Help me give my students algebra tiles so we can learn all about polynomials in a kinesthetic way.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Garrott's classroom raised $198
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Project
I teach math to 9th and 10th-grade students. Much of what I teach is difficult to directly connect to the real world so whenever we have an opportunity to physically see how math works I like to take the time for them to experience it. Help me give my students algebra tiles so we can learn about polynomials in a kinesthetic way.
These days students are so completely absorbed in virtual worlds that they often do not have enough experience in the physical world to imagine how things go together.
Many of my students have not had enough time playing with things like Legos or building blocks to build a strong sense of spatial relationships. Having hands-on manipulatives available in the classroom has become an essential part of teaching students who spend too much time looking at screens. I use algebra tiles when introducing the distributive property and its inverse factoring. Being able to build rectangles and see how many different arrangements you can make with a set of tiles gives struggling students a connection between multiplication and division. This allows them to continue their study of more advanced algebraic concepts while strengthening their basic math skills.
We currently have access to virtual tiles, but for many of my students, there is greater power in being able to touch and manipulate items with their hands. I tried making my own algebra tiles out of cardstock, but between copying and cutting them out, they are often the wrong sizes and can lead to mathematical misconceptions. Cardstock tiles are still better for most students than using online virtual tiles. The tiles make factoring accessible to students who struggle with basic math facts as well.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Garrott and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.