Seven Pieces of Cleverness

1
Seven Pieces of Cleverness

• Ancient Chinese Puzzles
• By
• Roberta Cook

2
Tangrams

• A tangram begins with a square, which is then
  cut into seven standard pieces. Each piece is
  called a tan. In creating your picture, all
  seven tans must be used they must touch, but
  none may overlap.

3
Storytelling

• You can use tangrams to tell a story just like
  the Chinese do. All you have to do is arrange
  the tans to show the shape of a character in the
  tale.

4
More Storytelling

• You can also arrange the tans to represent
  elements in a story like a spinning top.

5
An Enchanting Tale

• A great story that uses tangrams is Grandfather
  Tangs Story, written by Ann Tompert. Join
  grandfather and Little Soo as they tell the story
  of the fox fairies so you can practice using the
  seven pieces of cleverness.

6
Now you try.

• In the story, one of the fox fairies, Wu Ling
  boasts, I can change myself into a rabbit as
  quick as a wink. Can you do the same with the
  tans to create the rabbit?

7
So Many Ideas

• All through the story, Grandfather has the two
  fox fairies, and the tans changing into all sorts
  of animals. Can you guess what some of these are?

8
And the Answers Are
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And if you have two sets!

• You and a friend can come up with all kinds of
  story characters using your tans. Just like
  Grandfather Tang and Little Soo.

10
Great Sites to Visit

• Get more puzzle ideas at http//www.enchantedlea
  rning.com/crafts/chinesenewyear/tangram/
• To play a tangram game go to http//www.kidscom.
  com/games/tangram/game1/tangram01.html