![]() ![]() Think about a complex process that you have learned. While their peers are simply memorizing math facts, our students constantly manipulate numbers by breaking them down into their component pieces. For example, when a student wants to add 7 more, the child must first break the 7 into a 5’s bead and two- 1’s beads before the addition process may take place on the Soroban. Working with numbers in this way gives our students tremendous experience breaking numbers down into their component pieces. Our students automatically make the connection between the symbol (e.g. Mastering Basic NumbersĪs you can see, all of our numbers are represented by a combination of the 1’s and 5’s beads. ![]() If we bring one down, so that it touches the bar, we have 5. What do you think happens if I lift up 1 more?ĭo you remember what the top bead is? (Hint: It’s a 5) Notice that not one of the beads is touching the middle bar. The bottom beads are all 1’s and the top beads are all 5’s. So, let me show you how to use a Sorobanįirst look at the white, horizontal bar separates the top beads from the bottom beads. Instead of merely memorizing an answer, the children are active participants in the process, and therefore have control of the steps involved in performing arithmetic. In addition to using the beads to represent numbers, the students perform computations by moving the beads up and down. Today, the Soroban is an effective tool for teaching children about numbers, and for helping them to understand how numbers work.Īs a manipulative tool, the Soroban brings numbers to life. For hundreds of years, this tool was used by bankers and merchants as the original calculator. It consists of a wooden frame, which holds columns of beads. ![]() The Soroban, or Japanese abacus, is shown in the picture above. ![]()
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