Teacher Information: Pentominoes

Pentominoes consist of the twelve shapes that can be constructed by joining five squares along shared edges. Henry Ernest Dudeny, the famous English puzzle inventor published the first pentomino problem in 1907 in the Canterbury Puzzles. Dr. Solomon Golomb coined the term Pentominoes and greatly popularized their use in the American Mathematical Monthly and Scientific American (May 1957).

Concepts of measurement, geometry, and number can be introduced or reinforced using pentominoes. Many pentomino activities involve non-routine problem-solving, but young students can profitably just place pentominoes in the workspace and move them around, fitting different shapes (or multiple copies of the same shape) together, playing with designs and colors, perhaps trying to find ways to use one or two shapes that will "tile the plane" (make a pattern that has no holes and can be continued forever).

When the students in a class are working on specific problems or challenges, it may be beneficial for students to work in pairs. Teams should discuss the problem and identify possible solution strategies. Once an individual or team has a solution, the whole class may want to discuss the process and solution. Many pentomino problems have more than one solution. How many solutions can be found that satisfy a given question or problem?