To begin with, I read an article on Numeracy:
Learning Place Value in First Grade Through Language and Visualization
Joan A. Cotter Ph.D.
Visualization vs. Counting
"Another major difference is the view of counting. In the U.S. counting is considered the basis of arithmetic; children engage in various counting strategies: counting all, counting on, and counting back. Conversely, Japanese children are discouraged from counting; they are taught to recognize and visualize quantities in groups of fives and tens. Children using counting, which is slow and often unreliable, to add and subtract develop a unitary concept of number. For example, they think of 14 as 14 ones, not as 1 ten and 4 ones. Such thinking interferes with understanding carrying and borrowing in larger numbers."
Contemplating the Japanese avoidance of 'learning to count'.
I extended this approach to Literacy development.
Where I swapped Numbers for Letters.
Letters and the Alphabet.
I then reflected on Children's exposure to the Alphabet. Which often begins at birth, with Letters plastered across the 'Baby Room'?
Parents typically give attention to introducing the Alphabet in early child-hood.
Though I then began considering the actual purpose and effect of introducing Letters at this formative stage?
I would ask what you consider as its purpose?
My conclusion was that it is singularly for the purpose of Writing?
I cant think of any other value?
I then introduced into my contemplation. The fact that the major problem in Literacy acquisition, is with Phoneme and Dipthong understanding.
Where having learnt all Letters individually, this knowledge now needs to be seen as half right and half wrong? Unreliable?
Having learnt the letters P and H , the phoneme Ph as an 'F' sound is an irrational contradiction.
As are the letters O and U to represent the various sounds of the dipthong 'OU. In enough/ fought/ out/ could/ route/ soul ... .
Though as an extension of the Japanese numeracy approach:
"Conversely, Japanese children are discouraged from counting; they are taught to recognize and visualize quantities in groups of fives and tens."
I would draw a parallel with phonemes and dipthongs as 'sound quantities in groups'.
Crucially the early child-hood learning of phonemes and dipthongs is experiential based. So that instead of learning the letters O and U, rather to learn OU , which can than later be 'De-constructed' to the letters O and U.
Where the learning of the Alphabet becomes a 'side-effect' of phoneme and dipthong recognition?
Essentially what I am suggesting, is instead of an Alphabet based way of 'Constructing' words. That we take a 'De-Constructional' experiential approach, based on the phonemes and dipthongs of already learnt verbal language.
Where I would suggest that 'de-constructing' the 'known', is more readily understood?
Anyway, this is something that I've been reflecting on for a couple of days, and I would interested to hear any thoughts on this.
Ban The Alphabet?
Geoff.
In reply to myself?
I would just pick up on one sentence from Joan A Cotter:
"Children using counting, which is slow and often unreliable, to add and subtract develop a unitary concept of number."
Where essentially my argument is that the alphabet introduces a "Unitary Concept of Letter"?
Which really sums it all up.
Geoff.
Hi Geoff,
This is a very interesting perspective! It seems it could be especially relevant for the English language, which is one of the least shallow languages. Teachers: Has anyone tried a related approach in your classroom?
Great thinking Geoff, as usual.
All the best,
Christina
hi geoff i could not resist a simple answear to your question.
NOT IF YOU WANT TO READ
John Nicholson Wrote:hi geoff i could not resist a simple answear to your question.
NOT IF YOU WANT TO READ
Hi John, I could not resist an answer either?
When you write in regard to my question: Is learning the alphabet damaging?
Not if you want to read?
This is precisely the issue that I want to highlight?
We do not read by 'Letters', but reading is interpreted through 'Phonemes'.
Phonemes are the 'experiential sound' elements of our language.
Though 'alphabet letters', are purely 'visual shapes'?
The only verbal use of of singular letters, is with 'I and A'.
The attachment of 'Sounds' to other letters of the alphabet, only serves to create confusion?
Where for example, learning to attach specific sounds to the letters: N and G
Are brought together to create the 'NG' sound.
Which is totally illogical ?
This illogical association represents a significant obstacle to a notable proportion of Students. Where they attempt to logically construct written words from their 'sound' knowledge of the Alphabet.
Other than 'I and A', no other Letter has any actual verbal reality in speech?
