I know that working with manipulatives is very helpful when teaching and learning math. There are so many out there that I wasn’t sure which one I should choose first. Being a first year teacher, I may not have the funds to buy a bunch either. What I learned is that I should ask around the school I am in to see if there are any manipulatives already. They could be collecting dust somewhere. And, if I am going to buy some, I should get the one I am most comfortable with and make the rest. Each year, I can buy a new manipulative to add to my collection.
The questions I have for this week: I am in third grade. How big should my math groups be? Is a group of two better than a group of 3? Should I mix up the groups every time? What if I have a student who is oppositional defiant who will only want to do one role only – what do I do then? (This is more of a classroom management piece.)
My school is moving towards cooperative learning, so when I do my math lessons, I will be sure to try to mix up the groups a bit and implement roles. On top of this, I want to add in more manipulative use.
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