What does algebra really entail in the elementary school?
The word algebra is not commonly heard in elementary school classrooms, but the mathematical investigations and conversations of students in these grades frequently include elements of algebraic reasoning. Even before formal schooling, children develop beginning concepts related to patterns, functions, and other algebraic topics. They learn repetitive songs, rhythmic chants, and poems that are based on repeating and growing patterns. When students notice that operations seem to have particular properties, they are beginning to think algebraically. For example, students in pre kindergarten through grade 2 may realize that changing the order in which two numbers are added does not change the result, or that adding zero to a number leaves that number unchanged. Students in grades 3-5 may describe in mathematical sentences the patterns they see in a display of “growing squares” (NCTM 2000. pg. 159), shown below. All these examples illustrate the building of algebraic understanding in the e