As it is sounded out?
They are purely visual elements of Phonemes.
I would draw an analogy with Chinese, and the use of Pictographs for words?
Where different 'lines' within any Word Pictograph, do not have a sound associated with it.
My basic point, is that the only purpose of the Alphabet?
Is as auditory labels for some of the visual lines within any phoneme?
What I am suggesting, is that rather than learning the Alphabet, and then progressing to trying to construct Phonemes with all of its contradictions?
That it begins from Phonemes, which over time are more logically deconstructed into their Alphabet/Letter components.
So instead of trying to put Letters together to create Phonemes and Words?
That the learning of Phonemes becomes the basis of written literacy development?
Geoff.
Knowledge is acquired in minute parcels by a young child
Considering this is a site/forum for brain study we understand the principles of automatic/unconscious learning and conscious learning.
Speech itself is learnt 99% automatic/unconsciously
FROM GEOFF
Hi John, I could not resist an answer either?
When you write in regard to my question: Is learning the alphabet damaging?
Not if you want to read?
This is precisely the issue that I want to highlight?
We do not read by 'Letters', but reading is interpreted through 'Phonemes'.
Phonemes are the 'experiential sound' elements of our language.
Though 'alphabet letters', are purely 'visual shapes'?
The only verbal use of of singular letters, is with 'I and A'.
LET ME INTERUPT HERE GEOFF
PHONEME from the dictionary; the smallest unit of speech in a language that has significance in distinguishing one word from another.
My hypthosis based on observation and reason
Speech itself is learnt 99% automatically/unconsciously
Reading itself is learnt 90% automatically/unconsciously
Within speech alphabet sounds are used constantly P A I N
WTHIN PAIN I HEAR AN a
Within bee I hear a b
Within scent and cent I hear a c
Within bee I hear an e cont
Doctor Johnson for better or worse defined our spellings in order to create alternative meanings.
Within speech the sound creates the meaning and confirmation comes from the context within the sentence.
In order for the brain to automatically sort the relevant sound from any combination of letters in what we call words we use only twenty-six symbols, (thankfully we Europeans read easily)
Let us not reinvent the wheel (we have already reinvented the abacus) let us glory in the simplicity of the European symbols for sounds, to read Chinese at all you need to know 5000 symbols,to read it well between 30000 and fifty thousand.
Any child can recognise the symbol a and say a
Therefore it can recognise any letter/symbol and learn to make the sound we recognise as alphabet sounds,
In step one we use rhythm to remember those sounds, in an order that has been tried and tested for centuries, a very alert child 0f 5/6 years can remember this after one intensive day.
In step two we lay out physically the symbols/letters in six rows of the rhythmic alphabet
Over and over again until the child clearly establishes the sound and picture memory has one automatically,if it hears the sound it can identify the picture of a low case letter, and at the same time can make the sound of any low case letter at random. 5/6 year old will take a week to learn this.
(THIS STEP IS A VITAL CONSCIOUSLY LEARNT AND CONSCIOSLY
USED AS A STARTING POINT IN AUTOMATICALLY ASSIMILATING
WORD SOUNDS)
The second step is so vital in establishing reading ability that trying to do anything other than this is totally prohibited. A child can do it easily the rhythm is of great assistance to memory. Repeatedly laying down cards of low case letters/symbols establishes the whole basis of reading the English language.
WHAT IS THE POINT OF TRYING TO LEARN THE APLPHABET IN THE ALTERNITIVE PHONETICS SOUND WHEN THE BRAIN CAN EASLIY SORT THOSE SOUNDS FROM SIMPLE REPEATED WORD USE IN THE MANNER OF A IS FOR APPLE AND B IS FOR BALL AS WELL AS EASILY RETAINING THE WORD FROM PICTURES OF WHOLE WORDS IN
“LOW CASE PICTURES WITH WORDS”
WHICH ARE AUTOMATICALLY ASSIMILATED BY ANY CHILD THAT KNOWS EVERY LETTER OF THE ALPHABET.
In step three the child starts to build up an automatic memory ofwords and parts of words syllables that can interchange automatically with the brain trying and retrying the different possibilities of sound that the child has built up as an unconscious memory bank, working consistently with conscious memory of the letter.
