Thanks
to the work of JacoboBulaevsky
you can now manipulate cuisenaire rods online. Click
Here For
more of the brilliant math java applets Jacobo wrote
please visit www.Arcytech.com
"Children
possess a far greater capacity for mathematics than
has been granted them hitherto. As soon as
a favourable pedagogical climate is produced what today
seems extraordinary will be done simply as a matter
of course."
Madeleine
Goutard 'Mathematics and Children' 1964
Madeleine
Goutardachieved staggering
results using cuisenaire rods when working with young children in Quebec back
in the sixties.
Cuisenaire
Rods
What's
so special about Cuisenaire Rods?
In
the words of Tina Turner . . . .
. . "They're simply the best."
Cuisenaire
rods
were invented by George Cuisenaire, a musician, in
response to a universal problem: . . . '.
. ."Why do children find math such a difficult
subject to learn?"
Cuisenaire
Rods are the most complete math model ever devised. Unlike computers, they never crash, don't
get overtaken by new technology and are truly interactive.
What's more they are virtually indestructable
A
Brief Description
The
genius behind the creation of Cuisenaire rods is their
simplicity.
Cuisenaire
rods
are simply 10 colored cuboids of wood or plastic
increasing in length by one centimetre from white to
orange.
Like
a piano, once the basics have been mastered it is possible
to create an infinite variety of math shapes,
patterns and equations.
Cuisenaire
Rods, Math Development and Whole Brain Learning
Math
is one of those subjects
people rarely feelutral FACT:When
children are stressed they will not learn. Stress
actually creates an electrical strom in the brain making
it impossible to think straight. In order
to learn effectively children must be in the right emotional
state. This means creating an environment that, while
challenging, remains stress free. That is why cuisenaire
rods are the perfect medium for introducing math to
young or older children and adults who have failed
to grasp basic math concepts and principle.
The
nature of cuisenaire rods allows for open ended tasks and problem-setting
that enables your child to develop at his/her optimum
learning level - what Csikszentmihalyi describes as the 'flow state'. Ensure
Your Child Succeeds At Math
embodies this principle and is supported by50 animated
instructional sequences.
Cuisenaire
rods reign supreme among math manipulatives. It is a
tragedy for our children they are not more widely used and understood
in schools generally. One of the 'hidden' benefits of
using cuisenaire rods is the enriched sensory stimulation your
child receives through plenty of handling and touching.
Infants who receive enriched sensory stimulation become
more mentally alert and physically stronger. Neurobiologists
Shatz at UC Berkeley and Jacobs at UCLA confirm this
fact.
One
of the brain's abilities is the capacity to recognize
color. Color creates an emotional response. Imagine
visiting London and trying to make sense of the underground
system if the map were in black and white and not color
coded. Using cuisenaire
rods children can be introduced to basic math concepts
before having to cope with numbers. Number is itself
an abstract concept and difficult to grasp. Caleb Gattegno
called this approach 'algebra before arithmetic'. This
approach is foundational to Ensure
Your Child Succeeds At Math .
The
BIg Picture: In his book 'The Learning Brain' Eric Jenson
states that 75% of teachers are sequential analytical
presenters. Unfortunately 70% of their students do not
learn in that way. He suggests that a better method
would be to start with a global overview and then move
to a more sequential approach. Cuisenaire rods lend
themselves perfectly to this method and is reflected
in Ensure
Your Child Succeeds At Math.Cuisenaire
rods will be your child's window on a
rich landscape of pattern and relationships.
Not all of us learn in exactly the same way. Basically
we are either predominantly:l
visual
auditory
kinesthetic or tactile learners.
Ensure
Your Child Succeeds At Math combines these four learning styles perfectly.
Young children are strongly kinesthetic learners as
are many boys and will benefit from a 'hands on' learning
program. Visual learners will respond
to the color of pattern and relationships revealed by
Cuisenaire rods. The program is task-driven
and the emphasis upon questions to instigate open-ended
tasks will appeal to auditory learners.
Common
Misconceptions Will
my child become dependent on cuisenaire rods? Quite
the reverse! Cuisenaire rods are not some cumbersome calculating
machine. They literally enable children to 'see' and
grasp mathematical concepts and relationships. This
empowers children to move more quickly from the
concrete to the abstract. This is explained more fully
in our program.
My
child's school doesn't use the rods. A
shame, but it doesn't matter. Remember the program
does not teach about the rods it teaches math through
the rods. If you are looking for a home-school program
then I do not believe you will find a better one. If
you simply want to support your child at home then why
not do it in the most effective, fun way possible.
I'm
no good at math. How could I possibly help my child? Surprise
yourself! You are actually much better than you think.
Most of use have problems with math because we were
rushed into the formal setting of 'doing sums' before
we ever understood the underlying concepts. I have
used this program with parents convinced they were useless
at math. They discovered, to their amazement, that they
weren't. They were even more surprised to find they
enjoyed it!
O.K.
Now where do I buy the rods? You'll
be surprised! Click
Here.
m
visual
auditory
kinesthetic or tactile learners.