FR2918574A1 - Educational hardware for comprehension and learning of e.g. addition, has set of cards divided into certain number of sub-assemblies with card identification unit between cards for identifying cards of each of sub-assemblies - Google Patents

Abstract

The hardware has a set of cards, and an orientation unit e.g. shading, for orienting each card with respect to each other in an assembly of cards constituting the set of cards and/or a common identification unit. The set of cards is divided into certain number of sub-assemblies corresponding to different tables of operations to be learned. The sub-assemblies corresponding to the assembly of the cards have a card identification unit between the cards for identifying the cards of each of the sub-assemblies.

Description

Educational material for understanding and learning the four

basic arithmetic operations.

  The present invention relates to educational material for understanding and learning the four basic arithmetic operations.

  The world of children is not only dreams and games, they must also learn and learning is more or less easy depending on the disciplines, the ages of children and the children themselves. Also, it is advisable to find teaching materials adapted to the various apprenticeships concerned. Concerning mathematics, learning arithmetic requires a certain rigor and a repetition that does not always please children. Since the vast majority of children enjoy playing, it seems interesting to develop educational materials based on play. Children learn by playing and therefore without realizing it while the idea of work and exercise is scary in some of them. The learning of multiplication tables is particularly repetitive and forbidding. To overcome the handicaps that could result from poor learning arithmetic, many publishers and inventors have developed educational games for this purpose.

  The Celda editions propose dominoes for addition / subtraction (ref 02033 and ref 02026) and for multiplication / division (ref 02036) carrying on one side the operation and on the opposite side a result. On the principle of playing dominoes, the operation must be related to the corresponding appropriate result.

  These same Celda editions also offer lotos for learning these four operations (multiplication, division, addition, subtraction) (ref 02028 and 02040). On the principle of the game of lotto, the token card carrying an operation on its front must be placed on the support card instead and corresponding to the result of the operation of said token card.

  Similarly, triangular tokens have been developed for games with these same four operations (Celda ref 02029 and 02037). They work on the same principle as dominoes but with three edges bringing a level of difficulty and complexity.

  Other educational tools are represented in the form of maps. The Lunadis editions for example propose the C, artatoto: these cards deal with one side (front) operation and on the opposite side (back side) the result of said operation. These different cards can be used for exercises on multiplication, division, addition and subtraction.

  Similarly, in the French patent 2163127 in the name of the company MATHEMAX PTY educational cards are described. They also relate to a face (front) at least one operation and on the opposite side (back side) at least one corresponding result of said operation of the front.

  In patent US5836587, the instructional cards described carry at least one operation and at least one result of said operation but these are located on the same face of the card.

  Similarly, in GB2359181 educational support for multiplication tables is provided by means of cards. Each card carries at its center the operator and its coefficient, for example X4. Starting from the left to the right, on three successive edges of this map are arranged, in an orderly and increasing manner, the numbers going from 2 to 12. Beside each figure, appears in a smaller font the result of the operation made with the inscription in the center of said card. For example, in the center of the map we could read X4 and in the lower left-hand corner of this map there is the number 2. On the side, the smaller one would be the result 8, which corresponds to 2X4.

  The major disadvantage of these various educational tools described above lies in the fact that they all carry at least one operator such that +, -, X or =. The fact of representing these operator signs can disturb children in their learning and does not favor the acquisition of hypothetico-deductive reasoning. In addition, these materials do not offer a great modulation in their use since the operation is already posed and only one result is possible for each operation.

  The present invention seeks to overcome these disadvantages by providing educational material for understanding and learning the four basic arithmetic operations without materializing or imposing a defined operation (by a sign). 10 Moreover, it would be interesting for the children to be able to locate and classify the various maps of the educational material without having to scroll through all the maps and especially without having to enter the operation exercise itself.

  The present invention relates to an educational material for understanding and learning the four basic arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, this material being a card game characterized in that the front of the cards the constituent comprises only numbers having a mathematical relationship between them involving at least one of said four basic arithmetic operations, in that each card includes means for orienting each of said cards relative to each other in the set cards constituting said set of cards and / or common identification means, said card game being divided into a number of subsets corresponding to different tables of operations to learn, each subset corresponding to a set of cards having between them means for identifying said cards of each of said subsets.

