Manipulative resources

These are some examples of manipulative resources with which we can work in primary education. Working with manipulative resources and mediating games is essential in the stage of primary education and in the development of children.

On the one hand we find resources with which you can form both flat geometric figures and geometric figures with volume. Working with these materials the students, besides creating the forms and learning them, will be able to count the squares and in this way measure them with this unit of measure.

Then, we find manipulative resources to learn and practice the time. In the first years of primary education, learning the time both digitally and with an analog clock is difficult to learn and assimilate for them. Because of this, I think it is essential for them to learn it in a manipulative way and for the teacher to support him with useful practices.

Finally another example is for mass and weight. With these manipulative resources students will be able to learn it while working with it. The methodology of learning based on problems would be a very useful and beneficial option for students along with this type of materials because they would learn it visually and better.

Measurement webs and ICT games

In this post I talk about a web with ICT resources and games online. All of them are composed of maths games for children of Primary Education, from 6 to 12 years.

This web is https://www.mundoprimaria.com/juegos-educativos/juegos-matematicas. In this web we can choose what area of maths we want to practise as measurement, geometry, numbers and operations and problem resolution. Despite of this, I will centrate my post in magnitudes and measurement.
Some examples of this games are the following:

• 1st cycle of Primary Education:

https://www.mundoprimaria.com/juegos-educativos/juegos-matematicas/juego-estrategias-medir-longitudes 

In this game the students have to measure lengths choosing if they will measure with spans, foots or steps in order to what they have to measure (a house, a blackboard, etc.)

https://www.mundoprimaria.com/juegos-educativos/juegos-matematicas/juego-sumar-fracciones-litro 

In this game the students practise fractions and they have to know "How much juice there is in each glass of juice". It shows two glasses of juice with juice and they choose if there is 1/2, 1/3, 1/,4, etc.

• 2nd cycle of Primary Education:

https://www.mundoprimaria.com/juegos-educativos/juegos-matematicas/juego-dinero 

In this game the students have to choose the bills and coins they need to pay some things. This is very important because children, in general, have difficulties when they are learning to buy things. I think that it is very important to create markets or real problems in class related to this.

https://www.mundoprimaria.com/juegos-educativos/juegos-matematicas/juego-horas

In this game the students have to choose what is the correct clock which mark the hour that is said before. For example, "choose the clock which indicate three o'clock". 

• 3rd cycle of Primary Education:

https://www.mundoprimaria.com/juegos-educativos/juegos-matematicas/juego-sistema-sexagesimal 

In this game the students have to calculate (add or subtract) hours, minutes and seconds. This is very important for children to know and understand that time is only from 0 to 60. So when it reach 60 seconds we have 1 minute and when it reach 60 minutes we have 1 hour. Sometimes children have difficulties to understan it so due to this is very important to teach it through games and manipulative resources.

https://www.mundoprimaria.com/juegos-educativos/juegos-matematicas/juego-metros

Finally, in this game the students have to calculate and decide "how much dm are 25mm?" and questions in this kind. Basically, the students have to convert small units in graters or big units in smallers one.

It is very important to practise maths with ICT resources because children feel thmselved motivated. 

Measuring cars

This is an activity proposal in which the students have to use measures of cars that may be attractive for them.

First, for this activity the teacher create a context. S/he explain the students that a luxury car dealer needs them to compare the measurements of some of their cars and guess the average length of them. In this way the students will be motivated to carry out the activity so they will want to do it.

To carry out the activity, the teacher will assign to each group of 5 students a brand of cars with different models. They will have to compare the measurements of each pair of cars assigned to them and calculate the average length (height, width and length) of all of them.
Then, the students will change the measures of the cars into other unit as cm, dm, etc. The teacher will decide which group have one unit or another.

Finally, the teacher asked the students to measure, with the help of their mother or father, the measurements of their own car to make the comparison the next day in class, order all the cars in brands and calculate the average of them as in the activity.

The objective is to practice the comparison of measurements and the average of them.

The course will be 6th grade of Primary Education.

These would be some examples of cars for the activity:

- Lamborghini:

- Maserati:

- Porsche:

- Ferrari:

- Tesla:

Learning measure with songs

Measurement song.

This song introduce the basic concept and tools of measurement.

Metric System Conversions Song.

This song is about the metric length goes over only MM, CM, M, and KM.

Inches, Feet and Yards Song.

This song is about what superheroes have to do to measure things in inches, feet, and yards. It also teach students about the relative lengths of standard units and how they compare to one another.

Math for Kids: Measurement, "How Do You Measure Up" song. 

Learn about the different methods and units of measurement.

This song includes practical exercises that students can do in class or at home to practise it.  

Measurement and ICT

In this post I show two examples of APPs for mobile or tablet through which children can learn and practice different aspects related to measure while playing. These APPs are aimed at students in the 1st cycle of primary education.

The first APP is called “Monkey Math: math games & practice”. This is a learning APP designed for children from preschool to 1st cycle of primary education. It develops more than 45 math skills which contains more than 10.000 games and quizzes. Children earn coins and diamonds along the different games and they master important math skills while they progress on them. This APP also includes more than 300 lessons with videos that are super creative and enjoyable with lively animations and sound effects which clearly explain early math concepts and keep kids engaged and motivated. The lessons, games and skills of 1st cycle of primary education math includes, in addition to measurements, the numbers and counting, comparisons, advanced addition and subtraction, mixed operations, geometry, patterns, spatial sense, data and graphs among others.
Students can work with the APP in pairs. One of them decide the skill which they will work and the other do the activity that s/he proposed him/her. When one of them has doubts about a procedure, the other student can resolve their doubt. In case that they do not know what to do, they can check the videos includes in the APP. In this way, in addition to developing teamwork, they work in the competence of learning to learn.

URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earlystart.monkeymath

The other APP is called “Metric Measurement Ruler Games”. This APP is a metric measurement learning program designed for children of 1st cycle of primary education.  Children learn how to measure centimetres, millimetres and centimetres with decimals. For this, it includes different centimetre ruler games, millimetre ruler games and centimetre ruler games with decimals. In this game, they play and learn how to measure length using ruler, how to solve problems if the ruler is not to scale, etc.

The students, in pairs or groups of three students, can work the different units of measures through the APP. For example, if the centimetres work, they would play the different games in an orderly way and then apply the concepts learned with real objects in class.

URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.softschools.RulerGames