• Repetition

    Five year olds love to try and try again, and our materials encourage them to practice! Each work can be repeated as many times as necessary until the student feels confident in the exercise.

  • Control of Error

    Materials don't quite look right when an error is made, but have a satisfying completion when the student performs each one correctly.

  • Simple Progression

    Believe it or not, each step is almost too easy. The lesson sequence builds from one concept to the next so there is just enough challenge to be interesting, but not enough to confuse.
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Will introducing binary and hexadecimal numbers cause confusion in a student's math education?

Typically,the concept of base systems is reserved for later study when students have a firm grasp of the decimal system. That is why for this age group, we emphasize the concept of empty vs. full and promote the young child's skill in pattern recognition.

By working with marbles, children will have a sensorial understanding of quantity, while actively learning patterns of empty and full. Later on in their math education students can benefit by returning to materials such as the Hexadecimal Triangle to make the mathematical connection more explicit. The value of these materials increases as students return to them over time!

This method is particularly effective in computer science because of the logical nature of computer operations. Students will not ever need to work with binary or hexadecimal numbers arithmetically. Rather, Boolean logic is used to manipulate data.

Elementary Classroom

Historical Context

Elementary students need to know why they are learning something and how it fits into their lives. Our books explore the etymology of the vocabulary, where ideas came from, and the people whose work led to machine language.

Origins of Machine Language

Work Towards Abstraction

Eventually students need to rely less on the materials and more on abstract thought. High quality worksheets offer variety and challenge as students build the ability to work with different number systems.

Worksheets

Fun With Friends

Older students love to work with their peers! We offer suggestions for ways students can play with the three-part-cards together while memorizing binary and hexadecimal numbers.

Three Part Cards

Montessori Computers Can Enhance Your Math Curriculum

Introducing base systems can be a confusing topic. What does it really mean quantitatively when you have a larger or smaller base system?

We like to think of the Hexadecimal Triangle as the Rosetta Stone of binary, hexadecimal, and decimal. Students who work with this material in the primary classroom can return to it with an expanded understanding of what the patterns of empty and full really mean. For students encountering this material for the first time, the reality of the quantity of marbles can be quickly and easily translated so that students can appreciate what it means to see a number in each base system.