6 cards are dealt face up. The player tries to combine some or all of the first 5 cards to equal the value of the sixth card. Players may use any combination of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Up to 2 pairs of parenthesis may be added if desired. The cards and parenthesis use a "drag and drop" style interaction. Because multiple solutions are often possible, the scoring system encourages the use of as many number cards as possible. The value of each card used to construct a solution is added to achieve the player's score. Using multiplication and division operations earns additional points. Besides acquiring points, each time an equivalency is completed a "hidden" background picture is displayed. An optional timer is available. The preferences window may be password protected.

Note that the software behaves just as the card game that it is based on, in that it does NOT assure all problems have a solution. While the vast majority of problems can be solved there may be occasions where the problem presented will not be solvable.

I encourage students in my class (8-10 year olds) to try and match the target number using all 5 cards. While this is not always possible it helps develop several number manipulation strategies. To further entice students along this line, version 1.5 adds a 100 point bonus for using all 5 cards and provides a visual record of the number of times this bonus has been achieved.

Macintosh

Macintosh Universal (Intel / PPC) requires OSX 10.2 or greater. Classic version (a FAT build for both PPC and 68k machines) works with systems 7.6 - 9.2 and requires at least 6 MB of free application memory. 640 x 480 or greater screen resolution.

Windows 98 or better, 640 x 480 or greater screen resolution.

Written by Scott Morrow for use in his third grade classroom as a supplement to the Everyday Mathematics program ( SRA / McGraw-Hill. )

version 1.5 New cosmetic skin. Added an optional timer. Added a scoring bonus for using all 5 cards. October 2009
version 1.1 Added a variety of number-card styles. April 2009
version 1.0.6 Solving a problem results in all manipulative objects becoming locked in place until a new problem is begun. Last version for Classic Mac. April 2006
version 1.0.5 Assorted bug fixes. April 2005
version 1.0.4 First public release: March 2005.

Elementary Software
2706 Northwest Avenue
Bellingham WA 98225
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