Column Tower — Lesson 80: Column Tower test
Times: groups of the same number →Lesson 80: Abacus column sums test for kids
Level 6, Column Tower. 5 columns and 3 in your head. Get 12 right for the Tower Bell sticker.
What your child does, card by card
Column Tower test. Five columns, one line at a time. PlayType opens the lesson: “Test time. No hints. Show what you know.”
12 test tasks follow, one try each and no hints: work out the columns 7 + 8 - 5, 9 + 6 + 7, 34 + 25 - 18, 125 + 348 - 216 and 5 + 3 + 7 - 4 + 6. “Task 1 of 12” and so on keeps count.
Then the beads hide and the sums 3 + 4 + 2, 20 + 30 + 10 and 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 are done in the head, the answer picked from 9, 10, 60 and 70.
You passed! Column Tower is done. Next: Times Market!
What this lesson trains
15 answers in about five minutes. The tasks take 33 bead moves in all: 11 with a top bead and 22 with bottom beads. The largest is 473: hundreds, tens and ones. Then 3 quick looks in your head. 9 of the 12 sums need a friend (“+8 = −2 +10”, “+6 = −4 +10”, “+7 = +2 −5 +10”, “+2 = +5 −3”, “−1 = −5 +4”, “+4 = +5 −1”, “+8 = +3 −5 +10”, “−6 = −10 +5 −1”, “+7 = −3 +10” and “−4 = −5 +1”); the others use free beads.
The sum sheet
Below the abacus a sum sheet replaces the hands: it writes the column out, lights the line your child is on and ticks each line done; the total appears after the last line. The beads hold the running total the whole way down.
What PlayBuddy and PlayType say
PlayType: “Test time. No hints. Show what you know.”
PlayBuddy: “Click Let's Begin, or press Enter!”
PlayType: “Now do it in your head.”
PlayBuddy: “You passed the test.”
The test and its sticker
15 answers, one try each, with no green ring and no help. 12 or more right give the Tower Bell sticker; fewer, and PlayBuddy says “Not yet. One more try and you've got this!” and Play again glows. Nothing earned before is taken away.