Simulations and Manipulatives : Sask DLC Staff Help Desk Portal

PhET (https://phet.colorado.edu/) is an online website the provides physics, chemistry and a few

biology and earth science simulations that demonstrate microscopic or abstract science concepts.

There are also math simulations made by PhET. Sims can be sorted by grade level or topic. If you sign

up for a free teacher account, there are lots of teacher created resources available too.

The HTML 5 simulations can be used on tablets, but Adobe Flash ones must be used on a desktop/laptop. The

simulations are suitable for middle years-high school level. Check out this page for a brief

introduction to PhET and helpful tutorial links: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/teaching-resources

Desmos (https://www.desmos.com/) is more than just an online graphing calculator. Desmos has

created activities and quizzes that can be customized by the teacher and used in conjunction with the

online graphing calculator, scienti ic calculator or geometry tools (they also have an app). They have

built in tutorials with each of the programs they offer (https://learn.desmos.com/)

Math Playground is a free (the ad-free version is paid) website with a variety of math manipulatives and

games to practice math skills. It is suitable for elementary level and manipulatives can be sorted by

grade. There are helpful tips and links to essential math skills under each manipulative. (https://www. mathplayground.com/interactive_hundreds_chart.html)

This is a resource produced by McGraw Hill that offers a variety of math manipulatives and tools (free)

for Pre-K – Grade 8. It requires the student to manipulate the object on the screen, so might be better

for the older age range. The help menu (question mark) provides general instructions, instructions for

each of the tools (i.e. ruler, protractor, etc.) and manipulatives (i.e. base ten blocks, geoboard, calendar)

with images to support learners and teachers.

Sask DLC Staff Help Desk Portal