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.
Try it yourself
How many beads do you see on the counting frame?
How many beads do you see on the counting frame?
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.