  On the front of the cards, only numbers are present. These numbers are advantageously positioned so that manual masking of at least one of them can be achieved. In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the numbers of the front of the cards are arranged in a triangular or pyramidal fashion. Preferably, the base of the triangle or pyramid is located in the lower part of the front of said card and the tip, the top of said triangle or pyramid is located in the upper part of the front of the card. The triangle can be of different nature. It is preferably isosceles, equilateral or rectangle.

  The back of the game cards includes a didactic visual representation of the mathematical relationship between the numbers on the front of said cards. On the back there are also operators but they are only used to guide the child in the type of operation to be performed (multiplication / division / equality or addition / subtraction / equality). Indeed, on the front and back of the cards no operation is posed as it is directly, no sign is present between the numbers of the front or the didactic visual representation of the back. This desire not to pose any operation directly thus favors the reasoning of the person, in general the child.

  In order to more precisely design and represent the present invention, reference will be made to the figures in which: FIG. 1 represents a front view of the front of a card to be calculated. FIG. 2 represents a front view of the back of a calculating card (multiplication / division / equality) associated with a front view of the front of this same card to be calculated. Figure 3 shows a front view of the back of a card to calculate (multiplication / division / equality) with an operation involving zero. Figure 4 shows a front view of the back of a card to calculate (multiplication / division / equality). FIG. 5 represents a front view of the back of a calculating card (addition / subtraction / equality) associated with a front view of the front of this same card to be calculated. Figure 6 shows a front view of the back of a card to calculate (addition / subtraction / equality) with an operation involving zero. Figure 7 shows a front view of several verso half-superposition of calculating cards (multiplication / division / equality). Figure 8 shows a perspective view of a card pack to be calculated. Figure 9 shows a perspective view of the closed shoe case.

  Figure 10 shows a perspective view of the open shoe case with two separator cards in place. Figure 11 shows a schematic of the unfolded shoe housing. Figure 12 shows a front view of the open shoe-case and the various elements it contains.

  Figure 13 shows a front view of the separator cards of said shoe housing.

  Figure 1 shows that on the front of cards, only numbers 1, 2, 3 are positioned. They are preferably arranged in a triangle, that is to say a number 1, 2 in two corners of the map and the third number 3 placed either in one of the two upper corners of the map, or centered at the top of said map as Figure 1 illustrates. These cards have on the front three numbers excluding any other indication. An arithmetic link, a mathematical relationship exists between each of these three numbers, one of these three numbers being the result of an operation performed between the two other numbers. The educational objective is not to formalize the operation but to grasp the mathematical relationship between these three numbers, knowing that we are in the context of a multiplication and / or division, addition and / or subtraction and equality in all cases as shown on the back of the cards and described below. The formalization (oral and written expression) of the mental operations thus carried out is the responsibility of the pedagogue. The positioning of all these three digits thus draws a triangle, preferably isosceles (as in Figure 1), equilateral or rectangle. These educational maps allow for flexible operations between addition / subtraction and multiplication / division. When alternately masking one of the three numbers, a different operation and result are expected in each case This masking can be done manually but these cards can also be used with a shoe box (Figures 10 and 12) having at least one mask 4 at the level of at least one of the numbers. After having performed the operation mentally or orally, the child can either remove his finger, or take the card out of said shoe box and check the expected result. Thus, the child can practice and correct himself. This educational device can also be used in small groups or in the whole class.

  Moreover, these cards can be used without a shoe and the masking of the number or numbers can be done by any object: appropriate and even with one or fingers, which allows great flexibility in their handling and use. In the same way as with the shoe box, these cards can be used by a single person, preferably a child, or in a group.

