Pentomino Fun

The closest I could ever get
to a full rectangle.

Games can enhance a person's use of their mind, and when a teacher places a game in front of his or her students, their imagination goes crazy.  Luckily, our class had the pleasure of fiddling around with the fun, new toy Pentominoes.  This is an exciting way to learn about perimeter and area, as well as practice patience and memory.  Pentominoes provided our class with an entertaining way to spend our class time.  After the joy of having our own completed set of Pentominoes, we had the chance to get roped into a problem solving game.  My favorite puzzle was trying to figure out how to fit all the Pentominoes into a single rectangle.  I will say... I spent a lot of time invested on this problem with no success in the end.  I tried fitting pieces together to form the outer corners of a rectangle with the hopes of pushing the new masses together to form one full rectangle, but had no luck.  After doing this process, I made a new shape with a few small adjustments.

Cross formed with Pentominoes

Although I was unable to create a rectangle using the Pentominoes, I was able to form a cross using most of the pieces.  I concluded that it was interesting that the pieces left over after making the cross were all of the mirror images that were determined different shapes by the class.  After spending a long time trying to form a rectangle, the success of forming any new shape made me extremely proud.  I had to give up after this point on forming a rectangle or else I would have been sitting there all day.  I will be keeping my Pentominoes on hand for whenever I have a break and need a fun activity to mess around with.

When using Pentominoes in a classroom setting, I think it is important for the teacher to know the skill level of his or her students.  For example, using area and perimeter wouldn't be for younger students, but they can use the pieces to form pictures or patterns.  Older students can use the Pentominoes to do complex puzzles.  When using Pentominoes to teach about perimeter and area, the exercises taught in our class will be a great tool to help ease students into the subject.  Without putting actual measurements on a shape, you give students the chance to understand what perimeter and area are before they have to solve a mathematical equation for an answer.  Pentominoes give students a chance to learn math while having fun solving puzzles.  These tools feel more like a game than classwork.  If your students are anything like me, they will become addicted with solves new problems and old ones.  Pentominoes are a classroom tool that can be used by the average teacher that will give students an enjoyable relationship with math problems.

I hope you enjoyed my position on Pentominoes and how they are a fun resource for the average classroom teacher to have on hand for his or her students to use.  Pentominoes are a great way to advance students' knowledge of area and perimeter as well as improve their problem solving skills.  These tools can be enjoyed by all age groups, and for all sorts of problems.  Pentominoes are a great tool for all teachers.  By having an open mathematical mindset, teachers can help students achieve great goals.