"Math may not teach us how to add love or subtract hate but it gives us hope that every problem has a solution." Some of my students have lost that hope because they can't see math in action in order to make meaning of it.
My 3rd grade students live in a rural area with a low socio-economic status.
For most of my students, both parents are working outside of the home. The school that they attend is a K-8 school with approximately 2,000 students. My students enjoy math and have very curious minds.
My Project
My students are struggling with number sense. They can't see a number in their head. I believe that they would benefit from math manipulatives that allow them to see a number in a more concrete way. I would use base ten blocks, place value chips and fraction cubes in my math small groups. Students would be able to to build a number to help make sense of the math problem. This will make math so much more meaningful than any worksheet I can give them.
Having number sense is an essential skill for all students of mathematics.
I want my students to see math all around them. This will motivate them to persevere in their computation of challenging math problems. Math manipulatives are essential to developing number sense. Building numbers, makes math real. I hope that it will restore the hope for my students that every problem has a solution!
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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 Mrs. Sears and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.