To help middle school students make better sense of decimals and fraction, the author and an eighth-grade math teacher worked on a 90-minute lesson that focused on representing repeating decimals as fractions. They embedded experimentations and explorations using technology and calculators to help promote students' intuitive and conceptual…

"I liked to grab things on the graphics and see it first hand, see what we were doing on the problem. It makes more sense." These words were from a student who completed a series of lessons on lines of best fit. She made this comment after comparing a hands-on approach using a strand of spaghetti with a high-tech approach using a calculator. To…

This reprinted article from the November 1976 issue of "Arithmetic Teacher" describes a series of calculator games suitable for all levels from kindergarten through calculus.

Simple nongraphing calculators can be powerful tools to enhance students' conceptual understanding of mathematics concepts. Students have opportunities to develop (1) a broad repertoire of problem-solving strategies by observing multiple solution strategies; (2) respect for other students' abilities and ways of thinking about mathematics; (3) the…

Explains a teacher's rationale for the use of calculators in the classroom and a take-home page to help parents understand the importance of calculators. (YDS)

Describes a framework to help teachers decide when to use calculators with their students. (YDS)

Identifies big ideas for the informal study of algebra-related topics in the middle grades including notation, variable, function, and properties of number. Suggests meaningful ways to accomplish them. (YDS)

Uses spreadsheets and programmable calculators to investigate limiting behavior in number patterns. (YDS)

Describes several activities and games that provide an introduction to the concept of function. Suggests that experiences should depend more on students' experiences and understanding and less on the memorization of unmotivated conventions with abstract symbols. Includes activities for a calculator as a function machine, composite functions, and…

Presents a game along with several variations involving three players using three-digit numbers to help students improve their number sense on decimal numbers and fractions. (ASK)

Presents 14 problems organized into three levels of difficulty. Topics include algebra, pattern identification, probability, and geometry. Includes solutions to the problems. (DDR)

This article describes a workshop for parents and middle school students that clarifies an appropriate role for using hand-held technology in learning mathematics. (Contains 3 figures.)

Discusses the collaboration between a university and local school district in the use of calculators to help students discover patterns and to estimate quotients when dividing decimals. (MKR)