Fairshare

For children age 6 years upwards

What can you do to help your child understand the concept of division? Fairshare is a cassette containing two computer programs, Fairshare 1 and Fairshare 2, designed to help children grasp this idea in an imaginative and interesting way.

Each program allows a choice in the numbers of objects to be shared out, mistakes are prevented and correct answers rewarded. The programs are flexible enough to cope with differing ability levels, and the idea of remainder after division is easily introduced.

Both programs make full use of the computer's graphic capabilities in presenting the information in a colourful and compelling way. Just follow the instructions given in the booklet provided and Fairshare will give your child a new insight into a vital skill.

Griffin & George have over 150 years of experience in supplying equipment to education. Their expertise includes a broad knowledge of selling micro-computers and software to schools. Griffin Software is designd with the help of teachers to bring you the best in educational programs for use in school and at home.

Fairshare 1

Educational Objectives: To introduce the concept of division by means of sharing a given number of objects into groups.

Loading: CHAIN"FAIRSHARE1"

You will see the introductory page of this program after loading. Press SPACE to start.

You will then have to choose the types of objects that you want to share:

1. sweets
2. hearts
3. shells
4. fish
5. moths
6. boots

To make your choice, press Space when the flashing box surrounds the object you want. The object inside the box will be the one that is selected.

You then have to enter the number of your chosen objects to share out. (Pressing the SPACE bar after a number will give a zero).

Press the number keys to choose.

Ollie the octopus now has your objects. You will now have to tell him into how many boxes his objects are to be shared.

Press the number keys to make your choice.

Ollie is now ready to share his objects into the boxes.

Pressing the Space Bar will cause Ollie to put the object he is holding into the box that has a flashing edge. If it is pressed, another box will begin to flash, so all you have to do is wait for the box you want to begin to flash and then you can put the object in it.

If the box is full then Ollie takes it back and you have to try again.

If the box is not full then Ollie puts the object into a box and gets another.

When Ollie has shared his treasures into the boxes equally then he will ask you to type in the number in each box. Then if there is a remainder, he will ask you how many are left (again, the space bar will give zero).

Fairshare 2

Educational Objective: To introduce the concept of division by means of sharing a given number of objects into groups.

Loading: CHAIN"FAIRSHARE2"

The program runs automatically when loaded.

First, you see the title page of this program. Press the SPACE BAR to start.

You have to choose the number of objects:

Press A for up to 10 objects.
Press B for up to 20 objects.
Press C for up to 30 objects.

You can press the SPACE BAR and the computer will choose randomly and start the game at once.

You now have to choose the number of boses. Press 2, 3, 4 or 5.

You then have to type:

A for always this number of boxes, or
U for up to this number of boxes.

And lastly you will see "Will you allow a remainder Y/N?"

Press Y for a remainder. You will then see a summary of your choice and "Press X to change, or any other key to continue".

If you have made a mistake, press X, otherwise press any other key.

The game then continues as for FAIRSHARE1.

Program Information

If you press the BREAK key at any time then you will destroy the program and you will have to re-load it to play again.

If you press the ESCAPE key then the program starts again as if it was just loaded (i.e. you will see the title page).

If you do not press a key when you see "Press X to change..." then after a short time the computer assumes that your selection is correct and proceeds to the game.

Comments

This program presents a practical way to teach simple division to young children. The idea of remainders after division can also be introduced.

The difference between FAIRSHARE1 and FAIRSHARE2 is that, in FAIRSHARE1, you choose the exact division question, you even specify the things that are to be shared. In FAIRSHARE2, you choose the type of division that is to be asked. You also choose the level of difficulty of the question, such as the maximum number of objects and boxes.