Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

[FLYING SAUCER]

Possibly launched in about 1972 - and was used in my First School as a Maths teaching System? Total rubbish as far as any of us were concerned!

It consisted of a box of coloured cubes and rods of coloured wood denoting:

1 white cube for 1

and twice the length of pink painted wood for 2, and so on.

Does anyone else remember it? Very confusing and useless. What happened to my schooling?

[Trickyvee]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

I think we might have had these blocks, though by the time I went through school we weren't using them for maths. I think we used to just play with them. For maths we had little single plastic coloured blocks called 'unifix' that you could join together like lego. Many a fight was had throwing unifix around the room.

[Marine Boy]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

We definitely had those wooden rods at my junior school in the early 70s. Like Tricky, I remember playing with them but not that they helped me with my maths. And they still throw unifix cubes around the class even today - well they do where I work.

[Richard1978]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

I remember at primary school we had unit cubes, tens sticks (which were carved like the were 10 until cubes stuck together), hundreds slabs (also engraved) & thousands blocks (liekwise).

[Jacqueline]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

It's called Dienes Base 10 and allegedly "brings to life the relationships between units, tens, hundreds and thousands". If it's not that exact one it's a similar set. To be fair it can be very useful helping children understand place value.

[Austin Maxi]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

I remember using Unit Cubes in my infant years. Various coloured plastic cubes which fixed together in a vertical tower of ten of each colour.

One other maths toy I remember from those years was a set of scales with plastic numbers with hooks at the top which you could hook onto the arms of the scales. The number '1' was the smallest, and '9' was the largest, so if you hung a '9' on one side, and a '4' & '5' on the other side (or any other combination which would add up to 9), the weights balanced the scales. It also worked with other numbers, as long as the numbers on one side added up to the number(s) on the other, it would balance.

[Richard1978]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

My brother had one of those scales with the weighted numbers. I think they were some at school as well.

[Rhymester]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

Possibly launched in about 1972 - and was used in my First School as a Maths teaching System? Total rubbish as far as any of us were concerned!

It consisted of a box of coloured cubes and rods of coloured wood denoting:

1 white cube for 1

and twice the length of pink painted wood for 2, and so on.

Does anyone else remember it? Very confusing and useless. What happened to my schooling?

Well I certainly remember it! Regarding its launch date: I used it in primary school and didn't leave there until 1969 so it is at least that old.

Andrew

[Jaki D]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

I remember my Colour Factor well and earlier than this, at least 1962-3
and have to say used correctly I believe it was an excellent tool

[battyrat]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

Yes,I remember the blocks and rods as well.I have vauge memories of my first primary school teacher using them in class to show children how to add and subtract and simple division.Most of the time they were just building blocks to us children.Have a feeling they were in diffrent colours as well,so we may of been tested on colours through them as well.

[darren]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

im pretty sure i had these at school as well.
they sound very familiar.

far as i remember we just played with them.

[Swb]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

I was using colour factors to learn maths in 1966; I think they were quite new then. Along with ITA to learn to read

[Pussywillow]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

I never used these to learn Arithmetic/Maths, but they did at my Father's school.

I acquired some of the 'bricks' as I used to call them and used them as barricades for Fort Cheyenne. Think they were caled something like 'quizinaire' ?

[Pussywillow]

Re: Colour Factor - Maths Teaching System

I never used these to learn Arithmetic/Maths, but they did at my Father's school.

I acquired some of the 'bricks' as I used to call them and used them as barricades for Fort Cheyenne. Think they were caled something like 'quizinaire' ?

Just checked and it's spelt 'Cuisenaire'. Well damn and I always thought it was spelt with a Q after all these years.