The Montessori Math Small Bead Frame is often neglected in Early Childhood classrooms. The frame
Montessori Small Bead Frame
Additionally, like my son's teacher, some teachers find the bead frame
The goal of the lesson is to reinforce lessons a child has had on the four operations, bring more clarity to the ideas of place value, and to show the relationship between those values in the decimal system.
Presentation I: Introduction to the Small Bead Frame
Invite the child to learn how to use the bead frame. Gather the small bead frame and the presentation tray of the golden beads.
“The top row represents units. Will you take the unit from the presentation tray?” Point out the 1 on the top left of the frame.
Count the beads as you slide them to the right. Use your right index finger. Encourage the child to count the beads with you.
Point to the second row: “What do you think these stand for?”
Ask the child to retrieve a ten bar from the presentation tray.
Count the tens one by one. Say “ten, twenty, thirty…” or “one bar, two bars, three bars…” Proceed with the hundred row.
Ask the child to retrieve the hundred square from the presentation tray.
Count “one hundred, two hundred, three hundred…”
Continue with the thousand cube.
Name a quantity of units and ask the child to form it on the bead frame. Continue with tens, hundreds and thousands. Include numerals with zeros.
You can also use strips of paper to write a numeral and have the child use the bead frame to represent the numeral.
Do you use the small bead frame in your Montessori math lessons?