How to use Abacus?

The abacus is an antique tool used all over the world for calculation and computation. It has been largely replaced by calculators, but Abacus is fun to use. Here we will learn how to add and subtract by the old-fashion way.

 

Make yourself comfortable with the structure of the abacus. The abacus consists of two parts which are  divided by the centre bar. Each part consists of columns of beads. The lower part usually consists of four beads and the upper part of one or two beads.

 

1. The beads in the lower part are assigned values randomly. For example, you may assign the beads in the rightmost rod a value of 1. Then you may subsequently assign a value of 10 to the rod to its left, and a value of 100 to the rod further left and so on and so forth.

2. The beads in the upper part are worth five times the value of the beads in the lower part.

 

Start with all beads at the bottom: Lean your abacus towards yourself so all beads will fall to the bottom. You need to clear the Abacus as no beads should touch the centre bar in the abacus. Hence the reading on abacus will be zero.

 

Write your first number

 

1. Break the number down into single digits. Let’s say break 13 into 1 tens plus 3 units.

2. Move, from the tens rod, a number of beads equal to the tens digit. In the above example, this number is one. Likewise move, from the units rod, a number of beads equal to the units digit. In above example, that number is 8, and there are only four beads. To overcome this problem, move one bead toward centre bar from the upper part of the abacus. That bead is equal to 5. Now just move 3 more beads from the lower part.

 

Place the second number: How you put the second number will depend whether you are working on addition or subtraction.

 

1. If you are working on addition, then divide the number into digits just like above and move up further beads in addition to those already up.

2. In case you are on subtraction, then also you need to break the digit in same manner as above but bring down beads from the ones already above.

 

Read your total: Count the number of beads in every rod. This will give you the value of each digit. Let’s say if you get a value at 100th rod as 1 bead and on 10th rod 4 beads and on the unit rod it is 8, this will give you a result of 148.

 

Apart from this, you need to remember if you are dealing with decimals, you can move the unit’s column to the left. Never forget that the abacus does not come up with the calculations, but it helps you to boost your skills on calculations.

How to train kids on Abacus

Abacus is a very useful way to teach numbers and arithmetic mental maths to kids. There are many ways to teach numbers, some of them can be fun and some can be boring for young kids. In that case, abacus is an outstanding tool to teach counting to your kid. Abacus consists of beads that can be moved up and down on a series of sticks within a frame. Here we talk about some techniques to teach abacus to kids.

 

First of all, you need to have an abacus on which you can demonstrate the numbers or counting which you want to teach to the kids. They need to understand what each bead represents in the abacus. Each rod on the abacus can be used as a number column. Let’s say first rod is ones and second rod is tens and then hundreds and so on.

 

How to train kids on counting by using abacus:

 

1. First ask your child to clear the abacus that means upper beads and lower beads will not touch the centre bar.

2. Tell your child to move few beads to centre bar and ask him/her to count those beads. This practice will be continued with tens rod and hundred rod and so on.

3. Children can also learn numbers 1 to 100 by moving the beads.

 

How to demonstrate addition to kids using abacus:

 

All the beads on the bottom row of abacus tool are worth 1 each. For example, to teach your kid a simple addition like 1+2=? Ask your kid to move all the beads down. Ask them to move 1 bead to centre bar. Now tell the child to move 2 beads from lower beads to centre bar. Count the beads together on the unit rod. Now you get a total of 3 beads.

 

 

Another example 10+30 =? Each

d rod is worth 10 each. Move 1 bead in the second rod to the centre bar. Now move 3 more beads to the centre bar. It makes a total of 4 beads which is equal to 40. bead on the secon

 

In similar ways you can teach subtraction on abacus. We must understand that abacus training for kid should be interesting and easy to understand so that your students will love to attend Abacus Training Classes.

A Trainer's Day at Abacus Centre

You may be an on- job trainer, teach in schools or you may have given lots of presentations in college auditorium or perhaps you work for a company that provides Abacus training to teachers. When you deal with teachers, the responsibility gets double because they already have a teaching experience in their respective fields. Below are some tips which you need to follow when you are at Abacus centre for training teachers:

 

Preparation: Preparation doesn’t mean that you need to learn all the content and just deliver. It means the way you structure the training, present the material and the activities which you want to conduct. The more efforts you put in it, the better results will be achieved in training in the form of a satisfied trainee.

 

Making people feel at ease: In Abacus education, when you are launching a centre in a new area then you needs to train the teacher for the first time. In that case every time you are training a new group of people. In such a situation, doing things like splitting people up into pairs and giving them a list of questions to ask each other or a proper introduction session will work remarkably.

 

A Presentation in an interesting way: When we talk about abacus training, you have to have an interesting way to present the content in front of the trainers/teachers who will teach the abacus to students at their centers. In that case, rather than simply reading out of a text book, provide lots of examples and include different types of activities as this will help you to break the monotony of learning theory. By doing this, your trainees will retain the information and the same will be delivered to the students further.

 

Be approachable: it is very essential to know about the people you are about to train. Each individual is different in terms of skills, learning style and possible weaknesses. Knowing these factors will enable you to furnish the needs of each person in the best manner. Always ensure that everyone can learn in the environment you provide them.

 

Know what you are talking: It’s really important to have knowledge about the subject you are conveying. Ensure that you give yourself enough time to plan and learn the content so that you can deliver the training in the most valuable way to your trainees.

 

When you are training your team, works with hands- on approach, ask questions and spark a debate. The Abacus training must be conducted in a very sophisticated way so your trainee will remember you even after the training.