Ronit Bird Manipulatives List

[sdobis]

I'm thinking of purchasing Overcoming Difficulties with Number by Ronit Bird. Is there a list of all manipulatives needed with this book? Do you find the CD that comes with the physical book necessary, or is the ebook without the CD sufficient?

[prairiewindmomma]

That's not what I'd buy if you're going to attempt RB.  Don't get me wrong, I've read it, but she has much more teaching friendly materials out there. I would use one of these instead: http://www.ronitbird.com/ebooks/

Overcoming Difficulties, like most of her materials, is game based.   Most of her games are handmade.  If I recall, there are some photocopiable masters in the back (the same that are on the cd) for some of her games.  I think for that book we used a spinner dial, a clock, dominoes, counting coins, a ten frame, c-rods, playing cards(?)....  but really, honestly, truly, the ebooks are so much easier to work through.

[PeterPan]

As Prairie said, most of RB's things are done with her game boards (included on the cd or on the website for the ebooks) and common items like dice, playing cards, etc.  

 

RB started with her three print books.  Toolkit is your starter point, going all the way back to the basics of number sense.  If you were to do her ebooks (Dots, C-Rods, Multi), together they would *roughly* be the equivalent of Toolkit.  I agree with Prairie that for many people the ebooks are an IMMENSELY better starting point.  They have videos, lots of explanations, color, etc.  If your dc needs the content, they're fabulous.  

 

And, fwiw, I consider RB's ebooks deceptively simple.  By the time they come through Dots, your dc will, if you've milked it completely, have nailed all his addition and subtraction facts.  By the time you finish C-Rods you should be doing multi-digit addition and subtraction and two-digit mental math.  So if you're looking at the ebook books going oh I don't need those, well maybe you don't.  But there is a lot of room to work through them, fill in holes, then apply at a more sophisticated level.

[Kanin]

I agree, Dots is the bomb. And kids LOVE it! The kids I've worked with are drawn to dot patterns like flies to honey... no joke. I always think, maybe they won't like this, maybe they won't connect... and then they're paying 100% attention for the whole lesson. It's great!

[sdobis]

Maybe this is not what we need. My daughter is 12 and can do arithmetic pretty well. She doesn't fully understand the concepts behind them and she's definitely behind for her age, but maybe dyscalulia is not her issue. She has a hard time understanding fractions and place value still trips her up. She's dyslexic and has serious directional and time issues. She thinks the decimal in 4.2 is before the 4, even after my correcting her.

[PeterPan]

You know what you might do is something like Family Math.  Get her *using* the math in another context where those things come up and seem natural.  

 

[sdobis]

You know what you might do is something like Family Math. Get her *using* the math in another context where those things come up and seem natural.

Thanks for this suggestion. That might be helpful. Having a natural bend for math, I had no idea that certain concepts could be so difficult to understand.

[PeterPan]

Also, if you tell us the things you're wanting help on, we can look in Overcoming and see if it hits those topics.  I can go downstairs and get mine, if I'm not too lazy.  :)

[MistyMountain]

I got the dots Ebook and I do not like using an Ebook. I like having it in print rather then reading from an IPad. It is harder to print it since it is in my IPad and I rather read about something then watch videos. I am wanting stuff to do with my older child and the dots book is not as far back as I need to go.

Edited November 13, 2016 by MistyMountain

[PeterPan]

Ok, I'll bite.  How is Dots not far enough back?  It starts with what numbers mean even, the concepts of 1, 2,3,4,5, just the concepts of quantity.  

 

Yes, absolutely, if you want it printed, get the print books.  They're not arranged in the same order.  You could even use the ebooks for *yourself* and then teach from the print books.  I do the print books that way, because it's easy for me.  Like I'll go in, photocopy a few pages of game instructions from the print book, print the boards, and then I'm ready to go.  

 

I like the videos in the ebooks.  That's their strength.  She makes wonderful, wonderful videos.  And the ebooks put the concepts into a nice instructional order, where the print books don't necessarily have as tight a flow.  With the ebooks, the concepts build really well from one lesson to the next. 

 

Some years amazon has done sort of a black friday coupon for a % off a single book.  If they do that again, you could use it to get the RB print books.  

[MistyMountain]

She is older and has no problem seeing small quantities or knowing they are made up of other numbers or odd and evens. The break down comes with handling bigger numbers.

 

Oops I meant it is too far back not not far enough back. My youngest is even past dots now I think.

Edited November 13, 2016 by MistyMountain

[PeterPan]

Oh yes, that makes more sense!  Absolutely, Overcoming *is* the more typical rec for that age.  The op can write RB herself an email and talk it through. 

[Heathermomster]

I'm away from home, so it's hard to respond to emails. The waves and white sands are very distracting. ;) Anyhoo...

 

I rec'd Overcoming because of how the OP described her DD. She knows her basic math facts but is struggling with multi digit multiplication, long division, and place value. RB teaches the area model, which easily transfers to Tanton's Galley method (algebra). RB doesn't teach fractions, BTW.

 

I don't have the book in front of me, but the manipulatives are basic. OP, you can use c-rods or MUS rods. I prefer MUS blocks because they have a hollow side which can be flipped over to indicate a negative number. Base 10 blocks might be useful, but I hate to mention those because they are expensive, so maybe wait and try to locate printables instead.

 

Overcoming is not a book full book of games. RB provides a list of multiplication pre-skills. OP, I suggest to go through that list carefully and ensure your DD has those skills. The skills like decomposing numbers and mental math are important, and she really needs to have her math facts to 20 down cold.

 

I've never had a problem using RB books, but then I'm a math person. When RB rec'd a subitizing activity that DS or I didn't like, I went online and found a substitute. I intuit that sort of thing easily enough. The gold of Overcoming is the back of the book.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Heathermomster

[PeterPan]

If she started with Overcoming and realized she needed to work on multiplication, she could go back to the Multiplication ebook and do that.  Totally agree, the only reason to back up to Dots/C-Rods or Toolkit is if you need that level of work.

[sdobis]

That's very helpful. I keep going back and forth over whether to get the book. Overcoming would fit her level the mist. I think I'm going to get the ebook through Amazon. I'll skim it to see if it will fit. If not, I'll just return it. Easy enough.

[Heathermomster]

Multiplication is covered in the Overcoming book.

 

When I used the book with DS, I ensured he could subitize a dot pattern to 5. We then covered the multi pre-skills and progressed through the end of the book, selecting which methods worked best for DS.

 

Both of my kids struggled to read from left to right, so I used to place stickers and stars in the upper left corner of the paper. It became a habit for my kids to read letters and numbers left to right. They also worked with both an OT and ped PT. Neither child reads backwards now.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Heathermomster

[PeterPan]

I didn't realize she had kindle editions up now!  That's a great idea.  If you like working that way (from your ipad), definitely.  How do you get the printables?  Are they all on the site?  Also looks like a couple people have used copies for about that price on the amazon marketplace.  But sure, either way.

Edited November 14, 2016 by OhElizabeth

[sdobis]

It looks like all of the printable are on the website.