Admittedly, math was my weakest subject when I was a young student. Because of my experience, I work hard to help struggling math students in my class by giving them hands-on, engaging materials. With concrete examples on a math rack, students will develop increased number sense.
My first grade students attend a large, urban, public school.
My class is very culturally diverse with 3-5 languages/cultures represented each year. Several students are recent refugees and speak little or no english. Unfortunately, some of these same students have parents who would like to help with academics, but are unable to because of the language barrier. Also included in my class are special education students. This incredibly diverse community of students work well together and learn from each other. All are in school to have fun learning and truly want to succeed.
My Project
My students need a class set of math racks (also known as Rekenreks). Math racks or Rekenreks are a valuable and useful tool in teaching a variety of math skills. The racks have colored beads on rods that slide across. Beads are grouped in 5's and there are 10 beads on each rod. Students slide the beads across the rods as they solve various math problems. These rekenreks can be used to teach number sense including counting, skip counting, addition and subtraction. Because of the colored beads, the racks help students see the decomposition of numbers. Because there are ten beads on each rod, students will begin to better understand place value. In my classroom, the racks would be used for whole group lessons, small group lessons and to tutor individual students as needed. I am confident that if every student is engaged in math, all will progress.
These math racks are durable and colorful.
I envision them lasting for years to come. Students will look forward to solving high level math problems using a math rack as a visual representation of their thinking. Students will build number sense and improve place value understanding. Please help my students build and retain the math skills needed for future careers.
Nearly all 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. Sylvester and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.