Egg Tangram

egg tangram puzzlesThis is an egg tangram puzzle, often called the Magic Egg. The nine pieces can be reassembled to create numerous shapes - most popular ones are birds! The resource can be printed out and children challenged to create the images. The process of piecing together the individual shapes supports the children's logical thinking, reasoning, and visual problem-solving skills.

Alternatively, for Key Stage 2, the children could use the instructions to draw the egg tangram themselves. The attached file includes two different sized egg tangrams and instructions on how to draw the design using a ruler and a pair of compasses.

The attached pdf file (see below) includes three different templates (black, coloured and white), a challenge activity (to make six bird designs) and a solution page.

Egg Tangram file

 

If you would rather go with the 'draw it yourself route' for the Egg template, the design steps are:

1- start with a horizontal line AB and a vertical one CD
egg tangram construction

2 - Centre a circle radius 5cm on lines AB and CD

construct your own egg tangram
3 - Draw lines AF and BE

egg tangram instructions
4 - Use the centre of AF and BE to draw a circle radius 3cm (3/5 the size of the first circle)

5 - Draw an arc 10cm radius (double the size of the first circle) centered on B, from A to beyond line CD

Egg Tangram

6 - Repeat with centre on A

Easter egg tangram construction
7 - Use same measurement as GE, scribe mark (H) on bottom of line CD 

egg tangram instructions
8 - Scribe a circle with same radius centred on H. Add the two radial lines, as below.

draw your own egg tangram

9 - The completed Egg Tangram outline.
egg tangram design

NOTE: Some versions of the Magic Egg have 10 pieces - the line CD cuts through the final triangle (from step 8, above) to produce two smaller triangles.


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skecksi's picture

 I've got a tatty old copy of

 I've got a tatty old copy of this maths tangram problem so was pleased to find it poshified for my classroom! Thanks!  
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thurman123's picture

 A great resource - thanks!

 A great resource - thanks!  I am using the tangram as the basis for the front of our year 2 Easter cards.  The children will put a 'mini' tangram into a pocket inside their cards (to test their parents).  They will also have the chance to make the bird designs in their numeracy session.  
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johdu's picture

That's a brilliant idea...

That's a brilliant idea... I'd love to publish a photo or two of the finished cards - if you think this is a possibility please drop us a line

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emmapear's picture

Fabulous resource, thank you

Fabulous resource, thank you for the differentiation built it!
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clavia's picture

Excellent resource. Can't

Excellent resource. Can't wait to use it for a Maths Week activity for children aged between 3 - 7!  
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janhick's picture

Excellent resource! With

Excellent resource! With Chinese New Year coming up next week, I am very excited about using this resource with my Year 5s! Only discovered this site tonight - looks FAB!
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madabout04's picture

Fab!   Thanks

Fab!   Thanks
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kha16460's picture

This is exactly what I want

This is exactly what I want for 5 minute starter activities for my maths lessons. This along with the picture sudokos help the children apply their logic to problem solving. Thank you
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myusername's picture

 Hi- thank you for this. We

 Hi- thank you for this. We are running a series of collaborative activities every Friday afternoon and are trying to vary the type of task every week. This will be perfect for this week's challenge and I'm really pleased that you included different sized templates.
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I can't wait to use this! I

I can't wait to use this! I have used tangrams before and the children I have used them with love the challenge of making pictures with the shapes! I have never used the egg tangram before so I am looking forward to it. It is definitely something they will enjoy and I can't wait to see what they make! A great resource!
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deafdotty's picture

Love this - we are looking at

Love this - we are looking at shape this week and this activity will make a fantastic independent activity.
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Pennfold's picture

Love it!

Love it!
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VColley's picture

I did this with a really low

I did this with a really low ability year 10 group and we had lots of fun
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2 users have voted.
craige's picture

An great twist on traditional

An great twist on traditional tangram puzzle which is just perfect for Easter time. Thanks also for the various versions of the template.
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1 user has voted.
pinkmistakes's picture

This will be eggcellent for

This will be eggcellent for my year 2s, particularly for some children who need to develop perseverance.
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1 user has voted.
sarahklinehan's picture

I am really looking forward

I am really looking forward to using this resource with the children to see what they come up with! Lovely resource!
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kirstylou82's picture

This is a fantastic resource

This is a fantastic resource - I love that you have given us the solutions too!
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1 user has voted.
kateando82's picture

Love this idea. I like the

Love this idea. I like the many different templates included in the download.
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