Home
Docs
- VariQuest
Social
- Social
- Facebook Page - VariQuest
- Twitter - All Tweets
Videos
- Youtube - All Videos
Blogs
- VariQuest Blog

Back to Basics: Manipulatives in the Classroom

July 1, 2014 Margo Ensz

We just got back from ISTE 2014—what an experience! After a tech-ridden weekend, we took time to reflect on how we support traditional classroom learning methods—methods that have remained into the 21^st century. That’s when we started thinking about manipulatives. Manipulatives don’t have to be just building blocks or cubes—anything a visual-kinesthetic learner can physically or visually manipulate on his or her own that aids their learning process is a manipulative worth exploring.

describe the image Manipulatives engage and motivate students to make connections from the concrete to abstract. For high-risk students, students with disabilities, and language learners, have a visual-kinesthetic method of learning and problem solving can also lead to greater self-confidence.

Here are a few ways we encourage educators to use manipulatives using our Cutout Maker or Awards Maker:

Save staff time by quickly and easily creating manipulatives, cutouts and bulletin board displays for a hands-on, interactive learning experience
Engage visual, kinesthetic and tactile learners with manipulatives and cutouts
Illustrate complex concepts with engaging cutout collections to raise student success
Create word walls with words formed by automatically connected letters
Save money with the versatility and scalability of the electronic die-cuts
Save money with the versatility and scalability of the electronic die-cuts
Help students retain key lessons on their own or in a group with customized flashcards

How do you use manipulatives in your classroom? Do they help your students? Let us know in the comments!

Hot Topics at NAESP: Recommended Reading & Presentations to Attend

The National Association of Elementary School Principals's (NAESP) annual...

How New Principals Can Increase Parent Engagement

In the most recent issue of NAESP’s Communicator, a report from the National...

Engage Every Learner.®

Back to Basics: Manipulatives in the Classroom

Previous Article

Next Article

Back to Basics: Manipulatives in the Classroom

Previous Article

Next Article

Most Recent Articles

Trees are good for the air we breathe, the water we drink, and among many other environmentally-beneficial qualities, they are important to many cultures in bringing people together....

At a time when our world and nation are struggling with division and conflicting ideology - empathy and compassion are important concepts to teach our future generations, so they can...

Circumference, diameter, radius, apple, cherry, rhubarb?! "Pi Day" is celebrated annually on March 14th (Get it - 3.14?!) and we're here to help you celebrate! According to piday.org,...

According to Neil Fleming's popular "VARK" model of learning types/styles, there are 4 main learning styles - including visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Other models...

Real-world-application learning is where learning takes real flight! We're so proud when our students master a concept, but even more proud when they can apply it to their everyday lives....

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, has been celebrated for thousands of years. It is one of the most important holidays widely celebrated in many Asian countries and...

While everyone has different holiday traditions and celebrates this time of year in different ways - we can all agree that spreading kindness and joy is one of the best! We've put...

We ask Google, we ask Alexa, we ask Siri...but what questions and answers do we need to find, ourselves? The skill of writing a research paper doesn't just develop writing skills or...

Research-writing has changed a lot over the years, and with the prominence of artificial intelligence, those changes are only going to continue. As students learn the important skill of...

There are so many questions when it comes to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it will affect humankind in the future. At its best, it can help us learn and understand even more about...

When the season of fall arrives, you're celebrating being done with the first few weeks of the school year, and outside the colors of the environment are changing. What better way to...

Trying to figure out how to best spend your Career & Technical Education funding - or use other funding for career & technical education programs? Let's take a look at some options.

Sensory paths are not only fun for elementary education because they help get the wiggles out, but they help with learning too! At VariQuest®, we feel passionately about visual and...

In the 1960s, The Beach Boys scored a hit with the song, Be True to Your School about being proud of the school you go to and defending it to others. Are you proud of the school you...

We're deep into the back-to-school season, which means you're making your plans for the year - and as we do every spring and fall, we're bringing you a brand new expansion pack for your...

In this midst of the back-to-school shopping season, teachers, parents, and students alike are purchasing tools they will need to be successful in the coming school year. And using...

You can't escape reading about Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancements and how they are changing the world every day. From self-driving cars to robotics to digital assistants and...

THERE (not their, or they're) is no way around it - homophones are tricky...and the English language is full of them!

What does a compliment cost? Nothing! When you give someone a compliment, not only are you making them feel better, you get a little happiness boost from the good deed as well. Teaching...

Through the use of various digital tools that promote the process of visual learning, teachers are changing the way knowledge is conveyed to students. This type of learning makes the...