This systematic method of teaching reading was used before some bright spark recognised that children could read by learning words as pictures without having to know the letters, what no one seemed to realise was that the child still had to learn the letter and sound combinations as a second step very bright and interested children achieve this easily children without awareness books and motivation found it extremely difficult. Just compare the time taken to teach a child alphabet sound and recognition of every sound/ letter symbol by using the alternative sounds only. Alphabet sounds and symbols are easy to learn, the alternative sounds are extremely
Difficult to learn especially difficult as a combination of letter and sound, but after
Establishing alphabet sound and site memory the child can be given examples of the alternative sounds of the letters using the picture of a ball a cat and an ant.
In this manner the subconscious automatic memory is being created without any painful memory exorcise, repetion and picture association act together naturally, the child sees a ball and automatically makes the alternative
Phonetic sound of b
STEP THREE OF MY LOGICAL METHOD
IS VIRTUALY SYNTHETIC PHONICS
But learning additional alternative sounds is naturally achieved, try this exercise, take a
Large number of constantans change all the vowels and change the word endings say the words and consider the differing sounds and lip movements. BALL BELL BILL BOLL BULL
BAG BEG BIG BOG BUG NATURE CREATES THE MEMORY NATURALLY
Over to Geoff
The attachment of 'Sounds' to other letters of the alphabet, only serves to create confusion?
Where for example, learning to attach specific sounds to the letters: N and G
are brought together to create the 'NG' sound.
Which is totally illogical?
This illogical association represents a significant obstacle to a notable proportion of Students. Where they attempt to logically construct written words from their 'sound' knowledge of the Alphabet.
Other than 'I and A', no other Letter has any actual verbal reality in speech?
As it is sounded out?
They are purely visual elements of Phonemes.
I would draw an analogy with Chinese, and the use of Pictographs for words?
Where different 'lines' within any Word Pictograph, do not have a sound associated with it.
My basic point, is that the only purpose of the Alphabet?
Is as auditory labels for some of the visual lines within any phoneme?
What I am suggesting, is that rather than learning the Alphabet, and then progressing to trying to construct Phonemes with all of its contradictions?
That it begins from Phonemes, which over time are more logically deconstructed into their Alphabet/Letter components.
So instead of trying to put Letters together to create Phonemes and Words?
That the learning of Phonemes becomes the basis of written literacy development?
Geoff.
After learning that we can recognise whole words as pictures this has been the next mistake
We will only prove the correct systematic steps in reading or maths by CLEAR TRIALS
Which will be hard to establish.
But let the brain take the strain.
jn
Hi John,
As an example, I would take the letter; a and show its variation as a 'sound':
talk
tack
take
teak
taipan
tart
teal
taught
toad
trial
Where the letter 'a' contributes to a different sound within each of these words.
It is these contradictory uses of Letters that is the major factor in problems with written literacy development.
Which is why I am suggesting that the initial introduction should focus on phonemes, rather than letters.
Geoff.
I would recommend The Number Sense by Stanislas Dehaene to anyone with an interest in numeracy. It is an absolutely fascinating book.
There is a chapter entitled The Language of Numbers that seems relevant to your dialogue.
John, you may be especially interested in this book as it often references intriguing findings concerning the abacus.
Cheers,
Christina
READING
Any book is vital which backs up my own research and faith in the abacus as a primary teaching resource essential in early and accelerated learning, going along with my growing frustration to get over to the teaching world that basic skills are easy and the right of every child if we just do it in a logical step by step manner. Thanks c
Geoff
I believe reading is easy for any healthy child that can see
But they must see the individual letters as a sound
AS A FIRST LOGICAL STEP
I spent thousands of hours trying to build a reading tool, as simple and vital to reading as the abacus is to maths.
I worked on three discs the centre disc has the most usual start to words along with each letter of the alphabet, the centre disc had the most familiar
Middles of words and the alphabet again, the outside disc had the most familiar word endings and the alphabet again.
