Assignment Module 5

Name : Aliya Mubeen

Roll No : DK-1675
Q.1 How would you teach numbers 0 to 10 to a child according
to montessori method? Explain all the exercises in this group
briefly in your own words.
Arithmetic of Variables (Group 1)

The Number Rods, Sand Paper Cyphers and Number Rods and
Cards form the first half of the Maths Materials for Group 1, in
which the ‘Addition of Variables’ takes place

The Number Rods

The Number Rods are similar to the Red Rods, only here they
are rendered countable by blue stripes, so that each rod is
clearly a multiple of the first rod, (the unit), each section of the
subsequent number rods is equal in length to the first one.
These rods materialise the quantities of the numbers from 1-10.
Through the Number Rods ‘quantities’ can be seen as an
unbroken multiple of a unit in which quantities are measured in
terms of a unit; the ‘Arithmetic of Variables’. After completing
these first activities of Group 1 the child is given quantities
according to the ‘Arithmetic of Groups’, quantities formed by
loose identical units (Spindles and Counters).

The advantages of using Number Rods to initially represent

quantity are;

Past experience with the Red Rods helps the child to use the
Number Rods, sensorially appreciating the difference between
them
The child’s intelligence accepts, understands and associates
different names with the differences she can see between the
Rods.
Each Rod differs by the same increment, which is equal to the
first in the series (the unit)
The Rods show the position of the succession of numbers 1 to
10
They show the close relationship between Ordinal and Cardinal
numbers
Material Description:
Ten wooden rods, identical to the Red Rods, graded in length
form 10 cms to 1 metre, each rod is coloured in alternate red
and blue 10 cm long partitions. The first rod and the first
partition in each succeeding rod is red
Working Mat

Please ignore silverware, this should not be in the image

Presentation:

Invite the child, introduce the material and help her to bring the
rods to a Working Mat, place them in sequence – pointing out
that the red partition goes on the left
Isolate the shortest three rods and give there names in a Three
Period Lesson
First Period

Begin with the 10 cm rod, touching it and saying, “This is one”

Then take the 20 cm rod, touching each partition and saying,
“This is two”
Then take the 30 cm rod, touching each partition and saying,
“This is three”
Second Period

Mix up the rods and give various commands including asking

the child to count the partitions. Continue to mix and give
directions until the child can recognise them with ease
Third Period

Take any rod and ask the child to name, saying, “what is this?”,
mixing frequently
Note

The other Number Rods are introduced in the same way, first
check her understanding of rods introduced earlier and mix
these in during the second period
Exercises:
The rods are placed randomly on the mat, the director asks for
a particular one and the child brings it. The child is asked to
verify by touching each partition
The rods are placed randomly on the mat, the directress picks a
particular one and the child names it. The child is asked to
verify by touching each partition
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The partitions guide the child

Direct Aim:
Arithmetic of Variables (Group 1)

The Number Rods, Sand Paper Cyphers and Number Rods and
Cards form the first half of the Maths Materials for Group 1, in
which the ‘Addition of Variables’ takes place

The Number Rods

The Number Rods are similar to the Red Rods, only here they
are rendered countable by blue stripes, so that each rod is
clearly a multiple of the first rod, (the unit), each section of the
subsequent number rods is equal in length to the first one.
These rods materialise the quantities of the numbers from 1-10.
Through the Number Rods ‘quantities’ can be seen as an
unbroken multiple of a unit in which quantities are measured in
terms of a unit; the ‘Arithmetic of Variables’. After completing
these first activities of Group 1 the child is given quantities
according to the ‘Arithmetic of Groups’, quantities formed by
loose identical units (Spindles and Counters).

