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Cutting Corners

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Square Tangram

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Square Tangram


A set of shapes has five pieces.
First, make a square using four pieces.
Then, make a square using all five pieces.

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Then add another set of five pieces (so now there are ten) and make a square with all of them.

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You could download this sheet with two sets of pieces for printing and cutting - Word document or pdf version .
 

This tangram is a challenging context in which to remind pupils of the properties of squares. If preferred, they could print and cut out the tangram pieces rather than using the interactivity.

In both cases, it is important that children become more confident at simply "having a go" and playing with their ideas to begin with, rather than feeling that they need to know the "right" way to do it from the start. You might like to model this trial and improvement approach, perhaps on an interactive whiteboard, emphasising that we can learn a lot from what doesn't work.
The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice. More information on many of our other activities can be found here.
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NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.