The snake game on subtraction is the popular material on subtraction. Minus tasks are laid out in a tangible way and are solved by simply swapping and counting.

A sequence of plus and minus problems is laid out, e.g. 5 + 2 - 4 + 7 - 2 + 3 + 6 =. The colorful bead sticks are exchanged for gold 10 rods one after the other. The gray pearl rods are counted backwards (deducted) and the remainder is exchanged for black and white pearl material.

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

• • Practice subtraction problems

• • Learn to understand minus tasks

• • Montessori material for children from 5 years

• • Make subtraction tangible and visible

Scope of the Montessori learning material:
1 wooden tray approx. 44 x 13 x 3.5 cm
1 wooden box approx. 10.5 x 10.5 x 5 cm with 5 colored pearl stairs (5 x pearl sticks 1 - 9)
1 wooden box approx. 10.5 x10.5 x 5 cm with 5 gray pearl
stairs 1 wooden box approx. 10.5 x10.5 x 5 cm with 1 black and white pearl
staircase 1 wooden box approx. 10.5 x10.5 x 5 cm with 23 golden ten bars

Instructions for the snake game for subtraction

The material is provided. Then the adult assigns any task (in a queue) with colored and gray pearl sticks. The gray pearl rods are the minuends (they are peeled off), the colored pearl rods are the summands. The adult lays out the following row, for example:
3 + 8 + 2 - 4 + 6 - 7 = in the direction of writing a 3-bead bar, next to it an 8-bead bar, a 2-bead bar (all colored beads); now the adult has placed 3 + 8 + 2.
For - 4 he now puts a gray 4-bead bar, then from the colored beads the 6-bead bar and again a gray 7-bead bar for -7.

In the freely chosen tasks, it is important to ensure that there are always more colored beads than gray beads (3 colored bead rods - a gray bead rod - 3 colored rods - 1 gray ...)
When the task is finished, the containers for the colored and gray pearls are closed.
The colored pearls are now counted from left to right up to the 1st gray stick.
3 + 8 = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 - a golden 10 rod is exchanged for 10 colored pearls. Since there is still a remainder of the 8 bar, namely 1, this is counted down to one and replaced by a red single bead. The count continues to the gray stick. This is now folded back so that it lies over the golden 10 rod or the red single pearl and the green 2 rod.
The gray 4 bar is deducted, i.e. counting backwards, starting with the green 2 bead bar, then the red one bead, then the 10 bar: minus one, minus two, minus three, minus four The green 2 bead and the red single bead being deleted. Of the 10 rod, there are 9 pearls left. The gold 10 rod is replaced by a 9 rod of the black and white replacement pearl rods.

The gray 4-sticks come in a bowl. Now the count continues to the next gray stick (the purple 6 stick is added), i.e. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 - replace with a 10 stick. Of the 6 rod, 5 remain, this is replaced by a 5 rod. The 15 pearls are counted; Now that the gray pearl has been reached, it is flipped over again and counted backwards minus one, minus two, minus three, minus four, minus five, minus six, minus seven.

The 5 rod is no longer available, eight pearls remain from the 10 rod, these are replaced with a rod from the black and white exchange rods.
There are 8 pearls left, so the result of the calculation is 8.