<![CDATA[Elementary school students still struggle to grasp fractions concretely and relate them to real-life situations. This situation results in students having limited reasoning abilities. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of manipulative media in enhancing elementary school students' critical thinking skills on fractions. A quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design specifically, a non-equivalent control group design was employed. The study involved 40 students divided into an experimental group and a control group of 20 students each, selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected through tests and documentation, utilizing an essay test to measure students' critical thinking skills. Data analysis was conducted using paired-sample t-tests, independent-sample t-tests, and effect size calculations. The results indicate that students taught using manipulative media showed greater improvement in critical thinking skills than those receiving conventional instruction. The improvement in the experimental group was statistically significant, with the effect of using manipulative media falling into the "large" category. Thus, manipulative media effectively enhance elementary school students' critical thinking skills regarding fractions. The study's implications suggest that manipulative media can serve as an alternative for mathematics instruction that is concrete, interactive, and meaningful, thereby supporting the development of students' higher-order thinking skills.]]>
