What the math are BAR MODELS?!

Time to find out what these new fangled "Bar Models" are!

What are Bar Models?

Bar models (also called "tape diagrams") are a new feature of math textbooks in classrooms today that might have parents and even teachers scratching their heads and saying, "what the math?!"

Well never fear, we are here to explain this new but very useful feature of math education.

We call these models either Bar Models or Tape Diagrams. (They are the same thing!)

The Bar Model, aka "Tape Diagram" is an important model that is used in K-5 math education today.

How to use Bar Models

One way to solve math story problems is to draw a picture. We teach kindergarteners and first graders to draw intuitive pictures. That means if the story is about dogs, they draw dogs. We'll use a drawing of our mascot, Digit, below to demonstrate.

Kindergartners and first graders might start with intuitive drawings of familiar things, like dogs.

Early in math class, we teach that dogs can be represented by simple two-dimensional shapes, perhaps a circle or an x, like so:

Progressing from intuitive drawings to two-dimensional shapes helps students understand that basic symbols are used as stand ins for real things.

Eventually, these shapes are lined up and drawn in a bar. We call these models either bar models or tape diagrams. (They are the same thing!) Drawing bars is more time efficient, and it helps connect one math concept to another.

You can see how math students progress from intuitive drawings to basic two-dimensional shapes to bar models!

Learn more in We Didn't Learn Math This Way!

Want to learn more about bar models and tape diagrams to boot? CLICK HERE to check out our new book, We Didn't Learn Math This Way! A K-5 Guide for the Confused Adult. Published by Singapore Math, this essential math resource for parents and teachers includes a thorough review of these models and how teachers use them to teach many math topics in elementary school classrooms today.