The authors propose that word problems can serve as a context in which to learn mathematics concepts for elementary school students, providing a bridge for connecting classroom mathematics with real-world mathematics. This article focuses on the potential barrier to success that students may encounter because of the words, and subsequent contexts,…

The author looks at the image of the triangle and provides suggestions for teachers to expand children's perception of this geometric form. Studies have shown that when most children are asked to identify shapes, in particular triangles, they identify the equilateral triangle as the "true triangle." This article provides an overview of background…

In previous articles, the author has discussed dominoes, the real game with scoring, and other good games and activities using dominoes. But dominoes, as materials for game-playing, and as a topic for mathematics learning experiences, as suggested by Swan (2001) and Brandreth (1975), have many other possibilities. In this article, the author…

In an earlier edition of this journal, Paul Swan (1997) published an article called "Writing for journals: An avenue for professional development". His article encourages teachers to share their experiences and ideas by becoming writers of APMC journal articles, and in doing so, engage in professional development. The set of guidelines Swan…

Recently, the author has been fortunate to be a visitor in a number of classrooms in the United States, England and Europe. On one such visit to an Elementary School in Columbia, Missouri, the teachers accepted him into their normal classrooms for their normal lessons. He moved between three classes: Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 4. A snapshot…

Although some bright students in primary school are able to organise numerical data into classes, most attend to the characteristics of individuals rather than the group, and "see the trees rather than the forest". How can teachers in upper primary and early high school teach students to organise large sets of data with widely varying values into…

There is great variety in the numerous mathematical lesson ideas that can arise from browsing through the newspaper. Since they depict recent, topical material that is constantly changing, newspapers provide an endless supply of new ideas with each new day. In this article, the author provides numerous suggestions as to how the newspaper can be…

Since the early 1980s, it has become increasingly common for children with special needs to be included in regular classrooms. In this article, the author addresses issues surrounding the inclusion of students with special needs into the regular classroom. She discusses potential sources of difficulty with mathematics and suggests strategies to…

In this article, the authors would like to look at a range of solutions submitted by Year 4-5 teams in the 2003 "Naturally Mathematical Challenge" to a question that involves no more than the numbers 1 to 6 and possible arrangements of them. In the context of other competition questions and in their elaboration of mathematical process, they have…

This article classifies and describes a selection of mathematical fiction. It also provides some practical activities teachers or parents can use to help make the mathematics more explicit and engaging for their children. Not many people, apart from primary teachers, are aware of mathematical fiction or mathematical picture storybooks, although…

Estimation is an important skill for everyday living. Good estimators usually have a sound knowledge of basic facts, understand place value and use a variety of strategies to make their estimates. This paper describes an activity which is designed to provide students with opportunities to practice their rounding strategies with addition and…

Whenever teachers of young children get together there will be differences of opinion about how far children should be taught to count. Some will argue that the focus should be on small numbers to 9, building up the notion of what, say, the name 5 means, what it looks like, and how it can be represented. Others argue that with ice blocks retailing…

In this article, the author presents a new maths aid for teaching place value, addition and subtraction up to 1 million. The need for a resource to help his wife understand place value motivated the author to create "Counting Cards". Here, he shares his invention, in the hope that it will help others. (Contains 4 figures.)

All teachers are aware of the wide range of abilities that exist within most standard Australian primary school classrooms. Many of these schools implement structures such as ability grouping and/or streaming to help meet the needs of this diverse group of learners; but does ability grouping meet these needs? The number of studies that have looked…

Mathematics in textbooks and indeed in conventional classrooms is often presented as exercises or worksheets in which the mathematics itself has been processed into a form that is easily digested. This McDonald's version of mathematics ensures that the mathematical skill or technique is laid bare and typically the sole focus of attention. In this…