Reports on pre-service primary teacher education students' involvement in a number sense program that was a component of a mathematics education unit. Suggests that students develop and utilize multiple relationships among number, attempt to make sense of the mathematics investigated, and provide considered explanations for results achieved.…

Describes generalized Fibonacci sequences that satisfy many elegant identities and possess curious properties. Provides physical applications and connections to various branches of mathematics. (KHR)

Discusses a problem that appeared in the September, 1999 issue of this journal and presents solutions from students in grades 2-6. The question involved using colored cubes rearranged to make different stacked towers. (KHR)

Suggests that the history of mathematics is a fluid field within which lively debate occurs. Shares a math problem that requires a community of scholars to simulate the process by which the history of mathematics is actually developed. (KHR)

Explores the five multiplication techniques found in the 12th century Lilavati by Bhaskara, which appear again in the 1494 Summa by Pacioli. Includes a student worksheet. (KHR)

Presents a classroom activity in which students build and learn to use their own abacuses. Describes the lesson that combines mathematics, art, and social studies. (KHR)

Examines methods and types of estimation. Characterizes fruitful in-class estimation tasks by exploring the validity and possible extensions of "marble jar" estimation. (KHR)

Explores how using a science-themed counting book led to several integrated mathematics and science activities for preschool and second- and third-grade children. (Author)

Investigates problems called "cranium crackers" and focuses on number sense, logical reasoning, data analysis, geometry, measurement, and algebraic thinking. (Author/NB)

Investigates how numbers function rhetorically by influencing persuasive appeals, the structure of messages, and the use of language. Argues that "three" is the dominant numerical motif in the English language. Asserts that, as long as numbers influence the speech, behaviors, and perceptions of people, their rhetorical significance must…

The article suggests that Belcastro rods, which retain the basic properties of Cuisenaire rods but allow instant identification by touch, may be useful in teaching mathematical concepts to blind children. Drawings illustrate use of the rods in teaching such concepts as addition and subtraction. (Author/DB)

Discusses games using number tablets. Describes general advantages of the games over using pencil and paper. Provides needs, skills, players, rules, and variations for eight games. (YP)

The importance of establishing a problem-solving atmosphere is stressed. Children asking "why" are on their way to strengthening their number sense. Curiosity should be promoted, encouraging children to test their own hypotheses and pursue their own predictions. An example with an eight-year-old girl is given to illustrate these points.…

Students have the opportunity to verbalize relationships that demonstrate the acquisition of good number sense. They are to develop clues about the answer to a problem without computing or telling the answer, and to state or write several things they know about the answer to each problem. (MNS)

Developing numerical relationships with calculators is emphasized. Calculators furnish some needed support for students as they investigate the value of fractions as the numerators or denominators change. An example with Logo programing for computers is also included. (MNS)