Remembering Early Math Lessons and Manipulatives

This week in math, I learned many things. I started off being amazed at how often we overlook the details in the things that we learn. The foundation for various subjects is engraved in us from young ages and we often don’t even notice it. For example, we all did algebra in the first grade when we did problems like 3 + 4 =__ or 3 + __=7. If we put an ‘x’ in the blank spaces, we have Algebra, a part of math that is often feared by many students since they forget the preview they had in younger school years. This brings up an interesting question for me. Should you explain to the first grade kids that you are doing algebra, or would this intimidate them? This question is debatable, which is what makes it so difficult to answer. Some people would say that it would make the students feel special to be working on algebra, a subject they know middle school children encounter. Other people, however, would say this can create a mental road block for some kids. During my observations, I often heard a first grade teacher tell her students that they knew things (in this example, continent names and locations) that fourth graders didn’t know. While most of the class would feel proud and excited by this comment, I did notice some students become nervous. Therefore, is this the right thing to do?

In class we also talked about the use of manipulatives. Our teacher said something that is very true, “Everyone has a manipulative that they are more comfortable with.” In our last math class we used beans to solve some problems. For me, the beans were confusing. Even the number line was confusing. I’m used to converting symbols: two plus signs is a positive sign, one negative and positive result in a negative, and two negatives result in a positive sign. Simple. Well, I saw some students love the bean idea. The concluding thought: all students learn in different ways, and as teachers we have to offer the curriculum in various methods so we reach all our students.

In terms of classroom practice, I see the value of various forms of instruction and this would include the use of manipulatives in some lessons. Not all children learn the same way. While using puzzle pieces always seems to confuse me more, I have seen other students reach an ‘aha moment’ because of them. Different forms of instruction not only help children reach their potential, it makes learning fun.