Discusses how elementary school children perceive abstract art and describes activities used to increase their appreciation of abstract art. Students draw dinosaurs and discuss the variations in their drawings. Two movement activities which reinforce concepts about abstraction are described. (AM)

Includes a dandelion poem that is designed to stimulate elementary students' creativity and abstract-thinking skills. Offers several exercises to go with the poem: creating mental pictures, drawing first images, and performing for better understanding. A reproducible for creating a dandelion-shaped poem is included. (SM)

A game of noughts and crosses (tic-tac-toe) is used to motivate some mathematical activities. Several "starter" questions for activities are included. (MK)

Explains how teachers can initiate mapping experiences with young children by providing motor experiences inside and outside the classroom. Experiences should be followed by work with three-dimensional models, then with two-dimensional paper, and finally with lines. (Author)

Nine students (ages 7 to 11) with math disabilities were effectively taught using an instructional sequence that moved from the concrete to the semiconcrete to the abstract. Subjects needed between three and seven lessons using manipulative devices and pictures before being able to do abstract-level problems. (Author/DB)

This study of 52 learning-disabled children, aged 8-13, found that direct feedback and practice improved metaphor interpretation. The approach was highly successful in teaching students to generalize concrete concepts to abstract ones. Further descriptive analyses indicated that grade and reading levels of subjects correlated with metaphor…

Compares two approaches to the teaching of mathematics, rote versus reasoning. Discusses the way to teach mathematics as reasoning in elementary classroom as stated in the NCTM Standards. (YP)

A project to improve higher level thinking skills of elementary students in Hillsborough County, Florida is reported as a feature article (66p). An introductory overview chapter reviews the literature on teaching thinking skills. Chapter 1 provides background information on the community and the two schools selected for the practicum. The second…

Twenty-four gifted children with learning disabilities and a control group of nondisabled gifted children were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. The 8- to 12-year-old subjects were found to be more reliant on verbal conceptualization and reasoning than controls and demonstrated deficiencies in short-term auditory…

This pamphlet reviews five reports that highlight an emerging consensus among researchers about the value of systematically incorporating cognitive instruction into the elementary school curriculum. First is a comprehensive framework by Robert J. Marzano and C. L. Hutchins for an integrated approach to thinking skills that has been developed and…

This study investigated the effects of combining interactive microcomputer simulations and concrete activities on the development of abstract thinking in elementary school mathematics. Students in grades 2-4 were assessed on tasks involving designs and patterns. (MNS)

A study comparing 65 deaf and hearing Australian children, aged 7-13, found that deaf subjects were delayed in number and liquid conservation, but equally mature in justice reasoning. Deaf subjects were less likely to disagree with a reward allocation proposed by an adult and to make cognitive progress when encountering conflict. (Author/JDD)

Discusses prerequisites that help students develop multiple strategies for solving problems as recommended in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics'"Curriculum and Evaluation Standards." Presents two examples of activities involving addition, subtraction, and permutations that promote multiple strategies. Suggests ways to…

This book on propositional reasoning is part of a series designed to assist beginning and experienced teachers in becoming regular evaluators of their own instruction. The book consists of two parts. The first part provides information on probabilistic, disjunctive, combinatorial, implicational, deductive, and proportional reasoning and on…

Described is how using LOGO tools for manipulating embodiments of geometric objects helps students construct more abstract and coherent concepts. Discussions are included on developing verbal definitions versus constructing concepts, tasks for integrating turns and angles, group discussions, and maze tasks. (KR)