Do you have hands on learners? Do you teach students with autism (or other language based disabilities) that have trouble with abstract concepts? Then you need to use manipulatives to teach!!!
I seriously LOVE using manipulatives to teach concepts to my class! They make the concepts visual and more understandable for my students. Manipulatives also give my students another way to demonstrate they understand the concepts. Here are 4 different ways I use manipulatives to teach. The connecting blocks used in these ideas are my favorite manipulatives to teach with. They are colorful, but not overly exciting and distracting to my class.