I Can Play Tangram - Level 9-11

I Can Play Tangram follows two children as they explore the traditional Chinese puzzle game of tangram. This engaging book combines narrative with instructional elements, providing a copymaster of tangram shapes and encouraging hands-on interaction. With a repetitive text structure, frequent use of high-frequency words, and blends like œsq and œch, the book strengthens decoding skills and vocabulary. Inset photos and factual information support text meaning and offer context for unfamiliar words. The regular use of questions invites children to predict outcomes, fostering critical thinking and comprehension. The story blends themes of maths, leisure, and cultural learning, making it a rich cross-curricular resource that introduces shapes, spatial reasoning, and cooperative play.

Educational Benefits:

• Encourages prediction and inference through questioning
• Strengthens decoding of blend sounds and new vocabulary
• Promotes understanding of instructional text
• Supports mathematical reasoning and shape recognition

Classroom Ideas:

• Provide tangram sets and challenge students to recreate the book's figures
• Have students write their own set of tangram instructions
• Link with cultural studies to explore the origins of tangrams
• Use tangrams in a maths centre for shape and symmetry learning

Safety & Information:

• Suitable for ages 5-7
• Reading Level: Blue (9-11)
• 16 pages, full colour; includes tangram template
• Use under adult supervision when cutting shapes