ADDITION SNAKE GAME

Montessori curriculum includes the Snake Game, a math material that helps children learn and practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division using colored bead bars and number tiles. The Snake Game allows children to manipulate the beads and number tiles to create math equations and develop a concrete understanding of mathematical operations.

Training:

One box with 5 sets of colored bead stairs, one box with 1 set of black and white bead stairs, and one box with 23 golden ten bars. The three boxes fit neatly into the pinewood working tray.

Addition Snake Game

Materials
- A quantity of the varying bead bars of the bead stair, usually 5 of each (kept in a special box or bowl reserved for the snake game).
- The black and white bead stair.
- A large quantity of ten bead bars (in a box)
- A special notched card for the purpose of counting and marking.
- A box or tray to contain the bars of the multi-colored bead stair, which are removed from the “snake” after they have been counted.

Presentation

1. Have the child bring over the material and unroll the small mat. Place the tray above the mat.
2. Show the child the two boxes of colored beads and gold beads.
3. Introduce the new box of black and white beads to the child. Show the child the counting card and place it on the right side of the mat.
4. Tell the child that the black and white bead bars start with black beads.
5. Count one of the bars. (For example, 5 black beads and 3 white beads.) Tell the child, this is 8.
6. Repeat for one more black and white bead bar.
7. Then have the child take out the others and count as you did, starting with the black beads and “adding” on the white beads.
8. Place each bead bar randomly on the mat.
9. Have the child make a bead stair out of the black and white bead bars.
10. “Now we are going to take out some of the colored bead bars.”
11. Take out one of each and 2 bars of five to make a golden snake.
12. “We are going to start making a snake with these.”
13.  Lay all of the colored beads in a random “snake-like” manner.

1. Tell the child, “I wonder how many beads there are in our snake.”
2. Begin counting the beads using the card counter. Stop when you arrive at 10.
3. Place the card behind the 10th bead and tell the child, “We know what to do when we have ten.”
4. Place a golden ten-bar horizontally above the 1st bead to the 10th bead.
5. Count how many more you have on the bar and take that number from the black and white beads.

See below for example of layout:

1. Place the colored bars you no longer need back into an empty box (not with the other colored beads) and place the golden ten-bar and black and white bar in the snake formation.
2. Begin counting the beads again from the first black bead from the black and white bead bar.
3. Count until you reach ten and repeat as above.
4. Repeat until all of the colored bars have been replaced by the golden ten-bars. If a black and white bar remains, replace it with the corresponding color bar and replace the black and white bead bar back into its stair formation.
5. Place all of the golden ten-bars vertically on the left side of the mat.
6. Count by tens (1 ten, 2 tens, 3 tens, etc.) to see the total number of beads that had been in your bead snake. Then say the final amount in its correct name, such as “fifty”.
7. Replace the material.
8. Have the child take out a lot of the colored bead bars and have the child do as in the presentation.

Control of Error 1

1. Once the child has counted all of the ten-bars and has the total number of beads, tell the child, "I wonder if there are the same amount of beads in the colored beads."
2. Arrange the colored beads in stair formation (vertically) from largest down to smallest.
3. Place a ten-bar vertically at the bottom left side of the mat.
4. Place the largest colored bead bar directly to the right of the ten-bar. Count how many golden beads are left and place the corresponding color bead bar above the first to make it the same size as the ten bar.
5. Exchange the colored bead bars when needed.
6. Make a comment at the end about how there are the same amount of beads!
   
   
7. Replace all of the beads in their corresponding boxes and have the child build an Addition Snake. Make sure the child gets multiples of some bead bars.

Control of Error 2

1. Have the child replace the colored beads for golden ten-bars as in the first presentation.
2. Count the golden beads once finished.
3. Place all of the colored beads horizontally in a line from longest to the shortest.
   
   

1. Count the first set of bead bars. (Looking above, it would be the 1 nine-bar.)
2. Count the beads with the card counter and stop when you get to the end. (If there were more then ten, stop at ten, place a golden ten bar, which will come from the snake, next to it and continue counting the rest of the beads. Then place the corresponding colored bead bar for the number of beads left.) Place a nine bar vertically under the horizontal nine bar.
3. Say, “9 times 1 is 9”.
4. Look at the next set of colored beads. Since there are three five-bars, your will count to 10, take a golden ten bar and place it under the three five bars and count the rest of the beads. Because there are five beads left, place a five bar vertically next to the vertical ten bar. Place the eight-bar vertically beneath the colored eight-bar.
5. Repeat for the other beads, exchanging the ten-bars for the beads you need.
6. Always highlight the number of times you have each bar. And use the language of multiples.
   
   

Purpose

- To familiarize the child with all the possible number
combinations that make up ten.
- To acquire a subconscious knowledge that no two numbers together amount to more than 18. This gives practice in getting the first basis of memorizing the essential combinations with which, when known, one can make any addition.
- To emphasize the fact that in addition, you will be making tens.
- To reinforce the knowledge that addition and multiplication are of the same concept.

Control of Error
As written above

Age
5 years