Supplies I love for Math

This is just a brief list of some of the tools I love to use during math.  I also have a plethora of books that I use often, but I didn't want this post to go on for days!

Just so you know, I tried to take pictures of the actual items themselves, but only one came out correctly.  Due to the shortage of patience I have when technology doesn't work, I ended up just grabbing what I use from Amazon.  #SorryNotSorry  (Yes I just used a hash tag, don't judge me)

Counting Chips

The first picture (and the only one that's actually mine) seems kind of weird, but I promise the kids love it.  I have chips (I'm sure they were once poker chips) that I use to help demonstrate how positive and negative numbers work.  [Ignore the marbles, that's something different].

The students designate one color for positive and one color for negative.  They understand that when the two colors are paired, it cancels each other out.  Whenever a student is having trouble figuring out problems that have integers, I have them grab the counting chips so that they can visualize what is going on.

Pentominos

The next manipulative I'd like to share with you is my Pentomino set.  The students have to figure out how to fit the various pieces into the puzzle.  I like this activity because it challenges the students enough that they use their brains and yet it's fun enough that they don't realize they are dealing with math.  I usually use this as a filler activity when I need to have time to pull individual students for instruction and what not.

Tangoes

No, I'm not talking about the dance.  The student have to use tanagrams to figure out how to build the shape in the shadow.  They race each other to see who can figure out how to do so first.  Students love this game because there is a little bit of competition involved and, again, they don't realize they are dealing with math.

Multiplication Bingo  

Most kids (and adults for that matter) love playing bingo!  I have a pre-made set of bingo cards that reviews multiplication.  This is great practice for the students as they need to be able to answer basic multiplication facts at a decent pace.  This is great for a Friday when we are done with what we need to do, or even for just one of those days when the students need a break; and may be me too.  I have also taken this game idea and adjusted it to be used as review before a test; the students responded well to that idea also.

Geoboards

Finally, I love taking out the good ol' Geoboards for my class to use.  I do have these newer ones that are made of plastic.  That cuts down on the tetanus  hazard that the old ones had from when I was a kid (rusty nails and all).

These help the students to actually understand and visualize what shapes look like, not to mention what their area and perimeters look like and how they correlate.