Manipulative Purchasing Project

SCENARIO: You are teaching a class of 25 students at the grade level of your choice K-8.
You have $300 to “spend” on MATH teaching resources and manipulatives. Don’t actually buy anything!

I. Arkansas State Standards for Mathematical Content
Review the Arkansas State Standards for Mathematical Content associated with the particular grade level that you select to familiarize yourself with the mathematics topics taught at that specific grade level. (Choose one grade)
(Note: http://www.arkansased.gov/divisions/learning-services/curriculum-and-instruction/curriculum-framework-documents/mathematics)

II. Manipulative Purchasing
Visit the following (or similar) websites and decide on the best way to “spend” the $300.

http://www.hand2mind.com/
http://www.eaieducation.com/
http://www.enasco.com/math/
http://www.didax.com/
http://www.teachchildren.com/

Variety is important!!! For EACH of the domains (e.g., Numbers and Operations in Base Ten; Measurement and Data) associated with the math content standards for the particular grade level you selected, it is expected that you “purchase” at least one manipulative to assist in the teaching of a standard within that domain. Also, make sure that each item “purchased” is appropriate for the grade level that you selected. One manipulative may serve more than one purpose. For example, Geoboards may relate to fraction concepts as well as geometric. Consider in grade 3 there are the following five domains: Operations and Algebraic Thinking, Numbers and Operations in Base Ten, Numbers and Operations-Fractions, Measurement and Data, and Geometry.

For EACH ITEM (manipulative) that you choose to “purchase”, do the following.

a) Provide a screenshot of the picture, description, and price of the item. (Note: To capture a screenshot, first make sure that the requested information is visible on the computer monitor, without having to scroll. Then, press the “PrintScreen (Prt Scr)” button on the keyboard, open Microsoft Word, right click, and paste.) The Snippet app if it’s available to you is also helpful.

b) Copy the webpage address where the item was found from your browser address bar and paste it on the same page in the Word document, either beside or below the screenshot.

c) On the same page in the Word document, either beside or below the screenshot, use the following format to reference and type out at least one Arkansas State Standard for Mathematical Content, the teaching of which could be supported by the item “purchased”. Write out the entire statement. (This is the usual way we have cited standards.)
Sample:
AR.Math.Content.7.G.A.2: Draw (freehand, with ruler and protractor, and with technology) geometric shapes with given conditions. Focus on constructing triangles from three measures of angles or sides, noticing when the conditions determine a unique triangle, more than one triangle, or no triangle.
Again, this is for each manipulative. You may need to justify manipulatives several times if you include them in different domains. Therefore, those justifications will likely be different.

d) On the same page in the Word document, either beside or below the screenshot, describe in a few sentences how you would use the item “purchased” to assist you in teaching the cited standard. Clearly articulate the mathematical concepts and be specific in your discussion of how it would be used. Discuss the mathematics involved and how the manipulative would support student learning of that concept(s). You should go beyond “I would use this to teach multiplication of fractions.”

III. Summary of Purchases (Receipt)
Include a summary total sheet that contains a list of the items “purchased” along with the prices, number purchased, and the total amount spent. Make sure your total is very close to $300 (within $10). You need not consider shipping/handling charges or taxes. This page is required!

On the due date, turn in as a word or PDF document:
(1) a cover sheet with the information at the top of this page, the grade level you selected, and your name (worth 3 pts),
(2) one page for each item “purchased” complete with the requested screenshot, webpage address, referenced AR content standard, and the description of how the item will be used by you in the classroom (worth 40 points), and
(3) the summary total page (worth 7 pts).

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