Bead Bars: Breaking Down the Addends

Age
6-9.

Materials

 * Ten bars
 * Colored bead bar
 * Box of signs for operations

Presentation

 * 1) On a strip the directress writes a combination of two or three numbers.
 * 2) The child constructs the problem with bead bars and symbols and computes the answer and puts out the corresponding bead bars for the sum.
 * 3) The child reads the equation.
 * 4) The directress lays out combinations in parentheses that equal each addend of the first problem, i.e. 1st 9+7+8= 24, 2nd (4+5) + (3+4) + (6+2) =
 * 5) The child computes this as before, adding the first two addends in parentheses, placing the bead bar for the sum below, etc.
 * 6) Those three are added again to obtain the same answer as before.
 * 7) It is noticed that the first and third equations are identical.
 * 8) In the second, each addend was broken down into two smaller addends.

Purpose

 * To give the concept of the dissociative property of addition.