The advantages of using Number Rods to initially represent

quantity are;

Past experience with the Red Rods helps the child to use the
Number Rods, sensorially appreciating the difference between
them
The child’s intelligence accepts, understands and associates
different names with the differences she can see between the
Rods.
Each Rod differs by the same increment, which is equal to the
first in the series (the unit)
The Rods show the position of the succession of numbers 1 to
10
They show the close relationship between Ordinal and Cardinal
numbers
Material Description:

Ten wooden rods, identical to the Red Rods, graded in length

form 10 cms to 1 metre, each rod is coloured in alternate red
and blue 10 cm long partitions. The first rod and the first
partition in each succeeding rod is red
Working Mat

Please ignore silverware, this should not be in the image

Presentation:

Invite the child, introduce the material and help her to bring the
rods to a Working Mat, place them in sequence – pointing out
that the red partition goes on the left
Isolate the shortest three rods and give there names in a Three
Period Lesson
First Period
Begin with the 10 cm rod, touching it and saying, “This is one”
Then take the 20 cm rod, touching each partition and saying,
“This is two”
Then take the 30 cm rod, touching each partition and saying,
“This is three”
Second Period

Mix up the rods and give various commands including asking

the child to count the partitions. Continue to mix and give
directions until the child can recognise them with ease
Third Period

Take any rod and ask the child to name, saying, “what is this?”,
mixing frequently
Note

The other Number Rods are introduced in the same way, first
check her understanding of rods introduced earlier and mix
these in during the second period
Exercises:

The rods are placed randomly on the mat, the director asks for
a particular one and the child brings it. The child is asked to
verify by touching each partition
The rods are placed randomly on the mat, the directress picks a
particular one and the child names it. The child is asked to
verify by touching each partition
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The partitions guide the child

Direct Aim:

To teach the names 1 to 10 with the corresponding quantity

To show that each number from 1 to 10 is a separate object
To help the child memorise the sequence of numbers 1-10
Age at Presentation:

Four years onwards

Footnote

Even if the child immediately recognises and names the rod it is

still necessary to verify by touching and counting to fix the
sequence of numbers.
The Sand Paper Cyphers

With the help of the Director, the children already know the
names of the numbers 1-10 and associate them with their
quantities and sequence, having worked with the Number Rods.
The Cyphers are symbols for the quantities and different from
the Sand Paper Letters (which the child will have already used)
because they represent not just a sound, but a whole idea

Material Description:

The Numbers 1 to 9 and 0, cut rom sandpaper and mounted on

separate boards.

Note
It is important to check the child’s knowledge of the Number
Rods before proceeding
Do not introduce the 0 at this stage
Presentation:

Ask the child to sensitise her fingers and select a group of three
Sand Paper Cyphers in any order
Invite the child, introduce the material and bring it to a chowki
Trace each numeral with two fingers as with the Sand Paper
Letters
Give there names in a Three Period Lesson, asking the child to
trace and name the Cypher
Games:

Two children can be show how to play these games together

Show a Cypher, ask the child to name it and trace it

Lay the Cyphers on a mat, say a number and ask one child to go
to the mat, find it and return with it and trace it.
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The Director and the Sand Paper which guides the child’s
fingertips
Direct Aim:

To teach the written symbol or the quantities 1 to 10 which the

child has learnt with the Number Rods
To give the child a key to the World of Number
Preparation for the writing of numerals
Age at Presentation:

Four years, after the Number Rods

The Number Rods and Cards

Material Description:

Number Rods
Set of wooden or cardboard cards on which are printed the
numbers 1 to 10
Working Mat
Presentation:

Invite the child, introduce the material and help her bring it to a
Working Mat, placing the Number Rods at random
Ask the child to collect the Cards and name them, while placing
them randomly on the mat
Introduce the child to the card with the symbol for ten (ensure
that the child is familiar with this before proceeding)
Ask the child to find the ‘rod of ten’ and place the card on the
last partition
Show the child another card, at random and ask her to find it’s
pair
Continue to do this till all the rods are labeled
Exercises:

Exercise 1 – as above
Exercise 2 – the Two Mat Game – the Directress shows a card
and the child brings the rod
Exercise 3 – the Two Mat Game – the Directress points to a rod
and the child brings the card
Exercise 4 – Rods in Sequence
Arrange the rods as for the Red Rods
Place the cards randomly on a floor mat, point to any rod in the
series and the child counts the partitions and places the card on
the last partition
Ask the child to read the numbers in ascending and descending
sequence
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The child counts the number of partitions

