Recommended Age: 5 years and onwards (can be younger depending on the child’s skills and experiences)
Purpose: To present the entire structure of addition and to help the child memorise the addition combinations
Level of Parent Involvement: Medium, the adult must present this exercise to the child, once the child has been shown they may work independently
Prerequisites
- The child must be able to count accurately from 1-10 and onwards
- The child must be able to write numbers
- The child must be able to match the numeral symbol with its quantity of numbers 1-10 and beyond
- The child must have had many experiences doing addition with the golden beads
- The child has been presented to the addition strip board, presentations 1, 2, 3 and 4
- The child has been presented to addition chart 3 and 4 and has had many experiences repeating these exercises
Materials
* Pencil
Note: if doing this exercise with your child from home you will be using the paper version (refer resource pack)
Steps
- Invite the child, together bringing the materials to the table
- Introduce chart 5, noticing even fewer numbers than chart 4
- Invite the child to pick an equation
- Show the child how to use the chart
- Place left index finger on the lower number of the equation (5+7)
- Place right index finger on the higher number of the equation
- Slide both fingers to the end of the lines
- Next show the child the ‘dance of the fingers’ by moving each finger towards the other, one at a time until the fingers meet
- Where the fingers meet is the answer (refer to the image below)
- Repeat a few more times
- Once the child can do the finger moves, invite them to pick a slip, write the equation, do the finger moves and record the answer
- The child may write down their answers on blank paper and check with the control chart at the end
Variations
- None