TESSELLATIONS A tessellation is a special kind of design.

Tessellation Designs n were first created more than 6000 years ago in Mesopotamia. n Mesopotamia is what we now call the Middle East and was located in what we know as Iraq.

Tessellations are made from patterns of repeating shapes. n The shapes that make up a tessellation are called polygons. n Polygons are closed shapes that have three or more sides.

Polygons that are the exact same size are called congruent. n Congruent polygons fit together like jigsaw puzzle pieces that repeat again and again. n There are never any gaps between the shapes and the shapes never overlap each other. The design could go on forever.

Three Basic Types of TESSELLATIONS can be created n Translation n Rotation n Reflection

TRANSLATION n In a translation, the original shape is created then repeated again and again. n The simplest type of tessellation is called a

TRANSLATION

ROTATION n In a rotation tessellation, the congruent shape is created then it is repeated around a central point or in a circular pattern. n Another type of tessellation design is called a

ROTATION

REFLECTION n A reflection tessellation is different. Just like a translation and a rotation, a reflection tessellation is also created from an original shape that is repeated again and again. n What makes a reflection different is that the original shape is repeated in a pattern that places some of the congruent shapes backwards on the page. It’s as if the shape was looking in a mirror at itself. n A third type of tessellation design is called a

REFLECTION

Review n Although all three kinds of tessellations use congruent shapes that fit together like jigsaw puzzle pieces, you learned that each tessellation repeats in a special way.

Review - TRANSLATION n Translations repeat in a side-to-side and top-to-bottom pattern of congruent shapes.

Review - ROTATION n Rotations repeat in a circle pattern of congruent shapes.

Review - REFLECTION n Reflections repeat in a side-to-side, top-to-bottom and Backward pattern of congruent shapes.

Translation: a tessellated shape that can repeat in a vertical and horizontal pattern Rotation: A tessellated shape that repeats around a point. Reflection: A repeating tessellated shape that mirrors itself.