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HomeProducts for TeachersNUMBER BALANCE W/ 20 BALANCE GR K-3 |
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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 11 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 excellent for both early math and pre-algebra Sep 01, 2010
By W. V. Evans
I was pleasantly surprised by how big and sturdy this toy is-- from the photos I expected it to be thin plastic, but it's definitely classroom quality. Each blue weight is 10 grams and would be tough to break even if you tried. I especially liked the little calibration clips, which allow you to balance the bar precisely.
My 4 year old enjoys matching both sides and watching the bar balance; my 7 year old is figuring out how to add numbers above 10. It was fun to watch her figure out why a 1 and a 5 weren't equal to 15, and later how to do subtraction with the balance. Now we're working on equations like 3 + x = 8, and soon we'll start into double variables.
It's better to look at this as an educational tool rather than purely as a toy. As a toy it has quite a bit of appeal, but I think for most kids it would take an adult's company to see the full learning potential. If you're willing to play along with your kids this toy can really open their eyes to why math works.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Great for improving early math skills! Jul 17, 2008
By Kimbyy
I was at a teacher training and one of the kindergarten teachers brought this balance to show us. I fell in love with it immediately, I went home that day and bought it for my 4 1/2 year old who will be entering Kindergarten in the fall. When it arrived it was easy to assemble and my daughter started playing with it right away. You can demonstrate simple math such as equals, greater than, less and addition skills. My daughter played with it regularly.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Visual and kinesthetic students become math masters! Aug 28, 2010
By Susanne C. Hanson
The is an awesome tool for all learners when you are seeking to stretch those minds to think beyond the concrete algorithm to a higher levels of Bloom's. Your visual and kinesthetic learners are given the ability to visually see and maniputlate what they preceive the multiple posibilities could be. Gives them visual evidence that there is more than one way to solve a problem. They are then empowered by their way of thinking because it is no longer wrong, but creative and requires a much higher order of thinking than "do and repeat" methods. I LOVE IT!!! Check "Hands on Equations" for your intermediate and middle schoolers. VALIDATE their thinking, stop lowering self-esteem and attitudes toward math.
Rating on durability is because I have only used bucket scale version, but am ordering 4 sets of this model.
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Really fun/neat for about 10 minutes Aug 06, 2009
By AmazonLover
This was cool for my child (and myself for that matter) for about 10 minutes. It was neat to see how the thing would balance with addition as opposed to equal weights. However, after the initial excitement wore off it didn't offer enough interest to make it a good manipulative. This manipulative can really slow down instructional time and in my opinion doesn't really "show" the child why math works. For our math instruction, we have found that Cuisenaire rods "show" how math works the best while the game Double Shutter to be the best tool in the world to help reinforce simple addition. I cannot recommend Double Shutter enough. We love that game for it's entertainment value and because it is highly educational.
Double Shutter
Awesome toy Apr 24, 2012
By blurry
"blurry"
I saw this toy in a local kid's science museum and just had to get it. It's quite a bit better than its description and I feel like the seller really should post a video to give it justice. My almost 3-year old didn't show a lot of patience with it but I feel like it's a good teaching tool for slightly older kids. It's hard to explain but basically, you hang weights on either side of the yellow beam to make it balance. When my little one is ready, I feel like it will be a great hands-on introduction to very basic math and physics.
See all 11 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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