Beyond Base Ten: A Mathematics Unit for High-Ability Learners in Grades 3-6 (William & Mary Units)

Looking for a way to challenge your gifted students in math class? Look no further! Beyond Base Ten investigates the concept of place value and the representation of numbers by using place value and non-place-value systems. Number bases other than Base Ten are featured, especially through historical contexts of early civilizations that developed number systems different from the one we use today.

Place value is a fundamental and powerful concept that is the foundation for the number system used by all cultures. Typical curriculum materials address this concept in a rote method. This unit goes beyond this and encourages students to analyze the structure of our number system and other systems; examine the historical foundations of place value systems (Babylonian and Mayan) and non-place-value systems (Roman and Greek) over thousands of years in different civilizations; analyze why Base Ten is the surviving number system; and investigate applications of other number bases in areas such as computers and electricity. Beyond Base Ten is perfect for any student who loves mathematics!

Beyond Base Ten was developed by the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary.

Grades 3-6

Dana T. Johnson is an instructor in the Mathematics Department and the School of Education at The College of William and Mary, where she also has worked on many projects with the college's Center for Gifted Education since its inception in 1988. She was a curriculum reviewer for the center's Javits science curriculum project and was the project manager of the center's Javits language arts curriculum.

She is an editor of Developing Verbal Talent along with Joyce VanTassel-Baska and Linda Neal Boyce, and also is the author of two College of William and Mary curriculum units for high-ability learners for Prufrock Press.