Online Math Manipulatives

Online math manipulatives have saved me on more than one occasion.

We have all been in this situation. The bell rings… you have everything ready for that math lesson… but you just need to borrow some (insert math manipulatives) from the teacher next door. But wait!! She teaches math at the same time as you, and is ALSO doing a lesson on (insert math lesson that required said manipulatives). It happens. And heck, even when it doesn’t happen, I always find myself wishing I had just a handful more for that last group of students. Ugh, I hate that feeling.

This list of 10 amazing online math manipulatives will save the day!

Note: This is a perfect list to share with families as they navigate Distance Learning right now. Use it to complement the activities you are posting.

1. TOY THEATER Online Math Manipulatives

Toy Theater has an amazing selection of math tools. There are virtual spinners, fractions tools, clocks, you name it!

Link: https://toytheater.com/

I just wish Toy Theater had Canadian money. It does have “play money”, but it doesn’t do the trick like the next online tool I like using…

2. MATHIES Online Math Manipulatives

Link: https://www.mathies.ca/learningTools.php

$Mathies online math manipulatives$

Like Toy Theater, Mathies has a wide selection of online math manipulatives to choose from. I totally recommend it. You can find number lines, pattern blocks, rekenreks and more!!

3. THE MATH LEARNING CENTER

Link: https://www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/apps

This site, like the two mentioned above, has many tools to choose from as well. I love that the tools are very user friendly!

4. DIDAX Virtual Manipulatives

Link: https://www.didax.com/math/virtual-manipulatives.html

I really like how the math manipulatives are large and the navigation is easy to use. One tool that this site has, that I haven’t seen on other sites is the balance scale – great for teaching equivalence. The probability and base ten blocks tools on this site are excellent as well!

5. ABCYA

Link: https://www.abcya.com/

Now, at first glance, you might not think of using abcya.com for math manipulatives (since it’s more for games), but there are a few tools that have saved me on several occasions. For example, there is a handy dandy interactive hundreds chart that students can use for skip counting, addition, subtraction, number patterns etc. They can highlight and un-highlight numbers as needed… over and over.

I also love that you can PRINT the hundreds chart.

There are also great base ten blocks tools, and fraction tools as well. Of course, you can also use the site to play fun games!!

These online math manipulatives focus on specific concepts:

6. ONLINE MONEY TOOL (using Canadian money!)

Link: https://www.practicalmoneyskills.ca/games/peterpigs/

This online money tool is called Peter Pig’s Money Counter and it focuses on Canadian money!! This makes it a winner in my books, because money resources can be hard to find.

I also have lots of Canadian money games in my TpT shop . I will be adding digital version of those games soon (stay tuned)!

7. ONLINE CLOCK

This one was an exciting online too to find!!

Link: https://www.visnos.com/demos/clock

I love that you can change the settings in so many great ways. You can customize it to show how a clock is divided into fractions. I always review fractions when I am spiralling other concepts while teaching time, because it helps students understand WHY we call it “half-past”, or a “quarter-to” etc. Understanding the “why” and seeing how math concepts relate to each other, really helps students understand (and thus remember) key concepts.

8. FRACTION MATCHER

Link: https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/fraction-matcher/latest/fraction-matcher_en.html

If you need a great online tool for teaching equivalent fractions, this one is great! Students can choose the level of complexity, ranging from simple fractions to mixed fractions. Great for differentiating!

9. GRAPHING Virtual Manipulative

Link: https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createAgraph/default.aspx

This one is a great online tool for graphing!! The text is a bit small, and students might need a bit of teacher assistance navigating the tools for the first couple of times, but in the end, students create graph of various forms – pie graphs, bar graphs and line graphs

10. PROBABILITY Online Math Manipulative

Link: https://www.transum.org/software/SW/Dice/

This site has dice, spinners, and coins – perfect for probability! The site also offers different types of dice – I’m talking dice I never even knew existed before ha! Can you say icosahedron?

Why they are great:

Online manipulatives not only solve the problem of not having enough materials for your class, it can increase engagement. Heck, kids just don’t think it’s work when it involves a screen, amiright? And of course, it is also a great tool for students working on math at home!

Looking for more fun math tools?

Have you tried my SPOT IT & STEAL IT games? They are a fantastic way to spice up learning!! Check them out by clicking HERE. I also have digital, online versions of the games coming SOON!!

These are just a FEW of the many you can find in my TPT shop:

$fractions card game$