Making a Tangram!

Hello Geogenius!

In today’s post, we’re going to explore one of the most fun and creative tools in geometry: the Tangram! It’s a puzzle made of shapes that you can move, flip, and rotate to make new pictures. Get ready to build, solve, and explore geometry in a whole new way!

What Is a Tangram?

A Tangram is an ancient Chinese puzzle made from seven  shapes, called tans, that fit together to form a square. The seven pieces are:

• 2 large triangles

• 1 medium triangle

• 2 small triangles

• 1 square

• 1 parallelogram

You can use these pieces to make animals, people, buildings, letters, and more!

What Can We Learn from Tangrams?

Tangrams are not just fun, they’re a great way to learn about:

• Shapes: triangles, squares, and parallelograms

• Spatial thinking: flipping and rotating pieces

• Area and geometry: how shapes can fit together

• Problem-solving: trying different ways to complete puzzles!

Now let’s create a Tangram!

What You’ll Need:

• A square piece of paper or cardboard

• Ruler

• Pencil

• Scissors

Steps:

1. Start with a square (you can cut one from a piece of paper).

2. Follow a Tangram guide to draw the 7 shapes inside the square.

3. Carefully cut out the 7 pieces.

4. Mix them up—and you’re ready to play!

If you are struggling to draw the Tangram, you can print this template.

Fun Tangram Activities

🧩 Puzzle Time!

Try to form a square using all 7 pieces, it’s trickier than it looks! Then look for Tangram templates online and try building animals, boats, rockets, and more.

🖍️ Create Your Own Design

Make your own picture using all 7 pieces. Glue it to a new sheet of paper and turn it into art! Then give your creation a name and describe what shapes you used.

👬 Tangram Challenge

Play with a friend! One person builds a shape and the other tries to copy it using their own Tangram set.

Let’s Learn More:

Happy Learning!