"Improving Mathematics in the Early Years and Key Stage 1" reviews the best available evidence to offer five recommendations for developing the maths skills of 3-7-year olds. Recommendations include integrating maths into different activities throughout the day -- for example, at registration and snack time -- to familiarise children…

Eleven activities with a puzzle consisting of 12 five-square shapes are presented, with some solutions illustrated. (MNS)

Four worksheets are presented, each using cubes to develop students' spatial visualization abilities. Directions and answer keys are both included. (MNS)

Suggests discovery activities in spatial awareness for elementary math, utilizing home-made geometric shapes and soma cubes. (SJL)

Discusses the importance of using children's previous experiences with geometric figures to build foundations for developing geometric thinking. Describes how children's play with unit blocks can be structured to give them experiences with geometric concepts. Contains 12 references. (ASK)

Geometry tiles can be used to develop and extend intuitive geometric concepts by helping children visualize geometric shapes and communicate spatial relationships. Eleven activities are described for introduction, basic concepts, geometric figures, transformations, and metric geometry. (MNS)

Spatial concepts are important to the development of many skills, including reasoning and problem solving. Here are guidelines for making geometry learning more effective for elementary-grade students. (Editor)

Provided are activities for creating tangrams. Illustrates how to make tangrams and use them. (YP)

Described are plans for the construction of seven three-dimensional puzzle pieces from wooden cubes. Provides examples of figures and lists 10 references. (YP)

Some activities with tangrams and their use for investigating fractions, constructions, and percentages are presented, with worksheets included. (MNS)

Presented are two sets of materials appropriate for exploring different aspects of shape. Ideas about sequences are considered. (PK)

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)

Features activities designed to enhance students' spatial reasoning ability combining geometry, language arts, and visual arts. (ASK)

The articles in this collection of readings come principally from the last ten years of the "Arithmetic Teacher." The emphasis is on teaching mathematics in grades K-6, although some articles may include teaching ideas and activities for grades seven and eight. Articles on measurement geometry are not included; the focus is on the development of…

Presents activities that utilize representations of the side, front, and top views of three-dimensional configurations of blocks to develop spatial-visualization skills and aspects of the concept of function. Provides worksheets of these open-ended investigations. (MDH)