You read the discs at the right hand side of the circle, adding in the whole alphabet was always a difficult process as it took up twenty six places and increased the size of the circle and made it more complicated, but I did it as a paper model, just as I finished it, I had what I describe as a seminal moment,
Just as important to me as the realisation that using an abacus left a child with a mental mathematic map forever,
The second seminal moment came when a lady with a child considered dyslexic
had covered up seven strands of a ten strand written in words abacus to make it easier for the child to understand,
THREE COLUMNS IS ALL THAT ARE NEEDED TO ESTABLISH COMPREHENSION
This abacus is as vital to early reading as to maths (why)
CONFIDANCE
My third seminal moment in education was that without the knowledge of the individual sounds of the letters
(IN ORDER TO CREATE A MENTAL CONSCIOUS AND SUBCONSCIOUS STARTING POINT)
THERE COULD BE NO FURTHER PROGRESS
Just as you have found there are only two one-letter words in English
I then found twenty six two letter words and then approximately seventy three letter words
Could knowing one hundred words as pictures enable a bright committed child to read without further teaching, not quite but learning (being taught) everY common grouping of
English letters can.
The North Yorkshire professionals and education authorities are now aware of this they call it synthetic phonics.
I call it step three in vital reading logic.
And so I rest my case
Only well set up trials from this point will prove or disprove my theory but if my theory is wrong the next vital logical steps to progress logical steps in reading will be identified.
,
just recieved
Dear Sir,
“Children club” is a total solution programme for the development of the children of the age of 5 to 14 years of age, whether going to school or not. The Children club is run under Sauhard Vishambhara Society , a charitable Non Government Organisation registered under Indian Societies Act. The activities of the Club include as helping the unprivileged children , left alone with no source of their lively hood. The club pick them up for educational and vocational help so that those children do not fall prey to the gangs operating begging children rackets . These children if taken care, prove useful citizens and help in piece and just world order , other wise these children may turn out to be uneducated & criminals .
The club have employed educated girls qualified in psychological analysis of the children’s mental status. Those are trained as per the aptitude they bear, however a basic knowledge of primary education and vocational training in earning their lively hood through just and respectable source is necessarily imparted to each of them. The children attend the club in evening 4 to 6 pm., after their regular school hours.
The club request your kind honour to help these children learn abacus so that they can master the art of arithmetic to help them earn their bread and butter easily. The knowledge of the abacus also improve their capacity of imagination and mental aptitude .
On 14th Nov 05 the club is organizing a Children fair , in Haridwar , 200 kms away from New Delhi, with various activities of education and entertainment . The feet is going to be attended by 10000 children . Your goodself is requested to attend the fair and lend your benign help.Haridwar is considered the mythological capital of Hindu Religion.
The club hopes to secure your help in spreading the abacus education in whole India . The club will also compensate for your efforts appropriately. Your kind gesture will be a mile stone in service to the society and the mankind , very close to the actual theme of the religious ambitions.
The Postal address: Ms Suman Lata Pal, President , W/o Shri Vijay Singh Pal , ‘Pal Mansion’, Jamuna Palace, Haridwar-249010, Uttranchal, India.
Phone nos. 0091-01334-265816( Land Line) , 919818820700 Mobile
Kindly send the details of the required material and literature for abacus learning.
Our printed literature will be posted to your address, so kindly give your postal address too.
Thanking you and looking anxiously for your kind gesture.
Vijay Singh Pal
Good on you John!
Geoff.
Thank you Geoff
may be it is a clever indian trick
but it is a first from my website in two years, so i will treat it as a genuine request. I will run with it, the exercise will be good for my mind.
Geoff I will Post ten EXERCISES TO THEM ON A DAILY BASSIS
Please be my main critic it should be fun.
HERE I GO
THE MESSAGE FROM THE ABACUS
The message of the abacas is that ever simple piece of knowledge has many parts.
Expect me to your festival
I shall do everything in my power to assist you
There are some things you can do immediately to prepare your children
The first exercise is with the hands
Take the two hands together all children 1 or 10 or 100 or 1000 or 10000 or 1000000
This needs doing every day by all the children so establishing number awareness and order
Doing it as a group reinforces the concept
Tap the fingers left to right singing in rhythm in their own language one finger at a time.
Every child will come to understand the principle if we cannot teach it we do not know it.
Every day I will prepare an exercise for you.
One to ten
Every child will need to do it; it is part of the preparation.
