Concrete-Representational-Abstract–Integrated as a Tier 2 Instruction to Teach Addition

Abstract

Mathematics is crucial to the educational and vocational success of students. The concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) approach is a method to teach students mathematical concepts. The CRA involves instruction with manipulatives, representations, and numbers only in different lessons (i.e., concrete lessons include manipulatives but not pictures or numbers only). Researchers are exploring integrating the phases of CRA, referred to as concrete-representational-abstract–integrated (CRA-I), because it may be a more efficient method of instruction. The CRA-I integrates all phases starting with the first lesson (e.g., Lesson 1 includes manipulatives, pictures, and numbers only) and then fades concrete and representational instruction. The purpose of this article is to provide information about a CRA-I Tier 2 mathematics intervention on additive reasoning for second-grade students in a rural school in the southeastern United States. The researchers describe CRA-I, the lessons implemented, and implications for teacher use.