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created by Celeste Molsbee

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Number Talks: Building Numerical Reasoning

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Teaching Tools | Resources for Teachers from Scholastic

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Teaching Tools | Resources for Teachers from Scholastic

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wordpress

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Some of following kindergarten Number Talks are from Mary Elizabeth Meddenhall while others have been created by Mollie Hall using Meddenhall's resources. Number Talk Overview - It is recommended that teachers begin by reading this article. Dot Cards Number_3 Number_4 Number_5 Number_6 Number_7 Number_8 Number_9_ Number_10 The Rekenrek Rekenreks The Five...

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Number Talks by Sherry Parrish:

Click here - Sample of the Book

Number talks are short daily routines that help students develop computational fluency.

Not intended to replace current curriculum or take up majority of time spent on math.

They are 5 to 15 minutes long and most effective if done daily.

In order for children to become computationally fluent, they need to know particular mathematical concepts that go beyond what is required to memorize basic facts or procedures. Students need to understand that:

* Numbers are composed of smaller numbers.

* What we know about one number can help us figure out other numbers.

* What we know about parts of smaller numbers can help us with parts of larger numbers.

* Numbers are organized into groups of tens and ones (and hundreds, tens and ones and so forth.)

* What we know about numbers to 10 helps us with numbers to 100 and beyond

Activities and examples of Number Talk Routines

Click on the link below to find the grade 2 number strings that will develop strategies for mental computations:

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A website on dedicated to building number sense through Number Talks and Number Sense Routines

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Number Talks Build Numerical Reasoning

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scroll to the bottom and watch her video. I'm not endorsing her products.

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Number talks ( Kindergarten, 1st Grade & 2nd Grade) offer a bridge between conceptual understanding and mental math. During mini-lessons and Guided Math, I am ALL about manipulatives. Base 10 pieces, unifix cubes, cuisenaire rods - give me all the math things. Especially in 1st grade, manipulatives offer a concrete way to represent a number and their thinking. At some point, this concrete thinking has to begin to transition into abstract and mental math processes. Number Talks offer a daily, short, structured way for students to talk about math with their peers.

What is a Number Talk?

Number Talks are short (10ish minutes), daily exercises aimed at building number sense. Number sense is the ability to play with numbers meaning students can visualize problem solving, perform calculations quickly, and are flexible in their mathematical strategy. Students who have strong number sense solve problems in more than one way and check that their answers make sense. As a part of this routine, students are thinking, asking their peers questions, and explaining their own thinking all while the teacher records the thinking.

Sherry Parish has written the book Number Talks (Amazon affiliate link) and it offers awesome ideas for Kindergarten to 6th grade. It is definitely an expensive (up to $60 if bought new) but offers great ideas and real-life examples of Number Talks.

What Do Number Talks Look Like?

When possible, I love slipping a number talk ( Kindergarten, 1st Grade & 2nd Grade) in at the beginning of our Guided Math block. If we're running late, I'll slip a Number Talk in during an awkward transition or at the very end of the day. A traditional talk follows this routine -
Present the class with a problem. Students are seated in a common area with no math tools. Number Talks are mental exercises. I store my number talks ( Kindergarten, 1st Grade & 2nd Grade) on binder rings next to my Document Camera for easy access.

Give think time. (When a student raises their hand, it tells other students they were not fast or good enough in their thinking. To account for this, students give me a sly thumbs-up on their chest to signal that they have thinking they want to share. Then, they put up multiple fingers (on the same hand) to indicate they have multiple ways to answer/solve the problem.

3. Call on a student - "_______, what are you thinking?" Have the student explain their thinking and then give their answer. My focus is always on the process not the answer.

4. Offer the strategy to the class. Student will elaborate (if correct) or ask questions (if misguided). If students aren't sure they understand a friend, they will say "I'm a little confused. Could you tell me in a different way?" If students agree with the student sharing they will do sign-language for 'me too' (thumb near chest and pinky pointing at friend). This builds the student's confidence and offers the student sharing positive affirmations.

5. Invite other students to share their strategies.

Scaffolding Students

If students have never been expected to explain their mathematical thinking, students may be very resistant to share their own strategies. So, how do I encourage students to share their own thinking/strategies?

Model, Model, Model - The first 2 days of Number Talks, I do a lot of modeling. After this, I completely release the Number Talks to the students.

Sentence Stems - "In my head I saw..." "My first step was..." "At first, I decided to try..." "I needed to..." "Since I wasn't sure what to do, but I noticed..."

