Math bulletin board idea to challenge your students for months. Have students problem solve the different solutions to making a 6x10 rectangle with 12 pentominoes.
Often we are looking for great bulletin board ideas to get the students involved. However, many bulletin boards are static and not interactive. Create a math bulletin board that allows students be active participants in the creation of the bulletin board. The bonus of this bulletin board is that it cannot completed in less than a day or a week, it will take months, and the students will still not have completed the bulletin board but the activity will develop their problem solving and logical skills.
Math Pentominoes Bulletin Board
Pentominoes is a shape that is constructed with 5 congruent squares that are attached by the edge of each square. There are 12 different shapes of pentominoes. The shape has been a contributor to many mathematical puzzles. For this bulletin board, the objective is for students to create a 12x5 rectangle using all of the pentominoes.
How to Create the Pentominoes Bulletin Board
1. Staple 2 sheets of large graph paper (horizontal) on the bulletin board. This is the background for the pentominoes the students complete.
2. Students can works in groups or on their own to create a 12x5 rectangle with their pentominoes. Pentominoes can be created by the students or they can use store bought pentominoes. Many schools will have pentominoes in their storage units.
3. There are 2339 solutions for the 12x5 rectangle, so students will have a variety of answers.
4. Once a student or group has an answer, the teacher will verify all pentominoes are used. If the students are correct they will copy their answer on graph paper and color each pentominoes a different color. It is best to have a legend for the different colors that will be used for each pentominoes. By having the students use the same color they will be able to quickly see if they have duplicated another student or groups answer.
5. As well, the teacher will keep a binder of the finished answers that are displayed on the bulletin board and the children will be able to have quick reference to see if there rectangle has already been solved.
6. This activity can be demonstrated in about 2 classes, and the rest of time, students can work on it when they have free time or they may wish to do it at home.
Other Rectangle Options
5x12=1010 solutions
4x15=368 solutions
3x20=2 solutions
