A Teacher’s Introduction To Arithmetic
call the color by its figure name (e.g. 2 for red). This creates confusion and is a waste of time. The Lotto Game. The cards can be used for recognition purposes at first. When sufficient progress has been made, the counters corresponding to the stage reached are selected by the teacher and put into a bag. It is convenient for nine pupils to play the game-three to each card-with a tenth acting as the caller of the counters (or ‘banker’). One by one the counters are drawn by the banker who calls out the number. The players scan their cards, row by row, starting at the top row. If they spot the pattern with the factors of that number they call out, ‘me’ and, if this is correct, the child who called places the counter on the appropriate one upon his card. If the child whose card contains the factors fails to call, the banker, if he spots it himself, puts the counter on the circle upside down. If he cannot locate the right circle the counter is laid on one side. The game can be played with as many of the products as have been learned, and the number in use can be steadily increased. When all the counters come into use, the cards can be completed and, at this stage, the number of players to each card may be reduced to two and finally to one. The banker, however, is always needed and is responsible for checking claims, counting scores and so forth. The cards are exchanged for each fresh game and turns are taken at being banker. Variations on the form of the game can be devised by teachers and children, provided the game decided upon involves the recognition of factors in color for the numbers called.
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