Base-ten blocks are a great math manipulative that can be used to help students add, subtract, and understand place value. The blocks come in four different sizes as shown in the photo above. Common names for the four different sizes are blocks (1,000), flats (100), longs (10), and cubes (1).
Another use of base-ten blocks is seen during the act of trading blocks. It is important that students understand that one block is equivalent to ten flats, one flat is equivalent to ten longs, and one long is equivalent to ten cubes. Students will become familiar with trading base-ten blocks in order to have the appropriate blocks when representing a number.
I have whitnessed base-ten blocks being used in classrooms a few different times. I was surprised how effective they were in helping students understand place value, addition, and subtraction. The students also seemed to be much more interested in what they were doing, because they were actually working hands on with the blocks. However, I did observe one downside of the blocks with a few students; they were more interested in building with the blocks than using them for math.
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