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Teachers have long relied on manipulatives to introduce new math and literacy concepts and enhance learning. Manipulatives are useful at all grade levels, from kindergarten (think Unifix Cubes) through high school (think algebra tiles), with students of all abilities, including and especially those with special needs and learning differences.
Jumbo Unifix® Cubes, sandpaper letters and numerals, and Omnifix cubes are just a few of the go-to resources used in many SpEd classrooms throughout the country.
Watching my children and students work with manipulatives, I can see how hands-on experiences with math concepts help build a solid foundation for future learning. Often, teachers and students struggle with the transition from concrete manipulatives to a representation of the concept. Web- or app-based “virtual” manipulatives help to make this transition easier, although many teachers struggle to find a place for these tools in the classroom. Hands-on manipulatives are an excellent tool on their own, and they are even more powerful when coupled with virtual manipulatives. To support the use of these virtual tools, Didax has developed more than a dozen free virtual resources, available on our website. If you need some help getting started, read on for some ideas!
As the school year draws to a close, many teachers a thinking about packing up their classroom. Whether you’re staying in the same room and want things ready for the fall or moving to another grade or another school, keeping things neat and organized will help get the next year off to a good start.
Primary children are expected to learn to count, add/subtract, and solve simple word problems in mathematics. So why must a focus at this level also include measurement concepts and skills? Obviously, measurement is of great importance in our daily lives. Those who have worked with K-3 students know that measurement topics are not easy for many children to understand. Measurement must be a focus at the primary level because students need a wide variety of conceptual experiences to make sense of what they are learning; this emphasis prepares them for later work in mathematics.
When first introduced to fractions, students in the intermediate grades sometimes struggle to make sense of equivalence and fraction operations. By helping students develop a deep understanding of the role of factors in comparison and fraction operations, we also prepare them for topics that follow and that build upon this knowledge.
Many of the tools used to introduce these early fraction concepts can also be used later to help students recognize the relationships between fractions and ratios, rates, and proportions. Fractions with Prime Factor Tiles is the perfect tool to introduce and explore these concepts.
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