Opportunities to Develop Algebraic Thinking in Elementary Grades Throughout the School Year in the Context of Mathematics Curriculum Changes

Abstract

This chapter intends to illustrate and discuss one developmental project in the context of basic education curriculum changes concerning the early introduction of algebraic thinking on classroom instruction in one fourth grade class. From a more general point of view, this discussion centers on the relationship between the official, planned, enacted, and learned curriculum. Different aspects of these dimensions of the curriculum are exemplified from the analysis of some mathematical tasks and instances of the mathematical communication processes that took place in the classroom throughout one school year.