The Math Play Rods are without a doubt the most effective material to help learners make sense of elementary mathematics. As such, they need to be given a central role in day-to-day learning. At the pre-school and primary levels, the rods should be used almost on a daily basis and, even at the upper elementary levels, they should be readily available to those who need them for particular purposes, or to form the basis of the students~ introduction to new topics.

Since they are to play such an essential role, care must be taken when introducing them to children, as the initial activities learners are asked to undertake will help shape how they will relate to the material at later times.

With any group of students, the initial introduction (if they have never seen the rods before) must be via a period of free play. And free play means just that. The rods are simply dumped on the tables or the floor, and the students are invited to do whatever they want with them. Most will immediately begin building things with them, and those who are hesitant at first usually follow suit after a short while. In any case, the teacher should refrain from interfering, either to encourage (or force) students to use the rods, or to suggest activities, games, things to do, etc...  

Instead, the teacher can best use their time observing the children at play with the rods. By watching how they use the material, how (or whether) they are able to work together, and, above all, what kinds of things they produce, the teacher can learn a great deal about the various students, their personality, their affective state, etc ...

A single period of free play generally should not last more than 20 to 30 minutes, and the total amount of the time given over to free play will, of course, depend on the age and prior experience of the students. Pre -scholars may need to spend weeks, or even months, at play with the rods, whereas fifth graders new to the material may need only a single session to familiarize themselves with it. The "right" amount of free play is a matter of judgment best left to each teacher. As a general rule, however, when the students' constructions begin to be consistently more elaborate, better thought out, with elements of symmetry and sequence in them, it is time to introduce new kinds of activities. Also, free play should not be cut off abruptly, but phased out gradually.

Learn Alphabet with Math Play Rods by Chitrani is an ideal resource to adapt them from free play to some directed play before they could be introduced to more directed play.