ERIC Number: EJ1038102
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Mar
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1073-5836
EISSN: N/A
Oki-Doku: Number Puzzles
Gomez, Cristina; Novak, Dani
Teaching Children Mathematics, v20 n7 p436-442 Mar 2014
The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) emphasize the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) that describe processes and proficiencies included in the NCTM Process Standards (NCTM 2000) and in the Strands for Mathematical Proficiency (NRC 2001). The development of these mathematical practices should happen in conjunction with the development of content and should provide a balance between procedures and understanding. During the elementary school years, most of the mathematical instruction focuses on developing number sense and operation sense. Being efficient and accurate when operating numbers is one of the most important skills that students must develop to support conceptual understanding. This has been recognized as the foundation for developing procedural fluency. Some curriculum materials have mathematical games to help students develop fluency. However, teachers who do not have access to such materials must search for other ways to develop fluency. In this article, the authors describe a specific type of number puzzle, an Oki-Doku, that is appropriate for elementary school students and requires students to make sense of a problem and persevere in solving it. A number of examples are provided for the reader to try on their own and instructions are given on how to construct the puzzles.
Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Academic Standards, Numbers, Puzzles, Teaching Methods, Mathematics Skills, Elementary School Mathematics, Numeracy, Problem Solving
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191-1502. Tel: 800-235-7566; Tel: 703-620-3702; Fax: 703-476-2970; e-mail: orders@nctm.org; Web site: http://www.nctm.org/publications/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A