This volume presents a collection of activities and games for use in elementary school mathematics laboratories. The activities and games included were submitted by classroom teachers and were selected for their use of manipulative materials or their reliance on student interactions. Several of the activities included have been described in "The…

This study examined differential performances among groups (categories) of first grade children when solving eight different types of arithmetical word problems under two distinct experimental conditions. The categories of children were actually 4 ability groups: (1) low quantitative comparison scores and low IQ (Lorge-Thorndike IQ Test), (2) low…

This study tested 1) whether instruction based on guided discovery, the use of expensive manipulative aids, and maximum pupil participation increases achievement in mathematics for pupils in grades 1-6; 2) whether a program based largely on learning through activity and guided discovery is effective in the training of prospective teachers enrolled…

Discussed is a three-week summer workshop-laboratory for teachers and low achievers in mathematics at the secondary level. Teacher planning, small group activities, and the use of electric calculating equipment, mathematically oriented games, and manipulative materials were emphasized. (The amount of time spent in particular activities was…

Piaget's concepts of knowledge seen as a result of active interaction between the child and his environment, and motivation, seen as intrinsic to intellectual functioning, have implications for the development of preschool programs. A preschool program must be action-oriented if the child is to learn to "know" and must offer an…

A dissertation proposal involved a study to observe spontaneous behavior of children in interaction with materials in order to gain understanding of the factors that influence classificatory and imaginative behavior in free play. Children at two levels of ability in terms of classification skills were observed in interaction with materials at two…

A curriculum for a ninth grade class is described with apparatus and experiments which involve active manipulation, through which the learner develops concepts and skills. Questions are designed to help the student express himself verbally. The affective development is fostered by game playing, by discussion and by children working in pairs or in…

This geometric instructional unit concentrates on student use of three-dimensional manipulative aids. Rigorous definitions are avoided as students use categorical reasoning based on their own experiences. Through their own discovery of relationships, it is hoped students will become interested in geometry, aware of geometric forms in the world,…

The stimuli in two artificial letter learning experiments varied in print size and dimensionality. Preschool children made the least errors when the stimuli were three dimensional, large print, and the children were directed to manipulate the letters. Replication with kindergarten children failed to show any differences among the treatments.…

Some suggestions are given of how various decimal concepts can be introduced using Multibase Arithmetic Blocks, base ten. (MN)

Track cards are manipulative materials used to promote verbalization, spatial perception, eye-hand coordination, simple problem solving, and fun in doing mathematics. (JT)

Thirty-nine elementary education majors used manipulative aids to work laboratory exercises while thirty-nine control subjects completed the same exercises without the use of manipulative materials. No significant differences were found between groups in demonstrating numerical and structural properties of the four basic arithmetic operations…

Strategies are suggested to assist students with reading comprehension difficulties. Strategies include: (1) developing appropriate background through discussion of story concepts, brainstorming, conceptual webbing, and kinesthetic or tactile experiences; (2) asking students to predict what will happen; (3) reciprocal questioning between students…

Narrates an account of teaching mathematical concepts to junior high school students using manipulative materials and small and large group games. The following concepts are explained through game descriptions using numeration or Dienes blocks: regrouping decimals, and place value. (DST)

A summer program for in-service elementary teachers is described. Five topics were the focus: diagnosis and analysis of achievement, designing instructional sequences, concrete manipulative materials, puzzles and games, and problem solving. (MNS)