Description of hands-on Manipulatives
Manipulatives are an important tool used by teachers to help students fully understand concepts. With many manipulatives to choose from knowing both the advantages and disadvantage of the manipulative you choose is key to making a lesson successful. I will discuss the advantages of four hands-on manipulatives as well as some of the disadvantages.
The first hands-on manipulative I would like to describe is the interlocking unit cubes. These manipulatives are brightly colored cubes that measure one centimeter cubed and weigh exactly one gram.
Advantages
• The ability to connect them on any side. This allows the students to make larger cubes, rods, and irregular shapes.
• The ability to use this manipulative for cross-curriculum activities. Since each …show more content…
For this reason they need to be a one use item.
The final hands-on manipulative I will describe is the interlocking base ten blocks. These plastic blocks can be used for various activities like counting, place value, estimation, and even fractions. Advantages
• All pieces can be interlocked to help make abstract concepts physical. Students can attach single units to form rods for place values or use them to demonstrate regrouping.
• An import visual aid for understanding large numbers. Base 10 blocks make the concept of a number like 1000 real. The students can physically connect 10 singles to form a group of 10 (rod), they can then connect 10 rods to form 100 (flat), and finally connect 10 flats to create 1000 (block.) This creates a concrete model of a number that is hard to grasp for younger students.
Disadvantages
• The interlocking base 10 blocks look like Legos. Students can become distracted and build spaceships instead of learning place values.
• The interlocking base 10 blocks are expensive. For classrooms with large student populations or small budgets it may not be feasible to purchase a classroom set.
Description of Virtual
Manipulatives are an important tool used by teachers to help students fully understand concepts. With many manipulatives to choose from knowing both the advantages and disadvantage of the manipulative you choose is key to making a lesson successful. I will discuss the advantages of four hands-on manipulatives as well as some of the disadvantages.
The first hands-on manipulative I would like to describe is the interlocking unit cubes. These manipulatives are brightly colored cubes that measure one centimeter cubed and weigh exactly one gram.
Advantages
• The ability to connect them on any side. This allows the students to make larger cubes, rods, and irregular shapes.
• The ability to use this manipulative for cross-curriculum activities. Since each …show more content…
For this reason they need to be a one use item.
The final hands-on manipulative I will describe is the interlocking base ten blocks. These plastic blocks can be used for various activities like counting, place value, estimation, and even fractions. Advantages
• All pieces can be interlocked to help make abstract concepts physical. Students can attach single units to form rods for place values or use them to demonstrate regrouping.
• An import visual aid for understanding large numbers. Base 10 blocks make the concept of a number like 1000 real. The students can physically connect 10 singles to form a group of 10 (rod), they can then connect 10 rods to form 100 (flat), and finally connect 10 flats to create 1000 (block.) This creates a concrete model of a number that is hard to grasp for younger students.
Disadvantages
• The interlocking base 10 blocks look like Legos. Students can become distracted and build spaceships instead of learning place values.
• The interlocking base 10 blocks are expensive. For classrooms with large student populations or small budgets it may not be feasible to purchase a classroom set.
Description of Virtual