Math Message
And the Gift Goes On!
Mandy Eikelbarner, 3rd Grade BCES, recently shared the following:
Mathematicians at Work
Kim Watson's 3rd Grade Class
Debra Grose's 5th Grade Class
Why Number Talks?
Still on the fence about using dot talks or number talks? Sharon recently heard math educators/leaders describe dot talks as a way for students to see and structure numbers in their heads, which leads to greater flexibility with numbers AND greater ease of learning addition and subtraction facts! So, what can that mean for elementary math? In the younger grades, using dot talks heavily in the beginning and moving later to using numerals. For older grades, starting with dot talks if students have little experience with number talks OR starting with dot talks if students are struggling with basic addition/subtraction facts to 20, and then moving to numerals and computational problems. The first teacher in PK-2 to share a comment via email with Sharon regarding this will receive a special treat, and the first teacher in grades 3-5 to share a comment with Rebecca will also receive a special treat.
Number Talks Resources
Q & A with Sherry Parrish, author of Number Talks, Helping Children Build Mental Math and
Computation Strategies (this book is probably available on your campus) which includes more than 850 purposefully designed number talks by grade level
Folder from our curriculum maps with some images that could be useful.
Quick Guide - The Steps of a Number Talk
Tips for English Learners
An easy strategy to incorporate for English learners is to ask for choral responses from students. When teachers have students echo back a word or phrase, it exposes students to new vocabulary and serves as a model for correct pronunciation, syntax, and grammar.