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Welcome
Welcome to
Stuart Little:
His Adventures In Numberland
Why is Numberland so fun?
It’s because Numberland is a big animated cartoon, but in this cartoon
the child gets to be one of the characters -- Stuart!
And what’s going on in Numberland?
Pretending they are Stuart, children explore
Numberland and discover hidden places, a secret
playground, and Numberland’s games. A group of
cartoon playmates makes the children feel at home in
Numberland, playing games with them and patiently
helping them correct any mistakes.
As the children play the games with the cartoon playmates, they
earn “brain power,” which they see filling up Stuart’s brain.
When they have enough brain power, they can
use Numberland’s powerful Imagination
Machine! This machine turns “imagined” toys into
“real” toys, which the children can then sell in Bee’s toy store.
So in a nutshell - - they explore and explore, learn how
to play games from cartoon playmates, earn brain power,
make toys, sell them to customers, and learn math the whole
time... And they never seem to get tired of it!
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Credits
CO - C R E ATO R S A N D AU T H O R S
Shaw-Jing Chao, Ph.D.
J. Arthur Woodward, Ph. D.
Department of Psychology
University of California, Los Angeles
A S S O C I AT E P R O D U C E R
Jill Gilkerson
S O F T WA R E E N G I N E E R S
Ferry Permadi, Lead Programmer
Kenji Mori
Susanto Kolim
TECHNICAL SUPERVISOR
Ferry Permadi
NUMBERLAND:
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Robert Michaels
SuperMentor.com, Inc.
Jason Chung
NOVA International Investment Group
PRODUCERS
J. Arthur Woodward
Shaw-Jing Chao
MUSIC
Theme Song
Scott Lipscomb
Game Music
Mindy Molson
J. Arthur Woodward
Yu-Yi Chang
VO I C E S
C H A R AC T E R D E S I G N
Kamran Moojedi
Linda Emme
TOY FAC TO RY D E S I G N
Pong Kuo
Nick Chen
3 D M O D E L I N G A N D A N I M AT I O N
Light, Image, Magic
Multimedia Production Co., Taiwan
Art Directors
Vincent Hung
Ming-Te Chien
Major Characters
Bee: Jill Gilkerson
Panda: Shaw-Jing Chao
Kangaroo Mom: Jill Gilkerson
Kangaroo Baby: Mindy Molson
Minor Characters
J. Arthur Woodward
Mindy Molson
Shaw-Jing Chao
Christina Palmer
Lopa Sen
Kenji Mori
Ferry Permadi
Ramon Colinayo
Lisa Carlstrom
Artists
Chien-Chung Tang
Wan-Fen Chen
Additional Artists
Bruce Wang
Ted Sao
2 D A N D 3 D A R T A N D A N I M AT I O N
Ramon Colinayo, Art Director
Marc Acurso
Sandy Lai
Additional Artists
Dawn Dellamano
Kash Sen, Senweb, Inc.
RESEARCH TEAM
Shaw-Jing Chao
J. Arthur Woodward
Jill Gilkerson
Mindy Molson
Lisa Travis
Trinh Hong
FUNCTIONALITY TESTING
Jill Gilkerson, Supervisor
Jane Sulahian
Cynthia Sanchez
Jill Robinson
Lisa Travis
SOUND EFFECTS
sounddogs.com
J. Arthur Woodward
Jill Gilkerson
Shaw-Jing Chao
Ferry Permadi
Kenji Mori
PA R T I C I PAT I N G S C H O O L S
Mar Vista Elementary School
Teachers
Beverly Tackett
Amy Weitman
Lucy Manriquez
Sophia Matison
Betty Ogawa
Warner Elementary School
Star Program Director
Vickie Feldman
John Tracy Clinic for the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing
Director of Counseling, Audiology,
and Teacher Education
Barbara Hecht
Counselor, Art TherapIst
Renuka Sundaram
S T UA R T L I T T L E :
Special thanks to Sony Pictures Imageworks for
the Original 3D model of Stuart Little
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Getting Started
.......................................................................................................
2. Inside Numberland
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At a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Numberland Secrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
..............................................................................................
3. Playing and Learning
13
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Motivation and attention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Inside the games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Close ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
.......................................................................................
Dot-to-Dot
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Using the game to teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Treasure Chest Card Game
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Using the game to teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Bee’s Toy Store
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Using the game to teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Panda’s Castle Game
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Using the game to teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Falling Blocks Addition
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Using the game to teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Falling Blocks Subtraction
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Using the game to teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
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4
Table of Contents
Flower Game (Bug Races)
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Using the game to teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Tree Climbing Game
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Using the game to teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Dinoroo’s Bridge Game
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Using the game to teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Falling Blocks Addition and Subtraction
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Using the game to teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Imagination Machine
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Using the game to teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Stuart’s Treasure Hunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Mother Kangaroo’s Numerical Rhymes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
As Kids Play With Stuart, They Learn Math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
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1
Getting
Started
B
ecause Stuart Little: His Adventures in Numberland is a Windows 95TM (or
higher) application, getting started is easy… just start our installation Wizard, answer a
few routine questions (99% of users take the default answers), restart the computer, and
play with Stuart!
First of all, you will need to meet the following minimum computer system requirements:
You need at least:
●
200 Mhz Pentium computer
●
16 MB RAM
●
45 MB free hard disk space
●
8X CD-ROM drive
●
Windows 95 (or higher)
●
Windows-compatible sound card.
Of course, sometimes things go wrong and if they do, then the Troubleshooting section
will help. There are several simple things that can go wrong (like not enough hard disk
space), and there are several more complicated things that can go wrong, which have to
do with the Windows software needing to run one of the main engines in Stuart –
Microsoft DirectXTM.
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Chapter 1: Getting Started
Installation Instructions
Section 1 If this works, skip section 2.
1. Close all applications before installing.
2. Insert the CD-ROM. The set-up program should start automatically. If not, then
go to Run in the Start menu and under your CD-ROM drive letter type
setup.exe (for example, d:\setup.exe, if d: is your CD-ROM drive) and click OK.
Then follow the instructions on the screen.
3. If a dialogue box appears with the question asking whether you want to install
a new driver (see picture below), do one of the following:
Press No if the text says (not recommended).
Press Yes if the text says (recommended).
4. When the installation program is finished, restart the computer.
5. The game is now installed. You will find a StuartLittle: His Adventures in
Numberland icon on the Windows desktop (see icon below).
6. Double click the icon to start playing.
Chapter 1: Getting Started
Section 2 Read this section only if Stuart doesn’t run after installation.
Using Section 1 alone, Stuart will run on most computers. However, if the game does not
run properly (it freezes or crashes in the middle of the game), then you might need to
replace some drivers. Stuart utilizes Microsoft DirectXTM 5, which requires that your audio
and display have the appropriate DirectXTM drivers. You will need to rerun the DirectXTM
Setup program to replace the drivers.
1. Go to Run in the Start menu and under your CD-ROM drive letter type
dxset.exe (for example, d:\dxset.exe, if d: is your CD-ROM drive) and click OK.
2. When the dialogue box appears with the question asking whether you want
to install a new driver, always answer Yes. Please make a note to yourself as to
which driver is being installed or replaced (display driver / audio driver / both),
so you can restore them later. Microsoft DirectXTM Setup will detect the drivers
that best matches your audio and display cards and install them (click OK as it
asks you about each separate driver). This process is reversible.
3. Once the DirectXTM Setup is complete, restart your computer and rerun Stuart.
If after following the steps above the program still doesn’t run, then Stuart Little: His
Adventures in Numberland will not run on your computer. At this point you should
restore your original drivers using the following steps.
1. Double click My Computer and double click Control Panel.
2. Within Control Panel, double click Add/Remove Programs icon.
3. Find DirectXTM Drivers on the list and select it (scroll if you don’t see it), then
press Add/Remove button. A DirectXTM Setup window will appear.
4. In DirectXTM Setup window, depending on which driver had been replaced by
the previous installation (display driver / audio driver / both), click Restore
Audio Drivers and/or Restore Display Drivers button if active, then click OK.
5. Restart computer if not restarted automatically.
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8
Chapter 1: Getting Started
For more information about DirectX™, visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/directx/
Uninstall Guide
Please follow these steps to uninstall Stuart Little: His Adventures in Numberland from
your computer:
Go to the Windows Program Group where the game is located (the default is
called Stuart Little: His Adventures in Numberland), you should find an item
called: unInstall Stuart Little: His Adventures in Numberland. Double click/run
that item to uninstall.
Having Trouble Running The Game?
If you encounter a problem running the game (e.g., the game freezes or stops unexpectedly), first make sure that your Sound Card Acceleration is set correctly. The easiest way is
to disable the acceleration with the following steps:
1. Go to Start > Run, then type dxdiag.exe, then click OK.
2. Click Sound tab.
3. Set the Hardware Sound Acceleration Level to the lowest setting by dragging the slider all the way to the left to “No Acceleration.”
4. Click the Exit button, then restart the game.
If this does not help, refer to the Troubleshooting section of this manual
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2
Inside
Numberland
N
umberland is designed to stimulate children’s natural enjoyment of exploration and love of surprises, so this Numberland map is really for adults only. When children play, learning about Numberland is easy and self evident from the context. The
games are self teaching with the help of the animated playmates. Thus, in the games,
there are no words the child must read and almost no icons to explain. In our experience, children really enjoy spending several days of exploration, maybe even longer, discovering all the different locations, games, and surprises in Numberland. But as a parent
or teacher, you may want to use the maps and pictures below to get an immediate idea
of what’s in Numberland at a glance.
