Hands-on Maths

MATH CONCEPTS AND PROBLEM-SOLVING TIPS


A Math Corner is always a good idea to have in hand all the concepts for problem solving: it can be completed as concepts are being dealt, and words are added little by little. This is the final look when all the words are eventually added.




NUMERACY AND GEOMETRY


SQUARES AND SQUARE ROOTS

How to calculate squares and how to visualise geometric progressions.





FRACTIONS AND PERCENTAGES

We have been working on the concept of percentages using the hundred chart, but we needed to make more visual the equivalence between a given fraction and a percentage. I thought that stripes are easier to handle than circles -dealing with fractions- and then came across with this idea:




Comparing different fractions or fractions and percentages.


Use snap hooks to handle easily.


Print - colour - laminate - hook together.





THE RAINBOW

I can't remember when or where was the first time I saw the connection between Math facts and natural elements, BUT they do work as visual help to remember Math procedures.




TIMES TABLES

Counting with fingers to learn multiplying.





PLACE-VALUE TOOLS

These stripes are useful to develop extended form and place-value sense. They can be used for addition practise as well.





GEOMETRY


CALCULATING THE AREA OF A CIRCLE AND THE PERIMETER OF A CIRCUMFERENCE




These two tricks came to my mind one day working with my students. I was trying to explain the formulae to calculate areas and perimeters and they started to ask me what did it mean "to calculate the square of a radius..." or "three times the diameter..." and I saw it suddenly: we could demonstrate perimeters using pieces of rope and a common ruler, and areas using these squared templates. 

Once we had managed small circles, we tried to demonstrate if it worked with bigger circles:


and it did!



WORKING OUT WITH ANGLES AND TRIANGLES




We used these activities to practise with geometry: the woooden sticks helped us to create thousands of triangles that allowed us to find out that the sum of the angles of all triangles is always the same. 
On the other hand, the clock was a reminder of angles names and the way we measure angles. 

NUMERACY


INTEGERS: ADDING AND SUBSTRACTING MADE EASY




Operating with integers is, at the beginning, a difficult concept. However, using a balance helps a lot to understand the concepts of "adding negatives" and "removing positives". The elements are bottle caps of two different colous, one representing the positive side and the other representing the negative side. In this case, we have used red for the positive side and blue for negative side as if it was a thermometer. 
It is easy: adding means putting caps in the balance, substracting means removing. 
In the addition, for example, we put as many caps as the addition says for each side: 

                                                          (-4) + (+3)

the heavier side tells you if the result is going to be positive or negative, and the difference between both sides tells us the number:

so this is a negative result, as the blue side is "heavier", and it is 1 negative as it is how much heavier the blue side is (is 1 cap heavier than the red side)

So simple!

WHY HANDS-ON MATHS?


I started to develop new strategies dealing with Maths when I realised that we were too used to using lots of pencil and paper work, maybe because we assume that when children get older they are ready to make inferences and use abstract concepts. And everything has to be flat.



It is true that the way they perceive their reality starts to change due to their logical development but I am not really sure if their style of learning changes too. Some children learn just by observing and listening, some others through movement, but I think that a 99.9% learn when they connect with an activity that involves the whole body, and that means touching and feeling the materials and the activity in itself. As far as I know, children usually like making things and get hooked to activities as long as they are enjoying them, so the activities need to be not only meaningful but also motivating and enjoyable. 

I am still looking for new ways of making Math concepts less flat, but here it is a sample of some of the resources we (my students and I) have been using and the advantages this kind of resources have:

- They can be used and reused thousands of times.
- Using these resources helps to save time of photocopying or copying instructions from a book.
- They are visual and provide different perspectives.
- The new or difficult concepts can be approached in a more relaxed way.
- They are made of recycled stuff, so it is helpful to teach children about recycling and giving waste stuff a new and useful life.

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