I can tell you one of my favorite things to use in the classroom for math is manipulatives. Allowing students to use hands-on tools to help them build a deeper understanding is so important. But if we aren't able to share supplies, how in the world are we going to share math manipulatives. We would either have to disinfect/wipe them down between each small group or class or else ask the school to provide a large amount of the supplies. We all know how hard it is to get the schools to purchase anything!
I decided this summer that I am going to start working on making my own individual manipulatives for my students and I am excited to share them with you all! Side note - I teach 5th grade, so while I tried to find manipulatives that are used in the lower grades, if I forgot something please let me know and I can add it.
I found these storage organizers at Michaels. They are priced at $41.99 regularly, but you can catch them on sale ALL the time, or use one of their amazing coupons they have every week.
The storage box holds 16 smaller containers. So I purchased 2 of them and now each of my students has their own individual container for math manipulatives. You can choose to store all of the manipulatives in the container at once, but I preferred to just put the manipulatives we will use each unit in the box. For example, when we are working on place value, I will only have the place value blocks and the place value chips in their container. I also number the containers and then assign each student a container so there is no sharing involved.
When printing the manipulatives you have a couple of different options. You can choose to print them on cardstock or print them on regular paper and laminate them. I can doing a combination of both. The items that like place value blocks that can put cut on the dotted lines I am printing on cardstock. The fraction strips and pattern blocks that I am going to cut out into the actual shape I will do on regular paper and then laminate.
In the event we will be doing distance learning or some type of hybrid learning, the manipulatives in the Google slides presentation can also be copied and pasted into an assignment where you want the students to use them. For example, if I want my students to build numbers using place value blocks while completing an assignment in Google slides, I can copy and paste multiple copies of the place value blocks into the presentation and the students can drag and drop them as needed.
There are also some great virtual manipulative websites out there that can be used with students. Two of my favorites are:
- Glencoe Math from McGraw Hill Education (this website does require flash)
- Toy Theater
The printable math manipulatives can be found on my Resource Page or by clicking on the image below.
I am going to be posting another resource soon that includes more math manipulatives/supports that can be printed out. Some of them includes things like hundred chart, multiplication table, place value chart, etc. Check back soon!
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