This article aims to outline the important role of the summary phase within a mathematics instructional model and provide six strategies to support teachers to move beyond "share time." By drawing upon good teaching strategies during the summary phase, teachers can enhance the learning experience for themselves and for their students.…

In this article, Rebecca Seah and Andrew Beencke explore the importance of developing critical thinking and spatial reasoning skills. They explore a series of activities designed to develop the visualisation and critical thinking skills with Year 4 students.

In order for students to move from using concrete materials to using mental strategies and from additive to multiplicative thinking, the use of arrays and visualisation is pivotal. This article describes a lesson in which students are taken through a Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) approach that involves noticing structure, using…

Karina Wilkie discusses functional thinking in the primary classroom. She provides a useful learning progression with sample responses to a growing pattern task.

Tracy Logan and Tom Lowrie argue that while little attention is given to visual imagery and spatial reasoning within the Australian Curriculum, a significant proportion of National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tasks require high levels of visuospatial reasoning. This article includes teaching ideas to promote visuospatial…

Primary teachers play a key role in their students' future mathematical success in the early secondary years. While the word "algebra" may make some primary teachers feel uncomfortable or worried, the basic arithmetic ideas underlying algebra are vitally important for older primary students as they are increasingly required to use "algebraic…

According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (1989, 2000), students at all levels should be exposed to geometry and measurement topics. Standards documents have identified the importance of primary school students selecting appropriate units for measurements in one- and two-dimensional space (NCTM 1989, 2000). This paper…

Hypothesizes that exploring the mathematical ideas behind mathematical terms enables children to gain insight into the structure of a number system and provides a basis for powerful playing with this structure. Describes visualizing mathematical ideas for exploring aspects of mathematics. Offers rectangular numbers to link and explore structures…