Number Sense with Cuisenaire Rods

Although I teach second grade, I still have some kids who really need some basic number sense! These are the kids who still don't automatically "count on" when adding two numbers together, or determining the sum of two dice. They still count the dots!

These kids need more "hands-on" opportunities to get to know these numbers inside out!

I absolutely LOVE Cuisenaire Rods for helping children develop their number sense. I posted about them a while ago with THIS POST about using Cuisenaire Rods to practice math facts and fact families. I've got some kids who need to back up even further and really need to get to know the individual numbers by using these manipulatives.

It's a good idea to give the children a couple of sessions for free explorations with the Cuisenaire Rods. They'll catch on that the smallest cubes are always white, and that the longest ones are orange. Sooner or later, they'll figure out the "staircase". From the staircase, they'll figure out the value of each color, so it's a good idea to start them off by building a staircase from this point on.

I've put together a few exercises with the Cuisenaire Rods to help build number sense. Click HERE or click the image to the right for a sample on the number 5 (the yellow rod).

If you're interested in more activities for the other colored rods, see the image below or see the full set here: Number Sense With Cuisenaire Rods

 

I have also developed a resource for Cuisenaire Rods to help the little ones learn Math Facts with fact families.

And yes... there's another set. This is the most popular with the kiddos: Once they develop number sense and know fact families, they can build with the rods and practice adding multiple addends!  See it here: Cuisenaire Rods Build it and Add!

Looking for more hands-on resources for using Cuisenaire Rods? Try these:

• Hands-On Fact Families Practice Cards for Building Fact Fluency
• Hands-On Place Value Level One: Tens and Ones
• Hands-on Place Value Level Two: Make a Ten
• Hands-On Place Value Level Three: Rearrange to Make a Ten

These sets are also in Bundles! 

• Hands-On with Manipulatives Bundle
• Cuisenaire Rods Hands-On Place Value Fun Bundle
• Making Mathematicians Hands-On Big Bundle 7 Resources!

If you don't already have a tub of Cuisenaire Rods sitting in the back of your closet, here are a couple of options: (These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I'll get a couple of cents if you buy them, but it won't cost you anything extra!)

• hand2mind Wood Cuisenaire Rods Introductory Set with Tray (Set of 74)
• hand2mind Cuisenaire Rods - Classroom Kit 

But here's something exciting: although kids love the feel of the wooden or plastic rods, they also come in foam! That means they'll be QUIETER!

• hand2mind Cuisenaire Rods - Classroom Kit (foam)

How do you use these popular manipulatives?