Both children and adults like puzzle games: they are exciting, develop ingenuity and non-standard thinking, raise self-esteem, and do not require special knowledge. In addition, such games are an excellent replacement for electronic gadgets that have captured the time and mind of modern people. Perhaps one of the most famous puzzles is the tangram - a square cut into seven parts. In today's article, we will look at the main aspects related to this exciting game: the history of the tangram, the rules of the game, the benefits for children's development and ways to make the tangram yourself.
Chinese tangram puzzle game: rules and history
Tangram (from the Chinese "seven tablets of skill") consists of seven flat figures, or tans. They must be folded in a certain way to obtain a more complex figure depicting a person, animal, plant, object, number, letter, etc. The conditions of the game are the use of all seven tangram pieces and no overlap between the pieces. You should start adding the puzzle by finding the location of the largest triangle.
Tangram is considered an ancient game that originated over 4,000 years ago. According to legend, a porcelain tile fell out of the hands of one person and broke. It turned out 7 parts, and the frustrated person tried to quickly put them together again into a single whole, but the result was the appearance of various figures. The lesson turned out to be very exciting, later it turned into a game and found many fans.
Another beautiful legend tells of the battle between the God of Thunder and the Great Dragon. The God of Thunder broke the sky into 7 parts that fell to the ground. Black pieces absorbed the earth's light and all existing forms of objects. The dragon began to create various forms from "pieces of the sky" - animals, plants, humans.
However, despite the well-established idea of tangram as the oldest game, the earliest depiction of its figures in a Chinese book dates back to 1813. Already at the beginning of the 19th century, thanks to the development of trade relations with China, this game became popular in Europe and America. The oldest copy of the tangram was given to the son of an American shipowner in 1802; it is made of ivory and kept in a silk case.
Fans of the game were, for example, Edgar Allan Poe and Lewis Carroll. In the library of the latter there was a book with 323 tasks for this puzzle.
How many figures are in the tangram and what are they?
Tangram consists of 7 parts obtained by cutting a square. What figures are included in the tangram? These are 5 triangles (2 large, 1 medium and 2 small), a parallelogram and a square. From such a small number of details, you can get a huge number of different figures - it is estimated that there are more than 7000 options!
How to play tangram: rules
Tangram is a simple and simple game. Its rules are as follows:
- From the details of the tangram, you need to add an image of an animal, a person, an object, a letter, a number, a geometric figure;
- The assembled figure must include all 7 parts of the tangram;
- Parts must be in contact without overlapping each other;
- The addition of the figure begins with finding the location of the large triangle.
The benefits of the educational game tangram
Despite its apparent simplicity, tangram is an excellent educational tool. No wonder it is also called a split puzzle or a geometric constructor. By assembling various figures from tangram parts, a child can learn a lot.
What develops tangram:
- perseverance (like any other puzzle, tangram takes time);
- attention, ability to concentrate on details;
- imagination - the child imagines the end result and ways to achieve it;
- logical thinking, since the child creates a whole from parts, analyzes options;
- the ability to follow the rules.
All these qualities and skills are important not only for learning, but for life in general.
Tangram material: wooden, magnetic, cardboard, plastic
Tangram can be made from different materials. The simplest option that is easy to make at home is a cardboard tangram. But, as you understand, it is also the most fragile.
An excellent solution would be to purchase or make a wooden tangram at home. Durable, durable and eco-friendly, it is sure to pass on from today's kids to their own.
It is very convenient to play with a magnetic tangram: you can make pieces on a special field, where they will not move anywhere or overlap each other. It is quite simple to make it at home from special foam and magnets or a special magnetic tape (soft magnet).
Plastic tangrams are quite strong and durable. You can also make them yourself.
How to make a tangram with your own hands?
Making a tangram with your own hands is not at all difficult. First decide on the material. At home, the easiest way is to make a cardboard, rubber (from porous rubber or foam) or magnetic tangram. You can also make a tangram out of felt or an office folder out of hard plastic or very thick cardboard.
The scheme of any tangram looks like this:
The size of the tangram is up to you. It will certainly be convenient for a child to play with a puzzle with a side of a square of 10-12 cm.
Cut out a square from the selected material and draw it in accordance with the diagram (you can follow the template, or you can without it). First, divide the diagonal square in half into two large triangles. Find the center of the square and the midpoints of the sides of one of the larger triangles. Divide the second large triangle in half by connecting the top of the right angle to the center of the square. Draw another large triangle according to the points obtained using a square on the remaining figures: the middle triangle, two small ones, a square and a parallelogram.
