Addition Table with the Bead Bars

Here is a super-simple presentation of an addition table from one to five.  It is mainly to work on memorization of basic addition, but it also shows the pattern of sums.

I printed a 6x6 grid (3x3 grids on four pieces of cardstock, cut and pasted together), though you could easily draw it out on bristol board.

We left the upper left square blank, representing zero.  Then we put in our addends: one through five across the top row and one through five down the first column. I got her started by going across the second row verbally: "One plus one is two."  (Then placing the green two bar in the square where the red ones meet.)  "One plus two is three."  (Place the pink three bar.)  "One plus three is four." (Place the yellow four bar.)  And so on.

Ella took over with the bead bars and when I came back I discovered that she had decided that because by six the bead bars were too long to go straight across the squares that she could bend them so they would fit in nicely!  She doesn't do that anymore.  I showed her (as you can see with the sixes and sevens) that they would fit if put diagonally.

This lesson can easily be expanded to 10 + 10 by expanding the grid.  And let me emphasis the importance of saying aloud each equation.  Ella cannot understand why I insist on this, but it does help with memorization and (very important for busy mums) you can hear what your child is doing while doing housework/writing papers/changing diapers/folding laundry or whatever else needs doing!