Big Playroom
(left-side)
Big Playroom
(right-side)
Imagination
Machine Room
Dome Room
Sign- in Room
Numberland
Map
Stuart’s Secret
Playground
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Chapter 2: Inside Numberland
At a Glance
Bee’s Toy Store
Big Playroom
(left-side)
Dot-to-Dot
(2 secret games
will be revealed
upon completion
of Dot-to-Dot)
Big Playroom
(right-side)
Imagination
Machine Room
Numberland
Map
Falling Blocks
Subtraction
Dome Room
Sign-in Room
Treasure Chest
Card Game
Dinoroo’s
Bridge Game
Tree Climbing
Game
Falling Blocks
Addition and
Subtraction
Stuart’s Secret
Playground
Flower Game
(Bug Races)
Chapter 2: Inside Numberland
Getting Around
In Numberland, getting around is so simple most kids learn how without even realizing it.
You only need to know three “traffic rules”:
When this little open doorway appears in the lower left hand corner
of the screen, you may click it to leave the entire game. (The escape
key on the keyboard does the same thing)
During a specific game, this icon can be clicked to return to
wherever you came from – to go back one level.
These little footprints appear on the floor of three rooms. Follow the
footprints (click them) to go back through a door you just came in
from. The footprints are just a marker to help you remember the
door is behind you and not in sight.
During any animation you may click
the mouse to jump to the end of the
animation. For example, during the
introductory flight around the island,
you may click to jump to the sign in.
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Chapter 2: Inside Numberland
Numberland Secrets
Exit
Click the open-door icon in the lower left corner of the screen; you
will leave Numberland. During a game, click the little toy soldier
beside the closed-door icon and the toy soldier will take you back
to where you came from. You can also use the “Esc” key on the keyboard to exit.
Pause
Press the “spacebar” on the keyboard to pause the game for as long
as you want. Press the space bar again to continue playing where
you left off.
Music
Press the “M” key on the keyboard to turn off the music. Press it
again to turn the music back on.
Skip
Click the mouse during most long animations to skip to the end of
the animation. For example, click during the introductory flight
around the island to skip immediately to the sign in.
Printing
If you are going to print in Numberland, be sure to turn your printer
on after you start Stuart Little: His Adventures in Numberland. If you
try to print while your printer is not connected or not turned on,
the program will be minimized. To continue playing, click the minimized “Stuart” icon on the menu bar at the bottom of the Windows
screen.
Surprises
Look for surprises and hidden games. What happens when you finish all the pictures in Dot-to-Dot? What do you do in the cave to get
to ride the roller coaster around the top of the toy factory? What
happens if you fill your brain with brain power?
13
3
Playingand
Learning
Overview
O
ne effective way for children to first learn about math is through everyday
experiences: where knowing about numbers makes sense to the child; where the child
has a reason to be interested; where each new challenge is just “two or three inches”
beyond the child’s level, instead of “20 to 30 yards” beyond; and where an adult patiently
interacts with them, creating the realization that someone important to the child values
math and enjoys using numerical concepts.
So, these are the main ingredients in Numberland:
●
meaningful contexts where knowing about numbers makes sense;
●
motivating, attention-keeping activities;
●
a progression of overlapping math content -- inches apart, not yards apart;
●
and many opportunities for the child to learn and self-correct mistakes by
imitating the animated playmates, and many opportunities for the parent
and teacher to explain a concept as it is presented in a game.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Motivation and Attention
Children are instinctively curious, fun-oriented, and interested in learning about almost
everything they’re ready for. A good educational game is designed to hold their attention, motivate them, and help them to enjoy learning.
The motivating structure in Numberland is the application of knowledge from several
sources – numerous applications of systematic knowledge on attention and motivation;
the common-sense knowledge of the authors, artists, and musicians who love children;
the not-so-common sense knowledge of kindergarten teachers who have had years of
experience teaching children; and most importantly the children themselves, who played
the hundreds of versions of the games and told us by their actions what will motivate
them and what will not. It took all of these sources combined to create the several layers
of motivating and attention keeping structure in Numberland.
Brain
Power
In Numberland, the top of the motivation “food chain” is Stuart’s
brain power. As children play the games, they learn they are accumulating “brain power”, which is displayed visually in Stuart’s brain.
After they have played a game several times, a corresponding section of Stuart’s brain becomes full of brain power. Then they can go
to the imagination machine room and turn an “imagined” toy into a
“real” toy. What’s more, they can then sell the toys to customers in
Bee’s toy store. The accumulation and harnessing of Stuart’s brain
power in the imagination machine encourages children to play all
the games, not just the easiest ones, because they can fill and refill
Stuart’s brain many times.
Role
Playing
Children love role playing and pretending. And especially they love
cartoons. We have combined these -- Numberland is just a special
kind of cartoon where the child can actually play the role of one of
the characters – Stuart!
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Meaningful Meaningful contexts are important for math learning, not only from
Contexts
the standpoint of cognition and assimilation of new information,
but also because meaningful contexts are motivating. To the best
of our ability, numerical information is represented in Numberland
in meaningful situations where there is a reason to know about the
concept or skill.
Internal
Rewards
Each game and activity was designed so that completion of a task
Surprises
There are hundreds of little sights and sounds that surprise the
itself is a reward.
child, creating a “what’s next” expectation.
Inside the Games
What kind of math content should be learned by preschool and kindergarten children,
and in what order? Our answers to these question were taken from educational research,
including a body of scientific knowledge called Cognitive Development Research. The
blue print for Numberland’s content is shown on the following pages.
15
16
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Figure 1: Conceptual framework for games in Stuart in Numberland
General
Concepts
Games
Number sequences
Dot-to-Dot
Enumeration, pattern
recognition; matching
numerals to sets of concrete
and semi-concrete objects
Treasure Chest Card Game
Counting concrete objects by
1, 2, 5, and 10
Bee’s Toy Store
Informal adding to and taking
away concrete objects
Bee’s Toy Store
Meaning of “+” and “-”; adding
two sets of semi-concrete
objects
Panda’s Castle Game
Flower Game
Dinoroo’s Bridge Game
Mapping between addition
(subtraction) of concrete
objects and abstract notation
for small sets
Falling Blocks Addition
Falling Blocks Subtraction
One-digit and two-digit
abstract numeral operations
on a number line
Tree Climbing Game
Number facts: addition and
subtraction
Falling Blocks Addition
and Subtraction
Place Value
Base Ten
Concepts
Place value of ones and tens
Bee’s Toy Store
Geometric
Shapes
Naming and matching
geometric shapes
Imagination Machine
Basic
Numbering
Numerical Concepts
and
Geometic Shapes
Specific Skills
Addition
and
Subtraction
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Some of the specific concepts and skills taught by Numberland’s games are shown in the
table below.
Games
Concepts and Skills
Naming and matching geometric shapes
size comparison
Eye-hand coordination
Number sequences
Numeral naming
Enumeration
Pattern recognition
Association of numerals to concrete objects
Association of numerals to semiconcrete objects
Focusing attention and following a
sequence of directions
Counting objects by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, or 10’s
Informal adding to and taking away
concrete objects
Place value of 1’s and 10’s
Base 10 concept
Counting semi-concrete objects
Adding two small sets (0-3) of semiconcrete objects
Exposure to meaning of “+” or “-”
Reading a “+” or a “-” symbol and moving
forward or backward on a path
Modeling addition/subtraction by mapping
abstract notation on to concrete blocks
1+- 0=1, 2+- 0=2...n+- 0=n
Commutativity of addition, e.g.,“2+3” = “3+2”
Getting the answer to n +-1, n+- 2, n+- 3
Representing quantity on a numbered path
One digit and two digit addition and
subtraction on a number line
Numerical reasoning
Explicit memorization of addition and
subtraction number facts with sum or
difference not exceeding 10
Ages 4-6
Ages 5-7
Im
Macaginat
hine ion
Dot
-toDot
Trea
s
Card ure C
Gam hest
e
Bee
’s To
y St
ore
Pan
d
Gam a’s Ca
stle
e
Falli
n
Add g Blo
itio cks
Falli n
n
Sub g Blo
trac cks
tion
Flow
er G
ame
Tree
Gam Climb
e
ing
Dino
r
Brid oo’s
ge
Falli Game
Ad ng B
Subditionloacks
trac nd
tion
Ages 3-5
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dot-to-Dot
There are ten white areas
like these on the mural
Click a small white
area to begin
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dot-to-Dot
Close ,Ups
Let s take a closer look at the games...
Dot-to-Dot
Overview
For the Kids
Dot-to-dot gives you the chance to draw like an artist by simply connecting the
dots. Ten white areas appear on the colored background of a mural. Clicking on a
white area will display dots that can be connected to form a picture, which can
then be colored. Just connect the dots, and color your picture like a pro. What a
joy to see your artistic work shown on the mural in Numberland! When all the pictures are completed, the door of the castle and the mushroom house open - - you
can go inside and play games with cartoon playmates.
