The big ideaRead the top row first, then the bottom row. Beads and their number are partners.
How it works
Beads and numbers are partners.
To read the beads, start with the top row, then read the bottom row.
The same beads on different rows make a different number.
Twenty-one: the same beads as twelve, with the rows swapped.
Example 1: Read thirteen
Look at the top row first: one bead, so one ten.
Then look at the bottom row: three beads, so three ones.
One ten and three ones make thirteen.
One ten and three ones.
Example 2: Twelve or twenty-one?
One bead on the top row and two on the bottom row.
That is one ten and two ones.
So the number is twelve. Two beads on top and one on the bottom is twenty-one.
One bead on top, two on the bottom.
Example 3: Make sixteen
Read the number card: sixteen is one ten and six ones.
Slide one bead across on the top row and six on the bottom row.
Now the beads match the card.
One ten and six ones.
Words to know
match
Two cards that show the same number.
partner
The number card and its beads go together.
top row
Read this row first. It holds the tens.
bottom row
Read this row second. It holds the ones.
Watch out
Read the top row first.
The top row holds the tens and the bottom row holds the ones.
Twelve and twenty-one use the same beads in different rows.
Try it
Which row do we read first?
One bead on the top row and two on the bottom row. What number?
Make sixteen. How many beads go on the top row and on the bottom row?
Do two cards match when they show the same number?
Answers: 1. the top row · 2. twelve · 3. one on the top and six on the bottom · 4. yes
Try at homeAsk a grown-up to help you make a few pairs of cards. On one card of each pair, draw a counting frame with some beads slid across. On the other, write the number. Mix them up and find the pairs!
For grown-upsMake pairs of cards together: draw a counting frame with beads on one card and write its number on the other. Mix them up and find the pairs.
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