Addition and Subtraction Basic Facts Lesson: Adding and subtracting with Cuisenaire rods

Practice

1. Why would a teacher introduce Cuisenaire rods as a manipulative?

To encourage children to think of numbers in bigger chunks rather than counting by ones.

2. Model the solutions with your Cuisenaire rods:

a. 3 + 5 =

b. 9 - 4 =

 c. Anne had 4 butterfly stickers. When she cleaned her room, she found 3 more butterfly stickers. How many butterfly stickers does she have now?

d. Kendra had 5 balloons. 3 of her balloons popped. How many balloons did she have left?

e. John has 7 white T-shirts and 9 blue T-shirts. How many more blue T-shirts than white T-shirts does John have?

Note: while your Cuisenaire rod work should look approximately like mine, it doesn't matter which part is on the left and which is on the right, and it doesn't matter if the whole is on the bottom or top.