1

Make Your Mark

Whether plain or elaborate, small or large, tattoos have played an important role in many cultures. More than just a picture or scripted text, the designs often have very specific meanings. Spanning thousands of years and found all around the globe, tattooing is still prevalent in some cultures.

“Humans have marked their bodies with tattoos for thousands of years. These permanent designs . . . have served as amulets1, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments and even forms of punishment.”

In this project, you will design and create a tattoo that expresses important symbols, words and ideas in your life, whether they are signs of love, religion, etc. The tattoo should be a representation of you!

After you are finished designing and creating your tattoo, please write a 1/2 to one-page summary describing your tattoo’s meaning. In this summary, you should answer the following two questions:

  1. How do you think geometric shapes and transformations are used in the design of tattoos?
  1. What are some advantages and disadvantages of designing with congruent shapes?

This project will count as a test grade for Marking Period 2. See attached rubric for scoring.

Rubric

1

  1. A design for a tattoo is provided. At least 5 of the following concepts are included and listed at the side of the design
A. Congruent polygons E. Right triangle
B. Congruent triangles F. Equilateral triangle
  1. Acute triangle G. Isosceles triangle
D. Obtuse triangle H. Scalene triangle
  • 2 points (each)—Neat construction and list provided
  • 1 point (each)—Poor construction and no list provided
  • 0 points (each)—Concept is not used
/ ______/10
  1. The design includes one or more of the following concepts. The concept(s) must also be listed at the side of the design.
I. Reflection
J. Rotation
K. Translation
  • 5 points—Neat construction and concept(s) listed on the side of the tattoo
  • 2 points—Poor construction and concept(s) not listed at the side of the tattoo
  • 0 points—Concept is not used
/ ______/5
  1. The design makes use of creativity through the use of symbols, words, ideas, and/or color to express the individual.
  • 5 points—More than 1 of the above items is used
  • 2 points—1 of the above items is used
  • 0 points—Concept is not used
/ ______/5
  1. The summary provides a description of the tattoo’s meaning and answers the following two questions.
  1. How do you think geometric shapes and transformations are used in the design of tattoos?
  2. What are some advantages and disadvantages of designing with congruent shapes?
  • 5 points—Summary is well-written
  • 2 points—Summaryis not complete
  • 0 points—Summary is missing
/ ______/5
Total Points / ______/25