2Peanuts Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Hi all, I am thinking about homeschooling our DS5 next year. He is currently in K in the public schools with an IEP for autism. He's very high functioning --- his primary deficit is in social skills. (Socialization! Ha!) Anyway, I am contemplating various math programs and manipulatives. I was wondering if I should purchase Cuisenaire rods. I have seen recommendations for Cuisenaire rods in various math-related posts. We already own a set of unifix cubes. So will unifix cubes do the same thing as C-rods? (My question comes mostly from a desire to minimize clutter; it's not so much about the cost of the C-rods.) Thanks! Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Unless you are using Miquon or another curriculum that is based on cuisinare rods, I don't think they are necessary. My non-Miquon kid plays with the rods every now and then, but when he's doing his math he prefers a base-10 set. Base-10, unifix, and c-rods are all a bit different, with their own strengths and loyal fans, but at the end of the day they all do the same thing :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Well, I disagree that they all do the same thing. I think the C-rods, with their lack of markings to denote the numbers, do something that the others don't do. They encourage thinking about the number as a whole, not as counting. They are more flexible because you can much more easily use them to illustrate concepts in things like fractions where they don't stand for the number they stand for when you're doing basic addition. I think they're a more flexible and innovative math tool that helps kids go deeper than base-10 blocks, MUS blocks, or unifix cubes. BUT... that said, some kids don't take to any manipulatives or take to a specific one that isn't the one you want them to like. And there are other ways to approach math than with this particular manipulative. If you're going to use Miquon or a couple of other programs that call for them, then you need them. Unifix cubes won't stand in as well. Otherwise... I think it's up to you. If you haven't seen the videos at Education Unboxed, they explain the rods and how to use them really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateingr Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Well, I disagree that they all do the same thing. I think the C-rods, with their lack of markings to denote the numbers, do something that the others don't do. They encourage thinking about the number as a whole, not as counting. They are more flexible because you can much more easily use them to illustrate concepts in things like fractions where they don't stand for the number they stand for when you're doing basic addition. I think they're a more flexible and innovative math tool that helps kids go deeper than base-10 blocks, MUS blocks, or unifix cubes. I loved using C-rods as a fifth-grade teacher for fractions, for exactly the reasons you're describing here. Kids have to really think hard about what fractions mean to be able to translate them into C-rods and then manipulate them. (My favorite questions was always, "If this C-rod is 2/3 (or 3/4, or whatever) what would the whole unit be?") But I have to admit, I've never understood their usefulness for beginning addition. Farrar, would you mind elaborating a little on how they're used? I'd love to understand this better, especially since so many people love Miquon. I very much value kids learning to think of numbers as wholes and not as counting, but it's always felt to me that the colors obscure some of the relationships between numbers. Or do kids internalize the colors so well that they can still "see" the number relationships? For example, on the AL abacus, you can easily see that 7 is 2 more than 5 because the color changes after five beads. And, you can see that 7 is 3 less than 10 because there are three beads left on the wire when you've moved 7 beads over. With C-rods, you can see that yellow plus red equals black, and that adding a light green on would equal the orange, but the numeration just isn't as "visible" to me when I do that. OP, sorry for the digression, although more explanation of C-rods might be helpful for you, too. As people said above, there's no be-all end-all manipulative, unless the curriculum you use happens to require it. My personal favorite is the AL Abacus, because I feel that it makes those number relationships so clear, and because it is so efficient. (Instead of having to lay out all those Unifix cubes, you can just swipe over the right number of beads.) It would be my suggestion for the one manipulative most worth having (I even wrote a post recently professing my deep love for the abacus!) but again, it depends on your curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 We love the C-rods. We have those and some cubes similar to the Unifix ones, and I think we've maybe used the cubes twice. The C-rods are just so much quicker. Dd can focus on the concepts she's learning without having to stop to count out a bunch of cubes every couple minutes. And it's amazing how quickly dd caught on to which color represents which number with the C-rods. I thought it was going to take forever, but she used them two or three times and that was all it took. (Unlike me- I still mix up seven and eight, lol.) If you want to work on counting and one-to-one correspondence you'd probably be better off with the cubes, but for everything beyond that I think the C-rods are superior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 My favorite is the AL Abacus. It is so much faster to use than cubes or base 10, and it so very portable. I never used C-rods though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Well, I still drool over the Abacus but haven't ever gotten one. I do have C-rods and Unifix cubes, and I prefer C-rods. We have never used a curriculum that required their use, but I bring them out almost every day anyway. They are my favorite visual tool for teaching addition and subtraction. Say we were learning facts that add up to 5, every day I would get out that yellow rod and we would go through all the combinations that equal up to it. We'd write each fact on the white board as we went. We would go over it from all 4 directions: 5-3=2 (yellow minus light green is red), 5-2=3 (yellow minus red is light green), 2+3=5... you get the picture. We do it all over again every single day until those facts are in instant recall. I really like it for numbers above 10, because the orange 10 is clearly separate from the purple 4 in 14, so I feel like it gives us a good visual representation of what is going on. Just my $.02! