Learning through Math Manipulatives

Math Manipulatives. What an interesting term. I wish I got to hear it when I was in school. 

Math has always been so painful for the majority of people. Many students hate their math class, mainly for two reasons, it is hard and boring. You sit at your desks, listen to the teacher talk - you probably don’t understand much - then you go home, do your homework and get assessed a couple days later. Then the cycle just repeats. I believe making math hands-on can solve both concerns of it being hard and boring. Math manipulatives will make it fun for everyone because instead of using a pencil and paper, you use different tools and “games”. This makes it seem less hard because it is interactive and you can visually see the progress you are making towards the solution to the problem. 

In class there were 3 math manipulatives that stood out to me. A lot of students can recognize different types of shapes but

a lot of them also would not be able to make a shape out of
other shapes. For example, using two trapezoids and 3
triangles to make a larger triangle. Having shapes to help
illustrate this concept helps with three possible things:

1) recognizing/identifying different types of shapes

2) making a larger shape out of multiple smaller ones

3) working with fractions visually

Small blocks help students build anything. This helps in so many different  such as integers, patterns, shapes, area, perimeter, etc. They are so easy to use but provide such a huge impact in student learning. This makes tasks more interactive and fun. Doing this in groups is also a good idea because then students can help each other if needed. These blocks also allow students to think outside the box and come up with creative ideas they may not have thought about if they did not have the blocks. Students will also look forward to coming to class and learning if they are aware they will get to do

hands-on activities directly related to their learning.  

Being able to use algebraic tiles is so essential. Polynomials is such a huge concept in high school as you use them throughout all your school years but it is also important in elementary school when understanding algebra. They are useful in terms of understanding how to build polynomials with different variables and collect like terms. But when it comes to high school, they are extremely helpful for factoring. The opposite of this is expanding which can also be done with these tiles. They allow students to physically break apart a polynomial. This also helps students understand integers which a lot of students struggle with. 




Teachers NEED to incorporate math manipulatives into everyday math classrooms to meet the needs of all students and fit their learning styles. This also makes math different and unique which is important so that students do not feel bored or feel it is too difficult. Something to think about.