Objective: Young students will use the rekenrek, or arithmetic rack, as a visual and hands-on tool that helps with counting, building number sense, and understanding and developing addition and subtraction strategies.

Teacher Takeaways: a) The rekenrek looks a lot like an abacus, but the focus of the rekenrek is to help students add and count (as opposed to multi-digit math). Smaller rekenreks have two rows and larger ones can have up to ten rows. b) Each row is made of five red beads and five white beads. This allows students to push beads to one side and use 5 and 10 as anchors when counting or showing quantities. c) The red and white beads also help students make mental images of the quantity of a group of 5 or 10, and then develop strategies to solve addition and subtraction equations using the 2 rows of beads, including doubles plus and minus one. d) Rekenreks can be a great option for students with stronger visual reasoning or memory or are having difficulty memorizing addition and subtraction facts through flash cards or other rote practice.

OER Resource: Rekenrek (Teachers Pay Teachers)