WHAT IS SOROBAN?

  Soroban is a manipulative tool, not a calculator.

  Soroban is a semi-abstract instrument, not a semi-concrete instrument.

  Soroban is an educational tool for teaching with using the concept of ordinal and cardinal numbers.

  Soroban education is not only mastering technical skill, but also cultivating number sense, creativity, and

  insight and making the most effective use of these in real life.

    1)History

    2)Style® show different styles of the soroban

    Chinese, Old Japanese, Current Japanese, Russian, Roman, etc.

    3)Type of calculation ® ± , X, ¸ , Square Root, Decimal, Negative number, GCF, LCM,

      conversion, time and clock

    4)Benefits

    5)Effects

    6)Mental Calculation

    7)Development of the brain

  1) SUMMARY OF ITS HISTORY

  It is said that the origin of the soroban was in Rome, and back then the soroban was made out of bronze.
  As the soroban spread across the Silk Road to China, the soroban changed from the bronze type to the
  bamboo type.

  The soroban is a device used for arithmetic calculation. It has beads on a certain number of vertical columns
  traversed by a horizontal bar and is fixed in a rectangular frame. Each column has five (or six in the old type and
  seven in the Chinese one) beads on it, each of which in the upper division represents five units, while each bead
  in the lower division represents one unit.

  450 years ago, during the Azuchi Momoyama era, the soroban spread to Japan from China. The original soroban
  consisted of two top beads and five bottom beads. During the Edo era the two top beads were reduced to just one
  bead, and in 1938 the bottom five beads were reduced to four beads. The slimness was obtained because of the
  need for speed. This new form of the soroban contributed to the mathematics.

  4) BENEFITS OF LEARNING SOROBAN

  In this computer era, however, the soroban is still considered useful as an educational and calculating device and
  also cultivates strong concentration and patience. Many children go to private schools to learn how to use the
  soroban. Nowadays, it attracts the public attention because it helps prevent the cerebrum from senility.

  Regular and systematic exercise in soroban can develop mental calculation skills as well. It is also believed that
  manual work in soroban operation will expand the general brain capacity.

  5) EDUCATIONAL EFFECTS

  *Soroban method improves the mental calculation ability.

  *Soroban helps one to understand number concept, base ten system, and place value easily.

  *Soroban enhances concentration and patience.

  *Soroban gives well-balanced development to both hemispheres of the brain.

  6)MENTAL CALCULATION

  Calculation with imaging the beads of the soroban in the brain is called a mental calculation by the soroban method.
  Each column of the soroban consists of five beads and can display any number from zero to nine, ten numbers.
  Soroban is a very unique device that enables one to grasp the numbers intuitively. Soroban also makes it easier
  to image the beads to display the numbers instead of the arabic numerals.

  Finding an approximate number and making rough estimations can also be done with using mental calculation.

  You will be able to get a good sense of the numbers in your daily life by improving your ability to judgments and
  to analyze.

  7)DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRAIN

  The soroban is a device to stimulate the brain by using the sense of sight, hearing, and touching.

  Medical research has shown that when people who are good at soroban perform mental calculations, they use the
  right hemisphere of the brain actively with the sense of sight and hearing.

  People using soroban select the essential numeric information by making of the number.

PROFILE

  MISSION:

  Global Soroban Institute is a non-profit school organization, established on August 7, 2000 to give guidance and
  support to Soroban education. This organization engages in the following activities to meet its purpose:

  The research of soroban education.

  The training and development of soroban personnel.

  The operation of Soroban examinations and workshops.

  The propagation of Isao method of Soroban education.

  The global exchange of Soroban education.

  Global Soroban Institute spreads the soroban, which is considered as one of the most famous Japanese cultural
  contributions all over the world.

  We believe that mastering the soroban, mentally calculating by the soroban method, and applying calculation skills
  in real-life applications will improve mathematics education in the 21st century.

  ACTIVITY:

  Demonstrate at the schools and appeal to the educators and educational institutes the effects of soroban.

  *Demonstration at the schools (any levels)

  *Demonstration at the events sponsored by the groups or associations whose purposes are aiming at spreading
  the Japanese cultures or mutual understanding between countries.

  *Open the soroban class or seminar for the senior citizens.