Concepts and skills
●
Number sequences
●
Eye-hand coordination
●
Reading numerals, one digit or two digit not larger than 20
Cognitive corner
Dot-to-dot is the easiest, but most fundamental game in Numberland. Children
must memorize the sequence “one, two, three….” before they can have fun with
the other math games. A toddler already has enjoyed reciting the number
sequence, before understanding that the number “one” represents one thing. At
this time, number sequence is no different to them than the alphabet sequence.
The quantitative meaning of the numbers gradually will sink in as the child
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20
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dot-to-Dot
Click the next dot
Click paint
buckets to color
Move hand toward
bottom to see more
Click printer
icon to print
Click mop to erase
colors or lines on picture
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dot-to-Dot
applies the number sequence to actual counting situations. If you think memorizing the number sequence is a simple task for young children, just give the following arbitrary sequence a try:“lul, laa, buy, bay, bee, lol, lee, pop, taa, boo.” Now you
probably have a taste of what the little guys are going through. The sequence
would be difficult to memorize because there is no meaning attached to it, which is
what the child experiences during early exposures to the number sequence. But if
you were told that sequence was made from “Lullaby baby, lollipop taboo”, you
could remember the sequence instantly, because meaning has been attached to it.
(Stern, 1949, p.12, Children Discover Arithmetic). In a similar way, all the games in
Numberland are designed to help the child attach meaning to numerical information.
Corrections
If children click a wrong number, I’ll
gently say “mm, mm”. If the next number
is not clicked after 30 seconds, I will
sparkle the correct number as a hint.
When you complete all
the dot-to-dot pictures,
there are two hidden
games waiting for you!
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dot-to-Dot
1-12
1-20
1-20
1-11
1-17
1-12
1-12
1-10
1-10
1-10
1 Start with easiest number
sequences from 1 to 10
2 Numeral recognition
and naming
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dot-to-Dot
Using the Game to Teach
Focal Points for Parents and Teachers
1 Start with easiest number sequences from 1 to 10
The size of the number sequence is written in each of the 10 white areas in the
picture on the preceding page. For children just learning to recognize the
written numerals from 1 to 10, you can help them start with the small white
areas, which are labeled 1-10 in the pictures.
2 Numeral recognition and naming
To help reinforce numeral recognition and numeral naming, point out the
large blue numeral that appears in the upper left corner each time a dot is
connected. As children begin to work on the more difficult pictures, this is a
good opportunity to show them how to recognize two digit numbers – first
by looking at the left digit, then looking at the right digit, and saying the
numeral name.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dot-to-Dot
3 Connecting
the dots again
4 Coloring a
picture again
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dot-to-Dot
3 Connecting the dots again
After the dots are all connected, ask if the child would like to connect the
dots again. You can erase the connections between the dots by clicking
the little yellow mop in the bottom right-hand side of the screen.
After the dots have been connected, ask if the child wants to click
the printer icon in the lower left-hand side of the screen. The picture
can then be printed and colored by hand.
4 Coloring a picture again
After coloring a picture, ask if the child would like to color it again. You can
erase the colors by clicking the mop in the bottom right-hand side of the
screen. You may need to help children with very small areas, and show them
that coloring can be made easier by dragging the paint brush over several
areas. If you have a color printer, ask if the child wants to click the printer icon
in the lower left-hand side of the screen to print their color picture.
How many paint buckets have
you found? Have you found the
bucket of water yet? What is it
used for? What happens when
you complete the whole mural?
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Treasure Chest Card Game
Click Bee
for help
Click numeral
card on left side
See part of the treasure
when the cards match
Click pattern
card on right side
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Treasure Chest Card Game
Treasure Chest Card Game
Overview
For the Kids
The treasure chest card game is a time-tested favorite concentration game. Open
the treasure chest, watch the dealer deal the cards, play the game, then dig out
the treasures! Every time you match a number card and a pattern card, you’ll see
more of the treasure inside the treasure chest. If you have any trouble remembering the cards, just ask the bee, who is always there to help.
Concepts and skills
●
Enumeration
●
Pattern recognition
●
Association of numerals to concrete objects (e.g., apples)
●
Association of numerals to semi-concrete objects (e.g., tiles)
Cognitive corner
People use numbers to quantify objects. For example, we say “Here’s 5 apples” or
“There are 8 rabbits”. Numbers are abstract entities that can be used to refer to
different kinds of objects in different configurations. In this game, we use two
kinds of representations for numbers: structure and variety. In the variety representation, numbers are associated with concrete objects arranged differently from
trial to trial (e.g., 6 apples in a triangle or 4 butterflies in a square); the child has to
rely on counting to find out if the numeral card matches the pattern card it represents. In the structure representation, numbers are represented in a grid with two
columns of five, containing semi-concrete objects such as tiles. The child can take
advantage of the structure of the 2 by 5 grid to quickly figure out the number of
tiles in all. The variety cards encourage counting whereas the structure cards help
the child develop a flexible numerical sense.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Treasure Chest Card Game
1 Focusing attention and
following directions
2 Helping children
use their memory
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Treasure Chest Card Game
Corrections
Each time the child makes an incorrect match, I’ll softly say
“aww”, then the cards turn over again. After five incorrect
matches in a row, I’ll say “You’ve missed a bunch, want some
help matching cards? Just click me”. If the child clicks me at
that time, I will turn over the largest remaining matching pair,
explaining how to play. If the child tries to turn over two cards
from the same deck, I will gently say “mm mm”.
Using the Game to Teach
Focal Points for Parents and Teachers
1 Focusing attention and following directions
Some children may have trouble easily following the instructions and repeatedly will try to turn up a card from the same set. This is a good opportunity to
help the young child learn to focus on the task of picking one card from each
set.
2 Helping children use their memory
Young children, in particular, at first feel overwhelmed by the number of
cards and do not know how to use their memory to play the game. In this
case, it may help if an adult asks, as an example, … “Where is the six?”…
immediately after the six is turned back over, to help them understand that
they should try to remember where things are. Even remembering the location of just one pattern card can help establish a clear idea of what to do and
will help build confidence.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Treasure Chest Card Game
3Using the tile
pattern cards
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Treasure Chest Card Game
3 Using the tile pattern cards
This game alternates between pattern cards with concrete objects and pattern
cards with an array of 10 tiles, arranged in two columns of 5. To show the child
how quickly they can recognize the number of tiles, point out the regular
shape. For example, show the child that when both columns of five are full, it’s
10; or when all but the last are filled, it’s 9; when only the left column is filled,
it’s 5; or when all in the left column but the last is filled, it’s 4.
This is 10
This is 9
9 is 10 take away 1, or
9 is 5 and 4.
This is 5
This is 4
4 is 5 take away 1, or
4 is 10 take away 6.
How many treasures
have you found?
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Bee’s Toy Store
Click customer to
hear order again
Click to get toys
Click bag to
put toys back
Click lock to open
hidden safe
Click lever to
bring out box
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Bee’s Toy Store
Bee’s Toy Store
Overview
For the Kids
Come play in Bee’s pretend toy store. Give Bee a hand taking orders from the customers, getting toys from the toy bin, and putting them back from the toy bags.
Then box up the toys and collect money from the customers. Watch how the
coins turn into rolls of ten in the register.
Concepts and skills
●
Counting concrete objects by 1, 2, 5, and 10
●
Informal adding to and taking away concrete objects
●
Place value of ones and tens
●
Base ten concept
●
Exposure to two-digit and three-digit numbers
Cognitive corner
Before having formal math education in school, children already have developed
fairly solid informal numerical senses from everyday situations. Bee’s toy store
simulates a real life situation where the child needs to count and add to/take
away toys following customers’ requests. These experiences will be helpful later
when the child is ready for the abstract operations of addition and subtraction. As
the child continues, the counting will automatically progress from counting by 1’s
to counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s as the customers’ order gets bigger. This experience helps the child appreciate and realize the usefulness of counting by larger
number units. This game also exposes the child to unique aspects of our numeration system: the base ten and place value concept. One difficult concept the child
needs to learn is that the position of numbers makes a difference. The number
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Bee’s Toy Store
Click customer to
hear order again
Click to get toys
Click bag to
put toys back
Click lock to open
hidden safe
Click lever to
bring out box
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Bee’s Toy Store
“23” is not the same as “32”, and “23” is called “twenty three” not “two three”, meaning there are two tens and three ones. These concepts are demonstrated
when coins fly into the register. The coins first land in the
right-hand column and count the “ones”. When ten coins
have accumulated, they snap into a role and fly over to the
left-hand column, where the roles of ten are counted. So the
child learns that the left-hand digit counts the tens and the
right-hand digit counts the ones.
Corrections
If children forget the next step, I’ll tell them what to
do after a short wait. If they incorrectly count out the
toys, the customer will tell the child “That’s not what
I wanted, I want 5 rocking horses”, then they are given
an opportunity to try again. If they do not get the
correct order after three tries, I will show them how
to count out the correct order.
Each customer has a sensitive area.
Can you find it? There is a safe where
the child can deposit the money
collected from the customers.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Bee’s Toy Store
1
Focusing attention and
following directions
2
3
Repeating
an order
4 Adding to and
Taking away
Counting
out loud
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Bee’s Toy Store
Using the Game to Teach
Focal Points for Parents and Teachers
1 Focusing attention and following directions
This activity is useful in helping children focus their attention and follow a
sequence of simple directions. When a customer orders a specific number of
toys, the first thing a child must do is bring down the correct number of toys
from the toy bin. At this point, many children will bring down too many of
one toy, or lots of toys of every type, just to play. This first step is an opportunity to practice focusing the child’s attention by explaining … “The customer
is waiting for the toys they ordered… If you can give him the 5 rocking horses he wants, he will pay you some money and you can help the bee count it,”
and so on. Some children must help several customers before they are able
to follow all the directions.
