What elementary teacher can’t relate to spending way too much time sorting their collection of money manipulatives? Or going to grab them and realizing some bags don’t have quarters? Or, frankly, not having manipulatives at all? It’s a real problem, and one made a lot easier with virtual money manipulatives.
What are virtual money manipulatives?
Virtual money manipulatives are just what they sound like! They are dollars and coins that students can work with virtually. We’ve created a Google Slides presentation with everything you need to get started. Use our pre-made “mats” (one features a half-dollar and the other has a dollar bill). We’ve written some sample problems for each type of mat, but once you make your own copy of the file, you can duplicate the mat as many times as you want and write your own! Students can drag the coins from the bank on the left to show their work and write their answer in the “Amount” section.
How do I use virtual money manipulatives in my classroom?
Whole Group Instruction:
- Pose a money-based problem to the entire class by projecting the presentation on an interactive whiteboard.
- Invite volunteers to come up to the board to model the solution to the problem by dragging and dropping the bills and coins in the bank on the left.
Independent or Remote Practice:
- Post a link to the presentation in your Google Classroom.
- Students make a copy of the presentation (instruct them to rename the file with their name if you want to check their work).
- From home or on individual devices in the classroom, students solve the problems using drag and drop.
- Students submit their completed problems.
