BRIJBOX · DIFFERENT WAYS TO SPLIT · CHILD SHEET (WHOLE OF 4)

My first way. My other way.

Put your four counters inside the heavy line, some in each part. Draw what you made in “My first way” before anything moves. Then find a way with different-sized parts, and draw that in “My other way”. Keep both drawings — comparing them is the whole point.

My first way

My other way

BRIJBOX · DIFFERENT WAYS TO SPLIT · CHILD SHEET (WHOLE OF 5)

Now our whole is five.

Add the fifth counter where your child can see it, and recount together before splitting anything. Five has exactly two different ways — do not ask for a third; there isn’t one.

My first way

My other way

Rebuild: hand one of these drawings back and say “Make the counters match this picture again.” Reading a record back into objects is the new demand — rebuilding without looking at the picture does not pass.

BRIJBOX · DIFFERENT WAYS TO SPLIT · GROWN-UP GUIDE

What changed? What stayed the same?

Exactly four counters, then exactly five, two group areas inside one boundary, and a pencil. App 2–3 min → table 12–15 min → app practice 2–3 min. The table is the longest part, and these are estimates, not deadlines. These sheets work as the complete no-device fallback.

1. Whole of 4: “Here is our whole. How many?” Then “Put some blocks in each part. Choose your own way.” When the child has finished, save it as a picture in “My first way” before anything moves. Then “Can you make the parts different sizes this time?” and save that as “My other way”. A reversal is the same pair — respond with “You swapped the parts. Can you change how many are in each part?”, never “wrong”.
2. “How many blocks altogether now?” then, with both pictures visible: “What changed?” … wait … “What stayed the same?” Recounting or “different groups, still four” both count. Echoing “four” straight after you say it does not.
3. Repeat with the whole of 5 — add the fifth counter openly and recount together: “Now our whole is five. How many?” Two different pairs again; there are exactly two.
4. Transfer: spread one group wide and stack the other, in full view, adding and removing nothing — “Is the whole still the same? How do you know?” Then hand one saved picture back: “Make the counters match this picture again.”
5. Sitting boundary: a coherent stop is after the whole-of-4 work; five and the transfer take a flexible sitting, re-entering with “Here are your two ways with four — what stayed the same?”

Never announce a total first. Every saved picture must match an arrangement that actually existed. If a counter strays, say “Let’s check the whole together” and return it visibly — never silently correct. A group left empty is not wrong mathematics; it is simply a later lesson.

What did you notice?

Practice on screen is rehearsal of reading a record back into counters and of the conservation check. It supports, but cannot itself supply, the table-observed rows below. Your paper card remains the evidence record.

• Two different pairs for 4, then for 5: chooses and completes both. Needing a move demonstrated, or the reversal prompt, is supported.
• Checks the whole after each rearrangement: recounts or cites the same complete set. Your routine “how many altogether?” is ordinary task delivery, not support — only recounting together or demonstrating the check is.
• Transfer: rejects the spread-out illusion with a reason, and the rebuilt arrangement matches the record’s group counts. Judging by length, or rebuilding without consulting the picture, does not pass.

Mark each row independent / supported / revisit / uncertain. Leave anything you did not observe uncertain. Nothing is scored or stored.

Trial notes — leave blank until observed