The implementation of CCSSM helped this teacher think about how to use different representations to help fourth-grade students increase their conceptual understanding of fractions.
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Stephen Currie
This article presents solutions to the April 2017 problem scenario, which offers students the opportunity to explore many ways to partition a square. Students can generate ideas about halves, thirds, and fourths through the exploration of squares and rectangles. Students can also recognize that equal shares do not necessarily have to be congruent. Each month, this section of the Problem Solvers department showcases students' in-depth thinking and discusses the classroom results of using problems presented in previous issues of Teaching Children Mathematics.
Mathew D. Felton-Koestler
Share news about happenings in the field of elementary school mathematics education, views on matters pertaining to teaching and learning mathematics in the early childhood or elementary school years, and reactions to previously published opinion pieces or articles. Find detailed department submission guidelines at http://www.nctm.org/WriteForTCM.
Kien H. Lim and Ashley D. Wilson
Use math videos and different types of inquiries to increase students' intellectual engagement.
Julie Cwikla
Do prekindergarten students describing and illustrating their attempts at fair-sharing tasks exhibit a spontaneous understanding of fractions prior to formal instruction? This researcher shares her findings.
Cathery Yeh
Postscript items are designed as rich “grab-and-go” resources that any teacher could quickly incorporate into his or her classroom repertoire with little effort and maximum impact. The current article shares ideas for using Pattern Blocks to increase students' creativity and problem solving skills while extending their understanding of geometric reasoning and number sense.
Darrell Earnest and Julie M. Amador
Share news about happenings in the field of elementary school mathematics education, views on matters pertaining to teaching and learning mathematics in the early childhood or elementary school years, and reactions to previously published opinion pieces or articles. Find detailed department submission guidelines at http://www.nctm.org/WriteForTCM.
Edited by Drew Polly
Students' in-depth thinking and work on problems previously published in Teaching Children Mathematics are showcased. The December 2011 problem scenario explores area models and fractions but intentionally avoids using a circular shape, which is the scenario most often drawn on to develop students' fractional understanding. Instead, students cut square “cakes” into fractional pieces.
Trena L. Wilkerson, Tommy Bryan, and Jane Curry
Using candy bars as models gives students a taste for learning to represent fractions whose denominators are factors of twelve.
Wendy S. Bray
Incorporating a focus on students' mistakes into your instruction can advance their understanding.