2 Repeating an order
If the children cannot remember what the customer ordered, remind them to
click the customer to have the order repeated.
3 Counting out loud
After your child collects the money, the Bee will ask the child to “Count with
me”, as the coins fly into the money holder. This is a good time to encourage
your child to practice counting out loud.
4 Adding to and Taking away
Sometimes a customer will change their order and want more or fewer toys
than they originally asked for. The customer might say “Oh, I changed my
mind, I want 6 rocking horses please, not 10 rocking horses”. Rather than just
“taking away” 4 rocking horses to leave 6, some children will put back all 10
rocking horses, then start over. This is an opportunity to teach “take away” in a
meaningful context where it saves time and effort to simply put some toys
back, instead of starting over.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Bee’s Toy Store
6
Counting by
2s, 5s, and 10s
7
5How many dollars
will we collect?
How do we count
rolls of 10 coins?
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Bee’s Toy Store
5 How many dollars will we collect?
Occasionally a customer will ask for two kinds of toys in one order –“Can I
have 7 penguins and 10 airplanes?”. After the child has clicked the lever to
box up the toys, you can ask …“How many dollars will we get for this order?”.
As the toys are boxed up, you can point out the numbers on the
front of the box that change as each toy jumps into the box, so
when all the toys are in the box the numbers will print “6 + 4 = 10”.
6 Counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s
As the child continues to play, the orders get larger and larger until some customers will ask for 20 to 40 toys. For the large orders, the toys move from the
toy bin into the bags by 2s, 5s, and 10s. This presents a meaningful context in
which to show the child how to count by these larger units. You can encourage the child to count along with Bee and explain the time saving advantage
of counting by units larger than 1.
7 How do we count rolls of 10 coins?
When 10 or more coins are collected from the customer, the roll of 10 coins
will move from the right-hand money slot to the left-hand slot and the number below the roll of 10 will read “1”. This operation allows you to visually
illustrate the concept of place value, where there is a “10s” digit and a “1s”
digit. You can ask the child …“How many rolls of ten do we have, and where
are the numbers that show how many rolls of ten there are?”, then …“How
many coins do we have altogether?”
How many surprises will pop out of the money
drawer? What’s inside the safe? What is the prize
the cricket banker awards for collecting $100?
Where do the toys come from? How do you find out
how many dollars worth of toys you’ve already sold?
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Panda’s Castle Game
Display results
of dice roll
Click happy face
to change turns
Click to roll dice
Click “+” or “-” to
move pawn along path
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Panda’s Castle Game
Panda’s Castle Game
Overview
For the Kids
“Open sesame!” Welcome to Panda’s castle. There’s no royal road to get here. You
just have to complete the mural before coming in the castle to play with Panda.
Panda will explain her hidden board game, which is a sister game to the Flower
Game, and play with you. Wait until the secret control panel opens, then use it to
race Panda to the crown. Ready? Stretch your number muscles and make it count!
Concepts and skills
●
Counting with semi-concrete objects (e.g., dots)
●
Adding two small sets (from 0 to 3) of semi-concrete
objects with sum of up to 6
●
Meaning of “+” and “-“
Cognitive corner
Once children are fluent with the number sequence, they enjoy counting two sets
of small numbers of objects such as the dots on two dice. Dots and tiles are called
semi-concrete objects, meaning that they are not as concrete as apples or
oranges, and not as abstract as numerical symbols. Research has shown that
counting semi-concrete objects is useful because it helps the child to generalize
their number senses from concrete counting eventually to the use of abstract
symbols. When counting two dice, some children count all the dots from the
beginning, others will pick the largest die, and count on from there. In addition to
adding objects, this simple board game exposes the child to the meaning of “+”
and “-“. When the child lands on special squares containing a “+2” or “-1”, Panda
tells them that “+2” means “go forward 2” or “-1” means “go back 1”. This contextual learning prepares the child for the later learning of the formal operation of symbols such as “+” and “-“.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Panda’s Castle Game
1
Counting the
dots on the dice
2 Moving the correct
number of squares
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Panda’s Castle Game
Corrections
If the child makes an incorrect move, I’ll first say “Oops, you got
2 and 3. Let’s see, how much is 2 plus 3 altogether?”, the dice will
then sprout little arms and hands which point to each dot as it
counts to five. Then I will show the child exactly how to move
by putting the piggy pawn at the starting position and saying,
“so you start here, and count 5”. The piggy pawn will move
forward five as I count. If the child lands directly on a special
square, like one labeled “-2”, they should go back two on their
own. If they do not yet understand that minus means go back, I
will tell them “you landed on -2, so you should have gone back
2 steps,” and the piggy pawn will jump back two steps.
Using the Game to Teach
Focal Points for Parents and Teachers
1 Counting the dots on the dice
The child may have trouble counting two dice and arriving at
the sum. You can help them by pointing at the dots and counting with them to arrive at the total number of squares they
should move after counting. You may say something like, …“See, 2 and 1
makes 3 altogether”.
2 Moving the correct number of squares
When the child has rolled the dice, some children will just click the plus-sign
button once, and then wait for the little piggy pawn to move the correct
number of squares. You can then show them how to click the plus-sign button on the control panel, once for each dot on the two dice.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Panda’s Castle Game
3
Counting dice to
the correct sum
4 Moving
backward
5 What do the special
squares mean?
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Panda’s Castle Game
3 Counting dice to the correct sum
As the child moves the little Piggy pawn forward, some children will count the
number of the first die…“one, two, three” and then start over counting the
dots on the second die…“ one, two”, still arriving at the correct location of five.
Once the child is comfortable moving forward the correct number, you can
suggest that the child count the number of dots, beginning with the first die
and continuing on through the second die…“one, two, three, four, and five”.
4 Moving backward
When the child moves farther than the sum of the dots on the dice, you can
show them how to click the “minus-sign button” on the control panel to go
back to the correct square. This illustrates that minus ( “-“) means go back in
the context of walking along a path.
5 What do the special squares mean?
There are special squares labeled “-1” ,“+1” and “+2” . These provide another
context in which to show the child that “-1” means “go back 1 square”; “+1”
means “go forward one square”, and so forth.
Curious about what’s behind the
door above the stairs? What
happens if you tickle me?
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition
Two blocks came out from the left and
one block came out from the right
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition
Falling Blocks Addition
Overview
For the Kids
When do kids enjoy doing forty addition problems in a row? When they play with
Stuart! Watch the blocks come out from each side of the window and connect in
the center, then grab them with the flying Stuart, and move them over the correct
answer at the bottom .
Concepts and skills
●
Modeling addition by mapping abstract notation
onto concrete blocks
●
Numerical patterns and elementary rules of addition
●
Addition facts with sums not exceeding five
Cognitive corner
When children begin to learn the addition number facts, they start from a point
where many things obvious to grown-ups are not at all obvious to them. To see
how this feels, try this. Suppose you visited a country where they use “A, B, C….”
instead of “1, 2, 3,….” to represent numbers. Now, could you quickly find out how
much is “A + D” or “F + J” without translating it into the numbers you already are
familiar with? As you can see, without a really clear physical model of addition,
learning the addition facts can be difficult and even aversive. Prior to learning the
addition facts, it is helpful for a child to see over and over again the underlying
physical model of addition.
Falling blocks addition allows the child to see sets of blocks being added together
and to associate this with the abstract notation of addition. Without effort, they
can arrive at the correct answer to questions like “2 + 3 is ?” simply by counting
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition
Blocks get connected with symbol
“2+1” then they start falling
Physical length of answer blocks
is proportional to their quantity
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition
the number of falling blocks after they are added together and matching their
length to the length of the answer bar at the bottom. So in this way, even very
young children can enjoy being exposed to 40 or more addition questions at a time
as they go about revealing the hidden picture.
Being able to expose young children to this volume of addition questions not only
has the advantage of associating the physical model with the abstract notation of
addition, but it also allows us to present series of items that reveal patterns and
structure of addition. At first, the child has no knowledge that “n + 0” is equal to the
same number “n”; that “2 + 3” is exactly the same as “3 + 2”; and that “n + 1” is equal
to the number right after “n”. Thus, the addition items are presented in sequences
designed to help them induce certain fundamental addition rules. You may see a
“light bulb” come on over the child’s head as they see “1+0”,“2+0”,“3+0”,“4+0”, and
“5+0” in a row and suddenly realize that “n+0” equals “n”, no matter what the value of
“n”. As the game advances to the next levels, the presentation of the items becomes
less predictable and eventually is presented in a random order so the child will feel
more challenged.
Corrections
If the child places the falling blocks over the wrong
answer, the correct answer will blink briefly as I say
“Uh, oh, try again”. I will always give them an
immediate opportunity to try the same item again. If
they miss it again, then I will give them another chance
after all 40 addition items have been presented. If the
child still misses it, then I will give them one final
chance after all of the missed items have been
presented again. If the child has missed five items in a
row, I’ll say, “Count the blocks to get the answer.”
