How to Make Animals out of Tangram Pieces
Tangrams are sets of seven geometric pieces that you can arrange to create a number of animal, letter and other geometric shapes. Each set contains one small square, one parallelogram, two large triangles, one medium triangle and two small triangles. Kindergarten pupils often use these sets to reinforce their knowledge of introductory polygons. Upper elementary and middle school students use them to create more advanced images, such as this sitting cat and cat's head.
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Instructions
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Sitting Cat
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1
Position one large triangle on your work surface with one short straight edge across the bottom and the right angle of the triangle at the lower right area of the work surface. This piece acts as the cat's hindquarters.
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2
Lay the parallelogram on the work surface with one short edge in line with the bottom edge of the large triangle. The acute angle adjacent to the short edge touches the right angle of the large triangle. The remainder of the parallelogram extends up and to the right as the cat's fluffy tail.
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3
Position the other large triangle so the right angle is facing directly right and one short edge is lying on the first triangle's opposite short edge. The right angle of the second triangle and the top angle of the first are touching. The tangram triangle acts as the cat's back.
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4
Position the medium-size triangle so that the right angle is pointing directly left and the top angle is touching the top small angle of the second large triangle. The small triangle represents the cat's chest.
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5
Use the square as the cat's head by positioning it as a diamond, slightly offset from the medium and second large triangle's top angle connection.
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6
Lay the two small triangles' right angles pointing toward each other against the top two sides of the small square, as the cat's ears.
Cat's Head
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7
Lay one small triangle on your work surface so the right angle is facing toward you and the long edge is facing toward the top of the table.
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8
Place the parallelogram's long edge against the long edge of the medium triangle, pointing to the left, and in the blank space to the right, position the square as a diamond. You should begin to see a large diamond-oriented square forming as the cat's head.
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9
Position the medium triangle so one shorter flat edge is on top of the opposite long edge of the parallelogram and the right angle is facing down and right. Insert the last small triangle into the open space with the right angle facing right, touching the square and the long edge of the small triangle touches the medium triangle. The shape should now be a square turned to appear as a diamond.
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10
Lay the two large triangles so their right angles are touching each other in the center and move them so that the bottom short edges are touching the two top sections of the diamond.
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