The children need to draw around the fingers and write above each finger the number
Until they can remember the symbols.
They are Indian originally and now universal be proud of the symbols.
Every child must learn to do it and to teach it
So move the children around every time you do it, use a different pair and ensure every child understands it, use large pictures of the symbols where you can.
We must think of the benefit of all becoming aware of numbers naturally, all teaching all helping each other always.
I am here for you all, you will teach me more then I will teach you, but I will teach every child in India to do mental arithmetic with your help.
Start today.
john nicholson
ABACUS LESSON TWO
Every word we use is an
IDEA
A PICTURE IN THE MIND
So the word one can be combined with another idea
One finger one elephant one big idea
We have learnt that every finger in lesson one has a name
So we will reinforce it in lesson two
Make two fists together and look at the back of the hands
Raise the first finger on the left, it makes the number one symbol
Raise the last finger on the right, it is the same symbol so put finger six (the right hand thumb) together with the seventh finger and make a circle.
THEN SHOW TEN WITH THE TWO HANDS
The two fists together move around waggling finger one and ten it is like the back of the head of a cat, make each hand into a small cat and then spread the fingers saying this hand is five and this hand is five they are ten together and then show the ten again.
We are establishing a mental idea of ten and it is our first addition based on a truth.
THIS IS THE LESSON OF TEN and 33 patterns
WE TAKE TEN STONES AND A PIECE OF STRING
Make the string into a circle and put the ten stones in it.
Or make a circle in the sand and put in ten finger marks.
Take out one stone, put it above the circle, it shows one and nine come from ten.
Prove it by counting.
Take out another stone and place it above the first stone. It shows two separate stones and eight together make ten prove it by counting.
Take out one stone at a time until only one stone remains in the circle you have then demonstrated eleven patterns to make ten.
Make two circles with the string and place five stones in each circle, make every group of combined numbers reinforcing the pattern of numbers, one and nine, two and eight, three and seven, four and six, and again five and five.
Reinforce the lessons we have established a further four patterns of demonstrating ten physically.
Start again with all the stones in the circle, take out two stones and put them side by side above the circle of stones, this pattern we know already but we take out two more stones and place them above the first two so we have 2 + 2 +6 = 10 then on to 2 + 2 +2 + 4 = 10
Onto 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10
ABACUS ONE WILL SHOW ALL THE PATTERNS BUT SO WILL THE STONES
THE NEXT PATTERN IS IN THE FORM OF A TRIANGLE
ONE STONE
TWO STONES
THREE STONES
FOUR STONES = TEN
THERE ARE THIRTY THREE SEPARATE PATTERNS THAT WIIL PROVE TEN
Doing these exercises will create the mental images the child needs to proceed with mental arithmetic. Working in pairs and changing pairs ensures all children become familiar with these essential images. They prove it by teaching each other.
THE THIRD LESSON
“ The central purpose of education is to allow us to understand the world we live in and to think about our personal and collective actions in order to enhance them.”
There are two parts to this lesson, the first part is concerned with ideas, just what are we trying to achieve with these training exercises?
We are using simple steps to break down mathematics into small ideas, that a child of four years or fourteen years can understand. We are building a mental “MATHEMATIC MAP “
What does this mean?
It means that within the Childs mind we are creating a picture of numbers and building the Childs ability to process those numbers into meaning.
We have already related numbers to the Childs own fingers; there are ten fingers and ten toes for us to count on. We are trying to relate ten symbols into meaning; those ten symbols used in different groups give us different meanings. They have meanings individually or in groups, those meanings we transfer within our own mind or to each other in language.
THAT IS WHY ABACUS ONE IS ALWAYS WRITTEN IN THE NATURAL LANGUAGE FIRST
So my Indian friends I am telling you now how to build the Childs first abacus one map.
At the top of the map you will write what it is “ABACUS ONE MAP” in your language.