Force It - Awkward silence is your friend. Sometimes I will wait (for extended periods of time) for students to share their thinking. Even if a friend is STRUGGLING with a problem or sharing their thinking, I do not come to the rescue. Growth comes when friends are able to sort out their own thinking and my 1st grade friends are able to do this...even if it is a little painful for me.

Examples of 1st Grade Number Conversations

So, it all sounds great, right?? But what do number talks actually look like? My first talks ( Kindergarten, 1st Grade & 2nd Grade) each year are always subitizing patterns (dot patterns). They are the perfect introduction into composing and decomposing numbers. Slowly that transitions into the 100s chart and eventually into word problems and balancing scales.

In the 2nd grade number talks, the focus is on building fluency within 20 and 100, as well as, layering skills in different ways. From missing addends, to algebraic thinking, over 400 prompts offer students dozens of chances to spiral review math skills each month.

Subitizing Quick Images

Subitizing ( Kindergarten, 1st Grade & 2nd Grade) is the ability to quickly identify the number in a group of objects without individually counting the objects. It is a concrete way to explore composing and decomposing numbers. Students will see dot patterns in different ways, and that is a great thing. When showing students 6, made from a pyramid students might see 3 and 3, 5 and 1, or 3 and 2 and 1. These are all ways to build 6 and lead students to understand that numbers can be composed and decomposed in many different ways.

Composing Numbers

Flexibility in number thinking is a critical skills in beginning mathematicians. Students must understand that 7 can be made from 4 and 3, 2 and 5, 6 and 1, or 7 and 0. Below students are provided with a "Target Number" and ask students to use some of the provided numbers to hit the target. Students then have to decide how many numbers to use, which operation to use (addition or subtraction), and then, decide if number order matters. ( 1st Grade Prompts, 2nd Grade Prompts)

Flexibly Composing AND Decomposing Numbers

An important part of teaching primary students is to build number fluency and flexibility. Students should be able to encounter numbers in a variety of formats and engage with them in a variety of ways. During our Representing Numbers conversations ( 1st Grade & 2nd Grade), I encourage students to branch outside of the typical ten frame, plus one, etc. These are great strategies when we first start, but after the first few days students can build on these basic representations to develop different relationships and understanding.

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Number Talks: How and Why? - The Brown Bag Teacher

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Number talks ( Kindergarten, 1st Grade & 2nd Grade) offer a bridge between conceptual understanding and mental math. During mini-lessons and Guided Math, I am ALL about manipulatives. Base 10 pieces, unifix cubes, cuisenaire rods - give me all the math things. Especially in 1st grade, manipulatives offer a concrete way to represent a number and their thinking.

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videos

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Are you using number talks in your classroom? If not, it might be time to start! Number talks are a great way to build students' number sense through a short daily math routine. In her book Number Talks, Sherry Parrish describes them as:

1. A five to fifteen-minute classroom conversation around purposefully crafted computation problems that are solved mentally.

2. The best part of a teacher's day.

Ready to get started? Follow these tips.

Make it a Routine

Number talks aren't a one-off lesson. Instead, they're an opportunity to establish a consistent math routine in your classroom. Tch Laureate Kristin Gray created an amazing set of DIY videos focused on teaching math routines through number talks. Check out her videos for grades K-3 to get a sense of the kinds of routines you can include in your repertoire:

Differentiate

Though number talks are generally done as a whole group, this doesn't mean they can't meet the needs of all students. In fact, number talks are a great way for students at all levels of understanding to share their math strategies. In this video, watch how Crystal Morey uses checkins to assess her students' learning during number talks. She then uses this information to tailor her instruction to meet her students' needs.
VIDEO: Meeting Students' Needs in Number Talks
Set Language & Math Goals
VIDEO: Engaging in Productive Struggle: Number Talks
Talking about math gives students an opportunity to develop both math and academic language skills. This can be particularly helpful for English Language Learners. In this video, watch students learn perseverance and language skills through an engaging number talk. Then watch how sentence frames can set students up for success when discussing math strategies.

Keep Learning

Number talks can be a great addition to your math instruction, but any change requires a lot of new learning for both students and teachers. Watch how " teacher time-outs" can be used to pause instruction and to check in with colleagues for support.

Looking for more number talk resources? Check out our complete collection here.

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Are you using number talks in your classroom? If not, it might be time to start! Number talks are a great way to build students' number sense through a short daily math routine. In her book Number Talks , Sherry Parrish describes them as: A five to fifteen-minute classroom conversation around purposefully crafted computation problems that are solved mentally.