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition
3
Counting blocks
2
4 Understanding
“n + 1”
1 Repeating incorrect items
Saying the answer
out loud
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition
Using the Game to Teach
Focal Points for Parents and Teachers
1 Repeating incorrect items
If a child misses one, then the correct answer is briefly blinked at the bottom
and that item immediately is presented again. So, when they get the wrong
answer you can say … “Try to remember the correct answer because you’ll get
another chance on this one in a second”.
2 Counting blocks
After the blocks connect into one set and symbols such as “2 + 1” appear on
the front, some children may not realize that they can count the blocks to get
the answer; some children may feel more “secure” to count on their fingers.
You can suggest… “To get the answer, just count the number of blocks”.
3 Saying the answer out loud
As the child moves the falling blocks to the answer, encourage them to say
out loud what they think the answer might be before hearing Bee say the
right answer. This simple oral practice helps strengthen their memory of the
addition facts.
4 Understanding “n + 1”
Sometimes there is a repetition of the series “1 + 1”, “2 + 1”, “3 + 1”, and so
forth. At first, children do not know that the answer to “n + 1” can be reached
by simply counting forward from the larger number in the expression. If the
child does not discover the easy way after a long time you can ask… “Is there
an easy way to get the answer?” and show them that the answer can be found
by counting forward 1.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition
Realizing that “n + 0 = n”
5
6 Realizing that numbers can
be added in either order
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition
5 Realizing that “n + 0 = n”
Many young children do not understand the concept of adding “0”. The number “0” is used frequently in this game to provide a physical image of what
adding zero means. After seeing “1 + 0”,“2 + 0”,“3 + 0”, and so forth, ask the
child… “What happens when you add zero blocks to one block, … to four
blocks? Does it change the number of blocks?”. By calling attention to this
concept, the child eventually will conclude that “n + 0 = n”, whatever the value
of n is.
6 Realizing that numbers can be added in either order
Sometimes a series of pairs is presented like “1 + 3”, and immediately afterwards “3 + 1”, then “2 + 3” followed by “3 + 2”, and so forth. After several repetitions of such pairs you can ask the child … “Is 2 + 3 the same as 3 + 2?”.
These repetitions will allow the child to see and verify that numbers can be
added in either order without changing the answer.
Do you know once you grab the blocks you
can click to shoot them down? What happens
after the pictures are uncovered? How many
different pictures have you uncovered? Have
you seen the picture where all the characters
change their shapes?
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Subtraction
A set of 5 blocks came out from the top
and 3 of them broke off and moved away
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Subtraction
Falling Blocks Subtraction
Overview
For the Kids
Welcome to Panda’s falling blocks gallery. This Panda not only eats bamboo
shoots, but also grabs blocks. Watch her take away blocks and shoot down the
remaining ones. Fly Stuart around to grab the remaining falling blocks and make
them land on the right answer. After stacking all the blocks, take a trip to our
mini United Nations.
Concepts and skills
●
Modeling subtraction by mapping abstract notation
onto concrete blocks
●
Single-digit subtraction facts with differences not
exceeding five
Cognitive corner
Subtraction normally is taught later than addition in school. But the concept of
taking away a small set from a larger set of objects is not newer or more complex
to kids than the idea of adding one set of objects to another. Therefore we present
Falling Blocks Subtraction and its sister game Falling Blocks Addition in parallel.
Instead of presenting kids with randomly ordered drills we present sequences of
items designed to convey understanding of what “subtraction” means and to help
the children discover patterns. Many patterns and rules that are embedded in the
subtraction facts are not obvious to the beginner and we elucidate these by presenting carefully designed sequences of items. As in the sister game Falling Blocks
Addition, we map the abstract notation of subtraction onto the remaining blocks
themselves to connect the physical model with that notation. Learning becomes
easier and more fun because the child can easily get the right answer by simply
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Subtraction
Renamed blocks with
symbol “5-3” starts falling.
Physical length of answer blocks
is proportional to their quantity
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Subtraction
matching the size of the question blocks to the answer blocks. The items are presented in series that help the child induce rules like,“n - n = 0”, “n - 1”, and “n - 0 = n.
If they miss the item the first time, the correct answer is blinked and then that item
is immediately presented again. By seeing the correct answer blinked, the child has
the opportunity to practice remembering the item on the second presentation.
Children as young as two years old are already responsive to rhymes and have little
problem remembering them. So in the mini United Nations we combine rhymes
and number facts. Give them a try. For example, fill in the following blank and say
it out loud. “Piggy’s a swine, 6 + 3 is _____ .” These rhymes may provide some children with an easy way to remember these number facts.
Corrections
If the child places the falling blocks over the wrong answer,
the correct answer will blink briefly as I say “Uh oh. I will
always give them an immediate opportunity to try the same
item again. If they miss it again, I’ll give them another chance
after all 40 subtraction items have been presented. If the
child still misses it, I will give them one last try after all of the
missed items have been presented. After the child has missed
five items in a row, I’ll say “To get the answer, count the left
over blocks,” to let them know that they can use the visual
cue to arrive at the answer.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Subtraction
4 Realizing that
“n - n = 0”
1 Repeating
incorrect items
3 Saying the
answer out loud
2 Counting blocks
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Subtraction
Using the Game to Teach
Focal Points for Parents and Teachers
1 Repeating incorrect items
If a child misses one, then the correct answer is briefly blinked at the bottom
and that item immediately is presented again. So, when they get the wrong
answer you can say … “Try to remember the correct answer because you’ll get
another chance on this one in a second”.
2 Counting blocks
After some blocks are taken away and symbols such as “5 - 3” appear on the
front, some children may not realize that they can count the blocks to get the
answers; some children may feel more “secure” to count on their fingers. You
can direct their attention to the remaining blocks and say: ”To get the answer,
just count the number of blocks that are left”.
3 Saying the answer out loud
As the child moves the falling blocks to the answer, encourage them to say
out loud what they think the answer might be before hearing Panda say the
right answer. Even though the child’s answer might be wrong, this simple oral
practice helps strengthen their memory of the subtraction facts.
4 Realizing that “n - n = 0”
Occasionally, all the blocks will break off and move away, so zero blocks
remain. As an example, when four blocks move out from the top and all of
them break off and move away, the symbol “4 - 4” remains for a second, then
pops and disappears, symbolizing that nothing is left. At this point it could
be helpful to point out what the child sees, which is… “If you have 4 blocks
and you take all of them away, you have nothing left. So four take away four
equals zero”.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Subtraction
Getting the answer to “n - 1”
by counting backwards
5
6 Realizing that “n - 0 = n”
7 Mother Kangaroo’s
Numerical Rhymes
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Subtraction
5 Getting the answer to “n - 1” by counting backwards
Sometimes, several series will be presented like “2 - 1”, 3 - 1”, 4 - 1” and so forth.
You may point out that… “Minus 1 is the same as counting backwards 1”.
After enough repetition of these series, some children are ready to grasp the
concept of counting back by one to reach the answer.
6 Realizing that “n - 0 = n”
Many young children do not understand the concept of subtracting “0”. The
number “0” is used frequently providing a physical image of what subtracting
zero means. After seeing “1 - 0”,“2 - 0”,“3 - 0”, and so forth, ask the child “what
happens when you take zero blocks away from three blocks? Does it change
the number of blocks?”. By calling attention to this concept, the child will
eventually conclude that “n - 0 = n”, whatever the value of n is.
7 Mother Kangaroo’s Numerical Rhymes
At the end of each Falling Blocks Subtraction Game the child goes to our mini
United Nations and hears several rhymes like “Squeeze my knee, 2 + 1 is
_____”. All 22 of these rhymes are contained in the section entitled Mother
Kangaroo’s Numerical Rhymes at the end of the manual. You can practice
reading out each rhyme to see if the child can answer.
Do you know once you grab the blocks you can
click to shoot them down? After you stack all
the blocks, listen to the rhymes and music from
different countries. How many rhymes can you
say? How many countries have you visited?
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Flower Game
Click “+” and “-” to move
the bug along the path
Click to roll dice
Click happy face
to change turns
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Flower Game
Flower Game The Bug Races
Overview
For the Kids
Flower game is a sister board game to Panda’s castle game. Just wander around
the meadow, and enjoy the splendid outdoor scene. Then take a caterpillar ride
to the flower game. Click Bee if you are the only one around, or click Snouty if
you want to play with a friend. Watch the bugs race on the flower and join the
critters when they come out to cheer for you.
Concepts and skills
●
Counting with semi-concrete objects (e.g., dots)
●
Adding two small sets (from 0 to 3) of semi-concrete
objects with the sum of up to 6
●
Meaning of “+” and “-“
Cognitive corner
Once children are fluent with the number sequence, they enjoy extending their
counting skills to the task of calculation. At first, there is only a thin line between
counting objects and adding objects. However, it is important to expose the child
to two small sets of objects to begin with so that they understand addition
involves more than one set of objects. In addition to adding objects, this simple
board game exposes the child to the meaning of the “+” and “-“. When the child
lands on special squares containing a “+2” or “-1”, Bee tells them “+2” means “go
forward 2” or “-1” means “go back 1”. This contextual learning prepares the child
for the later learning of the formal operation of symbols such as “+” and “-“.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Flower Game
Counting the
dots on the dice
Counting dice to
the correct sum
1
3
2 Moving the correct
number of squares
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Flower Game
Corrections
If the child makes an incorrect move, I’ll first say “Oops, you got,
2 and 3. Let’s see, how much is 2 plus 3 altogether?”, the dice will
then sprout little arms and hands and point to each dot as it
counts to five. Then I’ll show the child exactly how to move by
putting their bug at the starting position and say “so you start
here, and count 5”. The child’s bug will move forward five as the
Bee counts. If the child lands directly on a special square, like
one labeled “-2”, they should go back two on their own. If they
do not yet understand that minus means go back, I will tell them
“you landed on minus 2, so you should have gone back 2 steps,”
and the child’s bug will jump back two steps.