Direct Aim:

To associate the written symbol with the corresponding

quantity
To introduce the sequence of the symbols
Age at Presentation:
Four to four and a half years, after the Sand Paper Numerals

Footnote

This introduces the symbol for ’10’ and is the first time the child
sees the role of ‘0’ to symbolise ’10’
Special Exercises:

These special exercises are done after the Card and Counters

Impressions of putting together (addition)

Ask the child to build the Number Rods in sequence in the

middle of a Working Mat and to place the cards on the last
partition of each rod
Ask the child to move the ‘rod of ten’ to the top of the mat
Ask her to put the ‘rod of nine’ below it and then say, “Lets
make the ‘rod of nine’ an long as the ‘rod of ten’
The child places the ‘rod of one’ adjacent to the ‘rod of nine’
and puts their cards in place
Continue until the ‘rods of six and four’ have been placed
Move the ‘rod of five’ beneath the ‘rod of six’ and ask the child
where we can get a rod to complete the length – possibly flip
the ‘rod of five’, another ‘rod of five’ from a different set or use
the corresponding Red Rod to give the impression that the ‘rod
of five’ twice is equal to the ‘rod of ten’
The same activity can be done with totals of the ‘rod of nine’
etc.
Variations:

The child can later make any total using three or more rods

Impressions of taking away (subtraction)

Build the Number Rods and cards to the place where

impressions of addition was completed, with the ‘rod of five’ in
it’s original place, below the ‘rod of six and four’
Remove the ‘rod of four’ and the child sees that the ‘rod of six’
remains
Continue nil the rods are in their original Red Rod position
Direct Aim:

To associate the written symbol with the corresponding

quantity
To introduce the sequence of the symbols
Indirect Aim:

The building of tens is an indirect preparation for addition while

the removal of rods gives a fleeting impression of subtraction
The flipping of the ‘rod of five’ gives a fleeting impression of
multiplication and division
‘Arithmetic of Groups’

The Spindle Boxes, where the symbols are fixed and Cards and
Counters and Memory Game , where loose quantities are
associated with loose symbols form the second half of the
Maths Materials for Group 1, in which the ‘Arithmetic of
Groups’ takes place
The Spindle Boxes

The Spindle Boxes are presented after the child has had
sufficient experience with the ‘Arithmetic of Variable’ an is
mentally prepared for the abstraction required for the
‘Arithmetic of Groups’

Material Description:

Two boxes, each exactly the same, divided into five

compartments or one box divided into ten compartments. At
the interior back of each compartment is a painted symbol of
the numbers 0 to 9
45 spindles in a basket or box
Eight green coloured ribbons or bands
Sand Paper Cypher for 0
Working Mat
Note

The Spindle Boxes should be displayed empty

Presentation:

Invite the child, introduce the material and help her to bring the
Spindles and Spindle Boxes to a Working Mat
Point to the symbols and ask the child to identify them
Skipping zero, take one spindle with your right hand, place it in
your left and aloud count “one”, place it in the corresponding
compartment
Then take two spindles, one at a time, counting them in her
hand and then puts them on the mat and places a green band
around them before putting them in the compartment. (This
shows they have been grouped together counting them on to
the mat in front of you and then transfer them as a group into
the corresponding compartment).
Continue up till nine
Point to 0 and explain to the child, “zero means not anything”
Show the Sand Paper Cypher for 0 and ask the child to trace it
and associate it with the symbol on the first compartment
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The number of spindles

Direct Aim:

While the Number Rods were each a quantity in themselves,

the spindles show a number which is composed of separate
objects
The concept of zero is introduced as representing no quantity
when the first compartment is left empty
Indirect Aim:

Indirect preparation for the fact that there are no other symbols
but 0 to 9 in the decimal system
Age at Presentation:

