Números negativos: estratégias de resolução de problemas de alunos do 1º ao 5º ano do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola pública de Maceió

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate the strategies for solving subtraction problems of the students of 1st to 5th grade elementary school about a negative number, based on the theoretical studies from Vergnaud (2009), Borba (1998), D ' Albertas (2006), Passioni (2002), Walle (2009), Maranhão, Camejo and Machado (2008) and the National Curriculum Standards for Mathematics (1997) among others. This research constitutes a case study on the negative number in a public school located in the city of Maceió. The study subjects were 96 students, aged 06-14 years who completed an activity with two problems. Were selected 10 activities each year, totaling 50 activities for data analysis. The activities addressed the different meanings of negative numbers. The qualitative analysis of data collected during the investigation indicates that the group of students of 1st and 5th years of primary education easily solves problems involving negative numbers. This research shows that students have implicit knowledge about the negative number and there are indications that the concepts and algebraic properties hold various problem solving strategies used by them and the arithmetic of integers demand discernment of students and teachers.