Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Workshop Wednesday: Math Manipulatives

Today, I'm linking up to Workshop Wednesday from Ideas by Jivey. It's my first time linking up with anyone (a few weeks ago I didn't know what a linky was), so hopefully I do this right.

The topic today is on math manipulatives - your favorites, how you organize them, etc.

Let me start by saying that my math manipulatives are terrible this year. I teach in a closet (albeit a very cute closet), so there's not much space for storage. Also, in our school 3rd and 4th grades are usually together. We split third and fourth grade this year, but as I'm the newcomer, the third grade teacher kept all the manipulatives from her room and I had none.

I've slowly been building a collection, but mostly I just borrow some from her when I need them. Here's a sad picture of what my little manipulatives area looks like (with a few things obviously out of place).




One of my favorite things to use is the fraction tiles. I've used fraction circles and fraction cubes, but these are my favorite of the fraction things. I find them much easier to line up to find equivalent fractions than the circles. They really help provide a good visual representation of fractions for those students who really need it.



Also, they're easy to store even though they don't fit in my cute pink baskets.

My only complaint is that they don't have ninths, which are convenient when doing equivalent fractions.

Don't forget to visit Jivey's blog to read about many other math manipulative favorites!



8 comments:

  1. I'm proud of you for linking up!! :) I'm your newest follower too! :) I love fraction tiles also- we "made" our own this year with construction paper. The kids loved it.
    Jivey
    ideas by jivey
    Follow Me On Facebook! :)

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  2. Hi-I'm Brandee. I don't teach Math so I didn't link up this time but I still like to blog hop with this linky. :).
    I'm your newest follower. :)
    Brandee @ Creating Lifelong Learners

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  3. I love how bright, fun, and colorful these fraction bars are! Super cute!

    Amanda
    Learning to the Core

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  4. I remember my 1st grade teacher showing us fraction tiles and I totally understood fraction from then on. Plus, she made a big deal about us learning math that 3rd graders did. : )
    Kids Math Teacher

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    1. A lot of people struggle with fractions, but I've always loved them. Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. I'm so glad you found me through the linky! I love the fraction bars! I just went to a workshop where she flipped them over so the kids couldn't see the numbers and changed the whole number and watched the kids work and manipulate them... amazing. It was a "Why didn't I think of that" moment, lol. On Monday I'm hosting a brand new linky, "Must Have Mondays," be sure to check it out and link up :o) Your blog is super cute (don't you just LOVE Megan!) and I'm happy to be your newest follower!

    Sabra
    Teaching with a Touch of Twang

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    1. That's a great idea. Thanks for sharing! I'll have to look at your new linky - that sounds fun. :)

      Angie

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