The tangram, a collection of seven shapes, originated in the Tang Dynasty during the Imperial Dynasty. The Balmoral Grade 7 & 8’s explored this topic using the book called the “Warlord’s Puzzle” by Virginia Walton Pilegard. In the story, the warlord is upset that his favorite piece of art has broken into seven pieces and searches for someone to put the art back together. The warlord promises great riches to whoever can put the art back together.
After we had read the first initial pages, each student in grade 7 & 8 were given the seven pieces. The students were tasked to see who could solve the puzzle and obtain the warlord’s great riches. Students tried many different strategies and discussed with each other what strategies were successful. As a class, we read the book further, and got clues that would lead us onto the right track. At the end of the book, we were able to successfully put the puzzle together into a perfect square using the seven pieces.
We were able to solve the Warlord’s Puzzle! A bit of history and math makes for an exciting and challenging lesson!
Grade 7 & 8 Balmoral School
in: School Events