Arithmetic Teacher articles from April 1993

Arithmetic Teacher archives from April 1993

Hypermedia: a vehicle for connections.
April 1, 1993... In recent years, numerous reports have called for reforms in American education in general and mathematics education in particular (e.g., Leitzel |1991~; NCTM |1991~; National Research Council |1989, 1990, 1991~). One suggested reform is...

See it, change it, reason it out. (math activity)
April 1, 1993... When we attended the Smithsonian Museum's traveling exhibition on kaleidoscopes at our University Museum, several undergraduate students made an interesting discovery. Part of the exhibit featured a device with hinged mirrors and colored objects...

Looking at the world from a mathematical perspective.
April 1, 1993... In his recent book titled Beyond Numeracy John Paulos describes a car ride he took into New York City. As he looks out his window, he frames what he sees from a mathematical perspective. For instance, he uses the concepts of equivalence and...

Take-home kits. (mathematics homework activities for prep-schoolers) (Teacher to Teacher)
April 1, 1993... Our half-day kindergarten did not permit us to extend and enrich our mathematics program the way we wanted to present it. Therefore, we decided to develop take-home kits. They were intended to be of high interest, fun, and yet simple enough that...

Sorting Skittles; graphing Skittles. (math activity for levels K - 3) (Ideas)
April 1, 1993... Background When students are presented with colorful candies, a common reaction is for them to pick out their favorite colors. This tendency is explored in this activity, which focuses on organizing and displaying data, as well as exploring...

Graphs of Skittles. (math activity for levels 4 - 5) (Ideas)
April 1, 1993... Background The information we encounter comes to us in various forms. We need to be able to interpret that information in a number of different ways. This activity focuses on calculating descriptive statistics and simple probabilities using...

Preference survey. (math activity for levels 6 - 8) (Ideas)
April 1, 1993... Background Most people like something about everything, but they never seem to agree. Quantifying words such as these can be used to help clarify the degree to which a conclusion applies or does not apply, but these same words can also shroud...

The versatile number line.
April 1, 1993... Teachers play many roles in the classroom. If we truly want our students to become lifelong learners, then one of these roles should be to encourage them to use strategies to construct new knowledge. The following activity demonstrates a...

Fostering communication in mathematics using children's literature.
April 1, 1993... The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice. "Who are you?" said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging...

The Jasper experiment: using video to furnish real-world problem-solving contexts.
April 1, 1993... The music quickens, suggesting urgency, and the video focuses on Jasper, who is frantically trying to contact Hilda on his radio: Come in Hilda! This is Jasper. I have an emergency. Come in Hilda -- or anyone. Repeat, this is an emergency! I...

Mathematical connections: making it happen in your classroom.
April 1, 1993... Some years ago I heard past NCTM president Shirley M. Frye admonish her audience not to be "two-by-four teachers -- stuck between two covers of the book and the four walls of the classroom." This statement seems to lie at the very heart of the...

Fractions: in search of meaning.
April 1, 1993... Results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress indicate that "although most students could perform simple whole-number calculations, many evidenced little knowledge of the most fundamental concepts of fractions, decimals, or percents"...

International update: a national Australian statement on mathematics.
April 1, 1993... A National Statement on Mathematics for Australian Schools (Australian Education Council and the Curriculum Corporation 1991) was released in July 1991. This document is the result of a collaborative project whose recommendations are to be...

Math Flash. (Software Review) (Evaluation)
April 1, 1993... Math Flash is a drill-and-practice program designed for use by individual students. Problems can include any of the four basic mathematics operations using only the numbers 0 through 9. The software allows multiple copies to be made, but the...

Math Workout. (mathematics software package) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
April 1, 1993... Math Workout offers drill and practice for mental-arithmetic calculation. It is designed for use with individual students of all ages, but it seems most appropriate for students in junior high school or above. The program has 180 difficulty...

Calculators in Mathematics Education, 1992 Yearbook.
April 1, 1993... NCTM's 1992 yearbook focuses on the use of calculators in teaching mathematics. The book is divided into six sections: perspectives and issues, calculators in K-8 mathematics and in 9-14 mathematics, assessment, strategies for implementation, and...

Mathematics Assessment: Myths, Models, Good Questions, and Practical Suggestions.
April 1, 1993... The purpose of this book is to present a collection of strategies to be used to assess students' thinking skills and processes. The book is written for classroom teachers. It presents practical suggestions for assessment -- ways to implement and...

The Go-Around Dollar.
April 1, 1993... Did you even wonder about the life of a dollar bill--where it went, who it met, and how it was used? In this fictional narrative the author describes the travels of a dollar bill as it passes from hand to hand. The story is also interspersed with...

Six Creepy Sheep.
April 1, 1993... In Six Creepy Sheep, the sheep decide to go off trick or treating. However, they are frightened by other bands of trick-or-treaters, such as a passel of pirates, a flock of fairies, a herd of hobos, and a gaggle of goblins. As they encounter each...

Activity Math: Using Manipulatives in the Classroom.
April 1, 1993... To say that the authors are enthused about the use of manipulatives in the classroom would be an understatement. Using the NCTM's Curriculum and Evaluation Standards (1989) recommendation that instruction should incorporate increased use of these...

Constructions for Children: Projects in Design Technology.
April 1, 1993... Constructions for Children is an innovative guide that blends science with inventions in real-world problem-solving activities using everyday materials and imaginative creations. This book contains inventions grouped into nine different design...

Kindergarten Jobcards: Count and Color with Learning Links.
April 1, 1993... Kindergarten Jobcards is a package of twenty-two laminated 8 1/2-inch-by-11-inch cards. Each card has one simple but effective colorful drawing of fanciful animals, flowers, robots, and other objects on one side. Outlines of up to twelve "links"...

SET: The Family Game of Visual Perception.
April 1, 1993... SET is fast-moving fun. Simple, clear rules make it an easy game to learn. A compact case makes it easy to store and carry. The full deck uses eighty-one cards. Each card has a variable attribute of color, number, symbol, or shading. Twelve cards...