Discusses the categories of spatial thinking and explains methods for helping students develop spatial thinking skills, ask open-ended questions, and choose student-centered activities. Provides activity examples that involve spatial thinking for elementary grades. (YDS)

In this article, the authors would like to look at a range of solutions submitted by Year 4-5 teams in the 2003 "Naturally Mathematical Challenge" to a question that involves no more than the numbers 1 to 6 and possible arrangements of them. In the context of other competition questions and in their elaboration of mathematical process,…

My fellow teachers and I took a look at the use of tape and scissors in our 3-6 classroom. We had noticed children's over-reliance on these tools and wondered what would happen if we simply removed them. We decided to initiate a classroom research project in which the students worked for a while without scissors or tape. One goal of the project…

This resource book for algebra contains games, tricks, and quick activities for the classroom. Categories of activities include puzzlers, patterns, manipulatives, measurement, graphing, and a section that contains reproducible statement and value cards. Twenty one puzzle problems, four pattern activities, and 11 quick activities that engage…

The development of the place value system and its universal use demonstrate the elegance and efficiency of mathematics. This paper examines the concept of place value by: (1) presenting the historical development of the concept of place value in the Hindu-Arabic system; (2) considering the evolution of the number zero and its role in place value;…

This booklet is the print component of a Title II-funded package designed to enhance elementary school mathematics instruction through a problem solving approach that promotes mathematics learning in an environment of inquiry, risk taking, and classroom dialogue. The other component is a 28-minute videotape in which teachers present each of the…

The purpose of this inservice project was to help elementary teachers overcome their reluctance to deviate from commercially prepared materials by becoming aware of and building connections between the understanding of mathematical processes through the use of concrete, representational, and symbolic manipulatives with the four arithmetic…

Two short articles about tactile illustrating are presented for braille transcribers and teachers of the visually handicapped. Focusing on tactile graphics, the first article discusses the conversion of significant print graphic information to the clearest, most factually legible form possible. Tips for achieving factual legibility and the…

This guide contains six sections which offer suggested sequential steps for teaching addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fraction concepts and algorithms, and decimal fractions. Based on the manipulative approach, the guide offers activities and teaching methods which give students many opportunities to work with models. This approach…

The study investigated whether (1) instruction providing for experimental manipulation by students was superior to instruction in which teachers perform the manipulations and children observe, and (2) spatial ability was related to mode of instruction. Participating in the 8-week study were 141 students aged 12-15 in seven intact eighth-grade…

Teaching activities are suggested for the development of aural language programs. (JH)

This digest suggests that research findings can provide teachers with verification and clarification of how children learn mathematics, and thus how to teach mathematics more effectively. Three topics are discussed: (1) number concepts; (2) problem solving; and (3) manipulative materials. (PK)

The unit box concept is an inquiry-oriented unit of instruction which helps preservice students develop teachable science units based on commercially available teaching guides. The unit box (which utilizes appropriate concrete materials to encourage hands-on learning for elementary students) contains everything needed to teach a specific unit,…

A first-grade teacher implemented a practicum intervention designed to increase the availability and use of manipulative materials for mathematics activities in kindergarten, first-, and second-grade classes. Primary goals were to: (1) provide teachers with the understanding and competence needed to incorporate the use of manipulative materials…

A multi-subject approach to using tangram puzzles in the classroom is included along with a short history section and accompanying lessons. These lessons provide an introduction to tangrams; methods for teaching bilingual and English-dominant children concepts and skills through activities that do not require strong English skills; and activities…