On the surface, the number line may seem like a basic tool with obvious applications. However, using a number line is not always intuitive for students. Students may not recognize significant features such as the size of the unit, how units are represented by iterated equal lengths, or that the accumulation of iterated units is a magnitude of…

A whimsical mathematics event for children and adults, derived from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was held at the Providence Children's Museum in Rhode Island. NCTM's Standards were the basis of all the activities. (Contains 10 figures and 1 table.)

Presents a project in which one science class, curious about large numbers, created one million marks on paper. Discusses other concrete representations of one million and other large numbers. (MKR)

Task cards are discussed as a tool for learning. Examples of measurement and number activities that are appropriate for task cards are given. (MP)

Activities are suggested for setting up a mathematics center for a week or more at a time. The activities relate to weight, counting, puzzles, length, graphing, and ordering. (MP)

This document is a collection of over 200 classroom-ready activities which cover the five strands--Number, Space, Measurement, Chance and Data, and Problem Solving--outlined in Mathematics: A Curriculum Profile for Australian Schools. Each activity is a separate photocopy master, the front for the students to use and the back an assessment page…

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)

Simple patterns both in mathematics and music are discussed. Several activities using standard instruments and handmade devices are described. (MNS)

Scavenger hunt activities for a range of mathematical topics are presented. Numbers, measurements, fractions, and geometry are among the topics included for the 14 types of hunts described. (MNS)

Children used lunch milk cartons to form a cubic meter, then covered it with construction paper and drew squares to show that it contained one million cubic centimeters. (MNS)

An activity is described in which PI is approximated by measuring the perimeters of regular polygons inscribed in a unit circle. (DT)

This book uses foods as catalysts for learning mathematical concepts. Each hands-on activity in this math center suggests accessible, healthful, and easy-to-prepare foods to be used in school or at home. An introduction to parents and teachers includes supplies list, gobble-up germs poster, and food guide pyramid and serving information. The…

Similar rectangles are the basis of a set of activities using newspaper. Topics arising include infinite series and Pythagorean theorem. (MP)

Four articles are presented in this monthly column: dealing effectively with metric conversions; teaching how to round numbers; why a false statement implying a false statement is true--a discovery explanation; and a third-grade puzzle with interesting implications. (MP)

Using sweeps to find areas, applications of reflections to miniature golf, and zeroing in on zeroes are each considered in the brief articles in this department. (MNS)