The Organized Classroom Magazine August 2013 | Page 11

Math Manipulative Organization

Teach Me

Math Manipulative Organization

By Meg Anderson
I am a firm believer that students must be able to access manipula : ves -­‐-­‐ whether they be counters , rulers , dice , or whatever -­‐-­‐ without an adult passing them out and saying " Today you will use these !". As men : oned in the Common Core , students need to be able to successfully " Use appropriate tools strategically ", and helping them know how and when to select them is key . Below you will find one of my favorite storage system for miscellaneous " counters ", so that students can take a drawer right back to their work space whenever needed . You can see the bucket of rulers and protractors next to it , and the shelves below house dice , calculators , base 10 blocks , and other math supplies .
These awesome drawer sets come in a variety of shapes and sizes . This one was only about 12 bucks at a local home improvement store .
This is my trusty dusty math cart ... a shelf for a tub of markers and a tub of fabric square for erasers and the top shelf for my whiteboards . We can wheel it to wherever the math happens !
Each drawer is filled with an " individual serving size " of counters in a variety of shapes and sizes !
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