How to Use Rekenrek with Routines in the Classroom
Developed by Dutch education experts, the Rekenrek is used in teaching math to youngsters in the U.S. Rekenreks are similar to the traditional abacus. There are two types of Rekenrek. One has 10 lines of 10 beads, of which five are red and five white, while the other version has just two lines of 10 beads. The beads are positioned in the same way on each line -- all the red beads are on one side of the Rekenrek and all the white beads are on the other. Despite the simple layout, the Rekenrek helps young children to visualize numbers and also to think about them in groups of five and 10, making simple calculations easier to master.
Instructions
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Include the Rekenrek in your math sessions to help improve the children's visualization of numbers. Without the ability to connect a number with a mental representation, it will be hard for them to progress. Being able to picture four beads in comparison with five beads, for example, allows them to understand the relative difference between the two numbers. These mental images are necessary for them to learn to calculate, rather than just remember, numbers. The Rekenrek is especially useful as a visual aid when teaching math routines such as counting along a number-line, place values and the hundreds chart.
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Combine the Rekenrek with use of a whiteboard to teach the children how to count along a number-line. Draw a number-line up to 10 -- a line with 10 marks equally positioned along it, numbered one to 10 -- on the whiteboard. Show the children how each bead on one row of a Rekenrek represents the numbers one to 10 by referring back to the number-line on the whiteboard. Then distribute Rekenreks and printed number-lines to the children so they can push the beads along themselves, one by one, as they count along the number-lines. When the children are all capable of counting up to 20 on two-line Rekenreks and along number-lines, move on and teach them their hundreds chart and place values.
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Teach the hundreds chart and place values using a 10-line Rekenrek. Explain how our number system is based on tens -- whole groups of 10 and parts of 10. Show them how tens are represented by whole rows of the Rekenrek, counting 10, 20, 30 -- up to 100 -- down the rows of a 10-line Rekenrek. Draw a hundreds chart on the whiteboard and distribute printed charts, along with Rekenreks. With the help of Rekenreks and their prior number-line counting experience, they will soon learn how to fill in the blanks on a hundreds chart. This is a good time to teach about place values, explaining how numbers are made up of single-digits up to nine, and then how 10 and multiples of 10 are represented in the next "tens" row.
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Tips & Warnings
Other math routines with which the Rekenrek is helpful are counting money, drawing tally marks and discussions about whole and part numbers.
References
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