Tessellations

Excellent description of tessellations
 http://www.coolmath.com/tesspag1.htm

 http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/tessellate/index.html

 http://www.geocities.com/williamwchow/javagraf/javagraf.htm

You could print these and colour them in. Copy and paste them into WORD.

Some of these sites have interesting information about tessellations.

Title:

Totally Tessellated

Comment:

A superbly well-done site on tessellations. Winner in the ThinkQuest'98 competition. Features over 100 dynamic pages with quality illustrations, photographs, and links. Main topics: History of Tessellations, Essentials, Mosaics/Tilings, Escher, and Beyond. Background Information has links to polygons and angles, symmetry and transformations, regular polygons, plus links to a simple introduction to tessellations and to the effect of colour usage on tessellated designs. Regular Tessellations contains links to real examples.

 

Title:	Investigating Tessellations Using Activity Pattern Blocks
Comment:	Features activities for investigating tessellations with pattern blocks as well as student tessellation samples. Contains links to a Patterns Program by Jacobo Bulaevsky (including How to Use the Pattern Blocks Program and a direct link to the Pattern Blocks Applet) in which you can experiment on-line with the shapes (provided you have a JAVA-capable browser).

 

Title:	Virtual Manipulatives: Pattern Blocks
Comment:	Features an interactive pattern blocks applet which uses six common geometric shapes to build patterns. Includes icons for student activities, teacher information, and assistance. Produced by the National Library of Virtual Mathematics for Interactive Mathematics. Requires a JAVA-capable browser.

 

Title:	LinoTiler
Comment:	Decorate square tiles on a flat floor in a symmetrical configuration. Then create repeating wallpaper patterns from identical square tiles using wallOVERS (also from ProtoZone). Both interactive activities require Macromedia Shockwave Plug-in.

 

Title:	Fractiles, Inc.
Comment:	The versatile and elegant geometry of Fractiles-7 allows you to create aesthetically pleasing designs with repeating and non-repeating patterns. And unlike pattern blocks, these MAGNETIC tiles stay put, an especially helpful feature for students with fine motor skill problems.

 

Title:	Tessellations
Comment:	Tessellations is the company that combines art, math, and fun. They make "Puzzellations", "Colourful Connectables" and "Perpetual Patterns" puzzles, plus a variety of other products inspired in part by the Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher, but also by mathematicians such as Roger Penrose and Benoit Mandelbrot.

 

Title:	Tilings and Designs
Comment:	Commercial source of several sets of shapely tiles that lend themselves to unlimited design making.