The big ideaAn abacus is a counting frame. Its beads slide along wires.
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.
One wire with four beads slid across to the right.
Example 1: 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.
Three beads slid across one wire.
Example 2: Slide to count
Slide one bead across and say one.
Slide a second bead across and say two. Slide a third and say three.
Three beads are across, so the number is three.
Three beads across: one, two, three.
Example 3: What is it for?
Ask your child: is an abacus a drum, a ladder or a counting frame?
Slide a bead across to show how it works.
An abacus is a counting frame.
Words to know
abacus
A counting frame.
frame
The wooden part that holds everything together.
wire
It holds a line of beads.
bead
A little ball that slides along a wire.
slide
To move a bead along its wire.
Watch out
An abacus is for counting. It is not for making music or climbing.
Only the beads slid across are counted.
The wire holds the beads, and the frame holds the wires.
Try it
What is an abacus?
What slides along the wires?
What do we do with a bead to count it?
Which holds a line of beads, the wire or the frame?
Answers: 1. a counting frame · 2. beads · 3. slide it across · 4. the wire
Try at homeAsk a grown-up to help you find something with beads, like a necklace or a toy. Touch each bead as you count, one at a time, and then tell someone that an abacus has beads that slide.
For grown-upsIf you have an abacus, a bead necklace or a toy with beads, let your child touch and slide the beads while they count.
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