What Are Number Talks?
A Number Talk is a short mathematical discussion, typically at the beginning of a class, focusing on students' solutions to mathematical problems.
Number Talks help to develop students' number sense and flexible thinking. Beginning classes with number talks encourage students to think about new ways to communicate about math, try different strategies for solving problems and become engaged in the material they are learning.
Number talks can be used in any Math classroom with the material being altered to suit the grade level. I have personally implemented these into my practicum at both a grade 4 and 7 level.
Number Talks help to develop students' number sense and flexible thinking. Beginning classes with number talks encourage students to think about new ways to communicate about math, try different strategies for solving problems and become engaged in the material they are learning.
Number talks can be used in any Math classroom with the material being altered to suit the grade level. I have personally implemented these into my practicum at both a grade 4 and 7 level.
How to do a Number Talk?
Number Talks are more effective when implemented into the classroom daily. Follow the steps below to implement number talks into a lesson:
- Write a math problem on the board - this can be a simple equation written on the board or more complex problems can be shown on a projector. See below for some examples of Number Talks.
- Allow students time to think - It is important to give the students time to think about their answer. I encouraged my students to put a finger up in front of their chest when they have an answer rather than raising their hand and distracting others. If the students think of one way of solving the question I encourage them to think of another way. If they think of three ways of solving the problem they would put up three fingers close to their chest.
- Ask students to share their answer and strategy - have the students share their answer and how they solved the question. Write on the board exactly what the student is saying without acknowledging whether or not the answer is correct. It is important that all the students know that these number talks focus on the process rather than the end answer and that it is okay for them to be incorrect sometimes as we are all learning all the time. Allow multiple students to share their thinking.
Resources to learn more about Number Talks
Website: Number Talks: How and Why? The Brown Bag Teacher - https://brownbagteacher.com/number-talks-how-and-why/
Website: Purposeful Warm-up Routines Math Minds - https://kgmathminds.com/category/math/number-talks/
Book: Number Talks: Whole Number Computation, Grades K-5 by Sherry Parrish
Book: Number Talks: Fractions, Decimals and Percentages: A Multimedia Professional Learning Resource by Sherry Parrish and Ann Dominick
Document: Grades Three through Five Number Talks BPS Solutions. https://bps.solutions/MATH/Grade3-5_Number_Talks.pdf (see below)
Website: Purposeful Warm-up Routines Math Minds - https://kgmathminds.com/category/math/number-talks/
Book: Number Talks: Whole Number Computation, Grades K-5 by Sherry Parrish
Book: Number Talks: Fractions, Decimals and Percentages: A Multimedia Professional Learning Resource by Sherry Parrish and Ann Dominick
Document: Grades Three through Five Number Talks BPS Solutions. https://bps.solutions/MATH/Grade3-5_Number_Talks.pdf (see below)
Which One Doesn't Belong? (WODB)
I used Which One Doesn't Belong as a lesson opener along with Number Talks.
This Number Talk shows the students one large image with four different images in quadrants. The students are asked to share their reasoning for which one of the four images doesn't belong and why? In this number talk there are no wrong answers as long as the students are able to justify their reasoning.
Each of the images below are examples of WODB from wodb.ca. These images can be incorporated into a lesson for any age group, there are also many fun and non-math related WODB that provide engagement and a good introduction into this type of number talk.
This Number Talk shows the students one large image with four different images in quadrants. The students are asked to share their reasoning for which one of the four images doesn't belong and why? In this number talk there are no wrong answers as long as the students are able to justify their reasoning.
Each of the images below are examples of WODB from wodb.ca. These images can be incorporated into a lesson for any age group, there are also many fun and non-math related WODB that provide engagement and a good introduction into this type of number talk.
WODB can be made or found within a variety of resources, below are some resources where WODB can be found:
Website - https://wodb.ca
Website - Mashup Math https://www.mashupmath.com/blog/wodb-samples-grades-1-8
Book - Which One Doesn't Belong? A Shapes Book by Christopher Danielson
Book - Which One Doesn't Belong? Playing with Shapes by Christopher Danielson
Book - 101 Daily Which One Doesn't belong? Math Activities for Grades 1-8 by Mashup Math
Twitter is also a great resource for finding tools that other Educators have used in the classroom, here is the link to some Which One Doesn't Belong posts: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23wodb&src=typd
Website - https://wodb.ca
Website - Mashup Math https://www.mashupmath.com/blog/wodb-samples-grades-1-8
Book - Which One Doesn't Belong? A Shapes Book by Christopher Danielson
Book - Which One Doesn't Belong? Playing with Shapes by Christopher Danielson
Book - 101 Daily Which One Doesn't belong? Math Activities for Grades 1-8 by Mashup Math
Twitter is also a great resource for finding tools that other Educators have used in the classroom, here is the link to some Which One Doesn't Belong posts: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23wodb&src=typd
References
MashupMath. (October 22, 2019). Free 'Which One Doesn't Belong?' Activities for Your Upcoming Lesson Plans! MashupMath. https://www.mashupmath.com/blog/wodb-samples-grades-1-8
Skitterphoto. (unknown). Multicolored Abacus Photography [image]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/multicolored-abacus-photography-1019470/
Zimmerman, A. (2016). Number Talks Grow Mathematical Minds. Scholastic https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/alycia-zimmerman/number-talks-grow-mathematical-minds/
MashupMath. (October 22, 2019). Free 'Which One Doesn't Belong?' Activities for Your Upcoming Lesson Plans! MashupMath. https://www.mashupmath.com/blog/wodb-samples-grades-1-8
Skitterphoto. (unknown). Multicolored Abacus Photography [image]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/multicolored-abacus-photography-1019470/
Zimmerman, A. (2016). Number Talks Grow Mathematical Minds. Scholastic https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/alycia-zimmerman/number-talks-grow-mathematical-minds/