Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids » math

Using Manipulatives to Teach Math

colleen — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 01:55:33 +0000

The idea that children learn better through active involvement or experience is most famously linked to the Montessori movement in education which began in the early 20th century. In conveying mathematical concepts, experiential education focuses on the use of manipulatives, which are concrete items that are used to teach abstract concepts. Manipulatives can be blocks, beans, buttons or sticks – just about anything that can be moved to demonstrate mathematic concepts. There are also computer programs that use virtual manipulatives to support the teaching of abstract concepts.

Manipulatives are most commonly used in the primary grades, but they can be used to enhance the understanding of math concepts well into high school and beyond. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommends that math instruction at all grade levels should include the use of manipulatives. Studies back up their claim that mathematics understanding and performance is enhanced by using them in the higher grades.

Care must be taken in the way that manipulatives are used to demonstrate math concepts, because sometimes a student can solve a math problem at the concrete level, but not at the abstract level. This has to do with the way the teacher is demonstrating the math concepts with whatever concrete objects are being used in the lesson. For this reason, teacher training in the proper use of manipulatives is essential to helping the student bridge the learning gap between concrete and abstract concepts.

Research demonstrates that using manipulatives over a long period of time is more effective than short-term use in the classroom and that inexperienced teachers used them more than more experienced ones. This is probably because the newer teachers have more recently been trained in methods that include the use of manipulatives in teaching abstract concepts.

Since manipulatives aren’t commonly used in secondary school, little research has been done on their effectiveness at this level. However, one study done in 1986 used tiles to demonstrate geometric concepts to high school students and did show improved performance at that level. The Mortenson More Than Math program, which uses an experiential based mathematics program at K-12 grade levels, has been shown to be effective and is approved for use in many public schools throughout the U.S.

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Multiplication Math War

colleen — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:17:34 +0000

Play this fun card game with your child and before long those annoying multiplication facts will be part of her mathematical skill set. Besides strengthening multiplication skills, this game also provides practice in comparing numbers.

What You Need:

Deck of cards
A kitchen timer

What You Do:

Shuffle the deck of cards and deal them face down, giving each player an equal number of cards until the deck runs out. Each player keeps his cards in a stack. Assign picture cards, such as jacks, queens, and kings, a value of 10. Give aces a value of either 11 or 1.
Demonstrate to your child how to play the game: Each player turns two cards face up, reads the number sentence and supplies the answer. For example, if your child draws a 5 and a 4, he says 5 x 4 = 20. If you draw a 7 and an 8, then your number sentence is 7 x 8 = 56. Because your product is larger, you win the four cards and you put them at the bottom of your pile.
If each of you has a number sentence with the same product, then it's war! Each player puts four cards face down and turns up two of them. The player with the largest product wins the eight cards.
Set up the timer and play the game for 10 to 15 minutes. When the bell goes off, each player counts his cards. The player with the most cards wins. If one player runs out of cards before time is up, then the other player wins.
Say no to boring "drill and kill". Get your game on! Multiplication Math War is an enjoyable way to spend time with your child while strengthening his math skills.

Sally is an experienced educator, with over 14 years of teaching experience. Over the last ten years she has created educational materials, including ancillary, textbook, and test items, for Grades K-8 for major educational publishers.

Activity – Math – Decision Maker Game

colleen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:37:35 +0000

Decision Maker

by William L. Gaslin, Charles Lund, & Martin M. Gaslin education.com

Decide to play this game, and you won't regret it! You can practice addition, subtraction, or multiplication using just a deck of cards. Decision Maker combines mathematical skill with an element of chance that will keep players on their toes. Draw two cards at a time and find their sum, difference, or product. If you're correct, you'll earn points. But watch out for the face cards! If you draw one, your score will be erased!

What You Need:

One deck of playing cards (Print a deck.)
Pencil (to record scores)
Decision Maker score sheets (Print these out.)

What You Do:

Decide whether you will be using addition, subtraction or multiplication.
Shuffle the deck and place it in the center of the table. Keep in mind aces = 1, jacks = 11, queens = 12, and kings = 13.
On a player's turn, they draw two cards. Then they compute the sum, difference, or product of those cards (as chosen in step 1). If they are correct, they give themselves a point and have the option of continuing to play. If they are incorrect, or they draw a face card, they lose any points for that round and play passes to the next player. If they draw two face cards, their total game score reverts to zero.
The first player to earn 10 points wins.

Activities – Capture That Fraction

colleen — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:27:46 +0000

Capture That Fraction

Compare fractions in this two-player math game. Improve your proficiency and understanding in a fun new way! Using just a deck of cards, pencils and paper you can create a more interesting way to practice an important skill. In Capture That Fraction, you must work together to determine who has created the larger fraction. Use a number line, pictures, or multiplication to find a winner. Build off of the methods your child is using in the classroom. Have them teach you!

Terms to Know:

numerator: the number above the line in a fraction; indicates the number of parts being considered

denominator: the number below the line in a fraction; indicates the total number of parts in the whole

What You Need:

One deck of playing cards (Print a deck.)
Two game boards (Create a game board by drawing a horizontal line on a single sheet of paper, in order to create a fraction bar.)
Scratch paper and pencils (optional)

What You Do:

Remove face cards from the deck and put them aside. Shuffle the remaining cards.
Divide the deck between the two players. Each player should place their deck face down next to themselves.
Players simultaneously turn over two cards from their decks and place them on their game boards, using one card as a numerator and one card as a denominator.
Players calculate who has the largest fraction. The simplest method of comparing fractions would be to multiply each fraction by the denominator of the other fraction. (For example, with the fractions 1/2 and 1/3, compute 1/2 x 3/3 = 3/6 and 1/3 x 2/2 = 2/6. Clearly, 1/2 is the larger fraction, because 3/6 is larger than 2/6.)
The player who has the largest fraction wins all of the cards from that round. If there is a tie, split the cards evenly among players.
Play until one player has accumulated all of the cards or time is up. The player with the most cards wins the game.

Variations:

Require players to place the smaller card in the numerator and the larger in the denominator.
Change the rules so the smaller fraction wins.
Add in face cards and give them their respective values (jack = 11, queen = 12, king = 13).

source: by William L. Gaslin, Charles Lund, & Martin M. Gaslin education.com

Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids » math

Using Manipulatives to Teach Math

Related Posts:

Multiplication Math War

What You Need:

What You Do:

Related Posts:

Activity – Math – Decision Maker Game

Related Posts:

Activities – Capture That Fraction

Capture That Fraction

Terms to Know:

What You Need:

What You Do:

Variations:

Related Posts: