Accessing Kinesthetic/Tactile Modality with Math Activities
Lesson Three-Days 6, 7, and 8

Students will participate in whole class activities which require manipulating objects.

Students will manipulate objects according to a set of directions.

Students will solve problems requiring acting out or manipulating objects.

6.C.2a—Select and perform computational procedures to solve problems with whole numbers, fractions and decimals.

8.A.3a—Apply the basic properties of commutative, associative, distributive, transitive, inverse, identity, zero, equality and order of operations to solve problems.

8.A.3b—Solve problems using linear expressions, equations and inequalities.

10.B.3—Formulate questions, devise and conduct experiments or simulations, gather data, draw conclusions and communicate results to an audience using traditional methods and contemporary technologies.

Set of number tiles 0-9 for each student

Tile clues (can be teacher made or from Mental Math with Tiles & The Hundred Chart by Marcy Cook, www.marcycookmath.com

Tiling task cards Operation Tiles, All 4 Operations Tiles, Mixed Op Balance Tiles, Double Tiles II, by Marcy Cook, www.marcycookmath.com

Two word problems incorporating Acting Out or Manipulating Objects

(Suggested Resources: No Problem! By Joan Vydra and Jean McCall, www.prufrock.com, The Problem Solver by Gloria Moretti, Mark Stephens, Judy Goodnow, and Shirley Hoogeboom, www.wrightgroup.com)

Illinois State Board of Education rubric for scoring open-ended problem solving, www.isbe.net

Day Six

Activity 1: Distribute sets of number tiles, 0-9, to each student. Allow students a couple of minutes to lay out tiles and move them around on their desktops. Tell students they are going to make numbers with their tiles to answer the clues that the teacher gives. Example: “Show the number of sides on a hexagon, Divide by 2, Multiply by 4, Add 2, Minus half a dozen…” and continue for a total of 10 clues, with the object being to end up with the correct number showing on their desktops. Ready made scripts for these can be found in Mental Math with Tiles & The Hundred Chart by Marcy Cook.

Activity 2: Use number tiles to complete Tiling task cards in Operation Tiles, which use four basic processes, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These are set up as 4 problems, one of each process on a card, and 10 numbers are missing randomly. Students must manipulate the tiles to try to figure out where each one belongs to make all number sentences true. Once a student experiences success with at least 3 cards, move on to All 4 Operation Tiles. These cards have basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts in an open ended problem solving format. Once again, 10 numbers are missing at random, and students must manipulate tiles into place so that all facts are true.

Day Seven

Repeat Activity 1 as a Warm-up.

Activity 3: Distribute Tiling task cards in Mixed Op Balance Tiles as well as number tiles. These cards have three equations with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division such as 6 x 2 = 5 + 4 + 3. Ten numbers are missing at random, and students must manipulate tiles into place so that all equations are true. Students may work with a partner to complete this activity. Then distribute Double Tiles task cards (cooperative math concepts and vocabulary) and another set of number tiles. Working in partners, students must manipulate number tiles into 20 missing places so that each statement is true.

Day Eight

Activity 4: Display overhead transparency of problem utilizing Acting Out or Manipulating Objects Strategy. Prepare manipulatives as called for in the problem and model for students how to act out the problem in order to find the solution. Elicit steps followed from students, and have them explain why they did what they did to reach the solution. Distribute second problem, and instruct students to apply the strategy of Acting Out or Manipulating Objects. Provide materials for students to use.