Our study attempted to address young Bedouin students’ persistent difficulties with mathematics by integrating ethnomathematics into a standard curriculum. First, we conducted extensive interviews with 35 Bedouin elders and women to identify: (1) the mathematical elements of their daily lives - particularly traditional units of length and weight; (2) the geometrical shapes in Bedouin women’s traditional dress embroidery. Then we combined these with the standard curriculum to make integrated 90-hour 7-8 th grade teaching units that were implemented in Bedouin classes. Comparisons between the experimental groups (186) and the control group (62) showed that studying by the integrated curriculum improved the cognitive aspects of the students’ learning, such as conceptual understanding, achievements and methods of solution. It also improved the affective aspects, such as self-confidence, motivation and attitudes towards learning in general and specifically towards mathematics.