How it works
An abacus is a counting frame. It is made of a wooden frame, wires and beads.
Each wire holds a line of beads. The beads slide along the wire.
We count by sliding beads across.
Worked examples
Find the parts
- Look at a real frame, or at this picture, together.
- Point to the wooden frame, then to a wire, then to a bead.
- The frame holds everything together, a wire holds a line of beads, and a bead slides along its wire.