Math Routines
Primary objectives of the activity:
- building number sense
- using numbers flexibly
Secondary objectives of the activity:
- making math visual
- building a habit of being mathematical
Sample work
Student Testimonials
- “testing my patience and opening my mind to think outside of the box!”
- "helping me to understand numbers in a new way."
- “This class was useful because it involved puzzles each week to help work on math fluency with basic numbers.”
Tips and Tricks
- Give students time to think. It can be very easy to synthesize information for students, but in doing so, we rob them of the chance to learn. So a key to a successful number talk is building it as a consistent routine so students can get comfortable sitting with uncertainty and puzzling through the challenge.
- Invite all students to share strategies. We want to engage students in thoughtful discussions that help them to build a conceptual understanding. So it’s helpful to have students share examples and non-examples to shift the focus away from “just getting the right answer” and towards an open discussion where students are building skills to evaluate the solutions on their own.
How to implement
- Face to Face
- Make it a routine so each class or every other class starts/ends with a 10-minute number talk. We want to use these opportunities to give students a safe space to experiment and be creative. So being consistent will help students develop the habit of being mathematical regularly.
- Blended
- Use a Google Slides presentation in Presenter Mode with the Q&A feature turned on so students can submit solutions and vote up/down based on their evaluation of the solution.
- Distance
- Again the key to success is consistency with these routines. So when building modules for students, include a small number talk at the start and focus the instructions on how “accuracy” is less important that consistency, trying new things, and being okay with making mistakes.