by Dave and Michelle Youngs.
Shape Makers is one of a large family of dissection puzzles which challenge
students to assemble a series of smaller shapes to form larger ones. Tangrams,
which gained popularity in the early 1900s, are perhaps the most common kind
of dissection puzzle. In Shape Makers, four squares and eight triangles
must be reassembled to create a large square, a large triangle, a parallelogram,
and a trapezoid. While the main task is fairly simple, it has many possibilities
for more challenging extensions.
The second student sheet provides some of these extensions, showing three
additional irregular shapes which can be created using the 12 puzzle pieces.
Once students discover how to make these shapes, they are challenged to create
some shapes of their own and record them. These student-created shapes can be
traded with classmates so that students can try to solve puzzles that their
friends have created. This gives the students more ownership of the puzzle and
gives extra incentive to try and create a shape that will stump others in the
class.
Worksheet | Extensions
PDF version (152 K)
I hope you and your students have fun solving this puzzle and creating some
shapes of your own. If any of your students discover especially creative shapes
that can be made with the pieces, send us a copy of their work and we will try
to print it in a future issue of the magazine. If you have any questions or
comments about this puzzle feel free to write us here at AIMS*P.O. Box 8120*Fresno,
CA 93747 or by email: meyoungs@fresno.edu or dyoungs@fresno.edu. Puzzle Corner |