  Figure 2 shows the back of these cards which provides a representation and illustration of said operations without operator on the front. The back of said cards comprises a visual didactic representation 5 of the mathematical relationship existing between the numbers 1, 2, 3 appearing on the front of said cards. This representation allows the child to imagine more concretely, materialized and more visual the operation to be performed and the result to be found, the operation of the recto being mental and operating mechanisms of memorization and learning. In FIG. 2, the numbers 1, 2, 3 presented are three, five and fifteen, the mathematical relationship existing between them is the multiplication or the division: 5X3 = 15 or 3X5 = 15 or 15 = 3 = 5 or 15 = 5 = 3. The representation 5 materializes this mathematical relationship existing between these three numbers 1, 2, 3 of the front. The fact that the same graphical representation offers the possibility of choice between these different operations brings up the commutativity of the multiplication (5X3 = 3X5) as well as the reciprocity of multiplication and division (5X3 = 15 <=> 15 = 3 = 5 <=> 15 = 5 = 3). On the back of these calculating cards, whether they are cards for multiplying / dividing (FIG. 2) or adding / subtracting (FIG. 5), the operators 6 are represented by their symbol in a corner of the card: X or + on the upper left, + or - on the lower right; = in the two remaining corners. The representation of these operators 6 serves to mark that the mathematical relation between the numbers 1, 2, 3 presented on the front is to be looked for either within the framework of the operations of multiplication, division and equality (figure 2), either in the addition, subtraction and equality framework (Figure 5).

  For the multiplication / division cards, on the back, the didactic visual representation 5 of the operation and its result on the front is done by means of rhomboid elements (except for operations with zero or one). This is illustrated in Figures 2 and 4. The classical representation of multiplications or divisions consists of ordering elements in rows and horizontal or vertical columns. In the present invention concerning the back of the cards for the learning of multiplications and divisions, the same structure is resumed but the parallelogram obtained is inclined in the shape of a diamond resting on an obtuse angle. This diamond representation is better able to symbolize the commutativity of the multiplication / division (for example 3X5 = 5X3). During the structuring of space, the child begins by constructing the vertical and the horizontal. The oblique appears later and will remain more fragile, less pregnant. This results in greater ease in entering this parallelogram by one side or another while each child will have a tendency to favor either the vertical or the horizontal in the usual representation.

  On the other hand, the choice of the number of elements on each side of said diamond corresponds to the configuration of the numbers 1, 2, 3 on the front. For example, in Figure 2, we see that for the card corresponding to 3X5 (being also that corresponding to 15 + 5 or 15 + 3) with the front 3 on the bottom left and 5 on the bottom right, we will have verso a rhombus of three elements lower left and five elements lower right. The result (15) is positioned in the middle at the top or in one of the upper corners of the card on the front, which corresponds to the obtuse angle greater than the back, suggesting that both sides of the card, set of elements. This spatial constant facilitates the associations between the front and the back of the cards, there is indeed a preserved correlation between the front and the back of each of the cards of the card game.

  Figure 4 shows that the various elements used in the back of these cards are represented by pellets 7, which are preferably ovalized. These pellets 7 take up the colors of the bottom 8 of the card which consists of a succession of gradient colored zones parallel to the upper left and lower right sides of said rhombus. Each patch 7 does not have its own color and this for educational purposes because associating a color with a number would create an irrelevant link and a source of error. On the other hand, the organization of the pellets 7 in lines is relevant to bring out the two parameters which are the number of lines 9 and the number of pellets in each line 10. It is by the color of the bottom 8 and therefore the position of the 7 that this organization is underlined, without the color being able to be considered as an attribute of the patch 7 which is as transparent. The gradient adds to the impression of independence of the pellet 7 and the color 8 Although zero element can not be represented by an element, the zero is a number which generates mental operations and implies as such a representation. In Figure 3, we see that the zero is symbolized by pellets 7 without color gray edges 11 to symbolize the nothing, the absence, immateriality by a weak visual pregnance. For 5X0, this will be symbolized 5 times to account for the mental operations required. Operation 0X0 is represented by a lack of didactic visual representation 5 on the back.

  For addition / subtraction cards (Figure 5), the front is made on the same model as the multiplication cards / divisions. On the other hand, on the back, the didactic visual representation 5a of the operation of the recto and its result is done thanks to elements arranged in arcs of circles having only ten places, each number being materialized by these pellets 7 in two arcs of circles. concentric starting respectively from the left then from the right of said card. These pellets 7 are preferably round. The mental operations to perform the additions and subtractions require a clear awareness of the additions to the decade and the decomposition of the number to which the part necessary for this complement has been removed.

