Introduction
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 Annette Johnston
 BSE in Early Childhood Education
 Certifications
 Bethesda Elementary
My Number Talk History
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What are Number Talks?
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 Mental math
 No paper or pencils!
 Short
 Less than 15 minutes (usually)
 Ongoing
 Building and progressive
 Purposefully crafted
 Daily routine
 Student led – teacher guided and facilitated
Why Number Talks?
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 Computational fluency
 Efficiency, accuracy, flexibility
 Real world application
 Number relationships & structures
 Reasonable answers
 Justify answers
 Think and act like mathematicians
 Mental Math
Number Talks Talking
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 Students clarify their own thinking
 Students value others’ thinking
 Provides an opportunity to listen attentively
Number Talk Basics
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 Meaningful conversations
 Naked computation
 No pencil and paper
 No manipulatives (optional)
 Does not replace your current math curriculum
 Small group or whole group
 Or Both!
When do I have Number Talk?
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 Everyday!
 10-15 minutes
 Anytime that is CONVENIENT for you!!
 Before, during, after math class
 “Betweeners”
Number Talk Steps
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 Present the problem
 Allow for quiet think time
 Thumbs up
 Fingers for strategies
 Students share out their answers
 Teachers record all possible solutions
 Students share their strategies
 Teacher records strategy as given by student
 Students agree on the correct answer
 Teacher shares NEW strategy
Questions to Ask
During Number Talks
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 How did you think about that?
 How did you figure it out?
 What did you do next?
 Why did you do that? Tell me more.
 Who would like to share their thinking?
 Did someone solve it a different way?
 Who else started the problem this way?
 Who else used this strategy to solve the problem?
 What strategies do you see being used?
 What strategies seem to be efficient, quick, simple?
Teach Students to Name
their Strategies
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Use doubles
Compensate
Break apart numbers
Make it simpler
Use landmark numbers (25, 50, 75, 200, etc.)
Use a model to help
Use what you already know
Make a “10”
Start with the 10s
Think about multiples
Think about money
Traditional (standard) algorithm
Counting on
Number Talk!
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123+79
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Number Talk!
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Number Talk
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¼ ½
Small Group
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27 x 5
My Favorite Number
Talk Resources
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 http://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/Page/37071
 http://www.mathperspectives.com/num_talks.html
 https://sites.google.com/site/get2mathk5/home/n
umber-talks
 http://www.insidemathematics.org/classroomvideos/number-talks
 http://www.pinterest.com/drnicki7/number-talks/
Number Talk
Realizations
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 My favorite part of the day
 Beneficial
 Meaningful
 Simple
Good Luck in 2014-2015!

 I encourage you to make a commitment to number
talks for the first nine weeks.
 My prediction is that you will love them and see so
much improvement in your students that you will
continue forever!
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwlhUcSGqgs
Contact Information

 Annette Johnston
 Bethesda Elementary School, Durham
 annette.johnston@dpsnc.net