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| Didax "Class Ideas" Newsletter Archive |
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Unifix Cubes were the very first manipulative that was produced using modern plastic molding technologies and we have continued to improve the product ever since. This month?s Class Ideas focuses on Unifix Cubes, where they have been and where they are going. Learn all about the history of Unifix in this issue, and see what?s new with the cubes.
You can check out some great links to Unifix-based lesson plans and download some fun activities. Didax is also introducing a fantastic contest to come up with some innovative teaching ideas for one of our new Unifix products. Your activity idea could win you $50! And don?t forget, there?s a great subscriber-only special for you.
As always, thanks for reading. If you have any suggestions for future Class Ideas Newsletters or any comments on this one, please email me. I love hearing your thoughts.
Anna Mullen, Editor |
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| Unifix: Past, Present, and Future |
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 Where did these little cubes come from?
Unifix Cubes were born in 1953 in Andover Hampshire, England at Philip & Tacey, a company owned by Philograph Publications. Philip & Tacey was the distributor for Montessori materials. In this, and other math programs of the day, beads were being used to represent numbers. Charles Tacey saw that the wood beads made a terrible racket on desktops and required stringing. He came up with the idea of a plastic bead that wouldn?t roll and would connect.
This idea gave us Unifix. First made of polystyrene and 1/2 inch on all sides, they were converted to 3/4 inch and polyethylene within one year. Polyethylene was smoother, quieter, and provided a better fit. Charles also had the cubes made hollow to save on plastic, a very expensive material at the time.
In the UK, Unifix Cubes became very popular by 1958. In the United States, programs created in the 60?s and 70?s, like Math Their Way (Mary Baretta-Lorton), popularized the cubes. The 60?s and 70?s also saw the introduction of ancillary materials, including the 1-10 Stair and Grid and Tray. Didax, also owned by Philograph Publications, is proud to continue to bring you these high-quality manipulatives today.
Unifix Today
Since their birth in 1953, over a billion Unifix Cubes have been sold in U.S. schools. That comes down to about 2,000 Unifix Cubes for each Kindergarten to Grade 3 classroom! Programs such as Kathy Richardson?s Developing Number Concepts lead the use, introducing the cubes to new generations of teachers.
In addition to the basic Unifix accessories, the line continually grows. The past few years have seen Unifix develop from a primarily math-oriented manipulative to a manipulative used in early reading programs. Unifix Letter Cubes are an exciting way to introduce reading to youngsters.
What will the future bring?
As Didax looks to the future, we see so many ways to continue to bring you the benefits of Unifix. We plan to introduce innovative Unifix materials to keep these classic manipulatives fresh and useful in the classroom. Recent developments have brought:
? Unifix Attribute Cubes, consisting of four colors with symbols marked on each side. Children can use our Unifix Attribute Cards to make patterns with blue, red, yellow and green cubes that each have squares, triangles, stars and circles printed on four sides. Cards give kids a quick start on their way to building their own patterns. Making color patterns, symbol patterns and some combination of the two are a wonderful way for kids to develop pre-math, pre-reading and logic skills
? Unifix Beginning Math Flip Books, self-correcting and colorful, these books help kids to develop counting skills, basic addition skills and number-numeral-object-symbol matching skills.
? Our Unifix Letter Cube product line keeps growing, too. Printing on Unifix cubes seems to have been going on in classrooms for a long time and once we started to create products using our special print technology, we just have not stopped. We are excited to introduce Unifix Color-Coded Sentence Building using our brand-new double sized ?cube.? Kids mix and match the five rods to make up a huge number of silly or sensible sentences.
The future is an exciting place, and Unifix will be there, ready to teach future generations with a tactile and pleasant learning experience. |
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| Contest: Create a Unifix Activity and WIN |
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 This month, Class Ideas is excited to announce a new contest. Didax is looking for your ideas for using our new Unifix Equation Cubes. Follow the link below and sign up to receive a sample set of cubes at no charge. Use this set to design a practical classroom activity and send your activity back using the form included with the cubes. The best ideas will win $50 and the chance to be published in future Didax books.
Detailed contest information and rules will be included with sample cubes. |
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| Unifix Internet Resources |
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 The Internet is a great resource for preparing your instruction plans. I've collected a group of web sites with great lesson plans that use Unifix Cubes. From measurement to counting and simple operations activities, these ideas will save you time in planning your next Unifix-related lesson. There is also a link to take you to a free download of Unifix Software, so you can try it in your classroom. |
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| Free Activities: Math, Literature and Unifix |
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 This month's downloadable activities come from one our most popular sets of books. Math, Literature and Unifix and Math, Literature and Manipulatives pair popular children's literature with Unifix and other manipulatives you probably have in your classroom. The activities range in grade level from Kindergarten through Grade 6. Flip through the pages to find an activity appropriate for your students. Enjoy. |
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| April Newsletter Theme: Innovative Math Ideas |
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 In honor of the NCTM Annual Meeting that April brings, our next issue of Class Ideas will bring you great new ideas for teaching math in your classroom. |
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