What is a Tangram?
The tangram puzzle is an ancient Chinese puzzle introduced to America in 1815. The puzzle became popular throughout the Western world in the 1920s and the First World War saw another resurgence of interest in the tangram.
Why are they so useful in the classroom?
Most classrooms today use the tangram puzzle pieces to help students with their understanding of spatial awareness.
Students need to rotate and move the puzzle pieces to replicate an existing picture and for some young children, this can pose a great deal of difficulty.
Sometimes, how a child uses the tangram puzzle pieces can be an indicator of their understanding of two-dimensional pieces, shapes and space.
For example, do they understand that by flipping a 'tan' (puzzle piece) around they can match what they see on the card with what they see on their table?
Flipping, rotating and moving shapes around are great practice for early maths skills and you can download my Free Tangram Cards here and use them in your next math center activity.
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