ABSTRACT
As middle-school students explore and discover patterns in their mathematics, they should realize that these patterns represent regularities, much as they did in the study of elementary mathematics. Students can use these regularities as they reason about what strategy to employ as they are solving problems. This involves both deductive and inductive reasoning. Teachers need to provide regular experiences of both types of reasoning for their students. Mathematical discourse also needs to be a part of these experiences so students and the teacher can monitor proper use of vocabulary, symbols, operations, properties, and so on .