And underneath the map you will write “Nicholson’s Counter” in your own language, you will include my name in order to allow the child to understand that some one cared for them, not only the person who created the map but those teachers who brought the map to them, to remind them that they in turn must share the ideas within the map and in order to understand that this combination of ideas is the property of every child, when we can arrange to make and distribute a working three strand written in words abacus it will be called abacus one and as the property of every child it will only have the Childs name on it. PLEASE
Take a piece of a4 paper turn it sideways and write at the top of it ABACUS ONE MAP in the children’s own language. Write on the bottom Nicholson’s Counter
Then with a ruler create an oblong box. Divide the oblong into eleven equal rows.
Make a small box at either side of the oblong just big enough to write down the numbers
and in the top box at either side write 0 then down either side 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Divide the centre part of the box into seven bigger boxes. Indicate that they are in columns by slightly thicker dividing lines.
Then write in your own language zero at the head of every column.
At the left hand side column on the second line write one million in your own language and continue writing until you have filled in all the columns with their mathematically appropriate value. In English the third line needs no further understanding then the words it is written in “two million two hundred and twenty two thousand two hundred and twenty two.”
ONCE YOU HAVE CREATED A CLEAR MAP OF WRITTEN NUMBERS YOU CAN COPY IT AND GIVE A COPY TO EACH CHILD AT YOUR FESTIVAL OR TO EVERY CHILD IN INDIA.
The next exercise is to show the child that ten fingers cover the ten numerals down the left hand side column, and the ten words, next put a small stone or sweet on each of the numbers, then take all the stones together and tie them up in a container and explain that all those numbers are represented with the word ten at the head of the second column of written numbers.
THEN WITH THE CHILD OPENING THE TWO FISTS AND SPREADING THE TWO HANDS TOGETHER SIMULATE MOVING UP THE COUNTER ON AN ABACUS AND COUNT EACH IMAGINARY COUNTER
TEN TWENTY THIRTY FOURTY FIFTY SIXTY SEVENTY EIGTY NINETY
SHOUTING THE NAME OF THE FINAL COUNTER “ONE HUNDRED”
THEN WITH ONLY SEVEN STONES YOU CAN REPRESENT ANY NUMBER UP TO ELEVEN MILLION ELEVEN HUDRED AND ELEVEN THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND TEN
EVERY CHILD must learn to count and teach another child to count.
We are the only animal that learns and teaches naturally every day.
An Abacus for India
THE FOURTH LESSON
BASED ON PRACTICAL OBSERVATION
ONE NEW PRACTICAL IDEA CREATED DURING THE LESSON
I used to keep 3,000 breeding sows so counting litters I did in fives,I was looking for ten as with large herds you always share out and average the new born pigs around within the first few days, I believe that five is a natural vision group relating to fingered lines, we can practically point to five objects and this is a natural group, the Russian abacus uses two black markers in the middle of a ten row horisontal line creating instant ability to count, the Chinese and Japanese abacus are based on fives and easy to read they will be useful for children especially the Chinese model as they are easy to manipulate the modern Japanese model is a no no absolutely no use whatsoever for young western or Indian children. TO SMALL AND TO EASILY SHAKEN IN CHILD TERMS LOSING THE NUMBER REPRESENTED
We need to use an abacus in teaching, only until the children can visulise mental arithmetic, in the main adding but all mental visualization improves with any abacus use whatsoever.
Older natives in all three abacus countries still rely on the abacus in the way we have learnt to rely on calculators, many of the older people have never developed their maths beyond the abacus capabilities, but as you will see on one of the tapes Japanese super efficiency achieves incredible results if they so whish. LET THEM KEEP ON WITH IT BUT WE MUST RECOGNIZE IT AS A PHYSICAL SKILL BEFORE ALL ELSE.
WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE IS THE SIMPLEST ACURATE ABILITY ALONGSIDE A MENTAL AWARENES OF WHAT IS HAPPENING.
WHY DID INDIA NEVER DEVELOP AN ABACUS OR THE EGYPTION AND MIDDLE EAST AREAS?
BECAUSE THEY USED SYMBOLS AND USING SIMBOLS IS EASIER IN PRACTICAL MATHS
ONCE ANY PERSON CAN USE SYMBOLS FOR COMPLICATED WORDS THEY CONTINUE ALONG THAT ROUTE.
