The present study is motivated by a significant body of research documenting teachers' perennial difficulties with a critical swath of topics related to multiplication. In response, we track how Nina, a future middle grades mathematics teacher, made progress constructing explanations across topics by reasoning with measurement-based definitions of…

We report the design of an analog technology, what we refer to as a SunRule, that uses sunlight to model multiplication. Physical models that explore multiplication are fixtures in elementary mathematics classrooms. Our interest in physical models of multiplication was driven by an overarching design problem: How could a physical tool realize a…

The connections the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") creates between science content and practices to literacy and mathematics are especially beneficial at the elementary level. In this article, the authors present a series of lessons a second-grade teacher taught within a thematic unit that integrated standards…

This study is part of a larger project exploring students' thinking of Dynamic Measurement (DYME), an approach to area measurement that engages students in dynamic digital experiences of measuring rectangular surfaces through sweeping lengths. The goal of this study was to evaluate the extent to which students could bridge the mathematical…

Specific acts of problem solving with rates and ratios were interpreted using a journey metaphor derived from Skemp's (1979) construct of director systems. To successfully undertake a problem solving journey a learner must recognise their starting place (present state), have a sense of destination (goal state), and co-ordinate sub-routes along the…

The movie "Frozen" took the world by storm and this global popularity of the movie and its music can be harnessed by teachers of mathematics. This article builds on the "frozen fractal" lyric from "Let It Go" to incorporate fractal geometry into primary mathematics classrooms.

Teachers report that engaging students in solving contextual problems is an important part of supporting student understanding of algorithms for fraction division. Meaning for whole-number operations is a crucial part of making sense of contextual problems involving rational numbers. The authors present a developed instructional sequence to…

This report describes the longitudinal development of one student, Drew, in terms of his unit concepts in area and volume measurement situations across Grades 2 through 5. Data were collected during individual interviews and an open-response assessment within the context of a four-year longitudinal teaching experiment. Results indicate that Drew's…

This study investigated children's understanding of area measurement, including the concept of area and the area formula of a rectangle, as well as their strategic knowledge for solving area measurement problems. Twenty-two fourth-graders from three classes of a public elementary school in Taipei, Taiwan, participated in a one-on-one interview.…

This study aimed at investigating the progress of students' learning on multiplication fractions with natural numbers through the five activity levels based on Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) approach proposed by Streefland. Design research was chosen to achieve this research goal. In design research, the Hypothetical Learning Trajectory…

Detailed instructions are given for presenting a number of activities that serve to tie measurement and multiplication together. The activities involve length, weight, area, volume, and capacity. (MP)

The contribution to learning that can be made by students' questions is considered. Some questions asked by middle school students and the activities selected by the teacher to answer their questions are presented. Questions involve predicting, judging reasonableness, measuring, finding an average speed, and multiplication. (MNS)

This book provides practical ideas and information for volunteer tutors and teachers about teaching numeracy, as well as a reference section that concentrates on specific content areas. The first part of the book considers teaching techniques, the planning and presentation of numeracy material, evaluation of progress, reinforcement of newly…

This two-volume teacher's guide is to be used with a first-semester, third-grade mathematics program. The program is in large part the outgrowth of involvement with children and was influenced by information gathered in an extended pilot project conducted nationwide during 1975-79. The manner of presentation and the pedagogical ideas and tools are…

This two-volume teacher's guide is to be used with a second-semester, third-grade mathematics program. The program is in large part the outgrowth of involvement with children and was influenced by information gathered in an extended pilot project conducted nationwide during 1975-79. The manner of presentation and the pedagogical ideas and tools…