Once upon a time teachers were encouraged to use manipulatives in the math classroom, but were never taught how to use them.  So math instruction didn’t change even though thousands of dollars were spent on the things.  Manipulatives sat in boxes that gathered dust in some corner of the classroom.

Now in the world of performance tasks and student-centered math instruction, manipulatives are essential to getting the job done right.  We are no longer just teaching algorithms for computing answers to problems.  Students are expected to understand the underlying concepts that make the algorithms work.   Manipulatives help make this happen.

Manipulatives take on the form of paper folding, drawing models, using two color chips, attribute blocks, base-ten blocks, rulers, compasses, and even computer software.

There’s a great site on the internet called The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. Here you will find a plethora of Free interactive manipulatives that you can be used to guide students into a conceptual understsanding of mathematical skills.