This video illustrates how manipulatives can be used to explain the commutative property of addition to students. Understanding that the order in which two numbers are added does not change the result supports basic fact fluency and students’ thinking related to problem solving. For example, when students understand how the commutative property works and if they have mastered a basic fact such as “3 + 1” then they have also mastered the basic fact of “1 + 3.”