Introduce children to the abacus before they can even count in Headstart or pre-school. First, let the children play with the abacus on their own. Put a few in the playroom and observe if any of them play with them without encouragement. Then introduce the abacus in with their early counting lessons. Project Match Access at the Research and Development Institute of Sycamore, Illinois, recommends to only introduce the abacus as a counting tool after students have a clear concept of the tool; they state that it is great to use it early in limited ways, but in order for any lessons on the abacus to have an impact they will need to have a clear concept of counting and understand that some beads stand for ones, fives and tens.
Play a game with the abacus. Do a calculator vs. the abacus grudge match challenge. Divide students into two teams: the calculators against the abacuses. Have the students take turns competing. Give the students a math problem, and the team that figures out the answer first wins. Make the problems easy at first, but gradually make them more difficult. According to Wichita State University, the abacus wins most tasks and promotes mental math. The competition can also be abacus vs. abacus in order to get more children using the device.
Use the abacus for other tasks in the classroom. When having competitions in the classroom, have each team keep score on an abacus. Designate one child from each team to be score keeper and have them take turns in this role. They can also use the device to tabulate scores on tests; you can also use it when teaching money.
Teach students with disabilities by using the abacus. Some students have difficulty conceptualizing math in their head, so the abacus would be perfect for them. Project math suggests using the abacus with a braillewriter for blind students. Just like with any disability, depending on the nature of the condition and the children's competence level, the use of the abacus will need to be tailored to their skill level.