TESSELLATIONS

This distant learning unit allows students to examine the mathematical nature of art, tiling and
tessellations. This power point is to be utilized as a Teacher Resource and as Additional Teacher
Material that will be repeated in the distant learning website.
Overall Instructional Objective

To use these activities and resources to develop students' understanding of tessellations. To see the
polygons characteristics used in tesselations, and to develop the ability to analyze and create similar
patterns in art.

Lesson 1- What is a Tessellation?

Lesson 2- Regular Polygon Tessellations
Lesson 3- Non-Regular Polygon Tessellations
 TESSELLATIONS

Standards: Grades 6-8 Geometry

Use visualization, spatial reasoning, and geometric modeling to solve problems.

Target Audience: 6th grade math students

Access to technology:
Students will be using classroom computers with internet access, allowing them time to explore web
sites and tutorials that demonstrate and create the tessellations concepts being learned.
 What is a TESSELLATION?

Lesson 1
Instructional objectives:
• To explain to students what tessellations are,
• Name the shapes in tessellations that form patterns.
• To recognize tessellations that exist in varied art forms.

Resources:
Definition of tessellation http://www.coolmath.com/lesson-tessellations-1.htm
Math Tessellations http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/tess/triex.htm
Tessellation examples in art http://fiveprime.org/hivemind/Tags/tessellation,triangle
 What is a TESSELLATION?

Task: Name the polygon shapes in tessellations that form patterns.

Configure the angle vertex measurements of tiled polygons.
Experiment with rotating and translating polygons to form
repeating patterns.

Assessments:
Name the tessellations meeting at vertexes that form 360° interior angles?
Demonstrate and share tessellations on wikis.
 The ART of TESSELATIONS

What is a tessellation?

Tessellations can be defined as a repeated geometric design that covers

a plane without gaps or overlaps. Tiles on floors, mosaics, drawings and
paintings have used tessellations in colorful and beautiful ways.

Enjoy exploring and discussing the tessellations created in various art

http://fiveprime.org/hivemind/Tags/tessellation,triangle

Task: Go onto the provided web pages and find an interesting tessellation to post to your
wiki. Describe the original geometric shapes in these patterns and how they were tiled.
 Regular Polygon
Tessellations
Lesson 2
Instructional objectives:
• To discover why certain polygons tessellate naturally
• To recognize the non-overlapping vertexes that can be formed with tessellating regular polygons.

Resources:
How to understand the concept and creations of Tessellations
http://www.coolmath.com/lesson-tessellations-1.htm
Interactive webite that will create tessellations of polygons
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/Tessellate/
 Regular Polygon
Tessellations
Lesson 2
Task: Name the interior angle measurements of regular polygons.
Find which measurements can form a vertex that does not overlap the polygons when tiled.

Assessments: What polygons will create no gaps at the vertexes?

Let’s explore polygons and their interior angles. (Take students to the site that labels the interior
angles which will explains how the vertexes meet with not gaps.)

Name the tessellations meeting at vertexes that form 360 degree interior angles?
Demonstrate and share tessellations on wikis.
 Triangle, Squares,
and Hexagons

In a tessellation the polygons used will fit together with their angles arranged around a point with no gaps or overlaps.
When using just one polygon (for example, only equilateral triangles), the interior measure of each angle will need to
be a factor of 360 degrees (meaning that 360 degrees can be divided evenly by that angle measure). The only regular
polygons that qualify are the equilateral triangle, the square, and the regular hexagon.

These regular polygons are the only regular shapes which tessellate by themselves. If you fit together these shapes
and tile them on a plane, they will form a tessellation.
 Regular Polygons

The Triangle
Interior Angle = 60°

TRIANGLES
What is the interior measure of the angles of a triangle?
Look at the vertex of one triangle that is in a tessellation of triangles.
How many triangles, in all, are touching at that vertex?
What is the sum of the angles that share that vertex?

Triangle grid: http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/tess/bigtri.htm

 Regular Polygons

The Square
Interior Angle = 90°

SQUARES
What is the interior measure of the angles of a square?
Think of the vertex of one square within a tessellation of squares. How many squares,
in all, are touching at that vertex?
What is the sum of the angles that share that vertex?

Square grid: http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/tess/bigsq.htm

 Regular Polygons

The Hexagon
Interior Angle = 120°

HEXAGONS
What is the interior measure of the angles of a hexagon?
Think of the vertex of one hexagon within a tessellation of hexagons. How many
hexagons, in all, are touching at that vertex?
What is the sum of the angles that share that vertex?

Hexagon grid: http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/tess/bighex.htm

 Creating a Repeating Pattern

Resource:

http://www.coolmath4kids.com/tesspag1.html

Task: Name the shapes in tessellations that form patterns.

Configure the angle vertex measurements of tiled polygons.
Experiment with rotating and translating polygons to form repeating patterns.

Resources: (that page the creates regular polygon tess.)

Assessments:
Are the tessellations meeting at vertexes that form 360 degree interior angles?
Demonstrate and share tessellations on wikis.
 Creating a Repeating Pattern

Begin this activity by opening your browser to the Tessellate! page

Select one of the regular polygon shapes and click the "tessellate" button to see it displayed.
Ask students to count the number of sides of the polygon.
Record the number of sides in the data table , and help students complete the rest of the information
for the shape you have chosen.
Guided Practice
Try another shape, letting the students take the lead in completing the data table for this new shape.
Determine a pattern among the regular polygons that they work with. Ask the students to predict
which regular polygons will and will not tessellate and why.
Select the third regular polygon, observe what it looks like in the Tessellate activity, and then complete
the data table for this shape.
 Ask students what the data table would look like for 5, 7 and 8-sided polygons.
 Help students analyze the data and draw a conclusion about which shapes will tessellate the plane and why.

http://shodor.org/interactivate/activities/FloorTiles/
Semi-Regular Polygon
Tessellations
Lesson 2
Instructional objectives:
• To discover why certain polygons tessellate naturally
• To recognize the non-overlapping vertexes that can be formed with tessellating regular polygons.

Resources:
How to understand the concept and creations of tessellations
http://www.coolmath.com/lesson-tessellations-1.htm

An AWESOME Interactive webite that will create tessellations of polygons

http://nrich.maths.org/content/id/4832/polygons.swf

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/Tessellate/
Semi-Regular Polygon
Tessellations
Lesson 2
Task: Name the interior angle measurements of semi- regular polygons.
Find which combination of measurements can form a 360° vertex.

Assessments:

Name the polygons whose vertexes form 360° interior angle?

Demonstrate and share tessellations on wikis.
 Semi-Regular Polygon
Tessellations

Explanation of semi regular tessellation

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SemiregularTessellation.html
On the left you see an animated pegasus image that
illustrates perfectly how Escher achieved the
tessellations through congruent shapes on each
side.