April Fools’!

Are you mad? Read on for a make-up freebie!

We’re really sorry for pulling your leg, but hear us out: there’s a very good educational reason why we don’t have a “zero block” in our Integer Block Kit. As Steve Demme says, “How can you represent nothing with something?”

But the concept of zero is a critical one to understand at all levels of math; even though it literally means nothing, it does a lot and has a huge impact on all of the mathematical processes that it touches. It’s essential that the concept is thoroughly understood. The main difference between zero and the other numbers is that zero does not have a tangible visual form. This may make teaching the concept of zero more challenging than teaching counting and other early number concepts. As a result, it’s best to introduce it after a child begins to understand the value of numbers.

Reinforce the Concept of Zero with These Activities

Struggling to find a meaningful and creative way to teach the number zero? Our “zero” experts have put together some activities that you can use to reinforce the concept with your math student.

1. Here are a few activities that you can use with students working in Primer through Beta to teach and reinforce the concept of zero.

2. Try these activities with students who are working in Gamma through Zeta.

3. Use these activities if your student is working through Pre-Algebra or Algebra 1 to teach and reinforce the concept of zero at a more advanced level.

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