My students need magnetic fraction circles for demonstration and enough sets of individual fraction circles for each student to manipulate to learn fraction concepts.
"Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire." -William Butler Yeats- I want my students to use manipulatives so they can see why math works instead of just simply following a formula. Instead of just filling their "bucket" with a procedure, I'm hopefully lighting their fire!
Our school houses 3rd-5th grade and we have approximately 650 students.
I teach math, science, and social studies to a wonderful group of 5th graders! 5th graders are ready to learn and still get excited when asking what we will be doing each day. We use many resources to reach all different types of learners. We are passionate about learning in a meaningful way.
My Project
Fractions can be a hard skill to understand. By using the fraction manipulatives, students can move them around and actually see the fraction in front of them instead of just a fraction written in a textbook or on a piece of paper. The fraction sets will be especially helpful when we add and subtract fractions. Students can move the pieces around, lay them on top of one another, and add or remove pieces. You can not get this type of learning with pencil and paper. The magnetic set will help them by allowing me to show them examples of what they should be doing and to help with understanding. With each student having his or her own set while in class, we can move through lessons together and each student will get the benefit of using manipulatives.
As a college student, I was great at following formulas and learning procedures.
It wasn't until I was in a math class where the teacher had us use manipulatives that I actually got why all those procedures worked. It was a light bulb moment and made me excited to learn more. I want to provide this type of learning for my students. It will make their learning more meaningful and hopefully more memorable. Instead of just seeing math concepts in black and white, they will have hands on practice.
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