| Using manipulatives
to demonstrate math concepts increases the student's ability to grasp skills and
concepts. All students need opportunities for manipulating objects for counting,
sorting, comparing and combining. Concepts of same/different, bigger than, lighter
than, more, less, and same as (equal) result from such manipulation. Students
with sensory, cognitive and/or physical disabilities may need alternate strategies
to hands-on manipulation. Adaptive materials and software programs are available
that support/simulate these opportunities. ExamplesIntelliMathics
(IntelliTools, Inc.)
Students are able to move, rotate and size objects to different problems with
a collection of onscreen manipulative tools. Sets of problems focusing on sorting,
classifying, geometry and probability are offered; or create your own. Some include
sorting bins, Venn diagrams, fraction bars, For students with reading difficulties,
the program offers full text-to-speech support. Can be used with IntelliKeys,
switches or a mouse. (Mac/Win) The Geometer's SketchPad (Key
Curriculum)
Sketchpad is a dynamic construction and exploration tool that
enables students to explore and understand mathematics. It allows students to
define, combine, evaluate, graph, and differentiate functions - a useful tool
for algebra and calculus as well as for geometry. Although designed for grades
5 and up, Sketchpad’s visual approach allows younger students to develop
the concrete foundation they need to move ahead to more advanced levels of study.
Blocks in Motion (Don
Johnston, Inc)
 Blocks
are placed or changed with a single mouse click. The student can use the blocks
to learn ones, tens and hundreds, group like objects, plot data on a grid, learn
geometrical shapes and participate in other "virtual" manipulation experiences.
 KidPix
(Broderbund)
This
drawing program can be used by students and teachers to create electronic sorting,
classification, patterns and other activities.
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