This free math video shows another good activity to do when introducing the Cuisenaire Rods to preschoolers. This obviously got pretty difficult for my 4 year old when we started working with more than three rods. It’s a good activity to build critical thinking skills.
Tag Archives: preschool
Teaching Place Value
This free math video shows another way to introduce the concept of place value in the decimal system. This is a more traditional way to do it. People usually use Base Ten blocks, but Cuisenaire Rods work perfectly well, too!
Notice that I don’t tell her the English name for every single number. It is more important at this point that she understand the “tens and ones” concept than that she attach each quantity to a particular name. Eventually it will all come together in her mind that “ten and three” and “thirteen” and “13” are all the same thing.
Let me repeat: It is much more important that children first understand “tens and ones” than that they be able to say “thirteen” when they see “13.”
Introducing Teen Numbers – Part Two
This free math video shows me combining the rods with numerals into the teens and then we go on to name the “tens” (20, 30, 40, etc.) This was her first experience with this idea of place value. We’ll be going over this many times before it really sinks in.