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Peanuts Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 OP, sorry for the digression, although more explanation of C-rods might be helpful for you, too. As people said above, there's no be-all end-all manipulative, unless the curriculum you use happens to require it. My personal favorite is the AL Abacus, because I feel that it makes those number relationships so clear, and because it is so efficient. (Instead of having to lay out all those Unifix cubes, you can just swipe over the right number of beads.) It would be my suggestion for the one manipulative most worth having (I even wrote a post recently professing my deep love for the abacus!) but again, it depends on your curriculum. Kateingr, this discussion is perfect! I really appreciate understanding more about what these manipulatives do & how you all use them. I'm pretty new to the idea of manipulatives with math, so it helps me to see how people use the various options. (I never used them growing up. My DD9 used them when she was in school but since starting homeschooling with her, she hasn't really needed them other than some fraction blocks I got from Learning Resources.) I did buy an abacus (not the AL one, but a Melissa & Doug one) that differentiates groups of 5. So, I'm glad to know that it will come in handy. Thanks to everyone for their input! I am constantly amazed at the depth of knowledge everyone here has. Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I recently purchased Mathematics Made Meaningful and it really teaches you how to use the rods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I loved using C-rods as a fifth-grade teacher for fractions, for exactly the reasons you're describing here. Kids have to really think hard about what fractions mean to be able to translate them into C-rods and then manipulate them. (My favorite questions was always, "If this C-rod is 2/3 (or 3/4, or whatever) what would the whole unit be?") But I have to admit, I've never understood their usefulness for beginning addition. Farrar, would you mind elaborating a little on how they're used? I'd love to understand this better, especially since so many people love Miquon. I very much value kids learning to think of numbers as wholes and not as counting, but it's always felt to me that the colors obscure some of the relationships between numbers. Or do kids internalize the colors so well that they can still "see" the number relationships? For example, on the AL abacus, you can easily see that 7 is 2 more than 5 because the color changes after five beads. And, you can see that 7 is 3 less than 10 because there are three beads left on the wire when you've moved 7 beads over. With C-rods, you can see that yellow plus red equals black, and that adding a light green on would equal the orange, but the numeration just isn't as "visible" to me when I do that. I think c-rods help the child see the relationship without counting. With an abacus, the child can still rely on counting the beads. Using the rods, green (3) and red (2) make yellow (5). The "bond" is visual without the crutch of counting up or down. The question of color confusion often comes up in c-Rod threads and my kids have never had a problem with the connection between numbers and colors. Part of the rod play is to build the understanding behind the colors. Using the white (1) to prove the rod's number. Using stair steps to show one more. One of my DD's favorite games when she was young was putting her hands behind her back and I'd place a rod in them. She'd guess the number based on feel. For my kids, c-rods have been the best math manipulative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I recently purchased Mathematics Made Meaningful and it really teaches you how to use the rods. I big pink puffy heart MMM. :001_wub: But it does do more than teach you how to use the rods. It teaches math concepts in a very visual way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 We have Base-10 blocks, unifix cubes, and c-rods. Of the three, the only one we've hardly ever used used are the C-rods. I thought they'd be super useful, but even with fractions, we've just not found that to be the case. I already owned the unifix cubes before I bought the c-rods and looking back, I think it would have been better to just stick with what we owned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateingr Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I think c-rods help the child see the relationship without counting. With an abacus, the child can still rely on counting the beads. Using the rods, green (3) and red (2) make yellow (5). The "bond" is visual without the crutch of counting up or down. The question of color confusion often comes up in c-Rod threads and my kids have never had a problem with the connection between numbers and colors. Part of the rod play is to build the understanding behind the colors. Using the white (1) to prove the rod's number. Using stair steps to show one more. One of my DD's favorite games when she was young was putting her hands behind her back and I'd place a rod in them. She'd guess the number based on feel. For my kids, c-rods have been the best math manipulative. Thanks, ErinE, that helps me understand better what people love about the C-rods. You raise a good point about the abacus--when you're using it as your main manipulative, it's extremely important to discourage counting and focus on thinking of the numbers in groups. Some kids need more nudging on this than others! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKWAcademy Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I own it all. My kids are barely into SM 1A and are almost 6 years old. So far, we've primarily used unifix cubes. I wish I could switch them to the c-rods, though. I haven't taught the rods well enough yet, so now they just play with them. It seems to me the AL Abacus would be most useful but my kids insist the unifix cubes are easiest. They fly through math using just the cubes, so I can't complain yet. I can't really help with your dilemma because my solution is to buy WAY TOO MUCH. But, in my case, I would have been fine just sticking with the unifix cubes in the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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