Elementary Pull-Out: Calculator Activities

The Elementary Mathematician, COMAP's award-winning K-6 newsletter is available for the first time in electronic format. Each issue contains a collection of K-6 mathematic lessons that are fun to teach and exciting to learn.

Each issue of The Elementary Mathematician contains a Pull-Out section which includes thematic lessons based on the national census, wildlife, other cultures, technology, and provides a practical way to bring the concepts and pedagogy of the NCTM Standards into your classroom. 

Note: The information below was created with the assistance of AI.

Level of Mathematics
Grade Level: Primarily First Grade, with extensions to early Second Grade

This designation is based on:

The content explicitly noted as suitable for first grade, though some tasks (e.g., early multiplication) stretch into second grade.

Emphasis on fundamental number concepts, early arithmetic, and introduction to large numbers.

Use of calculators as exploratory tools rather than for procedural fluency.

Application Areas
The activities integrate mathematics with real-world and conceptual applications, helping children make meaningful connections:

Personal Contexts:

Age calculations and birth year exploration.

Simple coin and object-counting stories.

Everyday Measurements:

Large quantities in context: height of buildings, population, prices, distances (e.g., Sears Tower, distance to the moon, car prices).

Conceptual Math Foundations:

Renaming numbers using multiple addends.

Building multiplication understanding through repeated addition and skip counting.

Imaginative and Comparative Scenarios:

Making large numbers tangible through familiar items and hypothetical situations (e.g., how many calculators can be bought with the price of a car).

Prerequisites
Students should have basic familiarity with:

Single-digit addition and subtraction.

Skip counting (a precursor to multiplication).

Understanding of quantities and comparisons.

Use of simple tools like calculators, rulers, and number lines.

This content does not assume mastery of place value or formal multiplication tables.

Subject Matter
The document covers three main areas:

1. Large Numbers
Entering and reading large numbers with calculators.

Visualizing and contextualizing abstract quantities (e.g., population, age of pyramids).

Not focused on place value instruction but aimed at developing number sense.

2. Renaming Numbers
Decomposing numbers using multiple addends (e.g., 7 = 4 + 3 = 2 + 5).

Using story problems to explore part-part-whole relationships.

Promoting number flexibility and operational fluency.

3. Early Multiplication
Introduction to multiplication as repeated addition.

Using skip counting to build conceptual understanding.

Calculator-supported computation to reinforce number patterns (e.g., 3 × 5 = 15).

Correlation to Mathematics Standards
These activities align with early elementary Common Core State Standards (CCSS):

Counting & Cardinality / Number & Operations in Base Ten (K–2)
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.NBT.B.2: Understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.A.1: Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.B.3–4: Apply properties of operations; understand subtraction as an unknown-addend problem.

Operations & Algebraic Thinking
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.C.6: Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.OA.C.4: Use addition to find the total number of objects arranged in rectangular arrays.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.1: (Introduced conceptually) Understand multiplication as equal groups.

Mathematical Practices

MP1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

MP5: Use appropriate tools strategically (e.g., calculators).

MP7: Look for and make use of structure.