Provides a framework for understanding the value of water play for preschoolers and offers suggestions (materials and activities) for incorporating it into a program. (Author/ED)

Advocates the use of classification activities in the elementary school curriculum as a means of developing thinking skills in children. Critical preclassification skills, classification activities (including simple and multiple classification), and classification tasks and materials are discussed. (Author/RH)

The article suggests that Belcastro rods, which retain the basic properties of Cuisenaire rods but allow instant identification by touch, may be useful in teaching mathematical concepts to blind children. Drawings illustrate use of the rods in teaching such concepts as addition and subtraction. (Author/DB)

Some possible uses of math lab materials and activities that are natural and appropriate to the development of process skills are explored through a discussion of a geoboard activity. (MP)

After a discussion on planning instruction, a series of activities designed to develop pre-number and number concepts are presented. Activities are arranged by difficulty within sections devoted to classifying, comparing, ordering, measuring, organizing data, distinguishing shape and size, recognizing patterns, number awareness, and counting. (SD)

Discusses how teachers can help students make the transition from using manipulative materials to abstract mathematical symbols. Includes: (1) a definition of the transition state; (2) ways to bridge the gap (by asking questions and by using activities); and (3) a specific example (teaching place value). (JN)

Provides the instructions to build a homemade calculator that can be used as a reinforcement device to assist primary students in memorizing their addition facts. (MDH)

Presents activities that have been used successfully in leading students from concrete experiences through pictorial and symbolic representations of important numeration concepts and patterns, including place value, multiples, and rounding. Each activity includes concept or skill fostered, list of materials needed, recommended grade level, and…

Examined is the notion of "representation" as it is used in mathematics education. The first section explains what appears to the current "received view" of representation within mathematics education. The second section describes the constructivist view of representation, especially as this view is related to Piaget's theory. The third section…

This document suggests ways of using children's intuitive ideas about mathematics as a starting point for an elementary curriculum. Ways are discussed to capitalize on what children already know: to cultivate rather than discourage students' intuitive mathematical sense, and to help students make connections between what they know and what they…

Presents the use of manipulatives in the three stages of concept learning called concrete, bridging, and symbolic. Examines the three stages in developing the concept of rounding two-digit numbers. (MDH)

The development of the place value system and its universal use demonstrate the elegance and efficiency of mathematics. This paper examines the concept of place value by: (1) presenting the historical development of the concept of place value in the Hindu-Arabic system; (2) considering the evolution of the number zero and its role in place value;…

Uses manipulative materials to build and examine geometric models that simulate the self-similarity properties of fractals. Examples are discussed in two dimensions, three dimensions, and the fractal dimension. Discusses how models can be misleading. (Contains 10 references.) (MDH)

Applies the Lesh Translation Model to develop conceptual understanding by showing relationships between five modes of representation proposed by Lesh to learn multiplication of fractions. Presents five teaching activities based on the translation model. (MDH)

This paper describes an educational program developed on the basis that the use of blocks and other manipulatives can be useful both for initial teaching of exchange operations in arithmetic and for remediation of the faulty strategies which very commonly arise during acquisition of written calculation algorithms. This computer program is a…