Katamino
Katamino is based on the 12 unique shapes ‘pentominoes’ that can be created by connecting 5 congruent squares. Pentominoes are said to have been ‘invented’ by Solomon W. Golomb in 1953 at a talk he gave for the Harvard Mathematics Club. They had in fact been around for a time. He brought them to the attention of a much wider audience and since then a vast number of problems have been set using these 12 intriguing shapes.
Their potential as a motivating teaching resource at Key Stage Two cannot be over-estimated and there follows a series of uses to develop children’s mathematical concepts and thinking, their spatial awareness and their problem-solving strategies. Children of all abilities can use them. They certainly provide the level of challenge to inspire and motivate more able children.
In my experience as a classroom teacher I have often found that lower attaining mathematicians have a surprisingly high level of spatial ability. Operating at a similar level to more able children could do wonders for the weaker child’s mathematical confidence.
Pentominoes can be used to develop children’s understanding of the concepts of area and perimeter, transformational geometry including enlargement, congruence and symmetry, nets, volume and classification. All these will be illustrated through the various activities below. There are also some suggestions for the use of pentominoes in developing children’s sense of number.
<< Read the full reviewRuth Tomsett, Maths Education Lecturer, Brunel University. The author gratefully acknowledges the contribution made by Mark Humble of Brunel University
Katamino
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Coiled Spring Games
PO Box 175
Clifden Road
Twickenham
TW1 4XP
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