Teaching Place Value Using the Concrete-Representational-Abstract Integrated Sequence of Instruction

The current study investigated the effects of the concrete-representational-abstract integrated (CRA-I) sequence to teach rounding and number decomposition. Five students in third grade participated; two students were eligible for services under the category of learning disabilities, and three students were at risk of having learning disabilities and received Tier 3 interventions through a multi-tiered system of supports. Students learned the two place value skills using an explicit and systematic presentation of the following models: base ten blocks, pictures, number lines, and abstract numbers and symbols. The students learned a procedural strategy for rounding after they used physical and pictorial models. The researchers used a multi-probe single-case research design and assessed both maintenance and generalization. There was a functional relation between CRA-I and place value skills, and students varied in their maintenance of skills 6 weeks after instruction as well as in generalization.