Enabling Students to Make Sense of Mathematics
More than twenty years before the Common Core Math Standards appeared on the scene, Dr. Henry Borenson, the inventor of Hands-On Equations, was already using “common core mathematical practices” in his work with students. With peer-reviewed published articles such as, “Teaching the Process of Mathematical Investigation,” “Teaching Students to Think in Mathematics and to Make Conjectures,” and “Promoting Mathematical Creativity in the Classroom,” Dr. Borenson emphasized the importance of students being able to understand and communicate mathematics.
Since algebra deals with abstract symbols many students have difficulty conceptualizing the meaning of algebraic linear equations and the means of their solution. The visual and kinesthetic approach of Hands-On Equations enables students to grasp algebraic concepts concretely, pictorially and then abstractly. Our verbal problems books enable students to apply the Hands-On Equations strategies to the solution of verbal problems.
Many students find fractions difficult since they do not understand the meaning of unit fractions or fractions. Our Developing Fractions Sense programs for grades 3, 4 and 5 enable the teacher to present the Common Core fraction standards for those grades in a sense-making approach by utilizing concrete and pictorial presentations before providing arithmetic means.