Making Math Resources At Home

Making Math Manipulatives (TOOLS) at Home

Hello Parents, 

Today during our afternoon whole class math meeting.  I showed some homemade tools or manipulatives to help us solve math problems.  

Children's Tasks:

1. Make a list of materials they can make math tools with (that they have at home)

2. Look at this blog with you for ideas

3.  Make some math tools (a set of objects and tens and ones)

4. Take a picture of their math tools they make and post to IRIS account

Addition and Subtraction materials

Paper and pencils (markers make it more fun sometimes) are the core way to record our ideas in math.  To help think through problems at a young age, manipulatives or math tools are very helpful.  

When working with small numbers (addends less than ten ie.  4+5=___or 9-6=____ just having sets of objects is helpful

-buttons

-beads

-seeds

-blocks

-pennies

Creating a ten frames for these objects can be helpful.  You can print these examples, draw some or you can cut off two "holes" from an egg carton.  

These are very helpful, for children to visually create "ten" and see what is "left over". 

We have class sets of these little cards and use them to play games in the class.  Regular playing cards work well too, but having a copy of these for reference can be helpful. 

TWO DIGIT NUMBERS

Many children are working on Static (without regrouping) and Dynamic (with regrouping) Addition and Subtraction with 2 digit numbers. 

In the classroom the children use golden beads (or base ten blocks to help them visualize the process.  

These blocks help us "see" place value:  our units(ones), groups of ten, groups of hundred........

You can create units and tens in many ways:

-draw a line for tens and a dot for units

-lego ten strips and singles for units

-stack 10 lego blocks and single blocks for units

-group 10 popsicle sticks with an elastic band and use singles

-string 10 beads on pipecleaners and singles for units

-gluing 10 beans or buttons on a cardboard strip or popsicle stick with single beans as units

For younger math learners, physically seeing the ten (like in the case of the beans on the stick),  is more concrete, than a long stick of cardboard representing 10. 

I have put my math tools in a tupperware to keep track of them.

NUMBERLINES and hundred charts are also a helpful tool for adding and subtracting.  

You can make simple number lines on paper or tape, or you can use a ruler or tape measure.

Generating Questions: Teachers will be creating questions for students, however students can create their own problems by using:

-dice

-spinners

-playing cards

-real life information (I have 12 stuffies, 5 are bears, how many are not bears. 12-5=_____)

Once your child has made their math tools.  You can get them to make different 2 digit numbers with them.    

ex. 

-Make 52 with your tens and ones.

-Make 12 with your ten frames and ones

-Add your sister's age and your age together with your ten frames and ones.