This article illustrates a learning sequence from the Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Science (IMS) Learning project, connecting science and mathematics learning in the primary school. Exploring light and its properties involved a series of investigations conducted in Grades 4 and 5 across three classes in two schools in regional Victoria. The…

In this article, an adaptation of a secondary school mathematics comics-based instructional package for primary school mathematics classroom, and the teachers' and students' perceptions about the use of comics in the classroom are discussed. Further suggestions by the teachers on fine-tuning the package are also discussed.

Children learn to find answers when multiplying two whole numbers (e.g., 3 × 7 = 21). To this end, they may repeatedly add one number (e.g., 7 + 7 + 7 = 21). But what meanings do they have for multiplication? The authors address this issue while sharing an innovative, playful task called Please Go and Bring for Me (PGBM). Drawing on the…

As part of Lesson Study research within an initial teacher education programme two mathematics teacher educators worked alongside a group of five pre-service elementary teachers to create a motivating and meaningful problem-based lesson. The lesson promoted Year 5 students' understandings of the relationship between area and perimeter. The results…

Mathematics needs to take on a real-world quality, and students need to be able to identify and connect the value of what they are learning within the classroom to life outside the classroom. Creating a connection between the mathematics learned within a classroom and its value to life in the outside world is critical to effectively engage…

A journey into multiplicative thinking by three teachers in a primary school is reported. A description of how the teachers learned to identify gaps in student knowledge is described along with how the teachers assisted students to connect multiplicative ideas in ways that make sense.

This article describes activities in which students deepen their relational understanding of the equals sign through exploring inequalities in a competitive dice game, built around the familiar fairy-tale "The Three Little Pigs" and "The Big Bad Wolf." The activity can be adapted to different abilities by choosing more or less…

Using Garden Based Learning (GBL) as an integrated mathematics and science unit, this article describes the mathematical journey of students as they work through the process of designing their own garden beds.

The Smarties-Box Challenge encourages students to apply several different mathematical capabilities and concepts--such as, estimation, multiplication, and the notion of being systematic--to solve a complex, multistep problem. To effectively engage in the Smarties-Box Challenge, students are required to demonstrate aspects of all four proficiency…

Trying to find quality apps for use in mathematics classes can be time consuming and bewildering. This article outlines a process for evaluating apps and provides teachers with access to comprehensive qualitative evaluations of 53 geometrical apps based on pedagogical, mathematical and cognitive fidelities.

Equality is such an important concept for children to develop. In this article it is argued that a precise definition is needed to ensure that students are provided with a consistent "picture" of what it is that equality really means.

Find out how to use photographic images to support the conceptual development of proportional thinking. This paper provides insight into a sequenced activity that promotes student engagement and makes links to familiar and unfamiliar contexts.

If you like taking your mathematics lessons outdoors then you will enjoy this issue's technology column! Maria Northcote and her students suggest a variety of different technologies and mathematical explorations that can be used in conjunction with a parachute.

Teaching and learning fraction concepts provides challenges in primary schools all over the world. In this article, Shelley Yearley and Catherine Bruce describe a fractions-based research project conducted in Ontario, Canada.

Anne Roche and Doug Clarke discuss the importance of developing students' persistence in relation to problem solving during the use of challenging tasks. They provide a useful list of strategies that teachers can use to encourage persistence amongst their students.