Teaching Subtraction Using a Balance

I love finding nifty ways to use tools for teaching math. Especially tools that aren’t supposed to teach math. Or at least the math I’m trying to get it to teach.

I have this very cool balance that I got from Discovery Toys that would normally be a science toy. But, alas, I’m a mathematician, Jim, not a doctor. So I’ve taken the fancy science toy and turned it into a way to teach subtraction.

You can, of course, use it to teach addition and later I’ll do a post on using it to teach multiplication and division.

If you have children who struggle with math concepts, teaching them with hands on bits (manipulatives) sometimes helps. Here’s how to teach subtraction using a balance:

This nifty trick can be done with any balance as long as you have weights appropriately sized. Sometimes that’s not so easy to find. Order a colorful balance that’s similar to the Discovery Toys one in video here.

Did it work? How did your children receive this method of learning arithmetic? Please share your experience with it in the comments!