Small Abacus

The Montessori arithmetic frame also enables small children to calculate with numbers in the thousands. The pearls are moved depending on the calculation and the result can already be read.

The child is given a task, e.g. 173 + 91. By simply moving the beads in the respective place value, you add up. In addition to addition and subtraction tasks, multiplications can also be easily represented.

Application, advantages, areas of application for this Montessori material:

Practice additions, plus problems up to a result of 10,000

Learn subtractions, minus problems within 10,000

Understand multiplications, painting tasks on the arithmetic frame up to 10,000

Simply explain place values ​​using the typical Montessori place value colors

Montessori material for elementary school and children from 5 years

Scope of Montessori material:

Wooden frame with metal rods and wooden balls, approx. 25 x 22 x 8 cm

Instructions for the small Montessori calculating frame

The adult places the calculating frame on the table in front of him.

The beads of the rake frame are on the left. Now he pushes a green one bead to the right side and says: That's one. Then he takes a ten bead, pushes it to the right as well and says: That's ten. The rest of the place values ​​are introduced in the same way (hundreds, thousands)

To better illustrate this exercise, the Token Game or the Golden Beads material can be added. Here the adult moves the one-pearl of the abacus frame to the right side, then puts the ones tile from the token game or a one-pearl made from the bead material on the table and says: That's one. Likewise with everyone else.

Now that the calculation frame has been introduced, the next exercise can begin.

The adult starts with the one-pearls. He slides bead by bead from left to right and counts out loud (one, two, thirteen...ten). Now we swap into the next category: We swap ten ones into a ten Now the ten ones are pushed back to the left and a ten bead to the right. The ten beads are counted in increments of ten (ten, twenty...hundred - exchange ten tens for one hundred bead). The remaining beads are also counted.

As in the token game, arithmetic problems can be solved (231 + 924 – a one bead, three ten bead and two hundred bead are pushed to the right (231) plus 924 now four one bead, two ten bead and nine hundred bead are added. In this task you can start right away a category change can be practiced by exchanging the ten hundred bead for a thousand bead.

Multiplication with the Montessori arithmetic framework

The pearls of the calculating frame are on the left edge.

There the respective place value is printed for each row of beads (ones, tens, hundreds...)

A task is chosen, e.g. 574 x 2 =

Now it is calculated in the head. First the ones (here 4) then the tens (here 7) and then the hundreds (here 5) are multiplied by 2.

4 x 2 = 8 (8 green one-pearls are pushed to the right)

7 x 2 = 14 (14 tens are 1 hundred and 4 tens - 4 blue tens and one red hundred bead are shifted to the right)

5 x 2 = 10 (10 hundreds is 1 thousands – 1 green thousands bead is pushed to the right)

From top to bottom, the following beads are now on the right edge of the calculation frame:

8 green ones

4 blue tens

1 red hundred

1 green thousand

The result can thus be read from bottom to top: 1148

Tasks with exchange:

Some tasks require the exchange of pearls for the next value, e.g.

378 x 4 =

8 x 4 = 32 (to be shifted to the right: 2 green ones, 3 blue tens)

7 x 4 = 28 (shoved to the right: 8 blue tens – not possible, since only ten beads are available per row and three have already been pushed to the right. Now you first push the remaining seven to the right, then the 10 tens into a hundred

exchanged, i.e. a hundred bead to the right, the ten tens to the left again.

Finally, the missing tens are pushed to the right edge (another one

pearl) and two red hundreds pearls)

3 x 4 = 12 (to be shifted to the right: 2 red hundreds, 1 green thousands)

The result can now be read from bottom to top: 1512