Four to four and a half years, after number rod and cards

Footnote
The child may participate in the presentation after
compartment 5
Alternatively the child places the spindles directly into the
boxes and completes the activity, later she removes the
contents from one compartment at a time, counting them
aloud and places the band around them before replacing them
in the compartment to show they have been grouped together
The child removes the contents from one compartment at a
time, counting them aloud and places the band around them
before replacing them in the compartment to show they have
been grouped together.
Games to reinforce the concept of Zero

With either one child or a small group ask children to perform

actions a number of times, when you ask for zero times pause
expectantly and see if the child can explain why she hasn’t
performed an action

Cards and Counters

Material Description:
Small Number Cards 1 to 10
55 identical counters in a box

Presentation:

Invite the child, introduce the material and help her to bring the
Cards and Counters to a Working Mat
Place the Number Cards at random on the Working Mat
Ask the child to place them in sequence horizontally leaving a
gap between them the width of her palm
Place the correct number of counters in pairs under each
symbol if the number is odd put the remaining counter centrally
beneath the last pair
Note

When the child understands how to arrange the counters let

her take over
Exercise:

As above
Much later build the sequence and run your index finger from
the base of the Card between the counters, saying the name of
the numeral, stopping abruptly at the blocking counter if the
number is odd, or continuing, lengthening the word if the
number is even
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The number of counters

Direct Aim:

To reinforce the knowledge that each number is made up of

separate quantities
To verify whether the child has mastered;
the sequence of numbers
how many separate units form each number
Indirect Aim:
To sensorially indicate the odd and even numbers
To give a visual impression of odd and even
Indirect preparation for the divisibility of numbers as well as
multiples and sub-multiples (e.g. even numbers divide by two)
Age at Presentation:

Five and a half years, after the Spindle Boxes

Footnote:

Give the words “odd” and “even” only after the decimal system
has been presented

Memory Game of Numbers

Can be played with up to ten children, if less children, use less

cards but ensure that 0 is always in circulation

Material Description:
Folded Cards, with a number from 0 to 10 written
A basket for these cards
55 identical counters
A mat or chowki for each child

Presentation:

With a group of children take the cards and explain the game
Each child chooses a card, reads the number silently, memorises
it, refolds it and puts it on her mat or chowki
One at a time each child is asked to collect the amount of
counters corresponding to the number on her card
The child with zero will not move however much the Director
entices her
When all of the children have their objects they count them to
verify to themselves and the Director hat they have understood
Variation:
Later an older child can take the place of the Director
Later use objects other than the counters
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The Director
Direct Aim:

To train the child’s memory to keep the numerical symbol in her

mind
To relate the understanding of quantities 0 to 10 to any object
in the environment
Age at Presentation:

Around four and a half years,

Footnote:
This exercise also develops character and will as the children
have to restrain themselves from taking more than their card
allows, especially difficult for the child with zero, inhibiting their
actions
To teach the names 1 to 10 with the corresponding quantity
To show that each number from 1 to 10 is a separate object
To help the child memorise the sequence of numbers 1-10
Age at Presentation:

Four years onwards

Footnote

Even if the child immediately recognises and names the rod it is

still necessary to verify by touching and counting to fix the
sequence of numbers.
The Sand Paper Cyphers

With the help of the Director, the children already know the
names of the numbers 1-10 and associate them with their
quantities and sequence, having worked with the Number Rods.
The Cyphers are symbols for the quantities and different from
the Sand Paper Letters (which the child will have already used)
because they represent not just a sound, but a whole idea

Material Description:

The Numbers 1 to 9 and 0, cut rom sandpaper and mounted on

separate boards.

Note

It is important to check the child’s knowledge of the Number

Rods before proceeding
Do not introduce the 0 at this stage
Presentation:

Ask the child to sensitise her fingers and select a group of three
Sand Paper Cyphers in any order
Invite the child, introduce the material and bring it to a chowki
Trace each numeral with two fingers as with the Sand Paper
Letters
Give there names in a Three Period Lesson, asking the child to
trace and name the Cypher
Games:

Two children can be show how to play these games together

Show a Cypher, ask the child to name it and trace it

Lay the Cyphers on a mat, say a number and ask one child to go
to the mat, find it and return with it and trace it.
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The Director and the Sand Paper which guides the child’s
fingertips
Direct Aim:

