Lesson 24a: Friends of 5 on an abacus
Level 3, Small Friends Pond. Find each number's friend, on the beads and on your fingers.
What your child does, card by card
Friends of 5. Two numbers that make 5 together. PlayType opens the lesson: “Some numbers are best friends. Together they make five.”
After 4 comes 5: four beads are up. One more is the top bead. A yellow line goes round the bottom beads and the top beads as the kids name them. Here the hands lead: they show 4 and 5, and a moment later the beads copy each one. “4 = four beads” and “4 and 1 = 5” glow on the card in step with the beads. The card ends on a touch: “So 4 and 1 make 5.”
4 and 1. 3 and 2.: how many more to make 5? The abacus makes 4 and 3, then clears. Above, “4 and 1 make 5” and “3 and 2 make 5” take turns to glow. Its words: “Count the hops.”
1 and 4. 2 and 3.: friends work both ways. The beads show 2 and 1 and go back to zero. The labels “2 and 3 make 5” and “1 and 4 make 5” light up as each idea comes. “Count the hops again.” Any bead or finger may be tapped afterwards.
Friends of 5: 4, 3, 2 and 1 appear on the beads one at a time; your child answers on the fingers with the number that makes 5 (4 and 1, 3 and 2, 2 and 3 and 1 and 4).
Try it puts a green ring on each next bead; your child goes from 4 to 5, goes from 3 to 5, goes from 2 to 5 and goes from 1 to 5.
In Copy me the drawn hand holds up 4, 5, 3 and 5 in turn, and your child copies each one in beads.
Friends, mixed up: the beads show 3, 1, 4, 2 and 3 in turn and hold still, and your child shows each one's friend on the drawn fingers, so 3 and 2, 1 and 4, 4 and 1, 2 and 3 and 3 and 2 each make 5.
In your head: the beads flash 4, 5 and 3, one at a time, for 1.5 seconds each and hide; your child shows each number on the drawn fingers, then sees the beads again.
You're ready! 4 and 1. 3 and 2. They make 5. Next: the friends help you add.
What this lesson trains
About five minutes and 20 answers. Altogether the child makes 12 bead moves (6 with the top bead, 6 with bottom beads). 5 is the top number here. Then 3 quick looks in your head.
It starts with doing: go from 4 to 5, go from 3 to 5, go from 2 to 5 and go from 1 to 5.
Fingers and hands
Below the abacus the drawn hands show zero and 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 here, finger for bead.
On “After 4 comes 5” the hands move first and the beads follow, so your child sees that a finger and a bead move together: open a finger and a bead goes to the bar, close it and the bead goes back.
The fingers lead in Copy me (4, 5, 3 and 5); the beads answer.
What PlayBuddy and PlayType say
PlayType: “Some numbers are best friends. Together they make five.”
PlayBuddy: “Four beads are up. So how do we make five?”
PlayType: “Five is the top bead alone. The bottom beads go back down.”
PlayBuddy: “Four and one are friends. Three and two are friends.”
Stars
20 answers: 2 slips still give three stars; up to 5, two stars.