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Master Ruler, Master Angle, Master Clock, and Master Fractions

Master Fractions

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Master Innovations produces helpful, hands-on resources for learning measurement, clock reading, fraction concepts, and angles. The basic construction of most of these resources is three to five clear plastic overlays connected (bound together) with plastic tubes so that the layers open and lie flat like a book. Base layers for the rulers, clock, and fractions have cardboard or plastic backings with preprinted shapes or information. They are quite sturdy and should hold up to repeated use.

The Master Ruler is available in either standard or metric format. This is a standard 12” or 30 cm. length ruler, but otherwise it differs markedly from other rulers. The bottom or base layer has one inch (or one decimeter (on the metric version) markings. Layers have decreasingly smaller units marked with color-coded lines. The standard ruler has 1/2 , ¼, 1/8, and 1/16 inch increments marked on four layers. The metric ruler has only two additional layers marked with centimeters and millimeters. Rulers can be used for the obvious objectives of learning measurement. If you purchase both standard and metric rulers, the clear overlays make it easy for students to learn metric and standard equivalencies. A surprising use for the ruler is to teach fraction equivalencies. The overlays make it easy for students to see fractional relationships. Additionally, the ruler makes is easy to understand how to convert improper fractions to proper fractions. The companion workbook, Mastering the World of Measuring with The Master Ruler, is only 21 pages. Three of those pages are suggestions for activities and ways to use the ruler. Two pages are answer keys for the remaining 16 pages of reproducible activity sheets. While this might be a cost-effective resource if you have a number of students, it is bit expensive for such a small workbook to be used with one student.

Note: There are teacher’s versions of the Master Ruler, Master Clock, and Master Fractions. These are identical to the student versions with the exception of the base layer. The teacher’s version has a clear base or bottom layer rather than the white plastic or cardboard of the student version; this makes them useable on an overhead projector.

The Master Fractions is a set of three “booklets” of overlays. The base page for each has whole shapes of a rectangle, a square, and two circles. One booklet has overlays for dividing each shape into halves, quarters, eighths, and sixteenths. Another divides them into thirds, sixths, and twelfths. The third divides them into fifths, tenths, and twentieths. The Mastering the World of Fractions with The Master Fractions workbook, at 63 pages, is more substantial than the workbook for the ruler. Most of the book works on fraction concepts and equivalencies. The last few lessons go into mixed numbers, improper fractions, and addition of fractions with common denominators. It would be easy to extend the use of The Master Fractions for practice on adding fractions without common denominators if you stick with fractions that work within common denominators on the booklet.

The Master Clock is rather ingenious. It actually has geared minute and hour hands, so they move synchronously as on a real clock. A second hand is included, but it is not geared. The clock has overlays for hours, minutes, and seconds, so you can gradually increase the level of difficulty when teaching children. At the top of the clock are two plastic wheels that reveal numbers for digital hours and minutes. Students can practice matching digital and analog times by manually “dialing” the digital time and moving only the minute hand to set hours and minutes on the analog clock face. The 99-page workbook Mastering the World of Telling Time with the Master Clock begins with history and activities for various time-telling devices. The bulk of the book are reproducible worksheets that span beginning clock/time telling activities up through activities for about fourth or fifth grade level that have to do with scheduling. A few games are included.

The Master Angle is the simplest of these manipulatives. It is essentially a full-circle protractor, but it also has a spinner –type, movable line connected to the center. Near the perimeter of the circle, holes are punched through the clear plastic every five degrees. Students can construct angles by marking the hole in the center, the beginning and end points of the angle’s arc, then drawing lines to connect the dots. The Mastering the World of Angles with The Master Angle workbook is suggested for grades 1 through 4, but I think it might be more appropriate for about fourth grade and up since it introduces a great deal of geometric vocabulary as well as symbols and definitions used in high school geometry.

All of these manipulatives might be useful as supplements alongside a more traditional type program. Brief videos demonstrating how to use the products are available free on the publisher's website.

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