Zeroing in on Number and Operations, Grades 3-4

About the Series:

When you talk with students about their number sense and computational skills, you're bound to uncover some surprising gaps in their understanding. Knowing how to identify and bridge those gaps is essential for helping students at all levels advance as mathematical thinkers.

The Zeroing in on Number and Operations series, which aligns with the Common Core State Standards and the NCTM Standards and Focal Points, features easy-to-use tools for teaching key concepts in number and operations and for addressing common misconceptions. Sharing the insights they've gained in decades of mathematics teaching and research, Linda Dacey and Anne Collins help you focus in on what students really need to know and understand at each grade level.

The modules in the grades 3 and 4 flipchart are organized into three sections: Whole Numbers, Addition, and Subtraction; Multiplication and Division; and Fractions and Decimals. Each module begins with the identification of its Mathematical Focus and the Potential Challenges and Misconceptions associated with those ideas. In the Classroom then suggests instructional strategies and specific activities to implement with students. Meeting Individual Needs offers ideas for adjusting the activities to reach a broader range of learners. Each activity is supported by a reproducible (located in the appendix), and References/Further Reading provides resources for enriching your knowledge of the topic and gathering more ideas.

At grades 3 and 4, the authors focus on the key ideas that are essential for success at these levels:

• Basic facts and algorithms for addition and subtraction
• Meanings of multiplication and division
• Basic facts and comuptation strategies for multiplication and division
• Patterns in our numeration system and number sense that encompass greater numbers (e.g., ten thousands and hundred thousands) as well as tenths and hundredths
• Commutative, associative, and distributive properties
• Connections among number models and representations (whole numbers, fractions, and decimals)
• Meaning of fractions
• Equivalent fractions
• Ordering of fractions and decimals