  Figure 5 is an illustration of the operation of the front to be performed (8 + 5 = 13) and on the back a didactic visual representation in a more concrete way to arrive at the expected result. Indeed in the example in illustration, we see on the back, in an arc the number 8 from the left and the number 5 from the right. The pellets 7 in overlap (3) show that there are three elements in addition to the tens and that the result is therefore 13.

  To mentally perform this operation from 8, you must first complete 10 by drawing in the 5. We see the two pellets necessary for this, insulated on the right and the three remaining pellets appearing on the left of the didactic visual representation of the 5.

  In the same way, one can carry out mentally this operation starting from 5. For that, one must complete to 10 by drawing in the 8. We see the 5 pellets necessary for this, isolated on the left and the three remaining pellets appearing on the right of the didactic visual representation of 8.

  As for multiplication / division / equality, the fact that a single graphical representation of addition / subtraction / equality offers the choice among several operations makes some properties appear. For example, the numbers 8. 5 and 13 correspond to the operations 8 + 5 = 13 and 5 + 8 = 13, showing the commutativity of the addition, whereas the reciprocity of the addition and the subtraction appear through the linking the operations 8 + 5 = 13 <=> 13-5 = 8 <=> 13-8 = 5 <=> 5 + 8 = 13. The unique graphic representation of these four operations testifies to their relationship and makes them appear as a differentiated treatment of the same digital entity (reality).

  A small white dot marks the separation of the ten in 5 + 5 and recalls the five fingers of each hand and is a visual cue to promote visual representations and calculations from 5. As for calculating cards multiplications / divisions, the elements are represented by pellets 7 taking up the colors of the bottom 8 of the card. The bottom 8 of the card is similarly constituted of a degraded succession of colored zones in radial succession around a more or less centered point on the card. The pellets 7 do not have their own colors, either, for the same reasons of lack of relevance previously described with multiplication / division calculating cards. The zero will also be represented by a pellet 7 without color whose edges are grayed 11. This is illustrated in FIG.

  Each card set consists of 121 cards each presenting one of the 11 operations of the 11 multiplication tables or 11 addition tables (including operations with zero). The front of each card with three numbers 1, 2, 3 has been described above. It is presented to one or more children with one or two hidden numbers to guess or calculate. You can hide the number (s) manually with your fingers or use the shoe box that we will describe later. The back is made up of the same inventive concept for multiply and divide cards and cards to add and subtract. Indeed, each back includes a visual graphic didactic and pedagogical representation of the operation and its result appearing on the front of the card as we have described above. Furthermore, we have described that the back of the cards bears symbols but just to guide the child in the type of mathematical link to look for. These symbols, that is X, =, _, +, -are associated with a particular location on the map: a corner. Preferably, the sign X or + is associated with the upper left corner, the sign _ or - is associated with the lower right corner, the signs = are in the other two remaining corners.

  Several main advantages to these educational and educational materials such as these card games can be presented. On the one hand, they do not impose a definite operation and thus promote hypothetico-deductive reasoning and playful learning, but they also allow a possible modulation in learning, for example a child having no difficulty in learning. multiplicative operation but in the division will be able to train in these two operations, thus creating a link between the two operations, the division being nothing other than a multiplication with hole and the subtraction a addition with hole. On the other hand, the back of these cards offers a method of visual didactic and pedagogical representation for each type of operation, an indispensable tool for children in the process of learning. Finally, one of the major advantages lies in the fact of being able to easily and quickly identify the cards according to their table and thus to sort them but also to orient them relative to each other. This saves time always appreciated in class situation. Indeed, the cards of said card game can be grouped into subsets corresponding to different tables. The game will consist of a set of cards multiplication table by 2, 3 etc., or the addition table of 2, 3 etc. The cards of these different subsets have common identification means. This means of identification is, for example, at least the color located on the front or back in at least one of the corners of the card and / or at least one edge of said cards. Preferably, the identification means is a color located in the upper left corner of each of the cards. Indeed, according to the multiplication table / division or addition / subtraction chosen, that is to say the selected subset, the corners, preferably upper left-hand of each of the cards will have the same color. The bottom 8 of the back of the cards consists of 11. colors succeeding in gradations according to the oblique rhombic or in radial succession around a point more or less centered on the map. Figure 7 illustrates the gradients (here, the rainbow). The pellets 7 do not have a fixed color as we have already said but have the color of the bottom of the card as if it were a continuity between the bottom 8 of said card and the didactic visual representation 5 or 5bis. The order of succession of the background colors is the same on all cards but the starting color of the upper left corner is shifted by one color when the operand or the number of pellets in the lower right or left (corresponding also number at the bottom right or left at the front) increases by one point. Thus, at each multiplication table (the table of 3 in Figure 7) or addition table will correspond a color of the upper left corner (and another shaded bottom right corner). This means of identification is worn as seen on at least one corner of said cards but it is also extended on the edge of each of said cards. Thus, thanks to these means of identification common to each of the subsets, a sorting, a ranking of the cards relative to each other throughout the game of cards can be performed. With the colored slice, it will then be very easy to locate cards not properly classified and see the benchmarks by observing the periphery of a compact pack of cards without even having to open it. This is also particularly advantageous when one wants to work a particular table.

