We are pleased to bring you this follow-up to Mairéad Hourigan and Aisling Leavy's article [EJ1289314] that was published in issue 1 this year. In this contribution, they demonstrate that embedding mathematics within a rich context and learning sequence assists with the consolidation of student understanding and makes more effective use of teacher…

Fluency with basic number facts is vital for students' progress in mathematics. Not only does it contribute to students' facility with mental computation and algorithms, but an understanding of numbers and their properties builds a foundation for future mathematical work including algebra. There are many activities that can help students…

Specific suggestions for teaching young children (ages 5-7) mathematical principles are offered, covering such concepts as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, arithmetical laws, and utilizing a story to teach various mathematical concepts and skills. (DB)

Presents lessons and reproducible student worksheets for grades three to four and grades five to six to investigate large numbers and comprehend their magnitude. (MKR)

Thinking strategies that are related to counting are discussed and activities that are necessary for the understanding of number and counting are suggested. (Author/MP)

A set of square counters is described as a simple way to introduce new concepts and as a concrete way for students to learn. (MP)

An argument is given for providing children with visual images for number concepts that they can internalize and which can aid understanding of numbers and their relations. (MP)

This discussion of the mathematical potential of classroom events gives many examples of incidents that can be used for learning about topics such as one-to-one correspondence, counting, sets, ordering, time, fractions, money, shape, estimation, measuring, volume, area, number operations, and graphs. (MP)

One student's project involved a contest of guessing how many peanuts were in a 100-pound bag. His teacher briefly reflects on the wide range of guesses and students' concept of large numbers. (MP)

Eight classroom problems dealing with number concepts are presented and accompanied by suggestions for teacher use. (MP)

Describes five learning activities for practice of number facts which will aid problems with computation in arithmetic instruction. Stresses importance of elementary students' ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, rather than rely on calculators and computers, for higher levels of math. (DST)

Many students can calculate the arithmetic mean but do not understand the concept. The article presents four activities designed to help elementary and middle school students develop this concept. The activities presented assume previous exposure to the computational algorithm for the arithmetic mean. (Author/EK)

Discusses children's place-value understanding, including initial learning interference, vertical number lines, and planned discourse. Describes a learning activity that can guide children from a concrete to a symbolic understanding of place value. (11 references) (MKR)

Described are activities using paper plates with dots drawn on them which place a heavy emphasis on matching and ordering sets, on developing mental images of sets, and on perceiving sets of a certain size as composed of smaller subsets. Also suggested are activities involving numerals. (Author/TG)

A series of nine activities that illustrate prime factorization and other elementary number theory ideas in concrete, representative, and symbolic form are described. (MNS)