Pieces Basic and Number Pieces

Another app that was essential during my student teaching was the Pieces Basic and Number Pieces app. Both are free and created by the same company, and the number pieces app is a more complex version of the pieces basic app. The Number Pieces program is also available online. 

The app is very simple to use, just drag and drop the pieces you want on to the screen. You can add numbers at the top to keep track of the problem. For addition problems, you are able to draw a big circle around pieces you are using and press the blocks together button (third from the right) which will condense the blocks into the proper number of ones, tens, and hundreds. This tool was used after students had written down their answer to the problem.I found this very useful for my students as they were having a lot of problems 'trading' when using the physical manipulatives in their classrooms.

*The trading problem is due to difficulty with keeping track of physical manipulatives not an issue with the math concept which is why I allowed them to use the tool on the app*

The app also allows for the tens blocks to be lid in either direction (horizontal or vertical). This feature allows for better organization of the blocks on the screen. Another way students can organize their blocks is by changing the color. The default setting is that ones are yellow, tens are green, and hundreds are red. However, students can use these three colors on any of the blocks so they could make an entire number red and the other number green.

Though I mainly did addition with my students, the app also allows for easy subtraction. To break apart the blocks for subtraction, simply select the pieces to be split and hit the button second from the right. This will break hundred flats into ten rods, and ten rods into ones cubes. This again limits the error that may be caused by trading out the physical manipulatives. 

When working with younger students, the pieces basic app is best as it only offers ones, tens, and hundreds blocks. The Number pieces app also contains thousands and number lines. Number Pieces works the same way as the Pieces Basic app but with added blocks.

SAMR
In most classrooms, using this app may seem like a simple substitution for real base ten blocks. In my classroom for student teaching however, this app allowed for modification. Students were now able to complete the tasks without getting confused and creating errors in their problems. It also allowed us to work more on the skill of breaking and building numbers with the students as we were not able to get sets of base ten blocks for them to use.