To help a child carry out the operation of addition while focusing on the hierarchical value using a more abstract material.
Age:
5 – 6 years old
Materials:
The Dot Game is a rectangular glass slate surrounded by wood. It is used for solving addition problems. The Dot Game is divided into six sections or columns; it is divided from top to bottom into four parts, with the second section from the top scored into horizontal rows of ten squares each. The first five columns are labeled respectively, with 10,000, 1,000, 100, 1 in the usual color-coding of the decimal system notation. The two bottom sections as well as the last column on the right are left blank to provide space for computation.
One black lead pencil and one each of the colored pencils: red, blue and green.
Note: You can also purchase squared paper instead
Presentation:
Invite a child to accompany you to a table on which there is the Dot Game Frame (or as in this case, paper). The colored pencil crayons should be placed to the right of the frame.
In the right-hand column, write a four-digit addend using the black lead pencil; eg. 2695
Using the black lead pencil, represent the number (2695) with dots in the proper columns, placing each dot in a separate square and working across the top row from left to right.
