Third grade teachers Becky Turner, Paige Coleman and Jackie Presley have come up with some unique ways to teach, practice and reinforce math skills with their third-graders.

As all teachers know, students learn best when they are actively engaged in the learning process. A “hands-on” approach involves much more than rote memorization of basic facts. Students involved in hands-on lessons will remember the material better, feel a sense of accomplishment when the task is completed, and be able to transfer that experience easier to other learning situations.

When more than one method of learning is accessed as in hands-on learning, the information has a better chance of being stored in the memory for useful retrieval. This approach to learning is especially beneficial for students who have difficulty in the learning arena for reasons of ESL barriers, auditory deficiencies, or behavioral interference.

They can be found to be on task more often because they are part of the learning process and not just spectators.

Favorite “hands-on” math activities for students include  Play-Doh math and students being able to use their individual desks as a wipe-off board. With Play-Doh, the students were able to solve problems which required multiple steps to solve, such as adding, subtraction, multiplication, division and regrouping.

Students were also able to use the dry erase markers and write out their math problems on their desks to solve.

All of the students enjoy being able to use these methods for solving problems much more than simply using paper and pencil. Added benefits for the teacher are they are able to walk around the room, spot any misconceptions more readily and assist the student in making corrections. There are no papers to take up and grade and most of all, all students are actively engaged in the learning process.