The concept of symmetry -- or the principle that two sides either match or do not match up to one another -- helps children estimate and reason. Children can practice symmetry by cutting out images and folding them in half to see if they are equal on both sides. Patterns reinforce logical thinking skills and form a foundation for addition and subtraction concepts. Students can practice building simple patterns such as a-b, aa-bb, and abc-abc by building patterns with blocks or tiles, or drawing images.
First graders learn to count by 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s. Students use hundred charts to help them skip-count because the charts allow them to see the patterns within numbers and aid in memorization. They learn about place value by placing linking cubes or beans on place value boards, which are charts divided into two parts to represent ones and tens. When the student gets ten cubes or beans, he has to move his group of ten to the tens column.
Young students develop math skills by using linking cubes, counters, tiles or beans. For example, they can practice addition and subtraction skills by joining cubes of different colors, such as putting two blue cubes with three red cubes to represent 2 + 3 = 5, or removing cubes to represent subtraction. They can record their answers on paper or whiteboards, and practice building their own equations and solving problems using manipulatives.
First graders use coin manipulates to recognize and identify coin denominations. They also learn to trade coins of smaller denominations for larger amounts, such as trading in five pennies for a nickel, and add coins to find out how much money they have. They learn to measure by using both standard measuring tools such as rulers and scales as well as non-standard measuring devices like pencils, paper clips and cubes. Students can practice measuring objects around the room and write down their results.