Grandfather Tang's Story: A Tale Told with Tangrams

After finishing my unit on quilts, shapes, and the Underground Railroad, I intend to move forward with Grandfather Tang's Story and focus on shapes and storytelling. First of all, a tangram is made of seven shapes that make a prefect square. Students can play with the shapes and make different animals, like a fox or a dog.

Grandfather Tang's Story is about friendship. Wu Ling & Chou transform into different animals/ tangram shapes. For example, when one transforms into a dog the other becomes a squirrel so he can hide in the tree. The moral of the story exists in the idea that competition between friends doesn't help friendship grow. However, with this book lessons in shapes abound.

Giving each student a set of tangrams or maybe even having them cut them out results in a tactile lesson where they can attempt to make the same shapes that are depicted in Grandfather Tang's Story. So few teachers expect librarians to help facilitate math instruction that lessons and books like these add real value to our library curriculum.

Tompert, Ann. Grandfather Tang's Story: A Tale Told with Tanagrams. Illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker. Crown Publishers Inc.: New York, 1990. ISBN: 0-517-57487-X