Back-tracking tessellations

[OnyxEagle7]

I was asked to find out which shapes Escher used for these tessellations, but I don't see any defining characteristics or difference between the two. Please help.
Also I want to try the second one on my own, so if you could just give me some ideas for the first one that would be great.

 

[OnyxEagle7]

Actually, after playing around in google drawings for a bit, I think I got it to work. You basically just want every element of the image in one area, then you can copy and paste that. So by doing that with the first one, I got these squares, which are pretty close to the original

 

[Dr.Peterson]

The answer depends on exactly what you mean by "using a polygon" to create a tessellation. Can you give us an example of what you were taught about this?

This page talks about what it means to me. Each of the congruent figures is thought of as a modification of a simple polygon, which maybe a rectangle, or any of several other types. What you have done recognizes some of the symmetries of the pattern, but not all, and is not tied to the individual figures within it. So I don't think it is what is intended.

I've worked out an answer to the problem, but it will only be useful if you put in the time to understand what you have been taught, and show your attempt. Once you've done that, I can give you a hint for what I did, or suggest a change to your own idea.