Now we will help the student transition from the green units. When teaching place value, I used the red, blue, and green blocks. Before attempting addition, be sure the student knows that a group of three green units is the same as one pink unit bar, which is three units long. Place the blocks side by side to teach this. Show that the three individual green units "glued together" are the same length as the three bar. This concept is very important, as it is the basis of addition-two units plus three units have the same value as five units. We want to transition the student from using the green units exclusively to using the colored unit bars as well. On the worksheet, match the units on the left with the correct bar on the right. You can have the student color the bars on the right to match the blocks.

There are four levels of combining or arithmetic:

To move from counting to adding, the student has to learn the values of the bars so that we can add two plus three and get five, instead of counting "one, two," and then "three, four, five."

The language of measurement may be taught here as well. For example, use five unit blocks side by side to measure the length of the blue five bar. We can say that the five bar is five units long. Also, use the blocks to measure everyday objects. For example, ask the student to measure a pencil with the unit blocks or the top of a desk with the ten bar turned on its side. This is preparation for measurement with standard units, such as feet and inches (introduced in Beta).

Simon Says - Tell the student, "Put a three block on your nose," or "Hide two five blocks in your pocket." Be as creative as you wish.

What's Missing? - Put the one through nine blocks on the table. Ask the student to cover his eyes while you remove one of the blocks and then ask him which one is missing. Take turns. There are numerous variations to this. Try removing two blocks, or you can start with two of each number and remove one or two blocks.

The Grab Bag - Put the one through nine blocks in an opaque bag. Take turns either drawing a number card and finding a particular block or telling each other to feel around and find a certain block. An easier version is to simply name the one you are about to pull out. A harder version is to name the missing block after it has been removed from the bag.

Blocks and Digits Match-Up - Make a set of cards with the digits 1 through 9 on them (or use the cards from the application and enrichment pages in the student workbook). On the back of the cards draw colored dots to match the blocks. Place the cards digit side up and match the blocks to them. This is especially good as an activity that students can get out on their own, as it is selfcorrecting. Go ahead and let children peek; they stop soon enough.

Sing and Grab - "If you're happy and you know it" . . . "Clap three times," or "Grab a five," etc.

Act It Out - Let students choose a way to act out the number represented by a block. For example, for a three block, clap three times, jump three times, write three lines on a piece of paper, play three notes on the piano, or eat three raisins. Encourage students to use their imaginations for this!

As you get ready to begin teaching the addition facts, be sure to give the student time to "play" with the blocks. Some schools schedule a portion of each day for "play" and refer to this time as "free exploration."

As the student builds, he automatically learns the relationships between the different numbers. For example, if a six bar is laid on top of a ten bar, it doesn't take long for most students to realize that a four bar is needed to finish the row. When it is time to learn , the student already understands the reality that the fact describes.