Virtual Concrete Manipulatives

We know how important concrete manipulatives are for our students as they build a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. Being able to see and manipulate objects enables students to visually represent problems, see patterns, and make connections.

Hopefully, you have a variety of manipulatives in your room that students can easily access at all times.  Virtual manipulatives are important to have easily accessible, too!  Now is a good time to download some of these apps onto your iPad, bookmark on your computer, links in your SMART Notebooks or PowerPoints and/or add to your Symbaloo!

There are a lot of great FREE virtual manipulatives out there, but today I want to focus on the apps by Math Learning Center.  I have good success with many of them. The site has a lot of other good resources, so when you have some time, check them out as well!

Fractions: This app not only allows you to create bar or circle models of fractions, but it also to layer fraction models to see if they how they compare to one when you add them.

3/5 + 1/3 < 1

The app allows you to place number models or write directly on the screen as well. Take some time to explore the capabilities of this app!

Vocabulary Cards: Another great app that you can probably find multiple uses for! There is a large database of words in this app divided into grade bands K-2 and 3-5.  You can choose to see them all or only certain words.  Each card has 3 parts: the word, examples, and a definition.  You can choose which part you want hidden.  You can also choose the language for the card. I can see these being used as individual review for students, but I can also envision one of these on the board as an intro activity or even a quick exit task.

Money pieces:   The money pieces app allows you to display money with or without the accompanying base ten blocks depending on student needs.  It also has a variety of tools similar to the games Bears in the Cave or Pennies in the Hand where you can put your coins up and then hide some.  For example.  I have a pocket in the above screen.  If I told you that I have 35 cents altogether, can you tell what I have in my pocket?

With the click of a button, I can remove the pocket to show that there is a quarter in it.  You can do this similarly with a hand or a bank.  

Money seems to be difficult for children anymore because they have less interaction with it than we did. Our students don't get the same opportunities we did to spend cash, but it is still important to understand, and this app will give them some basic experiences with it.

Number Frames:  This app not only allows the important 5 frame, 10 frame, and Double 10 frame, it allows you to customize the frame you want up to 120. As with many of the apps, it allows you to enter number sentences and to write on the screen.  This app is not just for Littles!  Teachers in 3-5 can use it to explore place value as well as patterns in multiplication.

Number Lines:  I love this app!  It has so many options for you to customize the number line including fractions, decimals, hidden numbers, hidden tick marks... I think it really helps students to represent their work, and it marries nicely with the beaded number line for moving from concrete to representational.

Number Pieces:  There are two versions of this app.  The one I am showing above is more advanced than the version called Number Pieces Basic. It is base-ten blocks, but you can break the large pieces apart to show number relationships. You have choices in color and orientation of the pieces.  Again, you can enter number sentences or write on the screen.

Number Rack:  You know how much I love this one!  It comes in handy as a teacher model on the SMARTBoard as students manipulate their own Rekenreks.  It is customizable by sets of 10 up to 100. It allows for teacher annotations like the others, but it also allows for teachers to hide beads as below.  Well worth your time to explore this one--not just for Littles!

Do you know how many beads I have hidden?

Pattern Shapes: It is so important that we give students time to play with pattern blocks!  This offers a blank mat for students to create their own patterns.  It also has templates (as above) for students to fill in with shapes.  (Very good for sharpening visual skills)  For older students, it has two different grid backgrounds to allow exploration of area and perimeter.

Geoboard:  The geoboard app has different sizes of geoboards and allows for customization in many ways.  Another great one to have up on the SMARTBoard as students manipulate their own geoboards.

Partial Product Finder: While still in Beta form, this is an awesome app to help your students better understand partial products as well as the distributive property.  You can customize the rectangle up to 30 x 30 and then decompose one or both sides.  The matching equation shows up at the bottom of the screen. I have blogged about this one before--it is awesome!

I highly recommend that you take some time to explore these!  Hopefully you will find some that you make available for student use just as you do other manipulatives.  Maybe you'll find ways to use them within your instruction.  Whatever works best for you and your students!  

Let me know if you have other virtual manipulative apps that you would recommend!