Arithmetic Teacher articles from February 1994

Arithmetic Teacher archives from February 1994

Planning for instruction involves focusing on children's thinking. (Focus Issue: Planning for Instruction)
February 1, 1994... Too often when teachers plan for instruction, such mathematical skills as two-digit subtraction, multiplication facts, and equivalent fractions take precedence over thinking-and-reasoning strategies. Planning for instruction that promotes the...

Thematic webbing and the curriculum standards in the primary grades. (Focus Issue: Planning for Instruction)
February 1, 1994... The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics's Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989) reflects the importance of understanding the development of knowledge at the K-4 level. The standards document recognizes that...

Linking teacher interests or backgrounds to real-world experiences for students. (Focus Issue: Planning for Instruction)
February 1, 1994... A major theme in calls for reform in mathematics education is the recognition of the need to connect the study of mathematics to the rest of the world (American Association for the Advancement of Science 1989; National Research Council 1991;...

Use color to assess mathematics problem solving. (Focus Issue: Planning for Instruction)
February 1, 1994... Authentic assessment aligned with the curriculum is changing expectations of students' work in mathematics. The move away from one right answer to multiple solutions and multiple strategies in mathematics problem solving requires a way to...

Ideas. (teaching strategies) (Focus Issue: Planning for Instruction)
February 1, 1994... The "IDEAS" section for this month focuses on student organization, preparation, and presentation of some simple foods as a way to apply various mathematical concepts, with problem-solving techniques being central to almost all the activities....

Planning for classroom portfolio assessment. (Focus Issue: Planning for Instruction)
February 1, 1994... Three years ago, the mathematics teachers from grades 4-12 in our school met for two weeks during the summer for an in-service program related to assessment and decided to begin using portfolios with our students in the fall. I was enthusiastic,...

Teacher as "kimp." (students' slang for extreme stupidity) (Focus Issue: Planning for Instruction)
February 1, 1994... Homework question #4: Draw a trapezoid. The first student stands up and draws what can be described as a "textbook trapezoid": I look at the figure, reach back, and put on a phosphorescent yellow baseball hat with the word "Forks" emblazoned...

The mathematics textbook: how can it serve the NCTM's standards? (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics's 1989 Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics) (Focus Issue: Planning for Instruction)
February 1, 1994... A few years ago I taught middle-grade mathematics in two schools for most of an academic year. I began teaching in the second school after Thanksgiving. On one of my first days there, I asked the students to open their books to page 106. Several...

Reflect ... for better problem solving and reasoning. (Focus Issue: Planning for Instruction)
February 1, 1994... During the past decade, many articles have been written and many speeches have been delivered about using the heuristic method in the mathematics classroom to improve the problem-solving skills of students. Polya's plan for problem solving,...

Planning for instruction: barriers to mathematics discussion. (Focus Issue: Planning for Instruction)
February 1, 1994... Soon-Li had picked a buttercup flower and was showing it to her friend Misa. They had been studying circles earlier in the day, and Soon-Li excitedly indicated that each petal was a circle. Misa responded with, "Well, they do look like circles,...

Number sense-making. (Focus Issue: Planning for Instruction)
February 1, 1994... In Everybody Counts, a document from the National Research Council (1989), we are told that the major objective of elementary school mathematics should be to develop number sense. This strong statement, if taken seriously, can change the way...

Assessment in the Mathematics Classroom: 1993 Yearbook.
February 1, 1994... The 1993 yearbook is definitely "not the final word on classroom assessment," but it is a nice compilation of classroom-tested ideas. The yearbook goes beyond the paper-pencil multiple-choice tests and shares "grounded" and integrated alternative...

Fractions.
February 1, 1994... This fraction resource pack is divided into parts 1, 2, and 3. Part 1 addresses recognition and naming fractions, comparing fractions, and making a chart to find equivalent fractions. Part 2 deals with mixed numbers, improper fractions, and...