Counting frame to 10
You learn to understand fractions with a bead string.
How to work it out
- Each bar has 5 red and 5 white beads.
- First look how many red beads have been pushed to the left, then add the white ones.
A worked example
A string has 4 red beads and 6 white beads. What fraction is red?
- There are 10 beads altogether.
- 4 are red.
- That is 410.
Watch out
You count all the beads one by one and lose count.
Start with the 5 red beads: you know those already. Only count on the beads after them.
You forget to count the red beads and only say the white ones: with 7 beads you say 2.
The red beads always count. If there are white ones, the 5 red ones are already full.
Tips
- Count the beads and count how many of each colour.
Why it works
A bead string with 5 red and 5 white beads shows tenths. 5 red beads are 510 (or 12) and 5 white beads are 510 (or 12). Different strings show fifths, quarters or tenths.