Small Friends Pond — Lesson 32: Small friends: minus 4
Small friends: minus 3 →Lesson 32: Small friend minus 4 on an abacus
Level 3, Small Friends Pond. Not enough beads to take away? The top bead and the friend do it.
What your child does, card by card
Small friends: minus 4. The friend helps you take away too. PlayType opens the lesson: “Now we take away. The small friend helps here too.”
3 + 4 = 7: add 5. That is 1 too many. Take 1 back. 3 appears on the beads, then the rod clears again. Here the hands lead: they show 3, 8 and 7, and a moment later the beads copy each one. “Start at 3”, “+5” and “1 back = 7” glow on the card in step with the beads. The card ends on a touch: “Now we go back the same way.”
7 − 2, then 7 − 4: 7 − 2: two beads on the bar. Take them! The abacus makes 7, then clears. Above, “7 − 2: 2 there” and “7 − 4: only 2” take turns to glow. Its words: “7 − 4: only 2 there. Not enough!”
Take 5, give 1 back: 5 is 4 and 1. Taking 5 is 1 too many. The beads show 7 and go back to zero. Here the hands lead: they show 7, 2 and 3, and a moment later the beads copy each one. The labels “−5: the top bead”, “1 too many: 1 bead back on” and “3” light up as each idea comes. “3 again! That is where 3 + 4 began.” Any bead or finger may be tapped afterwards.
Minus 4: take 5, give 1 back: top bead up. The friend, 1, comes to the bar. On this card “−5: the top bead”, “+1: the friend” and “−4 = −5 +1” glow in turn as the beads move. Your child copies the order to work out 7 - 4 and 5 - 4.
Try it: your child works out 6 - 4, 8 - 4 and 5 - 4, with a green ring on the next bead to move.
Then a short practice without rings: work out 7 - 4, 9 - 4, 6 - 4, 4 - 4 and 8 - 4, each round starting from its own number.
In Copy me the drawn hand holds up 3, 4 and 2 in turn, and your child copies each one in beads.
In your head: the abacus is covered and your child works out 5 - 4, 7 - 4 and 8 - 4, showing each answer on the drawn fingers.
You're ready! Not enough beads to take 4? Take 5, give 1 back.
What this lesson trains
16 answers in about five minutes. The tasks take 21 bead moves in all: 8 with a top bead and 13 with bottom beads. 1 of them is a clear. 9 is the top number here. Then 3 quick looks in your head. 8 of the 10 sums need a small friend (“−4 = −5 +1”); the others use free beads.
The first thing your child does: work out 6 - 4, 8 - 4 and 5 - 4.
Fingers and hands
Below the abacus the drawn hands show zero and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 here, finger for bead.
−4 on the fingers: the thumb closes and one finger opens (−5 +1).
On “3 + 4 = 7” 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 (3, 4 and 2); the beads answer.
What PlayBuddy and PlayType say
PlayType: “Now we take away. The small friend helps here too.”
PlayBuddy: “Five is one too many. So one bead goes back!”
PlayType: “To take away, move beads off the bar.”
PlayType: “Not enough beads. Ask the small friend.”
PlayBuddy: “Taking five is one too many. So one bead comes back!”
Stars
With 1 or fewer slips across the 16 answers your child earns three stars; 4 or fewer, two.