Hands-On Math Base Ten Blocks 4+

Great app for teaching

I hesitated buying this app for my classroom because of the negative reviews given about previous versions, but I really like it and it is easy to use. My students are able to move the blocks around the screen without getting confused about where they are in the chart. I like the fact that they have to tell it to regroup when adding and it doesn't do it automatically which allows them to better see what they are doing and they don't get confused and stop counting. Over all it is a good app I am glad I got it.

Good for place value. . . maybe

My daughter is ready to learn to carry, so I want to reinforce place value first. So far with this app, the blocks are fine, but too much of the work is done for you. When the blocks are placed in the columns, the math problem at the bottom (in the blue boxes) counts them up. It even assumes that the carrying has been applied, even if the 'ones' column has more than 9 cubes. She might get the idea of carrying with this app, as well as borrowing, but we will see how well it converts to actual practice. Also, when the hundred column reaches "10", it does not create a 'thousands' column, which does little to reinforce the idea that each column can only have 0-9. (As I was writing she just showed me that the addition problem at the bottom didn't match the cubes at the top because they did the carrying before she did. She is a bit confused.) I will re-review when she has had a chance to use it for a while. I don't write many reviews, but I tried this app without any input, so I thought I'd put a little something in for the next person.

Developer Response ,

Use the regrouping buttons to regroup blocks from one column to the other.

A very handy little app.

A competitor (German) offers the same app with the ability to add/subtract. I'd like to see that feature added here. Overall, a handy app that does what it says it does. Nice!