Students in the second grade explored congruence using the online pattern blocks. Congruence is often understood to mean the same shape and the same size. What students do not understand is that congruent figures also have the same area or take up the same space. In this activity, students chose two pattern blocks such as the hexagon and the triangle or the hexagon and the trapezoid. The two pattern blocks are placed together and then "cloned." The cloned figures are covered with other pattern blocks that also take up the same area. This activity encourages students to consider figures that occupy the same area. It also encourages them to notice that the outside perimeter is the same. Once each figure is merged, they can be placed on top of one another to prove they are congruent.
Indicators
2.2.5.1 identify and model congruence with concrete materials and drawings
2.3.5.1 identify, describe, and represent congruency of geometric figures and real-world objects.
Click here for directions for this activity.