You can make all the puzzle pieces the same color, but it will be more interesting and beautiful to create a multi-colored, bright tangram. Paste the resulting parts (if they are non-color or plain) on both sides with colored paper or film. If the child makes the tangram himself, if desired, he can color every detail with pencils or felt-tip pens.
Thin plywood is best for making a wooden tangram. The blank will also need to be drawn and cut according to the scheme, and the resulting parts should be painted.
How to assemble a tangram?
You can introduce a child to the tangram as early as 3-4 years old. You should start by explaining how its parts are called. The simplest version of the game is folding the figures along the contours drawn by the elements. The child needs to find the outline of the desired shape and impose it on top. Later, he will learn to assemble compositions not on top, but next to the sample figure, which will be of a different size. Having practiced, the baby will gradually be able to move on to the addition of figures, seeing only their outer contour, or he will come up with figures himself.
You can play with a tangram one at a time, or you can arrange competitions between players.
As mentioned above, you need to start adding the tangram by finding the location of the large triangle.
Below are some options for figures that can be assembled from puzzle pieces.
Tangram, like any other puzzle, is a wonderful simulator for developing logic and imagination. Its feature is simplicity and at the same time multifunctionality, because only 7 parts can be combined into several thousand variants of figures! We hope that you and your child will appreciate this exciting game. Enjoy your leisure time!
Tatiana Kholyavskaya
Good day to all!
I think that all educators are familiar with the puzzle game " tangram", I will not write much about it. This Chinese game, which has spread throughout the world for more than 4 thousand years!
Children are very fond of play this game, everyone wants to play, one or two sets per group is not enough. I decided to make more sets of this puzzle for all the children in the group in the kindergarten from cardboard. I glued a self-adhesive film on top of the cardboard sheets. So the figures look more beautiful, and stronger.
A game is an equilateral square. For children 5-6 years old, I made a square 12 * 12 cm. Larger, I think, is not necessary. Yet this a game not only introduces children to geometric shapes, develops thinking, imagination, logic, ingenuity, but also fine motor skills, which means that the details should not be too large.
A square is divisible by 7 parts: two large right triangles, two small right triangles, one equilateral square, one middle triangle and a parallelogram.
I signed the main sizes on photo: square - 4.2 cm * 4.2 cm, large triangles - 8.5 * 8.5 * 12 cm.
The square is cut into parts:
Flipping:
Templates for building figures can be downloaded on the Internet, from the simplest to the most complex. For small children (4 years) it is better to make the templates yourself by gluing parts of the same size onto a sheet of cardboard, at first they will overlay the parts on top, next to each other over time. For example, here is a card with fish:
It will still be difficult for them to build according to the drawn schemes. But children of 5-6 years old can already build according to schemes, first of such a plan, where the boundaries of geometric figures:
then no borders:
Children play in such a game can be quite a long time and with enthusiasm (the game develops perseverance) . Here are the figurines are obtained:
I have children of the older group, they lay out according to the drawn schemes
I put each set in an envelope
and envelopes in a box
Now I want to do felt tangram.
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The theme of cats is not over yet. I present to you the game tangram "Cats". Tangram (from the Chinese "seven boards of skill") is a puzzle consisting of seven flat figures that are folded in a certain way to get another, more complex one - we have cats. When solving the puzzle, two conditions must be met: first, all seven tangram figures must be used, and second, the figures must not overlap.
With a tangram, a child will learn to analyze images, highlight geometric shapes in them, learn to visually break an entire object into parts, and vice versa, to compose a given model from elements, and most importantly, to think logically.
This game has different levels of difficulty that can be used with children of different ages.
1. Compiling figures by superimposing on a tangram scheme. The child is given a diagram of a tangram figure, he must put all the elements of the tangram on it. 
2. Compilation of figures according to the model. The child is given a tangram scheme, but he must already fold the figure from the elements next to it on the table. 
3. Compilation of figures according to the contour image. The child must fold the tangram figure along its contour. 
4. Compilation of figures according to one's own design. At this stage, the child independently comes up with figures for drawing up, which develops the imagination very well.
Tangram - an old oriental puzzle of figures obtained by cutting a square into 7 parts in a special way: 2 large triangles, one medium, 2 small triangles, a square and a parallelogram. As a result of folding these parts with each other, flat figures are obtained, the contours of which resemble all kinds of objects, ranging from humans, animals and ending with tools and household items. These types of puzzles are often referred to as "geometric construction sets", "cardboard puzzles" or "cut puzzles".
