Dot markers can be used as visual counters to help students understand addition and subtraction. Each dot represents one item, allowing students to model math problems in a concrete way. To use dot markers, students place dots on paper to represent the starting amount in an equation. For addition, more dots are added to show combining quantities, and all the dots are counted to find the total. For subtraction, dots are crossed out or covered to show taking away, and the remaining dots are counte