Presentation of the Decimal System - Exercise 3

Group Counting Game

MATERIAL:

PURPOSE:

To understand the decimal system.

AGE:

4 years onwards

EXERCISE:

A group exercise for a few children.  The material is laid out on a mat on a table in the correct order.
 
The children stand in front of the table and the teacher at the back.  Using only one hierarchy at a time, until the children are doing the work easily, the teacher puts a quantity on the tray, e.g. she puts three hundred squares on the tray.

 

She shows it to the group and says, "Who can tell me how much this is?"  One of the children will say, "Three hundred." "Yes, three hundred." The teacher puts the three hundred back in place and makes another quantity on the tray.  For example, she puts five thousand cubes on the tray and asks, "Who can tell me how much this is?"  The exercise continues.
 
Should one child always be too slow to answer, the teacher can see that he is given the necessary time to work out the answer.  She can say, "Now, I am going to make a number for Timmy.  Everyone else watch.  Timmy is going to tell us this time."
 
Another day the exercise could be reversed.  The teacher would say a number and one of the chldren would make the corresponding quantity on the tray.  For example, "Who would like to put two thousand on the tray? Yes, that is two thousand."
 
When the children are doing the work easily, quantities involving more than one hierarchy can be made.  The teacher puts two thousand cubes and four hundred squares on the tray. A child tells her, "Two thousand four hundred."  "Yes, you are right. Two thousand four hundred."

 
After much practice, the children can make any quantity they are asked for and read any quantity the teacher has composed up to 9999.