Reflection #7 Money to spend

Imagine you had a budget of $300 to purchase manipulatives to assist the children you are working with to understand patterns and algebraic thinking. View this catalogue and select items that you will use and provide a way in which you will use them: http://www.teaching.com.au/catalogue/mta/mtamathematics

Wooden Beads Kit – 8 Sets of 108 Beads $90.00 = Allows for students to create a pattern whether it is by colour, shape or both. The students will be able explore sequences and see / feel it happening right before them.

Counting Links – Set of 500 pieces in jar $29.95 = Can be used for a wide range of mathematical activities, whether the student is instructed to sort, use counting patterns or create a chain link pattern by colour.

Linking Locomotives Sequencing Set $129.95 = By using a locomotive that children can relate to real life allows for students to engage with on a personal level and provides students with a visual of identifying missing patterns.

Total: $279.95

The above manipulatives that I would purchase would allow for students to have a real-physical presence within their learning (Boulton-Lewis & Halford, 1992). An interlinked connection through the manipulatives and concept of patterns would allow for most students regardless of learning intelligence (Gardner, 2006) to recall and fluently apply their mathematical reasoning to additional tasks.

References

Boulton-Lewis, G., & Halford, G. (1992). The processing loads of young children’s and teachers’ representations of place value and implications for teaching. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 4(1), 1-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf03217229

Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple intelligences new horizons (Completely rev. and updated. ed.). New York: BasicBooks.