Let’s explore how writing in math supports students as thinkers and communicators. You’ll try out routines that help students explain reasoning, connect concepts, and strengthen mathematical language. Participants will walk away with practical strategies for using journals, prompts, and exit slips to make student thinking visible and deepen conceptual understanding.

Sentence Kernels
• The blocks show…
• The ten frame shows…
• The picture shows…
• The number line shows…

Because
• I know the answer is… because…
• I used this strategy because…
• I drew this picture because…

But
• The shapes look the same, but…
• This path looks shorter, but…

So
• I made a group of ten, so…
• I counted on, so…

Combining
• The blocks show ten. The picture shows two more.
Combine these into one sentence.

Sentence Kernels
• The base ten blocks show…
• The number line jumps show…
• The two-digit number shows…

Because
• I made a ten because…
• I broke the number apart because…
• I used this strategy because…

But
• The numbers look large, but…
• This strategy works, but…

So
• I changed the order of the numbers, so…
• I grouped the tens, so…

Combining
• I made a ten. I solved the problem quickly.
Combine into one clear sentence.

Sentence Kernels
• The array shows…
• The equal groups show…
• The number line shows repeated jumps of…

Because
• This model helps because…
• The groups are equal because…

But
• Both models show the same idea, but…
• The numbers look different, but…

So
• I used an array, so…
• I drew a number line, so…

Combining
• The array shows 4 groups of 6. The number line shows repeated jumps.
Combine into one sentence.

Compare–Contrast
• Both models show…, but only one shows…

Sentence Kernels
• The fraction model shows…
• The number line shows the fraction…
• The two fractions represent…

Because
• These fractions look different because…
• The models match because…

But
• The bars look different, but the value stays the same.
• Both models show the same point, but…

So
• I used this model, so…
• I drew a number line, so…

Combining
• The bars are different sizes. The value is the same.
Combine into one sentence.

Compare–Contrast
• Both fractions show…, but only one shows…

Sentence Kernels
• The place value chart shows…
• The partial product model shows…
• The division strategy shows…

Because
• Strategy A works because…
• This method helps because…
• I chose this strategy because…

But
• This method works, but only when…
• Both strategies use place value, but…

So
• I shifted the numbers, so…
• I broke apart the factors, so…

Combining
• The strategy uses place value. It groups numbers.
Combine into one clear sentence.

Compare–Contrast
• Strategy A works well when… Strategy B works well when…
• Both strategies show the same idea, but…