MA 5.04Small Bead Frame: Addition and Subtraction
The child adds and subtracts four-digit numbers on the Small Bead Frame, exchanging on the wires, and records on paper.
Presentation
- 1
Write 2,356 + 1,478 on paper.
- 2
Form 2,356 on the frame.
- 3
Add the second number starting with the units: move 8 unit beads, exchanging at ten and continuing.
- 4
Continue with the tens, hundreds, and thousands.
- 5
Read the frame, 3,834, and write the answer.
- 6
Subtraction: form the larger number, then move beads back starting from the units, exchanging down when a wire is short.
- 7
The child records each problem and checks it in the control booklet.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Problems with exchanging in every column.
- Subtraction across zeros.
- Multiplication by one digit (for children ready for it).
Control of error
The control booklet. A wire can never show ten beads moved across; ten showing means a missed exchange.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Solves four-digit addition and subtraction on the frame with correct exchanges
- Records the work and answer correctly
Guide note
Usually the last work in the primary math sequence; many children continue it in the first year of the 6–9 classroom.