Anne Tompert's folktale, Grandfather Tang connects literature with the math concept of tangrams.
Anne Tompert wrote Grandfather Tang to amuse children and introduce tangrams. Her elementary book connects literature with math by using tangrams to create the different characters in the book. The main character, Grandfather Tang tells a story to his grandchild and he uses tangrams to illustrate the different animals in the story.
Tangrams are seven geometric shapes that are used to create one specific shape. The rules to creating a tangram shape are to use all seven pieces and none of the shapes can overlap.
Before the teacher reads the story to the class, he should familiarize himself with tangrams. As well, he needs to solve all of the tangram puzzles in the story, before presenting to the class. The teacher should be able to read the puzzle as she changes the shapes of the animals with the use of tangrams.
After the teacher reads the story, he should open discussions about tangrams. After discussing tangrams, the class can create their own tangrams from paper. The teacher may read the first part of the story and ask the students to solve the first tangram puzzle.
After students have solved the first puzzle they can continue to the next tangram puzzle in the book. It would be ideal to divide the class into groups and have each group work together creating tangrams from the story as they read the story.
Grandfather Tang is a great introduction to the story as it will hook many of the children to want to create their own tangram puzzles. Solving tangrams expand the student’s thinking, creativity, and problem solving skills.
After students have begun to create tangrams, it is a good lead to discuss math topics such as area, perimeter, congruent, right angle triangle, isosceles triangle, and names of specific polygons. Tompert’s story opens up many math discussions.
Literature Connection with Tangrams
Tangrams can be used to create stories, similar to Anne Tompert’s, Grandfather Tang. Students create a few characters in their story with tangrams. Students chose a story outline with specific characters and begin to create with the tangrams.
Students will write a story and the illustrations will be with tangrams. Tangrams will make the drawings simplistic but it is a very interactive story to get all students involved.
Students may write a story and have the tangram puzzle illustrated throughout the story. The puzzle will be missing the middle lines in the puzzle to make it a more difficult task for students to problem solve. As the student reads the story, other students must try and solve the tangram puzzle.
Tangram Game
Guess the tangram character before the last tan is put in place. The teacher may put one tangram on the blackboard with a clue to the puzzle. As the day progresses, the teacher writes a new clue with a new puzzle piece put in place. She continues until someone is able to solve the tangram puzzle.
