Hold the abacus upright on a flat surface or in your hands
Identify the columns and the divider bar
Know the bead values for your abacus type
Move all beads away from the divider to reset it
Use the lower beads for ones and the upper beads for fives
Slide beads toward the divider to represent numbers
Read each column from right to left
Add numbers by moving beads to the correct positions
Subtract numbers by moving beads away from the divider
Carry or borrow by adjusting beads in adjacent columns
Practice simple counting before doing calculations
Verify each result by reading the final bead positions