Learn Montessori’s Snake Math Game

This post includes a Montessori Math lesson for the Addition Snake Game. This Addition Snake lesson is found within Math Facts or Memorization of Montessori Math.  Typically children towards the end of their Montessori Early Childhood career will be given this lesson. Amazon offers a few reasonably priced Addition Snake Game products. Enjoy this post on the snake math game!

Snake Game – Montessori Math Addition

Once you have brought the materials to a work mat, the first part of the Montessori Math Addition Snake Game presentation is to create two short bead stairs.

Presentation One: Search for Ten

 You create one right side up {with the nine bar at the base}.  Have the child create the other triangle inverted.

“Now let’s make a snake with these colored beads. I’ll take the top bar from this triangle to start the snake. You take the top bar from the other triangle and put it next to the bar I placed on the mat.”

• Using a counter, begin counting from the first bead bar. Place the counter at the end of the tenth bead.
• Roll the first two bead bars slightly out of the line and into a position below the colored snake.
• Place a golden bar next to these beads and point out: “these are the same quantity so we can change the colored beads for the golden beads.”

Repeat the process until the entire colored snake is replaced by golden beads. Move the colored beads back into a triangle or in a discard pile.

Line up the ten bars in the snake and count by tens to find the length of the snake. Offer the child a turn.

Presentation Two: Black & White Bead Stair

Make a long colored snake with the bars in random order.

• Tell the child to begin changing the colored snake into a golden one: “but remember the golden beads can replace only how many colored beads at a time?”
• When the child reaches ten, have him place a notched counter after that bead.
• Roll the counted beads out of the snake. Place a golden ten bar under the beads that were counted.

• Count the colored beads after the counter and say: “we can use the black and white beads to save the space of these beads.” Place the appropriate black and white beads after the golden bar.
• Roll the golden and black bars back into the snake.
• Place the colored beads aside.
• Begin counting to ten again, starting with the black and white bar. Roll the bars out when you get to ten, replace the first ten with a golden bar, count the remaining beads and replace with a black and/or white bar.
• Roll back into the snake. Place the colored beads aside and the black and white beads back into the triangle.
• Continue with the approach until all the colored beads are changed to golden.
• Count the whole snake by tens. Add on any black and white bar left at the tail of the snake.

Show the child how to check his work. Line up the golden bars vertically across the mat. Sort the colored beads in descending quantity from nine to one. Match a nine bar to a golden bar and ask the child what to put with the nine bar to make ten. Place a one bar with the nine bar. Continue.