Presents an historical lesson on the development of numbers and the special characteristics of zero. Includes activity sheets designed to help students focus their attention on the value of numerals including zero, place value, and operation with zero. (KHR)

Discusses the term concept and claims that the use of certain strategies to overcome the loss of multiplication facts due to brain damage is evidence of conceptual knowledge and that infants have rudimentary arithmetical knowledge. (MKR)

Describes a history of magic squares from China, Holland, Rome, and Ethiopia. (MKR)

Discusses the history of different methods of representing numbers and how these representations facilitated counting and computing devices such as the abacus. (MDH)

Found that, after extracting an arithmetic problem from a real situation and working out an answer, 6- to 12-year-olds with learning difficulties in math were unable to reapply the answer to the situation. Also found that the children, in a hypothetical situation, were unable to use token money, or to do calculations on paper or with an electronic…

Analyzes and refutes the arguments made by "back-to-basics" proponents against the use of calculators and for traditional instruction in the algorithms of pencil-and-paper arithmetic. Argues for the value of mental arithmetic in achieving all the aims and more of the traditional curriculum. (Author/ASK)

Describes an elementary arithmetic project that involves reading, writing, and counting skills. Students collaboratively create a tooth-shaped book designed to strengthen their counting skills as they celebrate losing baby teeth. The article also includes other activities to further extend the project. (SM)

Examines number naming, magnitude selection, and simple arithmetic performed by adult Chinese-English bilinguals born and educated in China to investigate the effects of surface notation on basic numerical skills. Indicates that retrieval processes in the arithmetic and selection tasks were more efficient with Arabic than Mandarin stimuli.…

Uses neuropsychological and developmental models of number, counting, and arithmetical skills as well as supporting working memory and speed of articulation systems as the theoretical framework for comparing groups of low- and average-IQ children. Indicates that low-IQ children's conceptual understanding of counting did not differ from that of…

Investigates whether the reasons for deaf children's poor achievement lie in their strategy development. Reports that structural aspects of sign language counting may influence deaf children's thinking in a way that does not lead to a developed conceptual knowledge base, but rather to refined procedural competence. (Contains 31 references.)…

Presents four card games that can teach arithmetic concepts, reinforce skills, and develop problem-solving techniques. (MKR)

Presents a study in which 32 Chinese-speaking adults solved single-digit multiplication problems. Chinese adults made more errors that indicated interactions between phonological codes activated at encoding and production of answers as compared to samples of English, French, and Dutch-speaking adults from other studies. Contains 26 references.…

Examines a theoretical perspective on the ways in which children progress in learning mathematics. Suggests that there is difficulty in associating teaching discourses with the mathematics they locate that can result in an incommensurability between alternative perspectives being offered. Resists attempts to privilege any particular account but…

Presents a mathematical analysis of the game "twenty-four points" that aims to apply arithmetic operations on the four numbers to reach a specific number. This game can improve children's ability to do mental arithmetic. (ASK)

Illustrates how upper elementary grade students can develop an understanding of the invert-and-multiply algorithm. (CCM)