Algebra in early grades: an analysis of the national curriculum Documents

• Autor(a) principal: Ferreira, Miriam Criez Nobrega
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista de Ensino de Ciências e Matemática - REnCiMa
• Texto Completo: https://revistapos.cruzeirodosul.edu.br/rencima/article/view/1247
• topic: Álgebra nos Anos Iniciais; Pensamento Algébrico; Documentos curriculares nacionais; Algebra in early years; Algebraic thinking; National curriculum

This article aims to investigate if and how the elements that constitute the Algebraic Thinking are arranged in some of the national curricular documents, having by mathematical content the numbers, the operations and their properties. Such discussion is justified in that, in other countries, the teaching work with Algebra in the initial years and research on this subject has been developed for years. First, the article grounds the importance and feasibility of working with Algebra in the early years, the differentiation between Algebra and Arithmetic, and discusses the understanding of Algebraic Thinking. Next, we present an analysis of some of the national curricular documents, focusing on the constituent aspects of Algebraic Thinking. Among the main results, there is almost no reference to Algebra in the older documents, and the most recent documents show a higher incidence in Relational Thinking (Generalized Arithmetic). There is also a concern with a teaching that allows students to give a greater meaning to their arithmetic and algebraic learning.