Tessellation Ties

Math & Art in one!

Today we did a math and art combo! We made Tessellation Ties. This is an idea I got from the book MathART projects. We discussed where we see tessellations in our everyday lives as well as how they work likes puzzles.

Each student was given a square of cardstock to create their own tessellations. Our rules were: cut only on two touching sides (not opposite sides), cut simple shapes (triangles, squares, half-circles, rectangles), and only cut once. After the students cut their shapes, I gave them tape to create the tessellations. The cut piece must be taped to the opposite side and as close as possible to the exact spot of the cut.

The students were given tie outlines and create their tessellations. After then filled their ties, they decorated them however they liked!

Then, students cut them out and we put string on them to display our awesome tessellation ties!