The objective of this case study was to identify the role of finger gestures in learning mathematics informally during play, especially in sociocultural settings. A mathematical activity involving addition was qualitatively analyzed at a Japanese preschool. We explored how the process of subjectification and objectification contributed to a…

To improve understanding of identities and inverses, and to provide a stronger foundation for future mathematics, Sandra Miles designed a two-part lesson that makes the relationship between identities and inverses explicit. This article illustrates Miles' teaching of the first part of the lesson, focused on addition and subtraction, and then gives…

This paper reports on a case study which explores the co-creation of a zone of proximal development (ZPD) in a mathematics teaching-learning activity in a Norwegian kindergarten. To capture the complexity of teaching and learning mathematics in kindergarten the study uses qualitative methods within an interpretative paradigm. The findings…

Children with mathematical difficulties need to spend more time than typically achieving children on solving even simple equations. Since these tasks already require a larger share of their cognitive resources, additional demands imposed by the need to switch between tasks may lead to a greater decline of performance in children with mathematical…

Introducing the distributivity property of multiplication over addition is a well-known challenge in mathematics education, especially in primary school. As a contribution, this paper presents the results of a cycle of design research that focuses on the design, implementation and evaluation of a modelling activity in which 2nd-grade students are…

This article draws on some ideas explored during and after a writing workshop to develop classroom resources for the reSolve: Mathematics by Inquiry (www.resolve.edu.au) project. The project develops classroom and professional learning resources that will promote a spirit of inquiry in school mathematics from Foundation to year ten. The…

The aim of this study is to design learning activities that can support students to develop strategies for the addition of number 1 to 20 in the first grade by involving students' spatial structuring ability. This study was conducted in Indonesia by involving 27 students. In this paper, one of three activities is discussed namely ten-box activity.…

There is a call for enabling students to use a range of efficient mental and written strategies when solving addition and subtraction problems. To do so, students should recognise numerical structures and be able to change a problem to an equivalent problem. The purpose of this article is to suggest an activity to facilitate such understanding in…

This article presents a sequence of learning activities that lead to using the area model of multiplication to understand the distributive property (DP). The connection between area and multiplication is an important one, both for algebraic thinking and for geometry, as indicated in two of the critical areas for the third grade in the Common Core…

When solving mathematical problems, many students know the procedure to get to the answer but cannot explain why they are doing it in that way. According to Skemp (1976) these students have instrumental understanding but not relational understanding of the problem. They have accepted the rules to arriving at the answer without questioning or…

This paper focuses on an implementation a sequence of instructional activities about addition of fractions that has been developed and implemented in grade four of primary school in Surabaya, Indonesia. The theory of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) has been applied in the sequence, which aims to assist low attaining learners in supporting…

Presents activities using the Three Pigs to increase students' understanding of addition and subtraction. Argues that addition and subtraction are something that students can view and participate in when using the Three Pigs instead of just the manipulation of numbers. (ASK)

Using drawings of various monsters to explain and enhance the learning activities, this arithmetic/mathematics curriculum guide begins with exercises requiring basic number identification. The remainder of the guide includes over one hundred addition and subtraction activities including crossword puzzles, maps, and number matching. (SH)

Directions are given for preparing a puzzle that may be used to provide practice in computation. (MP)

A teacher describes an activity designed to help children understand the number concepts of the basic addition facts with sums of 11 or greater. (CL)