Math Manipulatives Teacher Resources

In this 2-day lesson focused on exponents, middle schoolers will cross the curriculum by engaging in science, history and language arts activities. Exponential growth will be explored using grains of rice on a chess board. Exponential...

The generation of a number, or shape pattern, is the focus of this math lesson. Pupils are presented with a variety of patterns shapes, and number patterns, then use worksheets embedded in the plan to gain further practice. The...

Searching for a relatively interesting way to demonstrate Charles' Law? Here is a lesson in which pupils heat air inside a flask and then cool the flask to quickly cool the air. They make observations about what occurs during the cooling...

Learners use materials to build, investigate, and draw two-dimensional shapes (polygons). They combine the shapes they have built and draw from the pile to begin a round-robin activity to name and determine the attributes of a selection...

Working as a pair, two kindergartners will sit at a table and will pick two handfuls of counters. They will combine their individual handfuls into one, and count their own selection. They will then draw and record their count on a record...

Here is another in the interesting series of lessons that uses money as a learning tool. This one is especially clever! During the lesson, pupils pretend they are eating at "George's Place" diner. Small groups are given one bag of play...

Explore the concept of volume using unit cubes. Working individually or in small groups, your class measures with a ruler in inches and calculates the volume of various rectangular household boxes (provided by the teacher) and completes...

Connect literature (Jack the Builder) with mathematical concepts. In a series of computation, geometry and number sense activities, pupils count on to add, count back to subtract, build cylinders, cones, and rectangular prisms, and name...

Each one of our quarters is embellished with a famous face or image representing the state it came from. This lesson uses South Dakota's state quarter to get kids thinking about monetary value, what the president of the United States...

Creating buildings that reach hundreds of feet into the sky is no easy task. The third instructional activity in this series begins with four activities that engage young architects in exploring the major challenges that are faced when...

Second graders subtract two-digit numbers. In this mathematics lesson, 2nd graders subtract both with and without regrouping. Students use manipulatives and place value mats to assist in problem solving.

Avoiding lab safety rules will not give you super powers. The instructional activity opens with a demonstration of not following safety rules. Then, young chemists practice their lab safety while finding the mass of each item in a...

Litmus paper, why so blue? A chemistry lesson includes a pre-lab activity, practice calculating pH, an experiment measuring the pH in acids and bases, a titration demonstration, and a titration experiment. 

What is a chemist's favorite plant? Stoichiome Tree! Scholars produce hydrogen gas by reacting magnesium with hydrochloric acid. Then they calculate the molar volume of the gas produced before answering assessment questions. 

What happens when you combine 6.022 times 10 to the 23 piles of dirt into one? You make a mountain out of a mole hill. Scholars use dehydration to obtain percent composition and then calculate the molarity of the original solution. 

Facilitate learning by using small objects to teach the principles of atomic mass in your science class. Pupils determine the average mass of varying beans as they perform a series of competitive experiments. They gather data and...

At some point, everyone has been under pressure—even Dalton! Explore Dalton's law of partial pressures with young chemists as they measure the volume of air extracted from a sample compared to its original volume. Class members perform...

Practice converting a conventional number into scientific notation, and vice-versa. Using an applet, they perform the operations of multiplication and division on numbers expressed in scientific notation.

Hate to vacuum, but enjoy using a vacuum pump? Explore a lesson that starts with a demonstration of boiling water at various temperatures by using a vacuum pump. Then scholars design their own experiments to measure vapor pressure and...

Scientists have been studying exothermic reactions before they were cool. The lesson begins with a discussion and a demonstration of heat curves. Scholars then determine the heat of fusion of ice and the heat needed to boil water through...

Want my name and number? It's 6.0221415 times 10 to the 23rd, and my name is Avogadro. Providing nine different activities, experiments, and labs, this lesson keeps Avogadro relevant to your class all year long. 

What makes particles attract? Here, learners engage in multiple activities that fully describe colligative properties and allow the ability to critically assess the importance of these properties in daily life. Young chemists conduct...