Pop-It's are a student favorite. As a teacher, it's important to stay on top of what engages students in the classroom. These pop its are specifically created for students to use as a 100 chart to learn adding and subtracting to 100 as well as a multiplication table for students introduced to these concepts in third grade. Student fluency in these topics is key to their success in 4th grade. Students obviously need to be able to have procedural and conceptual understanding especially as the apply to word problems, but we are finding that what really is holding students up is their ability to produce products, sums, differences, and quotients in a timely manner. These tools allow students to quickly practice and have a tool at their seat at all times to work independently on both fluency, as well as have a tool during level 3/4 problems so they can focus on problem solving and learning, not answers.
The fifth and fourth grade classroom would also like the purchase of fraction dice and decimal dominoes. These hands on manipulatives will allow students to better understand concepts that are at times difficult to draw or visualize. Playing and participating in games or being able to touch allows them to connect with concepts.