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What the Heck is a Rekenrek?

By Lana Johnston & Brittany Heels The rekenrek was first developed by a math curriculum researcher, Adrian Treffers, working in the Netherlands. This mathematical tool was designed to support the natural mathematical development of children (mathlearningcenter.org), as well as to help children to be able to generate their own strategies in solving computation problems in addition and subtraction. A rekenrek, also known as a calculating frame, or an arithmetic rack, assists even the youngest learners in their early development of number sense, number relationships and operations; acting as a visual model or representation of these concepts. This tool generally consists of two rows of ten beads, with each row broken into sets of five (five white and five red). The rekenrek is often confused for an abacus, but these tools are not used in the same way. This tool design encourages children to subitize; meaning to count in groups of 5 or 10, instead of counting 1 bead at a time. The rekenrek is thought to be one of the most valuable manipulative models for teaching young learners about early mathematics concepts (i.e. counting up, addition, subtraction, patterned sets, one to one, part-part-whole, doubles, anchor and 1-10, 1-20 relationships) in the classroom.

Benefits of a Rekenrek in Teaching Curriculum Expectations


The rekenrek could play a critical role in the classroom, in addressing the primary curriculum for mathematics, as it pertains to teaching number sense, numeration, as well as operations. This tool would be used in teaching and practicing most of the math concepts which would be introduced at the kindergarten level and up into the primary grades (i.e. number conservation in K, to doubles and near doubles in later primary). This tool serves as a visual manipulative, which allows its learners to practice early counting strategies (i.e. scanning, organizing and patterning) and then progress on to number operations in ways which are much more flexible than traditionally used. The students are able to invent their own strategies for solving problems using this tool, by learning different ways to represent numbers (i.e. part-part-whole relationships 7=3+4 or 5+2). In doing so, students are able to become more fluent in their computation, as well as more creative and flexible in their problem solving. A rekenrek can be utilized by the teacher and by students in so many ways, as well as in so many facets of early math concepts; for example, in introducing fractions in the lower primary grades. This tool is also beneficial in having the students demonstrate their knowledge of these new concepts learned by further developing their understanding through investigating multiplication and division using a rekenrek.

Rekenrek Supporting Student Learning

Early Counting
This tool offers young learners a tangible manipulative to carry out early counting practices, which are conducive with the actual design of the rekenrek. The students can scan (touch), organize (separate/group) and partition (move bead from one side of rekenrek to the other) while counting on this tool. Students entering kindergarten are often coming into the classroom with some understanding or math concepts, such as one to one correspondence (i.e. one foot fits in one sock). The rekenrek allows these students to solidify this knowledge, through practice, in order for these students to move on to higher level calculations.

Subitizing
The rekenrek also enables students to begin to understand the cardinality principle; which refers to the number of elements in a particular set. Students can also practice early addition and subtraction operations on the rekenrek (i.e. counting up 1,2,3,4,5 then counting back 5,4,3,2,1), in order to become fluent in number words and to be able to begin counting from numbers other than 1. These young learners can learn to see the beads on the rekenrek as patterned sets and know how many beads there are without even counting them; based on their knowledge of how many items are in each patterned set. Using the rekenrek, students will practice more than and less than concepts, in moving the beads of different rows to create same, more and less groupings, thus demonstrating and practicing their understanding of this concept. These types of manipulative activities support inventive addition and subtraction skills in early learners.

Part-Part-Whole Number Relationships


The rekenrek tool uses 5 and 10 anchors to allow students to build concrete knowledge through tactile learning, of counting in groups (early multiplication). The friendly number 10 and 5 (which fits into 10 twice) are easy for students to work with, as they are still manageable at this level. This also relates to the students ability to utilize their awareness of these benchmarks in building and demonstrating their knowledge of part-part-whole relationships, using the rekenrek. The rekenrek allows the students to invent several ways and combinations of part-part-whole relationships, by simply manipulating the red and white beads on each row (i.e. 7= 3+4, or 5+2, or 1+6). The rekenrek, will undoubtedly be the biggest asset to young learners in your classroom, in gaining a deep and meaningful understanding of math concepts; which are critical in their math development skills, in order to scaffold on to higher level thinking and math computation.

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