Post # 3 Manipulatives and Materials

You will want to supplement the manipulatives you were sent with your manual.  Many schools have some of these supplies available.  If not, there are only a few I consider indispensable.  I actually do not use excessive numbers of commercial manipulatives.  Sime things you have around the house can work just fine for teaching many math concepts.  That said, there are a few which are easy to use and tremendously effective. To get you started though, I have placed a new folder in your class Dropbox with printable manipulatives.  These will include base ten materials, pattern blocks, place value mats and some color fraction tiles I created on MS Word.  I can’t create printable craft sticks, but when I see something I can make for you to access on line, I will do so. Here are some of the things I consider to be especially useful. 

• Place Value Sticks The most useful place value manipulative for young children is craft sticks.  You can purchase 2,000 craft sticks at any craft store for about $8 per thousand. Wholesale from a company such as www.darice.com, you can find them for about $5 per thousand.   You can then purchase rubber bands or elastic hair bands from discount stores such as Dollar Tree, the Family Dollar Store or even on-line beauty supply shops.  I also purchase the extra large rubber bands used for file folders.  I get them at office supply stores.  You do not need many, but you will need several to hold together the thousand bundle.  You should bundle sets of ten to make one hundred.  Then bundle ten of those to make one thousand.  It is important for the children to see each individual stick which makes up the thousand. I also use these to teach multiplication, factors and multiples, prime factorization and fractions as part of the place value system.

• Base Ten Place Value Blocks:  
• You will also need access to a set of Base Ten Place Value Blocks.  In your welcome letter you were given a web based source for printing cardstock versions but you will ultimately want a set to use.  If you travel, you might want to purchase Quiet Shape versions out of foam.  For classroom use the plastics ones are the norm.  Note: EAI Education sells small packets of the individual pieces which can make them inexpensive. I also like the Quiet Shape Base Ten Blocks if you travel to tutor because they weigh almost nothing.

• Unifix Cubes are also one of the most useful manipulatives.  We use them for everything from numeracy, place value and multiplication/division to linear functions in algebra.  If you are in a school, you more than likely have access to these.  If you are not in a school, you can find a set of 100 for about $10. Available from teaching supply stores, on-line from various suppliers, and in bulk from companies such as www.eai.education.com or www.didax.com.

•    Pattern Blocks - A small set came with your manual.  You do not need these right away.  They will be used in the fraction unit.  They may be purchased at any educational supply store or on- line.  Alternatively, you can download a free version to print on cardstock

• Colored Fraction Tiles: plexiglass rainbow colored fraction tiles or if you tutor, the Quiet Shape Magnetic Fraction tiles- the rectangular ones.  These are inexpensive at about $5 a set.  I recommend having two sets so that you can create improper fractions. Alternately, I will place a printable version in Dropbox for you. You can print and laminate for personal use. I created the template using Microsoft Word and the insert table function. It is possible to subdivide the “cells” in the table to create these.

These are essential manipulatives.  I have given you cardstock versions of the fraction circle cards and you may download larger versions with other fraction pieces at the Rational Number Project website listed in your manual.  This file is available in Dropbox.  This study attributes greater understanding of fraction concepts and higher test scores on fraction assessments to the increased use of manipulatives especially the fraction circles. 

Have a complete set ready when you get to the fraction activities on day four and five. You may also want to have a bit of yellow children's modeling clay and a dental floss holder with floss on it.  You will understand this later.  A little mystery is good. 

I look forward to hearing from all of you.