Tarsia homework

Here is some extra information to help with the Tarsia homework, as many people were a bit confused!

Tarsia is a computer program that enables puzzles to be created and printed. I have created several of these puzzles using the program. The children have enjoyed playing these in class. Each triangular puzzle consists of 16 smaller triangles that are put together to make a larger triangle. The edges of the triangles have either questions or answers. The correct pairs are put together to make the large triangle and complete the puzzle.

Here is an example of a nearly completed Tarsia:

For homework the children have been asked to come up with their own pairs to put on a Tarsia. We have been learning about place value and splitting up numbers. The easiest way to partition (split) a 3-digit number is into hundreds, tens and ones. Eg. 234 is 200 + 30 + 4. However it can also be partitioned in different ways, eg. 234 is 200 + 15 + 19 or 150 + 80 + 4 etc. They need to create 18 pairs for a Tarsia puzzle and can use 2-digit, 3-digit or 4-digit numbers.

Here is an example of the homework sheet:

It is very important to make sure that each number is different or the puzzle is very difficult to solve!

If you would like to download the free Tarsia software so you can make your own puzzles, visit http://www.mmlsoft.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=15&Itemid=58

This software allows you to create a variety of different puzzles, dominoes and loop cards.