Getting an article published in a department of the journal is sometimes easier than writing a regular article that goes through the blind review process with referees. Editors of the departments often work directly with the authors to help revise the manuscript if they see promise in the basic idea. This assistance can be helpful, particularly for a beginning author. The departments are briefly described below.

Cartoon Corner

This department provides readers with an opportunity to view mathematics within a humorous context. This monthly, one-page department features one or two cartoons chosen from newspapers, magazines, and/or comic books that can be used to highlight mathematics in an interesting way. Suggested questions relating to the mathematical content accompany each cartoon. These questions or follow-up problems are posed with the idea of engaging students in challenging and interesting mathematical activities that extend or clarify the topic under consideration. Solutions should accompany the problems.

Submit mansucripts directly to the department editor as listed in the journal.

Families Ask

The purpose of the "Families Ask" department is to help classroom teachers respond to questions commonly asked by parents and other caregivers about the mathematics their children are learning, and about current teaching methods. This is a strictly formatted department. It is a two-page spread (roughly five, 12-point, double-spaced manuscript pages). The left-hand page in the journal contains a "boilerplate" of title and department description. It is designed for the classroom teacher and begins with a question typically asked by parents, or other interested community members. Background information and an overview of the take-home response to that month's question are presented here. The right-hand page is the take-home response page. It can be reproduced and distributed to parents and others. The tone and style of the response to the month's question has to reflect an awareness of an audience that may not be mathematically sophisticated. The language should be mathematically correct, but reasonably informal, using short, concrete examples. Writers for this column should focus on clarity and brevity. Previous authors find that using parents as reviewers before submitting a manuscript to this department has given them valuable feedback to incorporate in the final version.

Submit manuscripts by accessing mtms.msubmit.net.

Mathematics Detective

The purpose of this department is to help teachers and middle school students view the world around them through mathematical eyes. One way is to uncover mathematics in places we do not expect to see it. Another way is to reveal misuses of mathematics in everyday life. Each article is investigative in nature and may include excerpts of newspaper articles, advertisements from magazines or television, or photographs of everyday objects, along with a set of related questions and corresponding solutions. This department runs three or four times each year.

The materials used in this department should be interesting to students in grades 5-9 and be field-tested in middle school classrooms prior to submission (with modifications made based on such field testing). Questions posed should represent different levels of challenge and include both short-answer questions and may include a few more extended potential investigations.

Submit manuscripts by accessing mtms.msubmit.net.

Math Roots

This department should highlight rich and interesting mathematics topics from the history of mathematics. Although articles may include a few sentences about the lives of mathematicians of the past, this department is not intended to simply present biographies of famous mathematicians.

Articles for this department should be written for teachers to use with students and relate to mathematical topics commonly taught in the middle grades. The articles should be written in a style that is inviting to the average middle school student. Articles will include student worksheets that involve students in actually doing mathematics. The last part of the manuscript will contain teacher notes and solutions to the worksheets. Illustrations or some type of appropriate visuals should accompany the manuscript upon submission.

Articles may be about:

• How human understandings of a particular mathematical idea have evolved over time
  
  
• How math symbols and other mathematical conventions have changed over time to their present form
  
  
• Mathematical tools, their uses in the past, and their present-day counterparts
  
  
• Other historical perspectives of interest to middle school students and teachers

Articles for this department must be historically accurate and appropriate references should be cited. In the event that there are differing historical views, reference to that fact should be included.

Submit manuscripts by accessing mtms.msubmit.net.

Menu of Problems

Problem Set

The "Menu" includes approximately 15 mathematically rich problems addressing different mathematics strands and learning styles. The "Menu" should contain some problems that have a graphic tied in as an integral part of the problem. Problems should be tried with middle school students prior to submission. Submit problems directly to the department editor as listed in the journal.

Submit manuscripts directly to the department editor as listed in the journal.

Solution Set

Each problem should have the final solution (if such is possible) written first, followed by a brief explanation of how the problem might be approached. Alternate approaches and strategies should be encouraged whenever possible.

On My Mind

This is the "editorial" department for the journal. Manuscripts submitted for this are typically five to six double-spaced pages. These pieces are more subjective, reflecting the author's personal viewpoint.

Submit manuscripts by accessing mtms.msubmit.net.

Readers Write

This is the "letters to the editor" section of the journal. Letters may share personal experiences in the classroom; student thinking; interesting mathematics; comments and reflections the journal reader wants to share with other members and reactions to journal articles. Writing letters to this department is a good way to get started writing for the journal. Longer pieces are sometimes published in the "Teacher to Teacher" column.

Email to mtms@nctm.org, type "Readers Write" in the message line, and copy the letter to all authors if responding to an article.

Take Time for Action

The purpose of "Take Time for Action" is to promote the idea of 'Action Research' by teachers in their classrooms. Authors of research studies who reflect on student thinking, problem solving strategies, mathematics pedagogy, etc., will be asked to choose representative problems, activities, or tasks used in the studies.

They will incorporate them into the following format:

• Short introductory invitation to teachers to use the problems or activities in their classroom, with the appropriate prompts for reflection or implementation



• Problems or instrument items are presented
  
  
• Short discussion and summary of research in down-to-earth language
  
  
• Implications for teaching and learning

This format is designed to encourage teachers to try the problems or activities with their own students, observe and analyze what students do, and compare their findings with those of actual research results. Submitted manuscripts should result in no more than four double-spaced pages, including figures.

Submit manuscripts by accessing mtms.msubmit.net.

Teacher to Teacher

This department was established to share brief teaching ideas, techniques, and tips among the readers of the journal. The articles are expected to be approximately one-half to one full page in the journal, including diagrams and photographs.

Submit manuscripts by accessing mtms.msubmit.net.

The Thinking of Students

The "Thinking of Students" department provides readers, teachers, and students with an opportunity to review the mathematical thinking of other middle school students. The department is meant to be used as a forum for students to share discoveries, thoughts, problem solutions, or even challenges. Submissions to this department may come from, but are not limited to, activities prompted by articles published in MTMS.

Submit manuscripts directly to the department editor as listed in the journal.

Solve It!

The "Solve It! " department is a companion to "The Thinking of Students" and is designed to provide teachers with a meaningful, mathematically rich problem that invokes thoughtful and innovative student responses. Teachers are encouraged to analyze these responses and submit their students' work and their analysis as a manuscript for "The Thinking of Students."

Submit manuscripts directly to the department editor as listed in the journal.