Tan Free

Tan Free is a nifty little program for teaching students about translational geometry. Essentially, it provides a number of tangrams; students start with a silhouette and seven shapes and the goal is to replicate the silhouette using all seven pieces. To solve them, the students must translate, reflect, and rotate the geometric shapes. This is a great virtual manipulative because unlike physical manipulatives, this program allows students to ask for hints in solving the tangram. If a hint is requested, the program will show the correct location of the selected piece. The student can then continue solving the puzzle.