DIY Pool Noodle Fraction Manipulatives
Teaching kids about fractions can be difficult. My family tends to learn better with visual aids and we have purchased our share of math manipulatives. My youngest is now learning fractions and we are doing this one a little differently! We made our own DIY Pool Noodle Fraction Manipulatives that are just so much fun!
DIY Pool Noodle Fraction Manipulatives
- Pool Noodles
- Sharpie Marker
- Ruler
- Knife
How To
Measure and cut your pool noodles the following lengths. I used different colors for each measurement as much as possible. I also cut a full set of each measurement, ie: (6) 1/6 pieces.
- 1 Whole – 12 Inches
- 1/2 – 6 inches
- 1/3 – 4 Inches
- 1/4 – 3 Inches
- 1/6 – 2 Inches
- 1/8 – 1.5 Inches
When you are done use your sharpie marker to label each piece. I labeled the front with the fraction and the back with the decimals. Here are the equivalents if you need them.
- 1 Whole = 1.0
- 1/2 = 0.5
- 1/3 = 0.33
- 1/4 = 0.25
- 1/6 = 0.16
- 1/8 = 0.125
Now you have a colorful manipulative that your kids can stack to have a visual for fractions. They can compare equivalent fractions, see if 1/3 is bigger or smaller than 1/2, compare fractions and decimals, and more.
These are some of the coolest fraction manipulatives we have ever used! Plus, you can’t beat that they only cost me about 3 dollars in pool noodles from the Dollar Tree and a little bit of time! If you have a little one trying to learn their fractions you can’t go wrong making them a set of these Pool Noodle Fraction Manipulatives!
