Manipulatives

Overview 

Using manipulatives, particularly in the math classroom, involves incorporating physical objects or materials to help students visualize and understand concepts. These tangible tools can include items like blocks, counters, geometric shapes, coins, dice, or even digital tools like interactive apps. While manipulatives are used frequently in the elementary classroom, they can be an important tool in upper-level math courses. Geometry and Algebra students can benefit from being able to physically work with materials to understand graph transformations, calculating volume, and creating functions, to name a few applications.

When planning an activity with manipulatives, decide on the following: 

• Which manipulatives are appropriate for this lesson?

Different manipulatives will serve different purposes! Plastic currency may help reinforce early money concepts for early grades, but can also increase fluency with adding and subtracting decimals for middle school students. Counting bears and unit cubes are fantastic for practicing counting by 2s and 5s, but may be cumbersome for 10s. Use manipulatives that are accessible to your students and their diverse learning needs.

• How can I integrate manipulatives with lessons using other instructional methods?

Plan how manipulatives will integrate with other teaching methods within the lesson. Ensure a balanced approach that incorporates manipulatives, visuals, verbal explanations, and written work to support a comprehensive understanding of the concepts you’re teaching.