To teach the written symbol or the quantities 1 to 10 which the

child has learnt with the Number Rods
To give the child a key to the World of Number
Preparation for the writing of numerals
Age at Presentation:

Four years, after the Number Rods

The Number Rods and Cards

Material Description:

Number Rods
Set of wooden or cardboard cards on which are printed the
numbers 1 to 10
Working Mat
Presentation:

Invite the child, introduce the material and help her bring it to a
Working Mat, placing the Number Rods at random
Ask the child to collect the Cards and name them, while placing
them randomly on the mat
Introduce the child to the card with the symbol for ten (ensure
that the child is familiar with this before proceeding)
Ask the child to find the ‘rod of ten’ and place the card on the
last partition
Show the child another card, at random and ask her to find it’s
pair
Continue to do this till all the rods are labeled
Exercises:

Exercise 1 – as above
Exercise 2 – the Two Mat Game – the Directress shows a card
and the child brings the rod
Exercise 3 – the Two Mat Game – the Directress points to a rod
and the child brings the card
Exercise 4 – Rods in Sequence
Arrange the rods as for the Red Rods
Place the cards randomly on a floor mat, point to any rod in the
series and the child counts the partitions and places the card on
the last partition
Ask the child to read the numbers in ascending and descending
sequence
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The child counts the number of partitions

Direct Aim:

To associate the written symbol with the corresponding

quantity
To introduce the sequence of the symbols
Age at Presentation:

Four to four and a half years, after the Sand Paper Numerals

Footnote

This introduces the symbol for ’10’ and is the first time the child
sees the role of ‘0’ to symbolise ’10’
Special Exercises:

These special exercises are done after the Card and Counters
Impressions of putting together (addition)

Ask the child to build the Number Rods in sequence in the

middle of a Working Mat and to place the cards on the last
partition of each rod
Ask the child to move the ‘rod of ten’ to the top of the mat
Ask her to put the ‘rod of nine’ below it and then say, “Lets
make the ‘rod of nine’ an long as the ‘rod of ten’
The child places the ‘rod of one’ adjacent to the ‘rod of nine’
and puts their cards in place
Continue until the ‘rods of six and four’ have been placed
Move the ‘rod of five’ beneath the ‘rod of six’ and ask the child
where we can get a rod to complete the length – possibly flip
the ‘rod of five’, another ‘rod of five’ from a different set or use
the corresponding Red Rod to give the impression that the ‘rod
of five’ twice is equal to the ‘rod of ten’
The same activity can be done with totals of the ‘rod of nine’
etc.
Variations:
The child can later make any total using three or more rods

Impressions of taking away (subtraction)

Build the Number Rods and cards to the place where

impressions of addition was completed, with the ‘rod of five’ in
it’s original place, below the ‘rod of six and four’
Remove the ‘rod of four’ and the child sees that the ‘rod of six’
remains
Continue nil the rods are in their original Red Rod position
Direct Aim:

To associate the written symbol with the corresponding

quantity
To introduce the sequence of the symbols
Indirect Aim:

The building of tens is an indirect preparation for addition while

the removal of rods gives a fleeting impression of subtraction
The flipping of the ‘rod of five’ gives a fleeting impression of
multiplication and division
‘Arithmetic of Groups’

The Spindle Boxes, where the symbols are fixed and Cards and
Counters and Memory Game , where loose quantities are
associated with loose symbols form the second half of the
Maths Materials for Group 1, in which the ‘Arithmetic of
Groups’ takes place

The Spindle Boxes

The Spindle Boxes are presented after the child has had
sufficient experience with the ‘Arithmetic of Variable’ an is
mentally prepared for the abstraction required for the
‘Arithmetic of Groups’

Material Description:

Two boxes, each exactly the same, divided into five

compartments or one box divided into ten compartments. At
the interior back of each compartment is a painted symbol of
the numbers 0 to 9
45 spindles in a basket or box
Eight green coloured ribbons or bands
Sand Paper Cypher for 0
Working Mat
Note