WE NEED OUR CHILDREN TO BECOME SYMBOL OREINTED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE
AND ALONG WITH THE SYMBOLS THE METHODS OF USING THE SYMBOLS NEED TO BE COMMITED TO LONG TERM PHYSICAL / MENTAL MEMORY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
PHYSICAL / MENTAL MEMORY JUST MEANS DOING IT
PHYSICAL / MENTAL MEMORY
IS EXACTLY WHAT A CHILD IS OBTAINING FROM USING THE VARIOUS ABACUS AVAILABLE TO US. BUT PRIMARILY MY ABACUS ONE IS THE MOST USEFULL AT AN EARLY STAGE ONCE SYMBOL AWARENESS AS BEEN ACHIEVED
BALLS ON WIRES NEED TO BE LAID DOWN TO USE SO DOES ABACUS ONE
FOR WHOLE CLASS VISUAL AWARENESS A LARGE RUSSIAN THREE BAR SCHOTY (ABACUS) WOULD BE BEST. IT SOLVES THE PROBLEM OF COUNTING NATULRLY
I have just realised how simple and useful this can be as an easy starting tool
Three horizontal rows with four black balls and two white balls and then four more black balls
It can be a large one in every school as a starting point in mathematics it can be in the school yard As a practical easily remembered and child taught visual along with an outside large chess board.
I have been working on the abacus map project although we can create a map of the abacus for very little money, no more then the cost of printing one side of a4 paper it is best created as the base of a tray this way the child will not lose the lose counters.
FOR YOUR CHILDREN`S CLUB FESTIVAL ANY WISE INDIAN ORGANIZATION WILL PRINT 10,000 ABACUS MAPS FOR THESE CHILDREN.
THIS IS THE BEST OPPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE THE POWER OF THE ABACUS WE WILL EVER HAVE, (EACH CHILD WILL HAVE THEIR OWN STONES OR SWEETS AS COUNTERS)
WHILST I AM IN INDIA I WILL ARANGE FOR A MANUFACTURER TO MAKE (ABACUS ONE) FOR ME.
THE CHILDRENS CLUB WILL HAVE THE SOLE RIGHTS TO DISTRIBUTING MY ABACUS, EVERY ONE SOLD WILL PAY FOR ANOTHER CHILD TO BE GIVEN ONE
WE MUST ALL BECOME AWARE OF THE ABACUS AND ITS MESSAGE
The message of the abacus is that ever simple piece of knowledge has many parts.
ABACUS MAN
I would just like to alert the participants of this thread to our latest report from the workshop held in October on shallow vs non-shallow orthographies, which could give some interesting food for thought on the debate whether learning the alphabet is damaging.
Comments welcome!
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/54/39/35562310.pdf
OECD Wrote:I would just like to alert the participants of this thread to our latest report from the workshop held in October on shallow vs non-shallow orthographies, which could give some interesting food for thought on the debate whether learning the alphabet is damaging.
Comments welcome!
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/54/39/35562310.pdf
Hi and thanks very much for your posting!
Where of course I was looking for support for my position?
Which is questionable?
Though the article did highlight the importance of 'Phonemic Awareness'.
Also the factor that English has an 'Inconsistent Letter-Sound Correspondence'.
It is this 'inconsistent letter-sound correspondence', that concerns me.
As well as the fact that Literacy acquisition difficulties, are most often a problem with Phoneme recognition.
My proposal is that given the inconsistencies in letter-sound correspondence.
That this is not an effective foundation to engage with phonemes.
Whereas the development of an effective awareness of Phonemes, would provide a better platform to comprehend the inconsistencies in Graphemes of Phonemes.
So that language is more fully understood as an Auditory activity.
Before the contradictions of its Graphic representations are presented.
Given that the Graphical representations are reflections of Auditory activity.
Surely the focus should be on Auditory development.
So that auditory Phonemes are deconstructed to form visual Graphemes.
Instead of trying to relate these inconsistent letter-sound correspondences with phonemes?
So perhaps more attention should be given to learning to understand the 'spoken word'?
Geoff.
GEOFF
Your comment
Where of course I was looking for support for my position?
Which is questionable?
Geoff
I find myself constantly blinded by the obvious.