  These various elements will make it easy to sort all the cards in the pack without having to scroll through the cards one by one to put the pack back into play or learning exercise. If the person wants to practice or have others practice at a particular table, the 11 cards of each of the tables will be very quickly identified and isolated through all these marks. Indeed, it will be enough to have found the color of the upper left corner associated with the desired table The orientation recto / verso will be done thanks to the color: the front will have, preferably, white faces and the verso of the colored faces.

  Another essential technical feature of the present invention lies in the means of orientation 12 of the cards relative to each other and which are present on each of the cards of said game. Indeed, all the cards have means of orientation 12 on at least one slice of said cards. These orientation means 12 of the cards relative to each other are constituted by shading 12. Preferably, these shadings are located on the edges of the bottom right corners of the cards. These corners appear in dark colors. The bottom and right edges are also shaded.

  The up / down orientation of the cards will be done easily because the upside down cards are marked with the symbol _ or + in the upper left corner instead of the X or - symbol and the opposite in the lower right corner. In addition, a dark edge at the top left and a light edge at the bottom right will set a card upside down. Finally a dark slice at the top left and a clear slice at the bottom right will identify a card upside down. Verification of the package and its order will be made very quickly and easily by the edge of the deck of cards. Figure 8 illustrates that it is easy to locate a map of the table 8 at the top left corner yellow 13 and the map upside down whose shaded edges 12 appear at the top left.

  The present invention may be provided with a shoe-housing serving to support said cards, said card game being contained in said shoe-case. Figure 9 illustrates this shoe housing. The shoe box is a parallelepiped shaped box inclined about 45 to the rear. The upper 14, secured to the rear, serves as a cover (with two small lateral tabs 15) which extends in overlap of the front face on which it closes by a large rounded tab 16 which is inserted into the bottom of the box under the cards. In FIG. 10, it can be observed that in the open position, the top 14 is folded backwards and passes under the box to make the tongue 16 appear at the front so that it serves as a sliding surface for the outgoing cards. from the hoof at the bottom. With the help of Figure 12, we better visualize the shape of the shoe case and the various elements it contains. The front face 17 of the shoe-case is integral with the box by its lateral sides; the upper and lower sides are free to slide the cards behind this front face 17. Three windows 18, arranged in said front face 17, let appear the numbers 1, 2, 3 of the first card of the package, card located in the shoe-housing immediately behind this front face 17. A central notch 19 at the bottom of the front face 17 can extract the cards with a finger according to the usual principle of the shoe. Said windows 18 may be closed for play, this closure being able to be done in two modes: the front face 17 is constituted by a double wall in which are inserted cards caches 20 taking the shape of the front face 17 but of which one or two of the windows are opaque 4 with a drawn question mark. Four different caches allow operations to be approached in four different ways. shutters that operate by bending, sliding or rotation can be integrated in the front face 17. The shutter of the windows and thus the masking of at least a number 1, 2, 3 of the first card of the package contained in said shoe box is made by concealed cards (20) or shutters that can be inserted immediately behind, on or in said front face (17).

  Said housing has the advantage of allowing the storage of cards but also to present them in a favorable manner for learning the different operations.