  *Visit the hospital when requested

  CORRESPONDENCE COURSE

  A seminar (10 seminars)

  Seminar 1 Level 00Q: study the ordinal number and cardinal number

    (concrete object® semi-concrete object face=Symbol>® semi-abstract object ® abstraction)

  Level 20Q: calculation without carrying up and down (1-1+1-1+1)

  Seminar 2 Level 19Q: composition and resolution of 10, part 1 (5+5-5+5-5)

  Level 18Q: composition and resolution of 10, part 2 (9+2-5+9-6)

  Seminar 3 Level 17Q: effective practice of multiplication table by using the soroban (1,2,3 and 4)

  Level 16Q: composition and resolution of 5 (4+1-1+1-1)

  Level 15Q: effective practice of multiplication table by using the soroban (5,6,7,8, and 9)

  Seminar 4 Level 14Q: composition of 5 and resolution of 10 (5+6-6+6-6)

  Level 13Q: effective practice of multiplication table by using the soroban (word problem)

  Level 12Q: double carrying down (100-1)

  Seminar 5 Level 11Q: effective practice of multiplication table by using the soroban (Pascal's board)

  Level 10Q: addition and subtraction

    (1 digit ~ 2digit, 7 numbers, I Method basic)

  Seminar 6 Level 09Q: multiplication (1 digit X 3 digit, I Method basic)

    addition and subtraction

  (1 digit~ 2 digit, 7 numbers)

  Level 08Q: multiplication (1 digit X 3 digit)

    division

    (3 digit ¸ 1 digit= 2 digit, I Method basic)

    addition and subtraction

    ( 1 digit ~ 2 digit, 7 numbers)

  Seminar 7 Level 07Q: multiplication (2digit X 2 digit, I Method basic)

    division (4 digit ¸ 1 digit= 3digit)

    addition and subtraction

    (1 digit ~ 3 digit, 7 numbers, I Method basic)

  Level 06Q: multiplication (2 digit X 3 digit)

    division ( digit ¸ 2 digit=2 digit, reduction)

    addition and subtraction

    (2 digit ~ 3 digit, 15 numbers)

    slip ( I Method)

  Seminar 8 Level 05Q: multiplication (2 digit X 4 digit)

    division ( digit¸ 3 digit=2 digit)

    addition and subtraction

    ( 3 digit ~ 4 digit, 15 numbers)

    slip (I Method)

    Level 04Q: multiplication (2 digit X 5digit)

    division ( digit ¸ 3 digit=3 digit)

    addition and subtraction

    (3 digit ~ 5 digit, 15 numbers)

    slip (I Method)

  Seminar 9 Level 03Q: multiplication (3 digit X 4 digit including decimal)

    division ( digit ¸ 4 digit=2 digit)

    addition and subtraction

    (3 digit ~ 6 digit, 15 numbers)

    slip ( I Method)

    word problem A X 0.1=B, B¸ 0.1=A, B¸ A=0.1

  Level 02Q: multiplication

    (6 digit X 3 digit including decimal)

    division ( digit ¸ 5 digit=3digit)

    addition and subtraction

    (2 digit ~ 7 digit, 20 numbers including

    negative numbers)

    slip (I Method)

    word problem A X (1+B)=C, C X (1-D)=E

  Seminar 10 Level 01Q:word problem C ¸ (1+B)=A, C¸ A=(1+B)

    E ¸ (1-D)=C , E¸ C=(1-D)

    Level DAN: square roots and cube roots

  Seminar 11 management: advertisement, bookkeeping

  Seminar 12 kumon: differences between soroban method and kumon method

  Seminar 13 effects: effects of the soroban

  Seminar 14 recreation: indoor, outdoor, spring, summer, fall, winter, for the new students, for parents
  and students for the local community

  Seminar 15 relative science: pedagogy, psychology, mathematics, language, music, color, etc.

  B Intensive Schooling (2 times a year)

  *spring:

  *summer:

UPCOMING EVENTS

  *January Examination in California and Hawaii

  *February Examination in California and Hawaii

  Guest speaker

  *March Soroban contest with Japanese students in Hawaii

  Schooling in Hawaii

  *April Examination in California and Hawaii

  *May Examination in California and Hawaii

  *June Examination in California and Hawaii

  *July Examination in California and Hawaii

  *August Schooling in Hawaii

  Examination in California and Hawaii

  *September Examination in California and Hawaii

  *October Examination in California and Hawaii

  *November Hawaii Soroban Contest

  Examination in California and Hawaii

  *December Examination in California and Hawaii

SOROBAN AROUND THE WORLD

  Soroban is getting popular in the world. There are many Asian countries using soroban, such as China,
  Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.

  The following countries, such as the Brazil, Canada, India, the Kingdom of Tonga, the United Kingdom, and
  U.S.A. are also enthusiastic for teaching soroban.