We are using the number line here to develop the core concept of the number sequence, with addition and subtraction presented as movements in opposite directions. Encourage the child initially to explore the extent of the number line, which varies according to the activity, by holding the mouse over the "<" and ">" buttons. Clicking on these buttons will skip some numbers to increase the speed.
We have tried to group the activities in a logical learning sequence: adding and subtracting 10 following on directly from adding and subtracting 1, rather than adding 2,3 etc. If the child appears to be counting on 10, encourage them to notice that the final answer still contains the same units digit as the original number. Once this 'trick' has been mastered, adding 9 is just a combination of two of the previous activities: add 10 then subtract 1. Subtracting 9 simply becomes: subtract 10 and add 1.
In the full version of this software, the set of available activities will be user-definable. For each activity on the number line you will be able to set at least the following:
1. The title of the activity
2. The number of seconds on the clock
3. The speed at which the number line moves along
4. The range of the number line, including negative numbers
5. The range of numbers from which to randomly select a number
6. The operation (add, subtract, multiply, divide)
7. The various words and sybols randomly displayed within the activity eg "subtract", "minus", "take away", "-"
Your feedback on these parameters and any other requirements would be greatly appreciated
(c) Number Gym Software 2003