[blindkid] [Bulk] Re: [Bulk] subtracting in Nemeth braille

[Brandy W]

Hi, I very much agree! I mixed up letters for a long time, and got many math 
problems wrong. I learned the abacus in second grade. It has been very 
useful in my every day life. Yes it is the only thing one can use on a test 
when others get the use of paper. You guys are doing great. She sounds very 
ahead. Bran
Brandy Wojcik
Discovery Toys Educational Leader
www.playtoachieve.com
(512) 231-8697
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Holloway" <rholloway at gopbc.org>
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, October 16, 2009 10:44 PM
Subject: [Bulk] Re: [blindkid] [Bulk] subtracting in Nemeth braille


> An abacus can be useful from a pretty early age. My first grader uses  one 
> quite often and rather proficiently. She used it heavily in  Kindergarten 
> as well and has actually been using one for 3 or 4 years  now. I believe 
> we have the abacus on her IEP for use in certain  testing situations when 
> sighted kids might be using pencil & paper for  their calculations.
>
> This is off the topic slightly, but Kendra sometimes gets her numbers 
> mixed up with the fairly common e/i d/f h/j transpositions in braille. 
> She understands the concept and can manipulate the numbers in her head 
> and on an abacus consistently but the braille reversals cause her a  good 
> deal of frustration. Those can be confusing when she reads too,  but in 
> context there is a much better chance of figuring out the right 
> character-- It is a lot easier to figure out if something should be a  "d" 
> or an "f" than it is to read the numbers 4 or 6 "in context" (as  they 
> have no context). The net result is a braille reading reversal  can allow 
> her to do a correct calculation but produce the wrong result  because she 
> properly calculated a result from the misread numbers.
>
> I guess that's my long winded endorsement of the abacus as at least  one 
> suggested tool for math work from early on. The fewer times she  has to 
> manipulate numbers in braille, the less likely that is to come  into play, 
> and before anyone wants to jump in and say that she HAS to  learn to read 
> those correctly, we know and agree with that, but this  is a way that her 
> math skills can continue to grow even though it will  take some time for 
> her number reading to catch up with her calculation  skill.
>
> Just something to think about,
>
> Richard
>
>
> On Oct 16, 2009, at 9:53 PM, Mike Freeman wrote:
>
>> Right on! But I see no need for the abacus! By the time one needs an 
>> abacus, a calculator works just as well! (grin)
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Brandy W" <branlw at sbcglobal.net>
>> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, \(for parents of blind chn\(was 
>> <blindkid at nfbnet.org
>> >
>> Date: Friday, Oct 16, 2009 12:48:21
>> Subject: Re: [blkid] [Bulk]  subtracting in Nemeth braille
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi, When I do subtraction on the Braille Writer I don't use extra 
>>> signs. One
>>> doesn't need to cross it out. If need be she could just put a 4  sign 
>>> over
>>> it. Once I was profeciant we moved on to the abacus. Much faster  and 
>>> makes
>>> more since. Hope this helps. Bran
>>>
>>> Brandy Wojcik
>>> Discovery Toys Educational Leader
>>> www.playtoachieve.com
>>> (512) 231-8697
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Joy Orton" <ortonsmom at gmail.com>
>>> To: <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Friday, October 16, 2009 11:03 AM
>>> Subject: [Bulk] [blkid] subtracting in Nemeth braille
>>>
>>>
>>>> Dear Friends,
>>>> Our third grader is doing subtraction with two and three digit  numbers 
>>>> and
>>>> some borrowing. In print, the number is crossed out and a new digit
>>>> written
>>>> in above it. In nemeth, you have to use a "start cancelling" sign  and 
>>>> a
>>>> "stop cancelling" sign before and after each digit to be changed.  I 
>>>> know
>>>> this takes lots of paper.
>>>>
>>>> Right now our daughter is doing subtractions problems in her head.
>>>> Occasionally she gets mixed up, so the answer "21" might turn into 
>>>> "12."
>>>> She
>>>> knows her math facts, but two and three digit numbers are a lot to 
>>>> keep up
>>>> with. She has been introduced to the "long" way to do it in  Nemeth, 
>>>> but
>>>> she
>>>> does not seem comfortable with it. (Honestly right now she is  missing 
>>>> no
>>>> more than one in 10 of this kind of problem. Maybe I'm hyper- 
>>>> sensitive.)
>>>>
>>>> I don't know if her teachers are emphasizing writing it out. I  know 
>>>> right
>>>> now it's not a big deal, but I think it will be important in the 
>>>> future to
>>>> have the skill of cancelling a digit or expression. I can think of
>>>> reducing
>>>> fractions as an example of when it is needed.
>>>>
>>>> How have you dealt with this situation?
>>>> 1. How much do I need to emphasize it?
>>>> 2. How can I encourage the teachers and transcriptionist to help  her 
>>>> work
>>>> on
>>>> it?
>>>>
>>>> A related question: Is there an easy to read Nemeth guide or  "cheat 
>>>> sheet"
>>>> like the alphabet and contraction sheet? I have a 255 page binder  from
>>>> BANA
>>>> with the whole code and all the rules, but it is hard to find what  I 
>>>> want.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for your help!
>>>> Joy Orton
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>>>
>>>
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>>
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>
>
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