The 4th grade students are working hard during math. They are showing their math understanding by using manipulatives to represent math problems presented in word form. When the students can successfully show what needs to be done to solve the problem, they then write the number problem on their white boards and solve. We started with addition and subtraction but will soon be adding multiplication and division to our math lessons. The use of manipulatives really helps the students to visualize the word problems they are trying to solve. With a clearer understanding of what the problems “look” like, the students are much more successful at choosing the correct operation necessary to solve the problems.