Many students have a phobia of mathematics.
Due to this opinion, especially prevalent among middle school students, it is important that these students have positive experiences with mathematics. When math can be demonstrated in ways that are fun and applicable to their lives then the phobia of math is lessened considerably. This unit focuses on the skill of identifying and demonstrating tessellations that is required by the Mathematics Improvement Project and is taught as part of the core curriculum for 7th grade students in Metro Nashville Public Schools. This unit uses hands-on experiences, video, the internet, and computer software to teach this skill and many other important geometric skills. The students will then use their understanding of tessellations to create a tessellation of their choice and scan it on to the school website.