Alana knows her numbers!

Created on:5/09/2014 9:53:25 p.m.By:Tracie Phua

Alana, you had already worked with the sand paper numerals and practised writing numbers on the chalkboard.

 

You had also worked with the red rods in the sensorial area, arranging the ten red rods from the longest to the shortest.

 

Today, I invited you to work with the number rods and you readily agreed ! You got the floor mat ready and carried the number rods one at a time to the floor mat. You were careful to carry each of the longer rods with both hands as you placed them on the floor mat. You then arranged them from longest to shortest just as you did with the red rods.

 

You learnt that the shortest red rod was a one rod. We counted the two segments of the second rod and learnt that it was the two rod, etc. We played a game where you had to point to the correct rod that I asked for eg one rod, two rod three rod etc. You found it so easy that we learnt the names of all the rods in one lesson !

 

I asked if you wanted to match the numeral cards to the correct rod. You went to the shelf to get the numeral cards and we placed them randomly on the mat. You picked out the numeral one when I asked for it and I showed you how to place it against the end of the one rod. We repeated it for the numeral 2 and you went on to do the rest of the work yourself; placing the right numeral against the relevant number rod.

 

Your smile at the end of the activity showed that you enjoyed doing this work !

 

 

What learning do I think is happening here?

The number rods allow Alana to learn the name and qualities of each number as a single object. She sees that the two rod is twice the length of the one rod, the three rod is three times the length of the one rod etc. When she matched the numeral cards to the number rods, she related each symbol to the concrete quality of the number that she already knows.

Opportunities and possibilities?

We will continue to practise more with the number rods as Alana shows interest. We can play a game where she needs to bring the correct numeral card to a selected number rod or vice versa over a further distance. This will require Alana to remember a requested quantity or numeral as she walks to find the matching numeral card or number rod. Subsequently, we can introduce her indirectly to additions through further extensions of the number rod work. We are so excited about Alana’s learning journey with the Montessori maths materials!

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