Description
Can every shape tile a floor?
Why do some shapes fit together perfectly while others leave gaps?
In Lesson 2 of Patterns Everywhere, learners investigate tessellations: repeating arrangements of shapes that cover a surface without gaps or overlaps.
They experiment with familiar shapes, look for structure in tiling patterns and begin to explain why some arrangements work.
In this resource
You’ll receive two printable PDFs:
Lesson 2 Handout
A guided companion to the online lesson, helping learners record observations, test shapes and explain what they notice.
Activities & Practice
A separate collection of activities for practising tessellations and exploring new tiling arrangements.
Learners will practise:
- recognising tessellations
- identifying gaps and overlaps
- testing whether a shape can tile
- spotting repeating units
- comparing different tiling arrangements
- explaining why some shapes tessellate
- designing their own tessellating patterns
The activities are designed for ages 7+, with opportunities to explore more deeply for older or more confident learners.
Use it with the online lesson
This printable resource accompanies:
Patterns Everywhere — Lesson 2: Can Every Shape Tile a Floor?
The online lesson includes visual investigations and interactive exploration. The printables can be used alongside the lesson or afterwards for extra practice.
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This resource is completely free.
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Lesson 2 of Patterns Everywhere
Patterns Everywhere is a six-lesson Beyond Curriculum course exploring patterns, tessellations, symmetry, transformations, patterns in art and nature, and mathematical design.
Ages 7+ · 6 lessons · No prerequisites
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