Beginning in third grade, Pennsylvania students are required to take the Pennsylvania State Standardized Assessment (PSSA), which presents multiple-choice mathematics questions and open-ended mathematics problems. Consistent with the Communication Standard of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, while solving the open-ended problems,…

Developing deep knowledge and understanding of mathematics is a lifelong process, and building the foundation for teachers' development must begin in preservice preparation and continue throughout one's professional life. While teaching mathematics content courses and methods courses, the authors have found that preservice elementary school…

The author recounts experiences introducing a first grade class to the concept of symmetry. The lesson includes activities for developing recognition of objects that have symmetry as well as visualization of both horizontal and vertical lines of symmetry.