As teachers, we are continually striving to make school more enjoyable for our students, with the hope of them waking up each day elated to come back. Like most, my students encounter challenges day in and day out leaving them feeling frustrated and full of uncertainty, especially with the addition of a challenging new math curriculum. Increasing leveled math supplies to our classroom will carry new opportunities for my students to feel and be successful. Not only does tactile learning have the ability to build a deeper, more individualized understanding of math, it makes it fun! Currently, we are using items found in our classroom, sensory beans and cotton balls to name a few, and even with those- I can see the light bulb flickering when the students are “playing” with a new concept.
Students of all ages and abilities enjoy seeing math transpire in their hands. Due to the cognitive disabilities that most of my students have, they process better when they can see and hold a concept versus listening to a lecture. Adding math manipulatives and activities to our classroom would allow all levels of my students to have a chance at creating, learning, and applying new ideas.
Several of the items I selected would be the perfect way to display how skilled my students are, despite not being able to answer verbally. A large portion of our new math curriculum focuses on real-life application; providing access to “real” play money would help students differentiate amounts and learn how to add various values. My students are eager to learn, adding math materials to our classroom will only enhance that!
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As teachers, we are continually striving to make school more enjoyable for our students, with the hope of them waking up each day elated to come back. Like most, my students encounter challenges day in and day out leaving them feeling frustrated and full of uncertainty, especially with the addition of a challenging new math curriculum. Increasing leveled math supplies to our classroom will carry new opportunities for my students to feel and be successful. Not only does tactile learning have the ability to build a deeper, more individualized understanding of math, it makes it fun! Currently, we are using items found in our classroom, sensory beans and cotton balls to name a few, and even with those- I can see the light bulb flickering when the students are “playing” with a new concept.
Students of all ages and abilities enjoy seeing math transpire in their hands. Due to the cognitive disabilities that most of my students have, they process better when they can see and hold a concept versus listening to a lecture. Adding math manipulatives and activities to our classroom would allow all levels of my students to have a chance at creating, learning, and applying new ideas.
Several of the items I selected would be the perfect way to display how skilled my students are, despite not being able to answer verbally. A large portion of our new math curriculum focuses on real-life application; providing access to “real” play money would help students differentiate amounts and learn how to add various values. My students are eager to learn, adding math materials to our classroom will only enhance that!
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