Number Talks

Hey friends!

Do you use Math Talks in your classroom?

This is my first year doing them and I LOVE IT! Seriously, the kids are showing me so much! I love that it gives them the opportunity to think their own way. They aren't tied to a certain thought or strategy. It is awesome! This picture is from our math talk today with number strings. All of the shared explanations were great, but one little girl blew me away.

I started by giving them the expression 3+6. Many of them counted on in their head or on their fingers. I always record a few answers that they are thinking and then we use their explanations to prove the correct answer.

You can see Ashley's explanation in the top left. She said "Well, I already know that 4+5=9. And I noticed that if I took one away from the 4 it would make it 3, and if I added that extra one to the 5 it would make ti 6. So then you get 3+6 so it is the same as 4+5 so I know it equals 9." I recorded everything that she was saying, and was blown away. It is amazing to see how some of them work through things!

I grouped their explanations together and made them smaller on the smartboard so that I could show them the next expression (3+7). I wanted them to be able to see the previous problem and solutions to see if anyone would make the connection. If they see it, great! If they don't, I just go with their explanations and give problems like this again in the future until someone notices their connection.

Of course, Ashley noticed it. She said, "Well, we already found out that 3+6=9 and 3+7 is just one more, so it equals 10." To her, it was simple. After she shared I could see kids nodding their heads like, oh yeah!

Again, I grouped the explanations and moved them to the side for the next problem.

Their final expression was 3+8. More of them caught on at this point. Zoe shared and said, "Since 3+7=10, I know I wouldn't have enough fingers because 3+8 will be more than 10. So I just had to add one more to get 11!"

WHEW!

:)

I really like this book, Number Talks, to help guide math talks since I am new to them this year!

Have a great week!