Looking at my idea of an abacus map, no more or less then the libor abaci
I am constantly amazed at the amount of simple detail within any minor step in thinking,
Looking at the film on reading problems that I am sending you just as soon as I have your address again, there is a catchy little saying to help a child in reading,
“When two vowels go out walking let the first one do the talking”
The child may not benefit from this immediately but the parent or teacher will.
I have been wrestling with the abacus one map in order to explain how to use it, and have just coined a phrase to help me understand the principle of counting on it.
“Push me pull me” the transfer ten technique of using the abacus its whole principle in effective use, demonstrated best by using both hands, pushing up one ten symbol with the left hand and pulling down ten digits with the right hand, a principle automatically established in the mind when a new operator counts to 129 on it, individual setting every number.
Once any one has managed that they automatically know how too add up on it.
Taking away is a harder principle but learning both skills is always making obvious the simple breakdown of numbers. Subconsciously
When teaching a child to take away on the abacus I believe that one should effectively teach it from left to right as well as from right to left. For a maths expert left to right is best, it is easy once the principle is understood, our child needs to prgress to maths on paper with symbols and existing reckoning so right to left is vital,
they both are.
“REGARD THE COMPLICATION OF A SIMPLE OPERATION”
We are teaching a young child to comprehend numbers, to understand the processing of simple sums mentally,
We are trying to get a child to understand that
Adding 1 to 9999999 turns it into 10 000 000
Ideas present them selves in linear form, a new idea often begets another, all maths is truth, but truths that need proving again and again.
We have to avoid creating a child that blindly presses the keys on a calculator without understanding what on earth is happening and using an abacus ensures this, just as long as we realize how to teach it properly.
You have already witnessed the power of seven symbols, once a child is aware of the possible variation in meaning that seven symbols can indicate there is no holding them back.
Just as words without the alphabet are meaning less so is maths without numbers.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SYMBOLS
With just seven symbols we can create nine million nine hundred and ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine ways of expressing one.
Just lock this into the brain of every child as you begin to teach them to read,
It is ever more obvious to me that teaching numbers on an abacus is utilising parts of the brain associated with letter recognition and understanding, the decoding mechanism we use for reading, recognised by scientists as a low level cognitive process, nothing like the complicated natural use of words we develop once we are able to speak and old enough to think in words.
As regards words, I believe there are around half million English words so with just twenty six symbols times five hundred thousand words and all the possible variations in sound that it entails, there is little wonder that we struggle to learn to read chance whether it is a low cognitive human attribute or not, the channel four program on readying identifies a lowered ability in some critical sounds (within hearing) as causation in reading difficulties, those difficulties we associate with the word dyslexia.
I compare every child born as a genius when compared to other animals, have you ever seen a dog that can read or a cat that can speak or a horse that can tell the time.
These communication skills are available only to the human animal, up till now we have stumbled in the darkness of ignorance, I am attempting to assist those of the human race that are attempting to switch on the light of common sense.
Tiss hard work, especially so as we struggle all of us with limited knowledge.
De bono says once an idea is mooted it cannot be unmooted
But it can be proved or disproved, I need ever more help to prove the abacus in assistance as a thinking tool for all children.
OECD expert Wrote:I would recommend The Number Sense by Stanislas Dehaene to anyone with an interest in numeracy. It is an absolutely fascinating book.
There is a chapter entitled The Language of Numbers that seems relevant to your dialogue.
John, you may be especially interested in this book as it often references intriguing findings concerning the abacus.
Cheers,
Christina
To add to others' postings here, if you are interested in young children's
written mathematics, I have just made a contribution in the thread about literacy here, relating my our research on the development of young childrne's
mathematical graphics from birth to 8 years. For futher details, go to the
Children's Mathematics Network (details, discussions and access to publications). We are the first to have traced chidlren's development from their earliest scribble-type marks to whcih they attach mathemaitcal meaning, through their own written numerals, representations of quantities and their own written methods (Worthington & Carruthers, 2003).
Regarding learning the alphabet and writing and learning numerals - it's vital that understanding is built on chidlren's personal marks and meaning: for writing, the 'emergent writing appproach' (known as 'process writing' in N.Z. and Australia) that has been used by some teachers in the UK over the past 35 years has shown how important this is. Our approach (
mathematical graphics) builds on this.
Maulfry