Learning of mathematics in primary classes should not be reduced to learning algorithms and routines or procedures. As we see the learning of mathematics as a process of interpreting mathematical structures and generalizations, it is more important to foster childrens thinking and learning of meaningful relations between objects and operations in the context of equations. In this sense children have to learn algebraic relations in primary classes without using algebraic signs. In this paper the results of a design study and a video-based qualitative analysis of teaching/learning situations in the field of reasoning of equations are discussed.