Bank Game: Decimal System Operations
Long multiplication turned into a game with roles, where children take on parts and trade quantities as a bank would. The roles are what make it work: a child who is the banker has a reason to check another child's arithmetic, and being checked by a peer lands differently from being checked by an adult. Includes number cards, role designator cards and a box built for the game. Best with a small group rather than alone. Wood with cardstock, for ages 6 to 12.
“The hands are the instruments of man's intelligence.”
The Bank Game emerges from Montessori's recognition that children aged 6-12 need concrete experiences to understand abstract mathematical relationships. The color-coded number cards, green units, blue tens, red hundreds, and green thousands, create a visual and tactile system that makes place value tangible.
- Master place value concepts through color-coded card manipulation
- Perform four operations with multi-digit numbers using concrete materials
- Understand regrouping through physical exchange of number cards
- Build mental math skills by transitioning from concrete to abstract
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Each card in the Bank Game represents a specific quantity, allowing children to physically exchange ten unit cards for one ten card, experiencing the decimal system through their hands. The Bank Game's design reflects children's developmental need to move from concrete manipulation toward abstraction. By physically handling cards representing different place values, children internalize how our number system operates before encountering traditional algorithms. The Bank Game transforms addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division from abstract procedures into concrete exchanges, meeting the elementary child's need to understand the 'why' behind mathematical operations.
How to present it
Follow the Montessori method of presentation for optimal child development.
Arrange the Bank Game cards by place value in separate containers or compartments. Set up a work mat with clearly defined spaces for units (right), tens, hundreds, and thousands (left). Ensure cards are sorted with smallest denominations easily accessible.
- 1
Begin with a simple addition problem like 2,345 + 1,234. Have the child lay out both numbers using the appropriate colored cards.
Start with problems that don't require regrouping to build confidence - 2
Combine like place values by gathering all unit cards together, all ten cards together, and so on.
Use separate small trays for each place value during combination - 3
Exchange when necessary, trade 10 unit cards for 1 ten card, 10 tens for 1 hundred.
Count aloud during exchanges to reinforce the decimal system - 4
Arrange the final answer from left to right, reading the complete sum.
Have child verify by counting each place value separately
Every Child Is a Little Creator
Heritage
Since 1929
Brands used by
schools worldwide
European brands
AMI
Endorsed
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