Sample Lessons
Change (Bank) Game
Material
- In a box there are 45 Unit Beads, 45
Bars of Ten, 45 Wooden Squares of One
Hundred and 9 Wooden Cubes of One Thousand.
- One Wooden Tray with a Unit Holder.
|
Note: This activity can be presented to one
child, or up to three children. After the children
have been introduced to this activity, they can
play the Bank Game in groups of two or three. To
make the activity more enticing, the Bead Material
can be placed in a real briefcase. |
 |
Purpose
To help the child experience the ordering effect of the
laws of the decimal system and to teach the child how
to physically exchange ten of one hierarchy for one of
the next hierarchy.
Presentation
- Invite a child for the Change Game Presentation.
- If necessary, introduce the child to the Wooden
Set of Hundreds and Thousands. Explain that
they are equal to the Bead Material with which
she is already familiar.
- Tell that child that you are going to give
her a large quantity of Bead Material (this
includes wooden) on a tray.
- Fill her tray with a substantial amount of
Bead Material from all four hierarchies.
- Ask the child if she can tell you how much
is on the tray.
 The
child may guess, or just say that she does not
know.
- Tell the child that you will help her count
the Bead Material.
- Sort the material into the four hierarchies
on the mat from left to right, with the Thousands
on the left.
- Ask the child to start counting the Units
into the bead dish, and to stop at ten.
- When she reaches ten, the teacher explains
that since ten Units equals one Ten-Bar, she
can exchange the ten Units for a Ten-Bar.
- Show the child how to put the ten Units into
the bank, and take a Ten-Bar in return, and
place it with the other Tens on the mat.
- Continue exchanging until you are left with
fewer than ten Units.
- Start counting the Ten-Bars, “One ten,
two tens, three tens”….up to ten tens.
- Remind the child that we stop after we have
counted ten.
 Assist
the child in trading ten Tens for a Hundred
Square, using exactly the same process as she
learned with the Units.
- Again, when the child is left with less than
ten Tens, have her place them to the left of
the Units, so that they are beside each other.
- Continue with the remaining hierarchies.
- After the activity is completed, count the
remaining material and say to the child, “Remember
I asked you how much was on your tray? This
is the answer: (e.g.) seven thousand, five hundred,
seven tens and six units.” Or, if the child
is able, the teacher would say, “Seven
thousand five hundred and seventy-six.”
- Encourage the child to play the Change Game
with other children until she thoroughly understands
the process.
|
 Extension
1
After a child thoroughly understands the Presentation
process, show him how he
can place the large correlating Number Cards, which represent
their total in written form, under the Bead Material.
Extension 2
This extension is provided before you introduce dynamic
subtraction to a child. Explain that you can reverse the
procedure that the child already understands: one Thousand
for ten Hundred, one Hundred for ten Tens, one Ten for
ten Units. |
