Q3/Q4“Number Talk” Guide

5th Grade

What is a number talk?

A number talk is a short (10 minutes), ongoing daily routine during small group that provides students with meaningful ongoing practice with computation. A Number Talk is a powerful tool for helping students develop computational fluency because the expectation is that they will use number sense to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Number talks are also a great way to use the “CCGPS Mathematical Practice Standards”.

What is the goal of number talks?

The goal of number talks is computational fluency. Fluency means to compute with accuracy (the ability to produce a correct answer), efficiency (the ability to choose an appropriate, expedient strategy for a specific computation problem), and flexibility (ability to use number relationships with ease in computation). In order for students to be fluent, they need to know certain mathematical concepts that go beyond what is required to memorize basic facts or procedures. Students need to understand that:

  • numbers are composed of smaller numbers.
  • numbers can be taken apart and combined with other numbers to make new numbers.
  • what we know about one number can help us figure out other numbers.
  • what we know about parts of smaller numbers can help us with parts of larger numbers.
  • what we know about numbers to 10 helps us with numbers to 100 and beyond.

What is the format for number talks?

  1. Teacher presents the problem.
  2. Students figure out the answer on their own.
  3. Students share answers – four or five students volunteer to share their answers and the teacher records them on the board.
  4. Students share thinking – three or four students volunteer to share the strategy. The teacher records their thinking.
  5. The class agrees on the “real” answer for the problem.
  6. The steps are repeated for additional problems.

Here are a few more things that need to be in place to ensure that students get the most out of Number Talks:

  • A safe environment
  • Problems of various difficulty and can be solved many ways
  • Concrete models when needed
  • Opportunities to think first and then check
  • Interaction
  • Self-correction

What is the teacher’s role during number talks?

The teacher

  • provides a safe environment where each child’s thinking is valued.
  • selects groups or strings of problems that allow access to all children.
  • selects problems that intentionally highlight mathematical concepts.
  • focuses on how children got the answer.
  • provides wait time.
  • shifts focus from “see what I see,“ to “What do you (the child) see?”
  • records, clarifies, restates.
  • realizes that if the children don’t “get it”, it is the teacher’s responsibility to figure out their misconceptions or lack of proficiency and to begin instruction at that point.

Questions to ask

  • Who would like to share their thinking?
  • Who did it another way?
  • What strategy did you use?
  • How many people solved it the same way Billy did?
  • Does anyone have any questions for Billy?
  • Billy, can you tell us where you got that 5?
  • How did you figure that out?
  • What was the first thing your eyes saw, or your brain did?

How do I hold students accountable during number talks?

  1. Ask students to use finger signals to indicate the most efficient strategy.
  2. Keep records of problems you did and the different strategies used. Anchor charts are a perfect way to keep up with strategies learned. Make sure that the anchor charts are living documents and can be added to throughout the year as new strategies are shared by the students.
  3. Hold “small group” number talks once a week. When you break the students up into smaller groups, you can then informally assess whether the student may need more of a challenge or if there are some factors interfering with understanding.
  4. Require students to solve an exit problem using the discussed strategies. One idea is to give students an index card and request that they solve a problem using a strategy that was shared on one side, and on the other side they can use any strategy they wish.
  5. Give a weekly computation assessment. This assessment should only consist of 5 problems similar to the ones that were in the number talks that week. Encourage students to solve problems two ways. This reinforces the expectations in our classroom of accuracy, flexibility, and efficiency. These tests should not be presented like a “timed test”.

Why use “strategies” during number talks?

Strategies are part of the CCGPS. Students need time to develop, understand, and practice these strategies. Students also need to become comfortable enough with the strategies so that they can choose the one that is most efficient for them when trying to solve a problem.

January - May

This is the time to practice the standard algorithm for multiplication problems and the division strategies. A great activity would be to put a problem on the board, make a common mistake, and ask students to identify the mistake that you made.

It is also important during these months to practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals. Give students a problem (ex. 54.2 x 4.1) and have them solve the problem. Number Talks should be done for ten minutes every day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!