Using the Game to Teach
Focal Points for Parents and Teachers
1 Counting the dots on the dice
The child may have trouble counting two die and arriving at the sum. You might help them by pointing to the dots and
counting with them to arrive at the total number of squares they should
move after counting. Then you might say “See, 3 and 1 makes 4 altogether”.
2 Moving the correct number of squares
When the child has rolled the dice, some children will just click the plus-sign
button once, and then wait for their bug to move the correct number of
squares. You could show them how to click the plus-sign button, once for
each dot on the two dice.
3 Counting dice to the correct sum
As the child moves the little bug forward, some children will count the number of the first die…“one, two, three” and then start over counting the dots on
the second die…“one, two”, still arriving at the correct location of five. Once
the child is comfortable moving forward the correct number, you can suggest
that the child count the number of dots, beginning with the first die and continuing on through the second die…“one, two, three, four, and five”.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Flower Game
5 What do the special
squares mean?
4 Moving backward
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Flower Game
4 Moving backward
When the child moves farther than the sum of the dots on the dice, you can
show them how to click the “minus-sign button” to go back to the correct
square. This provides a meaningful context for illustrating that minus means
go back.
5 What do the special squares mean?
There are special squares labeled “+1” ,“-1” and “+2” . These provide another
meaningful context in which to show the child that “-1” means “go back 1
square, or take away one square”;“+1” means “go forward one square, or add
one square,” and so forth.
There are bugs and critters hidden here
and there in the flower. Can you count
how many there are? Do you know how
to make them come out during the game?
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Tree Climbing Game
Starting point
Current Roll
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Tree Climbing Game
Tree Climbing Game
Overview
For the Kids
Have you dreamed of climbing up a tree and playing in a tree house? This is a
special tree with a ladder numbered from 1 to 25. You’ll climb up or down the
ladder with the help of the Bee. The bee spins one sign spinner and one numeral
spinner to determine your next move. Don’t be afraid when you’re hanging out
there on the tree. As long as you remember to click to hold on to the tree, you’ll
be fine. Click Panda, if you want to play with her, or click Snouty to play with your
friend. Ready? Ask Bee to get you a big positive number and see who can get to
the tree house first.
Concepts and skills
●
Number line from 1 to 25
●
Meaning of “+” and “-“
●
One-digit and two-digit addition and subtraction operation
●
Relative magnitude and position of numbers
●
Reading numerals: one-digit, teen words, two-digits not
larger than 25
Cognitive corner
A number line is a good way to illustrate an important aspect of our numeration
system: relative magnitude and position of numbers. Using tree-climbing as an
analogy, it is intuitive for the child to develop a feel for which numbers are bigger
than others and which numbers are closer to each other. It also would be easy for
them to associate “+” with “more”, and “-“ with “less”. They will understand that the
numbers toward the tree house are bigger or have “more” than the numbers at
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Tree Climbing Game
Sign spinner:
“+” for climbing up;
“-” for climbing down
Numeral spinner
To exit:
climb down the ladder
and click the Toy Soldier
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Tree Climbing Game
the bottom of the tree because it takes longer to get to the tree house from the
bottom. With the help of the tree ladder they also will grasp that 14 and 8 are farther apart than 5 and 3. These numerical senses are important because they are
the building blocks of the symbolic world of math. As the child gets more comfortable with the number line, they no longer need the aid of concrete or semiconcrete objects to do addition or subtraction.
Corrections
If the child counts out their move incorrectly, I’ll say “Hmm,
let’s think about this. You got + 4, and you started at 6,”
Stuart is then moved back to the number six on the tree.
Then I’ll say, “So you start here, and count 6”, Stuart is
moved forward as Bee counts to six. I then reinforce the
addition operation by saying “See, 6 + 4 makes you land
on 10”. If the child forgets to click to hold on to the tree to
end their move, I’ll remind them after twenty seconds. If
they don’t click within ten seconds after that, then Stuart
falls off the tree and has to start over.
Number one survival rule on the
tree: click to hold on to the tree.
If you don’t click, just watch out!
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Tree Climbing Game
3 Subtracting with
the number line
1 Following
directions
2 Adding with the
number line
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Tree Climbing Game
Using the Game to Teach
Focal Points for Parents and Teachers
1 Following directions
After each move, the child must click to signal the move is completed. If the
child forgets to click, then Stuart will fall off the tree and must start over. This
provides an opportunity for the child to practice following directions.
2 Adding with the number line
After the spinners determine the move such as “+3”, the child must count out
the correct move on the numbered ladder. The child can simply count up the
ladder without doing symbolic addition. As the children begin to learn the
addition facts, you can encourage them to use this knowledge to make their
move easier. You might say… “Look, you are at 6 and you got + 4. How much
is 6 + 4? So where should you move Stuart?”.
3 Subtracting with the number line
After the spinners determine moves such as “- 4”, the child must count out
the correct move on the numbered ladder. At first, the child can simply count
down the ladder without doing symbolic subtraction. As the children begin
to learn the subtraction facts, you can encourage them to use this knowledge
to make their move easier. You might say… “Look, you are at 9 and you got 3. How much is 9 - 3? So where should you move Stuart?”.
What happens after you win the game?
What happens if you forget to click to
hold on to the tree after your move?
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dinoroo’s Bridge Game
Two Piggy pawns
Click to roll dice
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dinoroo’s Bridge Game
Dinoroo’s Bridge Game
Overview
For the Kids
When playing Dinoroo’s Bridge game you will learn to think “smarter” as you move
your two little Piggy pawns to the finish area. Watch how the bridge rises out of
the stone table under the balloons. Carefully observe how the kangaroos do their
teamwork. Learn from them and come up with your best strategy to get your two
Piggy pawns to the end of the floating bridge. Can you beat those kangaroos?
Don’t forget, you can always click Snouty to play with another player.
Concepts and skills
●
Counting semi-concrete objects (e.g., dots)
●
Adding two small sets (from 0 to 5) of semi-concrete
objects with sum up to 10
●
Meaning of “+” and “-“
●
Quantitative reasoning and strategy development
●
Suggestive use of number line from 0 to 31
Cognitive corner
As soon as the children are familiar with the basics of a board game, they will be
attracted to the challenges of Dinoroo’s Bridge game. This game features quantitative reasoning and strategy development, as well as counting dots for big number sets (with sums going from 0 to 10). The option of choosing one of the two
pawns to move on any dice roll gives the child a chance to practice how to reason
hypothetically and quantitatively--- “What happens if I move this pawn or move
the other pawn? Which move will get me closer to the finish line?” The curved
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dinoroo’s Bridge Game
Switch with
other player
Leap frog
way ahead
Send other
player home
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dinoroo’s Bridge Game
bridge and the fact that the child’s two pawns sometimes may be located on two
different paths make it difficult to visually figure out which pawn to move. The
number labels on the corner of each stone brick on the bridge provide a clue to
help the child decide which pawn is closer to the finish area. On top of that, the
squares with special functions such as “send home”,“switch”, or “leap frog” encourage the child to play strategically. For example, landing on “send home” allows the
child to send one of the other player’s pawns home, so that the playmate has to
start over.
Corrections
If the child counts out the dice roll incorrectly, I will say
“Oops, you got 5 and 4. Let’s see, how much is 5 + 4
altogether?”. The dice then sprout little arms and hands,
which point to the dots as it counts to nine. The child’s
pawn is then moved back to the starting position and I
will say, “So you start here, and count 9”. The child’s
pawn then jumps forward as I count to nine. If the child
lands directly on a special square, for example ”+3”, they
should go forward three on their own. If they do not yet
understand that plus means go forward, I will tell them
“you landed on plus 3, so you should have gone forward
3 steps,” and the child’s pawn will jump forward three
more steps.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dinoroo’s Bridge Game
2 Which is the
best move?
1 What do the special
squares mean?
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Dinoroo’s Bridge Game
Using the Game to Teach
Focal Points for Parents and Teachers
1 What do the special squares mean?
There are special squares labeled “+1”, “-1”, “-2” and “+3” . These present a
meaningful context in which to show the child that “+” means go forward and
“-” means go back, where the concept of quantity is expressed as distance
along a numbered line.
2 Which is the best move?
For each move the child may be able to reason out which of the two little
piggy pawns to move. One piggy pawn might land on a special square that
sends another player home, but the other piggy pawn might land on a lucky
square that sends them to the finish area. If the dice sum to 6 as an example,
then you could ask the child…“Which little piggy would be the best move if
each moves 6 squares?” This could help the child learn to count out the
move for both little pawns before deciding which one to move. This is an
opportunity to help the child form simple numerical strategies for winning
the game.
Have you found all the creatures living
in the water? What happens if you win?
