Prepare

Select appropriate strategies for efficiently preparing math manipulatives before instruction.

Effective manipulative use begins before the lesson starts. When materials are not ready, instructional time can quickly be lost to counting, sorting, passing out materials, or figuring out what students need. Preparing ahead of time does not mean creating more work. It means making a few decisions before instruction so the materials are ready when students need them.

Choose the Preparation Strategy

Example

• Lesson: Students will use fraction tiles with a partner to compare fractions.

• Instead of placing all of the fraction tiles in one central bin and having students gather what they need during the lesson, the teacher prepares one set for each pair before instruction.

• Why? Students will be using the same materials at the same time, so partner sets allow the teacher to transition into the activity without spending instructional time distributing and sorting individual pieces.