The Spindle Boxes should be displayed empty

Presentation:

Invite the child, introduce the material and help her to bring the
Spindles and Spindle Boxes to a Working Mat
Point to the symbols and ask the child to identify them
Skipping zero, take one spindle with your right hand, place it in
your left and aloud count “one”, place it in the corresponding
compartment
Then take two spindles, one at a time, counting them in her
hand and then puts them on the mat and places a green band
around them before putting them in the compartment. (This
shows they have been grouped together counting them on to
the mat in front of you and then transfer them as a group into
the corresponding compartment).
Continue up till nine
Point to 0 and explain to the child, “zero means not anything”
Show the Sand Paper Cypher for 0 and ask the child to trace it
and associate it with the symbol on the first compartment
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The number of spindles

Direct Aim:

While the Number Rods were each a quantity in themselves,

the spindles show a number which is composed of separate
objects
The concept of zero is introduced as representing no quantity
when the first compartment is left empty
Indirect Aim:

Indirect preparation for the fact that there are no other symbols
but 0 to 9 in the decimal system
Age at Presentation:

Four to four and a half years, after number rod and cards

Footnote

The child may participate in the presentation after

compartment 5
Alternatively the child places the spindles directly into the
boxes and completes the activity, later she removes the
contents from one compartment at a time, counting them
aloud and places the band around them before replacing them
in the compartment to show they have been grouped together
The child removes the contents from one compartment at a
time, counting them aloud and places the band around them
before replacing them in the compartment to show they have
been grouped together.
Games to reinforce the concept of Zero

With either one child or a small group ask children to perform

actions a number of times, when you ask for zero times pause
expectantly and see if the child can explain why she hasn’t
performed an action

Cards and Counters

Material Description:

Small Number Cards 1 to 10

55 identical counters in a box

Presentation:
Invite the child, introduce the material and help her to bring the
Cards and Counters to a Working Mat
Place the Number Cards at random on the Working Mat
Ask the child to place them in sequence horizontally leaving a
gap between them the width of her palm
Place the correct number of counters in pairs under each
symbol if the number is odd put the remaining counter centrally
beneath the last pair
Note

When the child understands how to arrange the counters let

her take over

Exercise:

As above
Much later build the sequence and run your index finger from
the base of the Card between the counters, saying the name of
the numeral, stopping abruptly at the blocking counter if the
number is odd, or continuing, lengthening the word if the
number is even
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The number of counters

Direct Aim:

To reinforce the knowledge that each number is made up of

separate quantities
To verify whether the child has mastered;
the sequence of numbers
how many separate units form each number
Indirect Aim:

To sensorially indicate the odd and even numbers

To give a visual impression of odd and even
Indirect preparation for the divisibility of numbers as well as
multiples and sub-multiples (e.g. even numbers divide by two)
Age at Presentation:

Five and a half years, after the Spindle Boxes

Footnote:

Give the words “odd” and “even” only after the decimal system
has been presented

Memory Game of Numbers

Can be played with up to ten children, if less children, use less

cards but ensure that 0 is always in circulation

Material Description:

Folded Cards, with a number from 0 to 10 written

A basket for these cards
55 identical counters
A mat or chowki for each child
Presentation:

With a group of children take the cards and explain the game
Each child chooses a card, reads the number silently, memorises
it, refolds it and puts it on her mat or chowki
One at a time each child is asked to collect the amount of
counters corresponding to the number on her card
The child with zero will not move however much the Director
entices her
When all of the children have their objects they count them to
verify to themselves and the Director hat they have understood
Variation:

Later an older child can take the place of the Director

Later use objects other than the counters
Criteria of Perfection (Control of Error):

The Director
Direct Aim:
To train the child’s memory to keep the numerical symbol in her
mind
To relate the understanding of quantities 0 to 10 to any object
in the environment
Age at Presentation:

Around four and a half years,

Footnote:

This exercise also develops character and will as the children

have to restrain themselves from taking more than their card
allows, especially difficult for the child with zero, inhibiting their
actions.