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition and Subtration
A block with addition or
subtraction problem falls
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition and Subtraction
Falling Blocks Addition and Subtraction
Overview
For the Kids
Curious about what’s inside the cave? When the cave door opens, only a few
special visitors can go in. Just click the cave door and the Bee will tell you how
to get in. If you are allowed in, you must have enough brain power, plus flying
and shooting skills to take this challenge. Time to boost your brain power and
fly in full gear. Put the blocks in the right place and watch the old wooden door
gradually drop. What’s waiting for you out there is definitely worth your time
and efforts.
Concepts and skills
●
Number facts: Addition and subtraction with sum or
difference not exceeding 10
●
Encourage mental calculation
Cognitive corner
Falling blocks addition and subtraction is the most difficult game in Numberland,
because no visual cues or physical models of addition and subtraction are provided to help the child. Also, addition and subtraction questions are mixed together
and appear in random order without obvious patterns. At this point, children may
use one of several strategies. Some children may count on the always available
“manipulative”--their fingers -- to get the answer; some children may quietly perform mental calculation without using any obvious concrete objects; some children may already have memorized the number facts and will simply get the
answer from memory. And, of course, some children may not know what to do.
Memorizing the number facts is important because it makes calculation easier
and it saves time for the deepening of understanding and it is important prepara-
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition and Subtration
Physical length of answer blocks is
not proportional to their quantity
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition and Subtraction
tion as the child eventually moves into long division. Encourage your child to relate
this game to Falling Blocks Addition and Falling Blocks Subtraction, and to apply the
addition/subtraction rules they’ve learned to this game. For example, if they don’t
know what “8+1” is, remind them of the “n+1” rule. Math learning eventually leads to
the operation of symbols at an abstract level. One day, you’ll gladly find out that
your child has entered the symbolic world of math when he or she can quickly
answer a question like “how much is 2 + 3?” without having to rely on any concrete
objects or their fingers to tell you what the answer is.
Corrections
If the child places the falling block over the
wrong answer, the correct answer will blink
briefly as I say “Hmm?”. I will always give
them an immediate opportunity to try the
same item again. If they miss it again, I will
give them another chance after all 120 items
have been presented. If the child still misses
it, I will give them one last try after all of the
missed items have been presented.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition and Subtration
3 Saying the answer
out loud
2 Applying the
addition/subtraction
rules learned
1 Recalling
Number Facts
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Falling Blocks Addition and Subtraction
Using the Game to Teach
Focal Points for Parents and Teachers
1 Recalling Number Facts
If the child gets the first answer wrong, the correct answer blinks briefly along
the bottom. If they haven’t noticed already, point this out, and encourage the
child to remember the answer because they will see it again immediately.
Keeping the answer in their short term memory provides a good way for the
children to practice remembering their number facts.
2 Applying the addition/subtraction rules learned
This game provides the opportunity for your child to practice the
addition/subtraction rules they’ve learned in Falling Blocks Addition and
Falling Blocks Subtraction to new items they didn’t see before. For example, if
they don’t know what “9 + 1” is, remind them of the “n + 1” rule.
3 Saying the answer out loud
As the child moves the falling blocks to the answer, encourage them to say
out loud what they think the answer might be before hearing Panda say the
right answer. Even though the child’s answer might be wrong, this simple
oral practice helps strengthen their memory of the subtraction facts.
What happens after you completely
lower the door in the cave?
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Imagination Machine
Click bright numbers
to make a toy
Click light bulb to activate
Imagination Machine
Click to match shapes
in thought bubble
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Imagination Machine
Imagination Machine
Overview
For the Kids
“Let’s check your brain power!” You earn so much brain power playing in
Numberland that you can “make” toys from your imagination. Just imagine a toy,
match the shapes, then watch your thoughts morph into a 3-D object. Pull the
knobs to see how many toys you have created. Where have all the toys gone?
Follow the conveyor belt and--- Yes, they’ve gone to Bee’s Toy Store!
Concepts and skills
●
Identifying, matching, and naming geometric shapes
●
Comparing relative sizes of the same shapes
Cognitive corner
Kids love to imagine, and the imagination machine lets them pretend that they
are using the machine to turn imagined toys into real ones. But activating the
imagination machine takes brain power. So if the brain power gets low, they have
to recharge it by playing more games. This over-arching motivational and attention keeping device reinforces the image that learning creates brain power which
can then be used to create something useful. It has several important functions in
Numberland. First, it helps motivate the child to play the same game over and
over, practicing the concepts and skills they are learning in each game. Second,
they are encouraged to move beyond the easy games to more challenging ones
in order to create different toys.
All together there are 18 toys in this activity. At first, the child learns to identify
and match simple shapes like circles, squares, and rectangles. As their brain power
gets bigger, they see a greater variety of shapes and learn to discriminate
between different sizes of the same shape. The concept of size is important to
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Imagination Machine
Click bright numbers
to make a toy
Click to see 3-D toy
Click to hear what
game to play
After making a toy, click the
knobs beside the numbers
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Imagination Machine
young children as they make sense of the world. Very young children tend to categorize things into just “big” or “small”. As they gradually become more experienced with objects, they learn an intermediate category called “medium”. This primary concept of size comparison is the foundation of scientific measurement,
which will develop later. Finally, this activity reveals that many familiar objects are
actually composed of arrangements of more elementary geometric shapes.
Corrections
If the child clicks the wrong shape, I will
let them know by gently saying “Naa”.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Imagination Machine
1 Geometric shapes
2 Constancy of
geometric shapes
3 Relative Size
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Imagination Machine
Using the Game to Teach
Focal Points for Parents and Teachers
1 Geometric shapes
As the activity progresses, the toys will become more and more complex and
involve a variety of geometric shapes. You might explain to your child, as an
example, the difference between a rectangle and a parallelogram, or what a
half circle means. In addition, you might want to use the 2D sketch in the
thought bubble and point out to the child that complicated objects are composed of simple geometric shapes. Finally, don’t forget to ask your child to use
their imagination and guess what the toy is before it morhps into its 3D form!
2 Constancy of geometric shapes
As the child’s brain power grows, the toys they are making will become
more and more complex. Sometimes, shapes of the same kind are put in
different orientations depending on the 2-D sketch in the thought bubble.
In this case, you might point out that a triangle is still a triangle regardless of
its orientation.
3 Relative Size
If there is more than one of the same shape on the screen with different sizes,
Panda will compare the sizes by saying something like “bigger circle” or
“smaller circle”. This provides a good opportunity to practice comparing relative sizes with the child. You might say…“if this is the bigger circle, where is
the smaller circle?
After I take a picture of the toy you made, where does the picture go?
What happens if you click the knobs on the number panel? How do
you get to see the picture again in your thought bubble?
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Stuart's Treasure Hunt
As the children explore Numberland and play the games, complete Stuart’s
treasure hunt. The child could draw in a happy face each time they find one.
Draw a happy face
when you find one
1. Where is the place that you can click to check your brain
power any time you want to?
2. Where is the lamp that leaves Stuart in the dark when you
turn it off?
3. Where is the jack-in-the-box that jumps up and down?
4. Where is the other jack-in-the-box that jumps up and down?
5. Where is the stack of blocks that spins?
6. Where is the puppy-like creature that wiggles his head and
wags his tongue?
7. Where is the octopus that swims and bubbles?
8. Where is the blowfish that puffs and puffs?
9. Where are the balloons that pop in the sky?
10. Where are the little butterflies that fly away?
11. How do you get your super special brain power certificate?
Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
Mother Kangaroo's Numerical Rhymes
Here are all of the rhymes that the child will hear at the end of each Falling Blocks
Subtraction Game. These rhymes just provide one additional way to help the child
remember the addition number facts. You can read out the first part and see if the child
can answer using the rhyme as a clue.
Here’s a clue, 1 + 1 is
.
Squeeze my knee, 2 + 1 is
Ask the bee, 0 + 3 is
.
.
.
.
Piggy's a swine, 3 + 6 is
.
.
Please don't whine, 4 + 5 is
.
My pig’s named Clive, 1 +4 is
Get your kicks, 5 + 1 is
.
This is mine, 7 + 2 is
.
.
A big pig pen, 2 + 8 is
.
Drop your sticks, 2 + 4 is
My name’s Kevin, 5 + 2 is
Don't be late, 8 + 0 is
Take the bait, 5 + 3 is
.
Please don’t snore, 1 + 3 is
Lollipop licks, 3 + 3 is
.
I can't wait, 2 + 6 is
.
Stomp on the floor, 2 + 2 is
Dig this jive, 3 + 2 is
I'm in heaven, 3 + 4 is
.
You can win, 4 + 6 is
.
.
Piggy's not thin, 7 + 3 is
.
.
Where's Mother Hen? 5 + 5 is
.
.
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Chapter 3: Playing and Learning
As kids play with Stuart, they learn math...
When do kids ever do hundreds of math exercises - - and enjoy it? As the kids play with
Stuart in Numberland, you can appreciate the amount of math work they are doing by
using the information below or by using the progress report within the game itself. For
example, if a child plays the Flower Game 3 times, then on the average they will have
done 3 x 9 = 27 math exercises. When a child completely fills up Stuart’s brain two times
(2 x 415 items), makes all 18 toys in the imagination machine room (18 x 5 items), takes
the roller coaster in the cave (120 items), then they will have done (2 x 415) + (18 x 5) +
(120) = 1040 math exercises in all!
