The Soroban: Construction and Use of the Japanese Abacus introduces and explains the basics of building and using a soroban for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems.
Building and learning to use the soroban is an engaging hands-on project, well suited for mathematics classrooms from grades 4 to 7..
Soroban use also strengthens fluency with multiplication and division tables and with mental calculations.
Use of the soroban for routine mathematical calculations enhances student understandings of place-value, the concept of borrowing in subtraction problems, and that of carrying in addition problems.
The text includes detailed building plans and step-by-step instructions - with numerous examples - for performing calculations.
The Soroban: Construction and Use of the Japanese Abacus introduces and explains the basics of building and using a soroban for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems