The Beauty of Elementary Mathematics: And How to Teach It

by Ron Aharoni

Why is 2 times 3 equal to 3 times 2? One may think this is an axiom, but it has a proof, and a beautiful one at that. Elementary mathematics is as deep and as beautiful as higher mathematics. It includes some of the most important mathematical discoveries ever, for example the concept of the number, and the place-value method of representing numbers. We are so accustomed to this method, that we forget how clever and beautiful it is -- resulting in its incredible efficacy.All this was a surprise for the author, a university professor of mathematics, when he went to teach in elementary school. He realized that good teaching of elementary mathematics requires understanding its fine points and conveying their beauty to the students. Sensing the beauty and understanding go hand in hand.The book outlines the material from kindergarten to grade 6 (with an excursion into algebra as well). It also discusses teaching principles, and their close relatives -- thinking principles. Teachers and parents who imbue these principles are likely to convey the love of mathematics to the child.

292 pages, Paperback

Published September 4, 2024

About the author

Ron Aharoni (Hebrew: רון אהרוני‎ ) is an Israeli mathematician, working in finite and infinite combinatorics. Aharoni is a professor at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, where he received his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1979. With Nash-Williams and Shelah he generalized the marriage theorem by obtaining the right transfinite conditions for infinite bipartite graphs. He subsequently proved the appropriate versions of the König theorem and the Menger theorem for infinite graphs (the latter with Eli Berger).


Aharoni is the author of several nonspecialist books; the most successful is Arithmetic for Parents, a book helping parents and elementary school teachers in teaching basic mathematics. He also wrote a book on the connections between Mathematics, poetry and beauty and a recent one on philosophy (The Cat That is not There, both in Hebrew). His last to date book is "Man detaches meaning", on a mechanism common to jokes and poetry.