The ties between literacy and numeracy exist in the development of vocabulary and language for understanding mathematical concepts. Research indicates that explicit instruction in mathematics vocabulary supports success with mathematics problem solving (Biemiller 2009; Pierce and Fontaine 2009; Rubenstein and Thompson 2002) for native…

"Focus on Basics" is a publication of the US Division of World Education, Inc. It presents best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and how research is used by adult basic education teachers, counselors, program administrators, and policymakers. "Focus on Basics" is dedicated to connecting research with…

The addition and subtraction of integers is the first major avenue, and roadblock, to student success in learning algebra. This article describes a hands-on activity using a regular deck of playing cards that facilitates class discussion and helps students overcome this initial roadblock. (Contains 14 figures.)

This teacher guide helps build a solid foundation in algebra for students in grades 3-5 in which students gain essential understanding of properties of numbers, variables, functions, equations, and formulas. Throughout the problem solving activities, students use computational skills and gain a deeper understanding of the number system. Students…

Learning about mathematics begins in the early years. Through their everyday activities, young children build important foundational knowledge and understanding of mathematics, especially when adults provide specific opportunities to learn and practice concepts and skills. Young children develop early on an informal understanding of important…

This book offers ideas to enrich instruction and help teachers explore the intrinsic beauty of math. Through dozens of examples from arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and probability, the symmetries, patterns, processes, paradoxes, and surprises that have facilitated generations of great thinkers are revealed. Activities include: (1) The Beauty in…

Written for all teachers of young children, this book illustrates activities that promote early mathematics development for children ages three to five and "showcases" mathematics for the young child. The thirty-five activities in this book are distributed into five content areas: number and operations, geometry, algebra, measurement, and data…

During the preliminary stages of classroom-based research, this author conducted a sequence of interviews with six seventh graders regarding their understanding of fractions, decimals, ratios, and proportions. The students represented a variety of ability levels and were all in their first semester of prealgebra. The interviews began with notions…

This competency analysis profile contains eight lists of mathematics skills that have been identified by employers and verified by math-certified instructors as being core competencies for eight groups of occupational areas. Each list is organized into subsections dealing with the following: numbers and number relations, measurement, data analysis…

This document compiles an "honest list" of what is needed for adult numeracy. The first section consolidates the four posited Massachusetts Adult Basic Education (ABE) Math Standards into three adult numeracy themes: relevance/connections, problem solving/reasoning/decision making, and communication. A discussion of each theme is followed by some…

This curriculum includes outlines for a series of professional readiness courses designed to improve the various basic skills required of hospital personnel. The first eight sections consist of course outlines/materials on the following topics: user-friendly arithmetic, user-friendly fractions, user-friendly algebra, problem solving through…

This curriculum module contains lesson plans and application activities that were developed to help adult students master the mathematics skills needed to earn a general high school equivalency diploma. Included in the module are materials designed to help students improve their understanding of mathematics and achieve the following objectives:…

This document, which is intended for workplace trainers, contains materials for conducting five workplace mathematics courses that were developed through the Workplace Training Project, a partnership involving Lane Community College in Oregon and five area businesses. The five courses, which were developed by project staff based on the business…