activity requires students to think hard and work out ideas to create the shape.  Once they have created the shape, they copy it onto paper with the parts numbered and labeled on the drawing so I can see how they put the pieces together.  I have been wondering how this same assignment would work on an ipad either using a Tangram app or using a drawing app to put the drawings on so they could save their work and just ship it to me when its done.  I could actually have them create a small book showing their work and they could write a short caption for each picture and then explain what parts they used. Hmmm, ohhh the possibilities.
I checked the apple store for Tangram apps that might work.  Unfortunately, most of the ones I've found are actually games where the person matches pieces to create the picture given.  I want one that would allow the students to create what they want.  So I plan to download a few apps to see how well they work.
I also plan on trying the book idea at home to see how feasible the idea is.  I hope to share the results with you in a couple of days.

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