1512 Geometry and Tessellations

I've always enjoyed doing geometry and I'm amazed by how geometry surrounds us everywhere. I really enjoy the process of figuring out an answer rather than just plugging in numbers into something. One thing that has sparked my interest, that I wasn't really aware of before, are tessellations. I've never really put much thought into them, but I think they are really neat on how they work out.

Think of the last puzzle you put together, that is a tessellation. A tessellation is when you put together geometric shapes, so that when you are finished there are no gaps in between each shape. Now, that is a very basic definition and not too mathematical so, we must have some rules for a regular mathematical tessellations to exist.
1. Tessellations must be a geometric figure that fits together without gaps or overlaps and covers an infinite plane.

2. The geometric figures must be regular polygons and the same.

3. The vertex must look the same.

Equilateral triangles, squares, and hexagons are all great examples of regular tessellations, but you can combine different regular tessellation shapes to make a semi-regular tessellation.

Wait a second, I've seen this before. This looks like when you tile a floor or a shower. Who knew this was a tessellation? Now that I'm aware of them, I started noticing them more and more in everyday life, like on this McDonald's commercial. Again, geometry surrounds us in so many ways. I found a great educational website that allows students to create their own semi-tessellations.

1512 - Gee, I'm a Tree

What did the acorn say when he grew up? Geometry! 

It gets me every time. How about this one,
What do you call a crushed angle? A rectangle.
I have plenty more, check them out.

One way to help us remember important things is to somehow relate the information we want to know to something that matters to us. A joke, silly saying, or even music are perfect examples of how, we as teachers, can help our students remember important information for years to come. For example, when I think of a angles and the terms acute and obtuse, which one is which? Here is a simple joke that will help you keep them straight. What to you call an angle that is adorable? Acute. Now, when I picture an acute angle, I think of something that is adorable and adorable things are small and cute. Where as obtuse is big and fat like obese.

Music is another great tool for memorization. I still remember when I was in grade school and we were learning about all the states in the U. S.. We were told the first day we started this lesson that by the end of this month, we will have all the name of the states memorized. WHAT? I thought for sure there was no way for me to memorize all 50 states, but we teamed up with our music teacher and he made a song for us to sing that named all 50 states alphabetically. 25 years later, I can still sing that song.

The "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?' T.V. show is a perfect example of how some of our most basic knowledge is lost over the years because we fail to utilize it on a daily basis. State standards are set in place for students to know certain information at a given time in their academic careers, but how do we get the students to retain this information year after year? Hopefully, through some crazy jokes and educational music, students will be able to always retrieve information when they need it.