The Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) highlight the mathematical habits that educators should be fostering in mathematics classrooms throughout K-grade 12 education. That argumentation and discourse are important components of developing mathematically proficient…

Like algebra at any level, early algebra is a way to explore, analyze, represent, and generalize mathematical ideas and relationships. This book shows that children can and do engage in generalizing about numbers and operations as their mathematical experiences expand. The authors identify and examine five big ideas and associated essential…

Describes some square-number patterns that fourth-grade students and their teacher discovered. These discoveries began as students pushed wooden cubes together to make square arrangements. (JN)

Describes the use of dialogue journal writing in intermediate grade mathematics classrooms as a way to gain insights into students' thinking. Notes that teachers and students became a community of learners. (RS)

Many teachers bring caterpillars into their class for their students to see the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. This is exciting and educational, but more can be done using Monarchs across the curriculum. This article describes an integrated butterfly unit for students in grades four to six that starts with identifying the Monarch…

Forty-six intermediate and junior high students with disabilities (learning, emotional disturbance, mental retardation) participated in a noncompetitive Math Olympics. Teams of students participated in game-like activities involving basic skills, calculators, problem solving, and place value. Guidelines for planning a Math Olympics focus on…

Discusses Hugh Mehan's "Learning Lessons" in the development of the naturalistic study of classroom discourse studies and considers the emergence of an alternative program for classroom discourse studies in critical discourse analysis. Critiques some studies of classroom discourse and analyzes a fourth-grade lesson on fractions to show how the…

Demonstrates the use of the memory functions on hand-held calculators by presenting three activities that are appropriate for use in middle grades (4-8). The constant arithmetic feature of the calculator is also required. (JN)

Describes an activity used with a fifth-grade mathematics class in which students solved a problem and wrote a convincing argument to prove their solution made sense. (SR)

The Family Math Program is an outgrowth of the Equals Program at the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. Piloted in 1982 in Richmond, California, this widespread program boasts a simple philosophy: Families "doing math" will get the same result as families who read--improved skills and enjoyment. The program also confronts parental…

Develops a division algorithm in terms of familiar manipulations of concrete objects and presents it with a series of questions for diagnosis of students' understanding of the algorithm in terms of the concrete model utilized. Also offers general guidelines for using concrete illustrations to explain algorithms and other mathematical principles.…

Following a brief introduction to the LOGO programing language, describes its use in a sixth-grade classroom. The situations described illustrate students' growth while the choice of the situations illustrates teachers' growth. (JN)

Outlined is an interdisciplinary unit on statistics. Discussed are the goals, organization, the preinstruction survey, the math lessons, results, and evaluation. The survey and examples of the students' work are provided. (CW)

A teacher of deaf fifth graders recounts the use of math logs to help students to write about their math experiences and thus generate, comprehend, and express mathematical ideas and knowledge. The process also helped the teacher pinpoint math problem areas and assess and monitor students' understanding of math concepts. (DB)

A practicum was developed and implemented to help identify, give direction to, and build self-motivation in high ability sixth-grade students attending a magnet school in a progressive, fast-growing southwestern school district. It was felt that students must be in the driver's seat for them to have ownership for working up to their potential.…