Anybody ever use Algebra Tiles or Algebits?

[Pam L.]

Hi,

 

Have you used either of these? I purchased a mini "kit" of algebra tiles and brief teacher book. I haven't started it yet. I am thinking I will want a companion workbook for additional practice. There are a few teaching books and/or workbooks out there. I have also seen another product called Algebits. There appears to be less info about this though.

 

Thanks!

Pam

[Pam L.]

??????:glare:

[Dana]

I've done some teaching with algebra tiles. There are quite a few books that talk about how to use them.

 

You can use them like you'd use base-10 blocks: the small squares are units, the rectangles are x's and the large squares are x^2. It's a great visual for combining like terms and helps show why you can't put x and x^2 together.

 

You can use the red side for negative numbers and the colored side for positive numbers. This can show arithmetic with signed numbers (different colors "cancel" each other out).

 

You can use them for solving equations. Get a sheet of paper and put a line down the middle with an = on it. You can set up your equation with the tiles (just linear equations) and then manipulate the tiles to solve the equation (see books for examples or PM me... running late this morning!)

 

You can also use them to multiply polynomials like (x-3)(2x+5). It uses the same idea as area and how you could do 4*3 by setting up a rectangle that's 4 units on one side and 3 on the other. The area is the product.

 

If you've got the multiplication, then you can factor using the tiles by starting with the area and trying to build a rectangle. (Although I probably wouldn't do this much - factoring should just be done algebraically or it'll lead to extreme slowness later on).

 

So here are a few suggestions.

Some kids will be more inclined to use the manipulatives and the algebra tiles are great for that. Also, if there's a conceptual issue, using the tiles is great to see a concrete representation. The goal should be to get away from them but use them to get the start with the math and end using the algebra.