Students can also greatly enhance their estimation ability through calculator use. Range-finding games ask students, for instance, to add a number to 34 that will give them an answer between 80 and 90. After the estimate is made, it is punched into the calculator to see whether or not it did the job. Calculators will prompt young students to be curious about mathematical topics that are not typically taught at their level. A curious child will begin to ask questions about what those numbers are, but will also begin to develop an intuitive notion about negative numbers.
Computers are a valuable tool for primary children.
MathKeys links on-screen manipulative materials to standard symbolic representations and to a writing tool for children to use. A number of different counting programs match objects on the screen to a standard symbolic representation of the number and the number is said aloud so that a young student can count along with the program. Many other new programs focus on money skills and help children recognize different coins and determine the values of sets of coins through simulated purchases. The cumulative progress indicators for grade 4 appear below in boldface type. Each indicator is followed by activities which illustrate how it can be addressed in the classroom in kindergarten and grades 1 and 2.