The authors discuss the use of "real life" activities that are interesting to children in the teaching of measurement and number concepts. In this article, they present a series of lessons targeting volume and capacity that seamlessly incorporate genuine "real-life" experiences with practical mathematical applications. In…

The movie "Frozen" took the world by storm and this global popularity of the movie and its music can be harnessed by teachers of mathematics. This article builds on the "frozen fractal" lyric from "Let It Go" to incorporate fractal geometry into primary mathematics classrooms.

Measurement is a mathematics skill students encounter often in their daily lives. The act of measuring involves the use of concrete, hands-on materials that students find engaging and appealing. According to Martinie (2004), the best way to teach measurement "is to find or create situations in which students need to measure and let them…

Developing strategies for engaging mathematics activities is always a challenge. Teachers seek out new resources and online activities to excite students and support their learning. Mathematics through Movement offers an active learning strategy requiring few resources, and a bit of imagination, to achieve a variety of outcomes across mathematics…

The concept of a function is fundamental to virtually every aspect of mathematics and every branch of quantitative science. Presently this type of thinking is carolled at the secondary level, and yet it has many benefits for deepening the understanding of early arithmetic. This is particularly so in the way that operations can be considered as…

Everyone knows that teachers do not have unlimited time, a log of experience, or a deep understanding of all the mathematics they teach. To solve this problem, teachers often use textbooks, and the accompanying teacher's resource books, as sources of activities and advice about how to help students learn mathematics. The activity that prompted…

Presents a lesson that provides students in the early primary grades with the opportunity to explore counting techniques and develop an informal sense of permutations and combinations. (Author/CCM)

The author recently read a research paper by Padberg (2002), in which the development of understanding associated with decimal fractions was studied. Padberg (2002) outlined the situation that existed in Germany, where students were introduced to decimal fractions in the sixth year of school. He claimed that it was assumed students would have a…

Rhymes are often useful teaching devices for small children, and can even become a creative resource for teaching mathematics. The students and their teachers can change many of them to better fit their environment and/or extend the rhyme so that higher numbers are involved. A number of rhymes and folk tales lend themselves to more detailed…

Calculators can be used in primary schools in a number of situations. They are most beneficial when working with large numbers, dealing with real data that leads to complex calculations, performing repetitive calculations, developing concepts, estimating and checking, problem solving, and looking for patterns and/or relationships. But what if the…

Teachers often encounter difficulty in teaching estimation of measurement to young children. The intention when teaching the typical "jelly bean jar" classroom activity is to help children develop estimation skills, but most children cannot conceptualise the difference between guessing and estimating. The fact is that many students view…

Statistical literacy is defined as "the ability to read and interpret data: the ability to use statistics as evidence in arguments. Statistical literacy is a competency: the ability to think critically about statistics" (Schield, p. 2). When a definition of statistical literacy is considered it can be seen that all students can manage a…

Sometimes simple ideas are more productive than complex and over-prepared lessons; perhaps because of the flexibility afforded both teachers and students. This article provides a description of the basic activity and the potential mathematics associated with it. It also gives examples of how the basic activity could be implemented with students of…

There is ample evidence that positive involvement of families in children's learning can be a major contribution. Where to start is often a challenge, however, especially in the numeracy area. As part of the Australian Government's "Numeracy Research and Development Initiative" a team led by Beth Powell in Western Australia has developed…

Estimation is an important skill for everyday living. Good estimators usually have a sound knowledge of basic facts, understand place value and use a variety of strategies to make their estimates. This paper describes an activity which is designed to provide students with opportunities to practice their rounding strategies with addition and…