Teachers often express to Marulyn Burns their worry about the need to "cover the curriculum." In response, she draws on one of her favorite quotes: "You don't want to cover a subject; you want to uncover it." This quote is from "The Having of Wonderful Ideas and Other Essays on Teaching and Learning" by Eleanor…

When teaching primary mathematics, story problems with themes that are special to children (such as anything to do with animals) work well to develop their numerical reasoning. Children benefit from problem-solving experiences that help develop their number sense. The paper presents an activity for practicing numerical reasoning and offers three…

This book helps teachers examine how children learn mathematics, develop a positive attitude toward and an interest in mathematics, teach mathematics with problem solving as the primary focus, understand the elements of a comprehensive mathematics curriculum, and establish a classroom environment that supports children's learning of mathematics.…

Call for reforming mathematics teaching has been sounded loudly and strongly. Change from teaching standard algorithms to having children invent their own methods requires major pedagogical shift. Teachers must trust students' inventiveness and ability to make sense of numerical situations, be committed to thinking and reasoning as cornerstone of…

In this article about the Common Core State Standards and mathematics, the author wanted to point out what's familiar in these standards and to give teachers clear access to what's different about them. She wanted to emphasize what has made her passionate about the Common Core standards--which is their two-part structure: Standards for…

Outlines one teacher's questioning of the understanding of computational processes by her students in mathematics class. Points out the importance of teaching the context of meaning and its application in mathematics. (MD)

Over the years, the author has learned that illustrated books can help dispel the myth that math is dull, unimaginative, and inaccessible. They can spark children's mathematical imaginations in ways that textbooks and workbooks often don't. Picture books can also help students who love to read--but think math isn't their thing--experience the…

Reflections of a second grade mathematics teacher include the importance of organizing the year into units (place value, sorting, geometry, probability, comparing numbers, and geometry again), the benefits of giving choices within the classroom, assigning homework where the student must teach a lesson to someone at home, and the ability of the…

Mathematics textbooks tend to provide testing rather than teaching situations because of their heavy emphasis on symbolism. This article offers manageable ways to sequence mathematics instruction so that there are connective links from one level of understanding to the next. (JMF)

Teaching teachers to become observers and inquirers into mathematics will help change how they teach math to students. Essential to all professional development in mathematics is the idea that making sense of mathematics is key to learning. Just as learning to read calls for bringing meaning to the printed page, learning math calls for bringing…

Arithmetic is the major focus of elementary mathematics instruction. This book contains a series of lessons designed to meet the goals of place value instruction and give students a rich understanding of how the number system works. Topics include counting larger numbers in two or more ways, recognizing that the number of objects in a group…

This book contains a collection of fraction lessons that support curriculum and instruction. The goals of the lessons are to give all students the chance to learn how to: (1) name fractional parts of wholes and sets; (2) represent fractional parts using the standard notation including proper fractions, improper fractions, and mixed numbers, and…

Innovative teachers can make writing as an integral part while teaching math to students. The teachers will have to implement the math instruction that enables students to organize and consolidate their mathematical thinking through communication, analyze and evaluate the mathematical thinking of others, and use the language of mathematics to…

Discusses the hazards of using timed mathematics tests in hopes of helping children learn basic math facts. Provides samples of children's writing which discuss their feeling about timed tests. Presents one teacher's idea of combining her students' thinking about math with writing haiku poetry. (MG)

Mathematics instruction can be approached as a cognitive skill, as illustrated by these elementary-level classroom activities. (LH)