The TIMS Candy Company

Introduce Base-Ten Shorthand. Students who used Math Trailblazers previously have already used the shorthand. Base-ten shorthand is a pictorial representation of the blocks. This is helpful as students move gradually from concrete to symbolic representations. It also provides a way to create a written record of students' work with the manipulatives. The shorthand is shown in Figure 5.

Students can use base-ten shorthand to record their work when they are asked to sketch the base-ten pieces. However, do not abandon the manipulatives. This is particularly important when introducing new concepts.

To practice base-ten shorthand, give several numbers and ask students to represent them first with the pieces and then with base-ten shorthand. Figure 6 shows two examples.

Have student pairs read aloud to each other the Base-Ten Shorthand section of the The TIMS Candy Company pages in the Student Guide and answer Questions 9–12.