Mosaics

In relation to the previous section in which we talked about the construction of flat figures, now, we are going to learn about mosaics. As you know, we live surrounded by geometric constructions and the mosaic is one of the most common examples. 

The mosaic is the recovering of the plane through small pieces called tesserae which form different figures without leaving any space between them. There are lots of forms of getting a mosaic. The simpler ones are regular polygons of the same type (squares, regular hexagons, equilateral triangles, etc.). However, the construction of mosaics can also involve the combination of several kinds of polygons. 

Throughout history, several cultures have used the mosaic for different purposes: intellectual in Greece, decorative in Rome, religious in the Islamic world... In fact, the mosaic has been one of the most important representations in art. For instance, one of the most relevant periods of the mosaic was the Byzantine one. Through this video, our children will be able to see the application of the mosaic in the art and religious fields. 

Moreover, in the following video, different concepts related to geometry are explained through mosaics, making them really visual for children and using the Alhambra of Granada's monument as an example. In the video, lots of concepts are described, so the teacher should select the kind of concepts he or she wants to explain through it, according to the level of the group. Furthermore, it is important to highlight that using these resources we can teach different subjects such as Maths and History, so they allow us to interrelate contents and make the learning richer.  

Regarding the didactic application, we can build mosaics with our students to work the tesselation in an enjoyable way and using our creativity. One of the easiest activities to start working with mosaics is the repetition of a drawn pattern and its painting. We can give our students a sheet of paper with the pattern and they will become familiar with the mosaic by finishing it. 

Another activity to carry out with our students is the construction of mosaics with post-its, as we can see in the picture. In this case, the squares of different colours will be our main figures. Children can use their own design freely or follow some patterns offered by the teacher. Furthermore, if we want to increase the difficulty of the topic, we can build mosaics using the different flat figures of "goma-eva" that we created for our previous post. In this case, we will work with various figures, not just squares, and their combination could create really beautiful compositions. 

Finally, I have found a brief video which can be attractive to introduce our students on the topic of mosaics.