Name of teaching material
Special Abacus for the Blind (Horie Abacus) marketed product
Japanese Page URL
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| Target |
Children and students with visual impairment Children and students having difficulty using an ordinary abacus |
|---|---|
| Disability category | visual impairment physically challenged developmental disabilities deaf-blind |
| Teaching units / Applicable scenes | arithmetic, mathematics |
| Specific purposes |
The special abacus for the blind facilitates children and students: ・ Understand how numbers work ・ Do the four arithmetic operations using an abacus instead of paper and pencil ・ Improve finger movements |
| Considerations for disability characteristics |
・ The abacus was developed for people with visual impairment. The beads move up and down not sliding along rods but flipping back and forth. Two types are available: Takeda type, which focuses on smooth bead movements, and TH, which is equipped with springs to prevent unintentional bead movements. ・ The beads are larger and flatter compared to those of an ordinary abacus. ・ The plastic abacus has 23 digits and projecting marks at every three digits. |
| Expected effects and results |
The abacus is expected to help children and students: ・ Feel confident in doing calculations ・ Acquire the ability to do calculation in their head even without an abacus ・ Develop a challenging spirit towards passing exams of higher abacus performance levels ・ Improve skills in using fingers |
| How to use | ・ Push beads up or down using the thumbs and index and middle fingers. |
| Related teaching materials and information |
・ Available from the online shop of Japan Braille Library as Horie Abacus (Special Abacus for the Blind) ・ Produced and sold by Horie Shoji ・ Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Reference Materials for Braille Textbook: Abacus 1 (in Japanese) ・ ID125 “Abacus Cover for Persons with Visual Impairment” in the Database of Teaching Materials and Methods for Special Needs Education |
| Useful for other students | The abacus is a universal design product and is easy to use by children and students, with or without visual impairment, who have difficulty manipulating an ordinary abacus. |
- Informant Study Group on Education for Children with Total and Partial Blindness, Elementary Department, Special Needs Education School for the Visually Impaired, University of Tsukuba
- Keywords visual impairment, abacus, calculation, mental calculation, how numbers work
- Created 2025-02-05 15:35:35
- Updated 2025-02-05 15:35:35