Montessori Activity: The Bead Cabinet - Sensorial Experiences with the Chain (Stage II)

 

AGE: 4.5-6 (the child should have worked with the initial bead presentation and the short bead stair and be very familiar with the sensorial materials)

OBJECTIVE(S): To show the child the progression of different relationships between units, squares, and cubes.

MATERIALS:

Bead Cabinet consists of:

1.     1 golden unit bead, 10 bar, 100 square, 1000 cube

2.     1 set of short bead bars: 1 red, 2 green, 3 pink, 4 yellow, 5 light blue, 6 violet, 7 white, 8 brown, 9 dark blue

3.     1 complete set of bead squares with their appropriate chains

4.     1 complete set of bead cubes with their appropriate cube chains.

5.     Several mats

 

STAGE II:

1.     Bring the bead presentation tray containing 1-unit, a 10-bar, a 100-square and a 1000-cube to the mat. Later add to these materials the 100 and 1000 chains.

2.     From the top of the mat, right to left, place the following beads:   

1000-cube, 100-square, 10-bar, 1-unit

3.     Under the above layout, place the following bead materials laid out vertically:

1000-chain, 100-chain, 10-bar, 1-unit

4.     Observe if the child notices any similarity in these layouts. Ask: “Are they the same?”

5.     Ask: "Can you bring me something in the Maths area that would also represent units?"

6.     Your child could bring:

- the shortest number rod

- another unit bead

- 1 red bead

- the numeral one

- one spindle

- one counter, etc.

7.     Ask: "Can you bring me something else in the Maths area that would also represent ten?"

8.     Your child could bring to the mat:

- the longest number rod

- another ten-bar

- the numeral ten

- ten spindles

- ten fractions parts, etc.

9.     Ask: "Can you bring me something else in the Maths area that would also represent 100?"

10.   Your child repeats above process.

11.  Ask: "Can you bring me something else in the Maths area that would represent 1000?"

12.  Your child repeats above process.

13.  After this stage is completed, the child/children return the materials to their appropriate place.

14.  Same process is used here except the child or children are asked to bring the materials in the same quantities from other areas of the classroom. After this stage is completed, the children return the materials to their appropriate place.

1 May 2014 (5Y1M26D) - Ask: "Can you bring me something else in the Maths area that would also represent ten?"

Your child could bring:
- the longest number rod

- another ten-bar

- the numeral ten

- ten spindles

- ten fractions parts, etc.

Various representations of ten

REFERENCES:

- https://archive.org/details/advancedmontess00livigoog
- Shu-Chen Jenny Yen’s On-line Montessori Albums http://faculty.fullerton.edu/syen/mts/math/_link.htm

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

We tried this today. J (5Y1M26D) made a long train with the 1000 chain and J suggested to continue from his bedroom to our bedroom, and that was how long a 1000 was.

The 100-chain and 1000-chain are available from Amazon: