Why math manipulatives are a waste for me

[Janeway]

Here is today's fractions lesson......

 

 

 

[regentrude]

I don't even know what that is supposed to mean.

[Janeway]

I don't even know what that is supposed to mean.

its a fraction. They are factors. And if child can reduce a factor, child gets to eat the candy.

[Tracy]

I don't get it.  What does everything represent?  It looks like 3/(2/1)x(1/1).  

[Janeway]

I don't get it.  What does everything represent?  It looks like 3/(2/1)x(1/1).  

The colors are just symbols. For example, if you have red blue over blue, you can reduce the top and bottom by blue. Then you have just red as the final answer. That is not the fraction in the picture of course. The candy each counts as a factor, not as a digit.

[Slache]

But then I'd always have to have M&Ms in the house and that would be dangerous for me. I don't eat the Cuisenaire Rods. Yet.

[Janeway]

This particular problem was yellow blue green over ( green red over orange). The two pieces of paper twisted and criss crossed are a multiplication sign...equalling multiplying the whole thing by orange over orange. Of course, orange over orange will always equal one. Just as 5/5 equals one, or 4837/4837 equals 1 just as ggd/ggb equals one and so on. 

[athomeontheprairie]

What is the original problem?

[Tracy]

And why does this picture show that your manipulatives are a waste?  They seem to be working very well.

[athomeontheprairie]

And why does this picture show that your manipulatives are a waste? They seem to be working very well.

I assume she meant her homemade manipulative were just as good, though "free", as the expensive ones some curriculum seems to require

[Janeway]

And why does this picture show that your manipulatives are a waste?  They seem to be working very well.

I meant the base ten blocks, MUS blocks, unifix cubes, fraction overlays, etc etc all just stay on the shelf. LOL..I thought my post was showing my creativity. I think, instead, it led to a lot of people scratching their heads.

[Farrar]

I like lessons like this that use everyday objects (and candy can be fun and motivating)... but the Cuisenaire rods are magic. Nothing can replace them.

[Arcadia]

My kids never liked manipulatives so we never bought any except for tangrams and pentomino.

 

They use the cubes that the public charter gave as building blocks. Their evaluator was amused.

 

Your younger kids may still like manipulatives so I won't sell/donate them yet.

 

But then I'd always have to have M&Ms in the house and that would be dangerous for me. I don't eat the Cuisenaire Rods. Yet.

:lol: My kids just use Legos. Older boy had food dye sensitivity so food manipulatives are out.

[mamiof5]

Kudos for creativity. Wouldn't work for us... toddler throwing tantrum over candy ( he'll go batty if he sees it). Can't do.

 

Sticking with manipulatives 😉

[Garga]

We used Doritos for some division/fraction lessons in the past. It was awesome. Divide the chip into thirds, then eat. Yum!

[importswim]

I totally knew what you were getting at!

 

My kids would love those kind of math manipulatives! We just use boring old counting bears.  :laugh:

[wintermom]

We used to use candy sometimes, too, but I'm so frugal that I wouldn't let the dc eat it the first time we used them. I'd try to squeeze a few lessons out of each batch of candy. Takes away some of the fun.  :laugh:

[kiwik]

I bought the c rods for me not ds. He was only a few months old at the time.

[MerryAtHope]

LOL, when I was weeding out curriculum to sell this spring, my dd said, of our Cuisenaire Rods, "You're NOT going to sell THOSE are you?" (Of course not!)

[Rosie_0801]

 Older boy had food dye sensitivity so food manipulatives are out.

 

Is that really a problem?

 

Me: "Do your maths properly or I will eat M&Ms in front of you."

Her: (That doesn't work any more because I don't expect you to share your chocolate when you're in one of these moods.)

Me: (Well at least I have chocolate.)

[SanDiegoMom]

And then there are those of us that really like math manipulatives. So much that even if we only have 3 kids left at home, we still buy a set of counting bears! Ds used to re-enact the battle of Gettysburg with them.

I loved those counting bears! I reminded my kids about them and how they played with them - oldest would create different clans according to colors and then act out long complicated plots and battles (she's writing a novel now:-)), other dd would just use 2-3 and they would always fly, and then ds would sort and graph them, find the ratios between the colors, etc. a truly versatile toy:-)

[regentrude]

The way you explain it, the manipulatives sound far more complicated than just doing the math. My kid would have begged me to skip the colored dot stuff and to be allowed to just work it out.

Edited July 30, 2016 by regentrude

[lllll]

nm

Edited November 5, 2016 by cathey

[Peaceful Isle]

Looks yummy to me! :)

[HomeAgain]

I like edibles for teaching basic fractions.  :) My youngest sat down with his hershey bar the other day and discovered how it breaks down all by himself, so yay!

 

Our main argument for plain math manipulatives for most of the time, though, is to build a strong visual foundation.  If certain items are only used for certain exercises, it's easier to visualize how to do it later when they're trying to work it out in abstract thought.  My oldest for the longest time would multiply with his hands, overlaying the palms to make the MUS hundred square and fingers for the tens, as he transitioned from blocks to all in his head.