2 thoughts on “Val’s Number Scroll: Helping kids visualize math”
Looks pretty good. Much safer than stretching out the metal Stanley 30 foot measuring tape with the sharp edges and the propensity to snap shut in a flash.
Just because this made me think of it, here’s another tip for teaching young kids math. If you’re stuck playing Candyland, those one and two color pieces make a great way to teach the concept of even and odd. One day my kid was laying some of the cards end to end, and we got to talking how there were some numbers you could make out of the twos, and some numbers you couldn’t. He immediately grasped that to make an odd number you add a one piece to a line of twos etc. etc. That was a really good moment for us, and it led to a lot of other math interactions.
I just mention it because (a) it was a reasonably cool trick that worked well, but even more important (b) it’s one that can naturally arise in the context of a game your kid is enjoying (even if you aren’t) and (c) it’s cool that there can be a good math lesson in a game that specifically eschews all numbers and counting. Take that Sorry! – Candyland can be a better scaffold for numerical literacy. I suppose group theory could be taught with Candyland too….but by the time your kid is in high school, you’ll have sold your Candyland at a yard sale.
This appears to be a simplified version of a standard teaching tool that’s been used in Montessori classrooms for decades. See, for example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfLzrGVIG74
Looks pretty good. Much safer than stretching out the metal Stanley 30 foot measuring tape with the sharp edges and the propensity to snap shut in a flash.
Just because this made me think of it, here’s another tip for teaching young kids math. If you’re stuck playing Candyland, those one and two color pieces make a great way to teach the concept of even and odd. One day my kid was laying some of the cards end to end, and we got to talking how there were some numbers you could make out of the twos, and some numbers you couldn’t. He immediately grasped that to make an odd number you add a one piece to a line of twos etc. etc. That was a really good moment for us, and it led to a lot of other math interactions.
I just mention it because (a) it was a reasonably cool trick that worked well, but even more important (b) it’s one that can naturally arise in the context of a game your kid is enjoying (even if you aren’t) and (c) it’s cool that there can be a good math lesson in a game that specifically eschews all numbers and counting. Take that Sorry! – Candyland can be a better scaffold for numerical literacy. I suppose group theory could be taught with Candyland too….but by the time your kid is in high school, you’ll have sold your Candyland at a yard sale.
This appears to be a simplified version of a standard teaching tool that’s been used in Montessori classrooms for decades. See, for example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfLzrGVIG74