Pattern Blocks Online

Move six correctly proportioned pattern blocks on a touch-friendly mat.

Snap exact edges, try outline puzzles, count area, and print or save every design.

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How the six pattern blocks fit together

Pattern blocks work because their measurements are related, not because the shapes merely look close. Start with one shared edge length. The green block is an equilateral triangle, so all three angles are 60 degrees. Six copies meet around one point to form the yellow regular hexagon. The blue rhombus joins two green triangles along an edge, the red trapezoid joins three, and the yellow hexagon joins six.

That gives four exact area trades teachers can use immediately:

  • 6 green triangles = 1 yellow hexagon.
  • 3 blue rhombi = 1 yellow hexagon.
  • 2 red trapezoids = 1 yellow hexagon.
  • 1 green triangle + 1 blue rhombus = 1 red trapezoid.

The orange square and tan thin rhombus belong to the same set because their edge lengths still match. Their angles introduce 90 degrees and 30 degrees, so they open up different tessellations. They do not have whole-number areas when one equilateral triangle is the unit: the square is about 2.31 units and the tan rhombus is about 1.15. This tool keeps those values rather than rounding them to a false whole number.

A 15-minute lesson on equivalent areas

Put one yellow hexagon in the middle of the mat and tell the class that its area is 6 green-triangle units. The first challenge is concrete: replace the hexagon with exactly two pieces. Two red trapezoids solve it. Replace it with exactly three pieces and three blue rhombi solve it. Replace it with exactly six pieces and six green triangles solve it.

Record each trade as an equation beside the board: 6 triangles = 3 rhombi = 2 trapezoids = 1 hexagon. Then remove one trapezoid and ask what two smaller blocks could take its place. A triangle worth 1 and a blue rhombus worth 2 make the same area of 3. Students are now composing and decomposing area without a formula sheet.

  • Support: turn on the triangular grid and use the Hexagon trade outline so every target edge stays visible.
  • Core task: find three different ways to cover the 6-unit outline, then compare the number of pieces.
  • Extension: add a square or tan rhombus and ask why the total area is no longer a whole number of green triangles.

Keep the running counts visible while students explain a trade. The count changes, but the target area does not. That contrast is the lesson.

Outline puzzles, rotation, and symmetry

An outline puzzle changes the question from “What can you build?” to “What must be true for these edges to fit?” Start with the 4-unit Big triangle. A learner can fill it with four green triangles, then rebuild the same outline with one red trapezoid and one green triangle. The outside boundary stays fixed while the interior structure changes.

Use 30-degree rotation for most early pattern-block work because the equilateral triangle, blue rhombus, trapezoid, and hexagon all live naturally on that angle family. Switch to 15 degrees when students are investigating the tan thin rhombus or making less regular pictures. Edge snapping only joins genuinely parallel, equal-length segments; it does not bend a block to make a near miss look correct.

For symmetry, turn on the vertical mirror line and place three blocks on the left. A partner reproduces them on the right, matching the block type, distance from the line, and reflected angle. Follow with the horizontal line and ask what changed. Printing the result gives students a clean record for marking lines of symmetry, circling matching pairs, or writing how they checked the reflection.

Printing and saving pattern-block work

A finished digital mat can be evidence of reasoning, a puzzle for another student, or the starting image for a worksheet. Add a short title before printing so the task is clear when pages are collected. The print layout places the design and all six block counts on one landscape Letter or A4 sheet.

  • Print design: changes every block to a white fill with a black outline. Shared edges remain visible, but the page does not spend colour ink on six solid fills.
  • Download SVG: keeps sharp vector edges at any size. Use it when placing the design into a worksheet, slide, or newsletter.
  • Download PNG: saves the classroom colours in a 1800-by-1200-pixel image that is easy to paste into common documents.
  • Save as PDF: choose the PDF option in the browser print window for a single-page digital handout.

Nothing is sent to a server during any of these steps. Save an image before closing the page if the design will be needed again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about the Pattern Blocks Online

Yes. Every standard edge has the same length, and the long edge of the red trapezoid is exactly twice that length. The green triangle is equilateral, the blue rhombus has 60-degree and 120-degree angles, and the tan thin rhombus has 30-degree and 150-degree angles. Those measurements make six triangles, three blue rhombi, or two trapezoids cover one yellow hexagon exactly.

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