With a tangram, a child will learn to analyze images, highlight geometric shapes in them, learn to visually break an entire object into parts, and vice versa - to compose a given model from elements, and most importantly - to think logically.
How to make a tangram
A tangram can be made from cardboard or paper by printing out a template and cutting along the lines. You can download and print the tangram square diagram by clicking on the picture and selecting "print" or "save picture as...".
It is possible without a template. We draw a diagonal in a square - we get 2 triangles. Cut one of them in half into 2 small triangles. We mark the middle on each side of the second large triangle. We cut off the middle triangle and the rest of the figures at these marks. There are other options for how to draw a tangram, but when you cut it into pieces, they will be exactly the same.
A more practical and durable tangram can be cut from a rigid office folder or a plastic DVD box. You can complicate your task a little by cutting out tangrams from pieces of different felt, overcasting them around the edges, or even from plywood or wood.
How to play tangram
Each figure of the game must be made up of seven parts of the tangram, and at the same time they must not overlap.
The easiest option for preschool children 4-5 years old is to assemble figures according to diagrams (answers) drawn into elements, like a mosaic. A little practice, and the child will learn to make figures according to the contour pattern and even invent their own figures according to the same principle.
Schemes and figures of the game tangram
Recently, designers have often used tangram. The most successful use of tangram, perhaps, as furniture. There are tangram tables, and transformable upholstered furniture, and cabinet furniture. All furniture, built on the principle of tangram, is quite comfortable and functional. It can be modified depending on the mood and desire of the owner. How many different options and combinations can be made from triangular, square and quadrangular shelves. When buying such furniture, along with instructions, the buyer is given several sheets with pictures on various topics that can be folded from these shelves.In the living room you can hang shelves in the form of people, in the nursery you can put cats, hares and birds out of the same shelves, and in the dining room or library - the drawing can be on a construction theme - houses, castles, temples.
Here is such a multifunctional tangram.
It is noteworthy that the word "tangram" itself is actually an old English word, composed of two parts - "tan" - Chinese and "gram" - in Greek "letter". In China, the game is called Chi-Chao-Tu (7 ingenious pieces).
The essence of this puzzle lies in the folding of 7 geometric tanram figures of various silhouettes, as well as in inventing new ones. Imagine, it is estimated that 7000 different combinations can be made from the elements of the tangram. When solving the puzzle, you must follow only 2 rules: the first - you must use all 7 tangram figures, and the second - the figures should not overlap each other.
What is the use of tangram?
Folding according to tangram schemes contributes to the development of perseverance, attention, imagination, logical thinking, helps to create a whole from parts and at the same time foresee the result of one's activity, teaches one to follow the rules and act according to instructions. All these skills are necessary for the child while studying at school, and in adulthood.
Tangram: schemes for younger students
It is better for young children to offer simple and interesting tangram patterns, such as animal silhouettes. We offer to collect together with children a cat, carp, camel, fox, turkey and duck. Please note that one picture can be changed quite a bit by moving several figures, and the assembled animal changes position, that is, it seems to come to life.
kitty
carp and camel
Chanterelle
duck and turkey
For you, a detailed description of the tangram scheme with the image of a hare.
1. We will begin to make the first figure of our hare from the head - a square. Attach the ears to the head: a medium-sized triangle and a parallelogram. We will make the body from 2 large triangles, and the paws from small ones.
2. Our bunny was frightened of something and changed its shape: he pressed his ears, folded his paws. Let's lay out the body from 2 large triangles, connecting them in the form of a parallelogram. We will attach the head from the square to the body, and the ears from the parallelogram to the head. It remains to make paws from 2 small and 1 medium triangles.
3. The hare stopped being afraid and decided to look out from behind the bush: he pricked up his ears (a parallelogram and a middle triangle), and he also had a tail - a small triangle.
And this is how a fox chasing a hare looks like.
Tangram patterns for high school students
A fifth-grader can already safely take on more complex tangram schemes - images of people in motion. Also, children of this age will surely like the intricate silhouettes of numbers and letters.
Tangram develops abstract thinking well, so it will be useful for preschoolers who are preparing for school and.
Tangram in design
Adults can not only play tangram with kids, but also to go further - to use the technique of this puzzle in the design. You can decorate the interior in an original and beautiful way with bookshelves in the form of tangram figures.
Realize your most interesting ideas, it all depends on your imagination.