This paper presents guidelines for improving instructional text under three main headings: prose and grammatical features; tables and graphs; and typographical design. The paper has been printed in such a way as to illustrate the points made. (Author)

Describes an activity in which students analyze data from the Olympics. Discusses assessment of the activity and provides sample assessment form. (MKR)

Presents an approach that combines the discovery method with graphing skills and allows students to uncover scientific laws on their own. Attempts to make the discovery method more quantitative while still teaching students how to think scientifically. (JRH)

Presents a classification of factorable cubics and shows how the associated factor graphs determine domains of disconnected branches and furnish a skeletal framework for the number and shape of the branches. Illustrates three dimensional visualization and examines level curves and spikes of surfaces. (KHR)

Describes how one kindergarten classroom made pictographs and paper graphs of the students' acting preferences for a production of "The Wizard of Oz." Focuses on how the activity led to varied mathematics and literacy connections. Identifies implications from the Oz experience, including relating graphs to classroom contexts, using…

Uses graphs to involve students in inquiry-based population investigations on the Wisconsin gray wolf. Requires students to predict future changes in the wolf population, carrying capacity, and deer population. (YDS)

Emphasizes the commonalities among classes of polynomial functions. Provides exploratory activities for students as well as a teacher's guide. (KHR)

Illustrates the contrasting thinking processes of two beginning calculus students' geometric and analytic schemes for the derivative function. Suggests that teachers can enhance students' understanding by continuing to demonstrate how different representations of the same mathematical concept provide additional information. (KHR)

This theme issue is an attempt to improve graphical production by evaluators. The graphs that are described are solutions to problems in communicating evaluation findings. Eleven chapters and a conclusion discuss common and recurring problems for graphs for discovery or presentation, and for evaluators or evaluation audiences. (SLD)

Tests the effects on student performance when using graphs as part of a University of South Carolina (Columbia) principles of economics lecture. Finds in 1995 that students in the lecture with graphs had significantly lower gain scores than those in the no-graphs lecture. Finds no significant difference in 1997. (RLH)

Presents an activity, "Lisa's Lemonade Stand," that actively engages students in algebraic thinking as they analyze change by investigating relationships between variables and gain experience describing and representing these relationships graphically. (YDS)

Uses a Calculator-Based Ranger and a graphing calculator in problem-solving mode to introduce an exploration of graphing-related concepts including intercepts, slopes, and rate of change. (YDS)

Describes the implementation of a real-world context focused on teaching proportional reasoning. (YDS)

Describes a series of lessons in which 6th grade students explore notions of rates of change and their effect on the shapes of graphs. Addresses aspects of the algebra content standard for the middle grades. (YDS)

Reviews evaluation standards that are used to assess the quality of projected graphical displays, and discusses their use in evaluating graphs created with computer graphing programs. Design standards for projected graphs are explained, and examples of three types of graphs are shown. (four references) (LRW)