Game
Number of
Total
Number
Math Exercises Number of
X
of Games (times)
per Game
Exercises
1. Dot-to-Dot
X
1
=
2. Bee’s Toy Store
X
2
=
3. Treasure Chest Card Game
X
11
=
4. Panda’s Castle Game
X
7
=
5. Falling Blocks Addition
X
40
=
6. Falling Blocks Subtraction
X
40
=
7. Flower Game
X
9
=
8. Dinoroo’s Bridge Game
X
12
=
9. Tree Climbing Game
X
9
=
X
120
=
11. Imagination Machine
X
5
=
12. Full Brain
X
415
=
10. Falling Blocks Addition and
Subtraction
Troubleshooting Guide
Troubleshooting Guide
Problem
Possible Causes
Solution
During installation
"Cannot install to drive
… Not enough disk
space" message appears.
You need 60 MB of free hard
disk space available (the game
requires 45 MB; in addition, the
DirectX installation requires
another 15 MB). Note: DirectX
will be installed on the same
drive as Windows, regardless
of the drive you chose for the
game.
Free up enough disk space, or
install the game on a different
hard drive. (i.e., make sure you
have 45 MB free on the drive
where you wish to install the
game, and make sure you also
have 15 MB free on your
Windows drive.)
During installation "Not
enough space to install
DirectX 5..." message
appears.
The game requires 45 MB and
the DirectX installation
requires an additional 15 MB.
Note: DirectX must be installed
on the same drive as Windows.
Furthermore, even if you
already have DirectX installed
on your computer, the game
will need to verify that you
have the latest drivers.
Make sure there is at least 15 MB
free on your Windows drive then
rerun DXSET.EXE on the CDROM. (There is no need to
repeat the whole game
installation, just the DirectX
installation.)
Even after re-starting the
computer following
installation, the game
crashes or freezes.
You do not have the correct
DirectX™ drivers installed. The
DirectX drivers on your
computer might need to be
updated.
Repeat the installation process
and follow the directions in the
Installation Guide. If after reinstallation, the program still
does not work, then request a
correct/updated DirectX driver
from your audio card and/or
graphics card manufacturer.
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96
Troubleshooting Guide
Problem
Possible Causes
Solution
Game freezes in Dot-toDot, Imagination Machine,
or other spots.
Wrong DirectX sound setting.
Your sound card may not
support hardware
acceleration.
Disable your Sound Card
Acceleration with the following
steps:
Go to Start > Run, then type
DXDIAG.EXE, then click OK (if
the program is not found, run
DXDIAG.EXE from the game CD),
click Sound tab, set the
Hardware Sound Acceleration
Level to the lowest setting by
dragging the slider all the way
to the left to “No Acceleration,”
click the Exit button, restart the
game.
Some of my other
programs are not working
correctly after I install the
game.
Incorrect DirectX drivers are
being used.
Restore your old drivers. From
Windows, click on the Start
button, choose Settings, then
choose ControlPanel, select
Add/Remove Programs, leftclick DirectX Drivers on the
listbox (you might need to scroll
to find it), click Restore Audio
Drivers and/or Restore Display
Drivers.
After restarting your computer,
you should try running the
game and see if it works just fine
with your old drivers. If it
doesn't, then you might need to
contact the manufacturer of
your audio or video card to
request updated DirectX drivers.
Troubleshooting Guide
Problem
Possible Causes
Solution
Not enough memory.
The game requires 16 MB of
memory. This can be a
combination of physical and
virtual memory. Shut down any
running applications before
running the game, or increase
the size of your Windows Swap
file, see your Windows manual
on how to increase virtual
memory. Note that the more
memory your computer has, the
better Stuart will run.
No sound.
The speaker is “Muted” in
Windows.
Turn off “Mute” by double
clicking the small speaker icon
on the lower right corner of the
Windows Task Bar. Make sure
Mute is unchecked.
Sound is barely audible.
Windows audio setting is set
too low.
From Windows, click on the
Start button, choose Settings,
then choose ContolPanel,
double-click on Multimedia,
then increase the audio
playback volume.
Sound is hissing.
Treble adjustment on your
speaker is set too high.
Decrease the treble setting on
your speaker.
How can I change the
volume of the sound?
Not applicable.
You can only use the volume
control on the speaker or on the
Windows Task Bar.
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98
Troubleshooting Guide
Problem
Possible Causes
Solution
Can I turn off the game
sounds?
Not applicable.
No, because sound and voice
overs are integral parts of the
game. They provide constant
and essential feedback/cue to
the player. Of course, you can
always turn off your speaker if
you insist on turning off the
sounds. However, we do not
recommend this for reasons
stated above.
How can I turn off the
music during a game?
Not applicable.
Press the 'M' key on the
keyboard. (Press the 'M' key
again to turn music back on.)
Unable to print.
Printer is off.
To be safe, exit the game, turn
on your printer after re-entering
the game, then try to print
again. If you still have problems,
turn your printer off, then restart the computer and turn
your printer on after re-entering
the game.
Printer is out of paper.
Load some paper, then wait for
the printer to print or press the
online/offline button. If it does
not print, then follow the above
procedure.
Printer is not connected.
Connect the printer to your PC
and follow the “printer is off”
solution.
Incorrect printer is selected as
the default printer in the
Windows printer settings. You
must select a dot-matrix, inkjet, or laser type raster printer.
Select the correct default printer
in Windows. (i.e., from Windows,
click the Start button, select
Setting, then select Printers.)
Troubleshooting Guide
Problem
Possible Causes
Solution
Game is too slow or the
sound breaks up or skips.
The CPU might be too slow.
The game requires a minimum
of a 200 Mhz CPU.
Install the game on a computer
with at least a 200 Mhz CPU.
The CD-ROM drive is too slow.
The game requires an 8X
speed or faster CD-ROM drive.
Install the game on a computer
with an 8X speed or faster CDROM drive.
Disk may be fragmented
without enough contiguous
space.
De-fragment your hard disk.
Other applications are running
in the background. They
might take up too much CPU
time.
Make sure no other applications
are running when the game is
running.
The game appears too
dark (or too bright) on my
monitor.
The monitor brighness and/or
contrast setting might need to
be adjusted.
Adjust the brightness and/or
contrast setting on your
monitor.
How do I uninstall the
game? How do I remove
the game from my
computer?
Not applicable.
Go to the Windows Program
Group where the game is
located (the default is called
Stuart Little: His Adventures in
Numberland), you should find
an icon called: unInstall Stuart
Little: His Adventures in
Numberland. Double click/run
that item to uninstall.
Alternatively, from Windows,
click on the Start button, choose
Settings, then choose
ContolPanel, select
Add/Remove Programs, leftclick Stuart Little: His
Adventures in Numberland on
the list-box (you might need to
scroll to find it), then click the
Add/Remove button.
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100
Troubleshooting Guide
Problem
Possible Causes
Solution
Will I lose the player's
records if I uninstall the
game?
Not applicable.
The player's records are stored in
a file called player's.dat, and in
a folder called Playdata under
the game's folder. Running the
uninstall program does not
erase them. Therefore, if you
reinstall the game into the same
folder at a later time, the player's
records will not be lost (unless
you've manually deleted
players.dat and Playdata).
After uninstalling, there is
a message that says,
“unInstall completed.
Some items could not be
removed….”
This is normal. Uninstalling
the program does not erase
the players’ records. This is
intentional so that if you
decide to reinstall later, you
can still use the old players
(and not lose their winning
record).
If you do not wish to keep the
players’ records, you can always
remove the Playdata sub-folder
and players.dat file manually.
I accidentally deleted the
game's folder. Now I
cannot run unInstall;
however, the Stuart icon is
still on my Windows
desktop.
This is because the
uninstallation procedure is not
followed. The icon would have
been deleted by the unInstall
program provided with the
game.
Drag the icon to the Windows
Recycle Bin to delete it. In the
future, it's a good idea to follow
the proper uninstallation
procedure. (See section How do
I uninstall the game? above)
During game, I receive a
message saying that the
game could not open
some file(s).
The file(s) might be corrupted.
Uninstall and then reinstall the
game.
I receive this message:
"Could not initialize
Direct Sound..."
Another application is using
your sound card.
Make sure no other application
is running before you run the
game.
Troubleshooting Guide
Problem
Possible Causes
Solution
I receive this message:
"Could not initialize
Direct Draw..."
Another application is
interfering with the game's
display operation.
Make sure no other application
is running before you run the
game.
Can I run the game
without the CD-ROM?
Not applicable.
No, most of the game's data are
on the CD-ROM. You need to
have the CD-ROM in the drive in
order to run the game.
Can I run the game
directly from the CD-ROM,
without installing it?
Not applicable.
No, the game needs to be
installed so it can save player's
records.
Sounds skips or sound is
fragmented.
Wrong DirectX sound setting.
Your sound card may not
support hardware
acceleration.
Disable your Sound Card
Acceleration with the following
steps:
Go to Start > Run, then type
DXDIAG.EXE, then click OK (if
the program is not found, run
DXDIAG.EXE from the game CD),
click Sound tab, set the
Hardware Sound Acceleration
Level to the lowest setting by
dragging the slider all the way
to the left to “No Acceleration,”
click the Exit button, restart the
game.
Uses Smacker Video Technology.
Copyright (C) 1994-2000 by RAD
Game Tools, Inc.
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