Woodin Elementary school teacher Christine Ro has been teaching math at the 3rd grade level for over a decade. Ms. Ro was excited to jump in and begin teaching math to second graders this year so that she could learn more about how to support incoming third graders.
During her research to prepare for teaching the second graders, Ms. Ro learned that students in the lower grades did not have enough two-sided counters or 20-bead Rekenreks to use in the classrooms. She knew that these tools were important in teaching students how to group, represent, and show numbers. In addition, these manipulatives are important in building a strong foundation for math going forward, particularly when understanding numbers 0-20.
Because Woodin did not have enough of these counters and Rekenreks, Ms. Ro turned to the Northshore Schools Foundation for monetary support to purchase these manipulatives.
At the beginning of the school year, Ms. Ro’s classroom only had two of these tools in her classroom. Thanks to the Foundation granting her request for financial help, there are now enough for every student to use one as needed.
Mrs. Ro shared that she is “grateful to the Northshore Schools Foundation for providing our K-2 classrooms with these tools.” She also said that she “looks forward to seeing students understanding alignment and growth in primary math with the help from these manipulatives. ”
