Some Lessons with Calculators

This booklet collects together ideas suitable for use with secondary school aged students. The activities are designed to encourage students to use their calculators efficiently and positively to help develop mathematical thinking and understanding. 

Finding your way about a calculator[is a guide to the main keys to be found on a calculator together with a number of activities to practise key punching skills.

The operations covers the use of the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division keys. There are a number of tasks which can be completed to practise their use for example; busted keys, two different calculators, calculator function game, four fours, calculator maze, timely problems and round the world.

Other function keys contains tasks to explore the use of the reciprocal key, the square root and the square key. Further activities explore the use of fractions, recurring decimals, converting from metric to decimal units and the use of the memory key and summing series.

Estimating explores different techniques for estimating answers. Activities include; casting out threes, last digit, counters, make a thousand, ink blots and four in a row. The bibliography contains a list of other publications in which calculator activities can be found.