Elementary math ideas, freebies, and resources.
Elementary math ideas, freebies, and resources.
A rekenrek is an effective math manipulative used in elementary math classes to help students develop a strong foundation in number sense, counting, and basic arithmetic operations. Also known as a number rack or math rack, the rekenrek usually has 20 beads with 10 beads on each row. Each row has 5 red beads and 5 white beads making it easy for students to visualize numbers. Rekenreks are a great tool to help your students master the doubles and near doubles strategy.
My 2nd grade students have usually mastered their doubles facts up to 5+5. However, many of them struggle with larger doubles facts. A rekenrek is a great tool for helping students visualize those doubles. In the image above I modeled 7+7. Ask students what they notice about the model. Some of them will begin to see that 7 is 5 and 2. This understanding is key to doubling large numbers. We talk about doubling the 5 (10 red beads) and doubling the 2 (4 white beads). That makes our sum 14. Eventually students will internalize these visuals and will be fluent with those tricky large doubles facts.
I love using a rekenrek to teach my students the near doubles addition strategy. Have students start by showing you 5+5 utilizing all 10 red beads. Then ask students, “How could you change this to show 5+6?” As students move a white bead over, ask how their model changed. Help them see that 5+6 is just 1 more than 5+5. Once students get comfortable with doubles +1 you can start working on doubles +2.
Incorporating rekenreks into the math classroom encourages active participation and helps students develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts such as doubles and near doubles. It’s a valuable tool for teachers to facilitate hands-on learning experiences that promote mathematical fluency and critical thinking from an early age. Rekenreks support fluency by helping students subitize numbers by creating mental images like in our example of 7+7. They also help students see how facts are related which allows them to use facts they know such as doubles to solve facts they don’t such as near doubles. As your students become more familiar with rekenreks they can also utilize them for other addition strategies such as make a 10.
Ready to give it a try!? I’d love to hear how it goes! Feel free to email me at jenny@foremanfun.com with any questions or to chat about how it went.
Click on the image below to grab this worksheet pack that uses math racks and ten frames to help students master the doubles and doubles plus 1 addition strategies.
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