In each unit, students explore the central topics in depth through a series of investigations, gradually encountering and using many important mathematical ideas. Students use concrete materials and appropriate technology, including calculators, as a natural part of their work. What all the investigations have in common is students working in depth on a number of problems, actively using mathematical tools and consulting with peers as they find their own ways to solve the problems. The investigations allow significant time for students to think about the problems and to model, draw, write, and talk about their work. In addition to the investigations, the curriculum also includes games and classroom routines that support mathematical thinking.
Investigations looks quite different from a traditional elementary program.
While it provides all the information teachers need to implement a complete mathematics curriculum, there are no student textbooks. The main teaching tool is a single teacher resource book, called a curriculum unit, for each unit in a grade level. Each curriculum unit provides lesson plans, materials lists, reproducible student sheets for activities and games, assessment activities, and other support materials for teaching the unit. Some units at each grade level include computer software. Optional Student Activity books provide the reproducible unit pages from the Teacher Resource book in a booklet for each student.