Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA)
Overview
CRA is a sequential instructional approach during which students move from working with concrete materials to creating representational drawings to using abstract symbols. Using this concrete-representational-abstract sequence helps students develop the thorough mental representations that are foundational for conceptual understanding.
Example: Use This Strategy in the Classroom
Watch how these students use the CRA approach to solve a fraction problem. By going through this instructional sequence, they demonstrate their flexible understanding of numbers and Operations.
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Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.
Learn how Teachley integrates representational and abstract forms to build mathematical understanding. By displaying both manipulatives and number symbols, students develop their conceptual understanding of Operations and are able to learn from multiple representations.
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
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