  Separator cards (illustrated in FIG. 13) may be added and inserted into said shoe box. A separator card 21 protrudes, for example about 25 mm, and is marked as correct. It has a fold, for example 25 mm from the bottom. Another card 22 protrudes, for example about 15 mm, and is marked? ? ? . It comprises a fold, for example 15 mm from the bottom. These different cards 21, 22 are successively arranged in said shoe box from front to back: the cards of the selected operations, followed by the separator card? ? ? , then the card separating right answers and finally at the back, the residual cards. The user finds or calculates the masked number (s) of the first card and then the extract of the shoe. If the answer is good, he puts it in front of the separating card correct answers, If the answer is wrong, he puts it in front of the separating card? ? ? so that it will reappear at the end of the series until all the cards have got their correct answers. For storage, the divider cards are inverted and the fold allows to fold the overhang on the top of the deck of cards.

  In a more entertaining form of the present invention, for free use in the playground, for example, the shoe-case may advantageously be a large wall-mounted or stand-up shoe-case receiving calculating cards according to the present invention. large format (A4 for example) and whose front face has a figurative shape and decor. In another preferred form, the arrangement of the numbers and the didactic visual representation of the calculating cards is reversed between the top and the bottom, both front and back, and a shoe-case adapted to these cards is made. Said shoe-case may also be wall-mounted or standing and have a figurative shape and decoration.30 One of the advantages of an invention as presented above lies in the fact also that the child can make his learning all alone and this while avoiding the anxiety generated by the fear of being wrong. He can repeat as many times as it takes for memorization without feeling judged or destabilized by the eyes of the adult. Thanks to the shoe-box and the associated separating cards, the different cards that are not known can be isolated and presented again to the child, which makes it possible to encourage selective learning of what is most difficult for everyone. This makes it possible to target and adapt the choice of cards to the progression of each subject in learning. On the other hand, playing alone, the child is not required to give / seek the answer: it can be limited to watching the result and wait for the card to go back. By authorizing himself not to know, he favors an off-center, stress-free, open-minded and impregnated memorization.

Claims (12)

  1. Educational material for understanding and learning the four basic arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, this material being a deck of cards, the front of the cards constituting only numbers (1,2,3) having a mathematical relationship between them involving at least one of said four basic arithmetic operations while the back of said cards comprises a didactic visual representation (5, 5a) of the mathematical relationship between the numbers (1 , 2, 3) appearing on the front of said cards, characterized in that each card comprises means (12) for orienting each of said cards relative to one another in the set of cards constituting said card game and / or common identification means, said card game being divided into a number of subsets corresponding to the different tables of the operations to be learned, each e subset corresponding to a set of cards having between them means for identifying said cards of each of said subsets.   2. Educational material according to claim 1, characterized in that the positioning of the numbers (1, 2,   3) of the front with each other allows manual masking of at least one of them. 3. Educational material according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the arrangement of numbers (1, 2, 3) on the front of said cards forms a triangle, preferably isosceles.   4. Educational material according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said common identification means are constituted by at least one color located on at least one corner and / or at least one edge of said cards.   5. Educational material according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the orientation means (12) of said cards relative to each other are located on at least one edge of said cards. 14   6. Educational material according to claim 5, characterized in that the orientation means of said cards relative to each other are formed by shading (12).   7. Educational material according to claim 6, characterized in that said orientation means (12) are located on the edges of said cards in the bottom and right corner of each of the cards.   8. Educational material according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a shoe housing in which said card game is contained.   9. Educational material according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said shoe housing is constituted by front faces (17), rear and side, the lower and upper sides being free to slide the cards behind the front face. (17) and in that at least three windows (18) are arranged on said front face (17) to show the numbers (1, 2, 3) of the card located in the shoe box immediately behind this front face (17).   10. Educational material according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that said front face (17) of said shoe housing comprises a notch (19) at the bottom of this face (17) for extracting said cards from the package located in said housing. shoe.   11. Educational material according to claim 8 to 10, characterized in that caches (20) or shutters can be inserted immediately behind, on or in said front face (17) thus making it possible to hide at least one number (1). , 2, 3) of the first card of the package contained in said shoe-case.   12. Educational material according to claim 8 to 11, characterized in that the shoe housing can contain separating cards (21, 22).