Number Talks Description:

One of the main building blocks of learning mathematics is being able to make sense of
numbers. Number sense, or number fluency, refers to the ability to understand and be flexible
with using numbers on a daily basis. This can include things like knowing what a number
represents, how numbers compare to each other, the relative sizes of different numbers, or how
operations affect numbers. Developing this connection between written numbers and the things
they stand for in a variety of different representations and contexts enables students to
understand the world around them in an incredibly valuable way. As a result, students become
more comfortable and confident about their interaction with mathematics.
According to a study conducted by the University of Missouri, of the 180 seventh-graders
tested, “Those who lagged behind their peers in a test of core math skills needed to function as
adults were the same kids who'd had the least number sense or fluency way back when they
started first grade” (Neergaard, 2013). In response to this lack in number sense that affects so
many students, our class will be participating in regular Number Talks to help build our number
fluency and become better at thinking about and discussing mathematical concepts/ideas. A
number talk is an activity where students are presented with a question and asked to solve it in
their heads. They are not allowed any paper or pencils during a Number Talk. Instead, students
must think for themselves about the problem and be able to explain their problem-solving
process. The questions that students are presented with will have multiple solution pathways and
perhaps multiple answers. The goal of these number talks is to have these young mathematicians
formulate an answer for themselves. They should be able to defend their answer and explain their
process with precision. Furthermore, these Number Talks give students an opportunity to see that
not everyone has to think about mathematics in the same way and everyone’s voice matters.
Because these talks never highlight a “correct” answer or praise quick, algorithmic thinking,
students come to find that they can be creative thinkers in my class and try new things without
fear of failure. Furthermore, they begin to see problems through the lenses of other students’
eyes and recognize that there are tons of ways that numerical relationships can be explained.
Number Talk Reflection:

For my first number talk, I decided to implement the task in my Applied Math classes (I
have 3 sections). In these classes I have a wide range of student abilities and these classes are
typically very quiet. When I introduced the Number Talk process and wrote the first question up
on the board, I was happy to see that all of my students seemed to be engaged in thinking about
the problem. Of course, it helped that I told them we wouldn’t move on until every student had a
thumb up indicating that they were ready. When it came time to give out answers that they could
defend, I was a little bummed to find that once one student said their answer, no one would come
forward to say if they got something different (when I knew that there had to be some students
with different answers). This was a clear indicator that many of my students are still afraid of
being wrong.
Once we got past the fact that everyone seemed to have the same answer, it was time to
have students defend that answer with their thinking. For this first question, “Is 5/9 less than or
greater than ½ ?”, the answer everyone was defending was “greater than”. Much to my
disappointment, the first solution method presented by a student was purely algorithmic. They
used the cross multiplying method to determine which fraction was greater and no one in the
class had any idea why that method worked. Since I didn’t want to linger on this method, I then
moved on to ask if anyone had solved it in a different way. The next student to defend this
answer did what I probably would have done and found exactly ½ of the denominator (4.5) then
compared their numerator of 5 to 4.5. For this solution method, we had a great class discussion
about why this worked and this method even ended up being applied to some of the more
difficult problems in this sequence.
As we continued with the “less than or greater than ½” questions, other solution methods
arose. We talked about another algorithmic method, common denominators, and then got into
more creative methods. I was blown away by some of the things my kids thought about that I
hadn’t considered. For instance, I had students who labeled number lines, changed “friendly”
fractions to decimals or percents, and one student who even used common numerators to
compare the fractions. Overall, what I was starting to see was that the more we talked about each
problem, the more engaged my students were becoming. Things really took off when we had
students decide which benchmark fraction (0, ½, or 1) the given fraction was closest to.
One of my favorite discussions came from a class where a student was deciding whether
2/3 was closest to ½ or 1. This student had directed me to draw two circles and shade 2/3 of one
circle and ½ of the other. He was arguing that 2/3 was closer to ½ than to 1 but was struggling
with being able to prove that to me (and the rest of the class). We had an excellent discussion as
an entire class about how we could prove that the little shaded piece that extended past ½ on the
2/3 graph was closer to the halfway mark than the “one whole”. In other words, we were trying
to come up with the fact that the difference between 2/3 and ½ is 1/6 and the difference between
2/3 and 1 is larger than 1/6. I was loving it!
All in all, I had a great time doing these number talks with my students. They took longer
than I had hoped but I think the time spent doing them was very valuable. Students were thinking
and reasoning with fractions more conceptually than they had done in many of my lessons so far
this year and for that I was grateful. I plan to keep doing Number Talks in my classes (I’m
thinking at least once per unit, maybe eventually once a week) and encouraging my students to
make sense of the numbers they encounter on a daily basis.
Original Number Talk Sequence:
5 1
1. Is 9 less than or greater than 2?
16 1
2. Is 31 less than or greater than 2?
24 1
3. Is 49 less than or greater than 2?
2 1
4. Is 3 closest to 0, closest to 2, or closest to 1?
5 1
5. Is 16 closest to 0, closest to 2, or closest to 1?
17 1
6. Is 24 closest to 0, closest to 2, or closest to 1?
If time, we will also include the following problem:
7. Order these fractions from least to greatest:
1 1 7 3 2 3 1 14 5 5
− − −
5 3 5 5 4 9 2 8 4 2

Revised Number Talk Sequence:

5 1
1. Is 9 less than or greater than 2?
24 1
2. Is 49 less than or greater than 2?
2 1
3. Is 3 closest to 0, closest to 2, or closest to 1?
6 1
4. Is 25 closest to 0, closest to 2, or closest to 1?
If time, we will also include the following problem:
5. Order these fractions from least to greatest:
1 1 7 1 9 3
−5 −9 −3
2 25 5

Explanation of the Revisions Made:

 I eliminated questions 2 and 5 because of the amount of time it took students to solve and
discuss the problems in class. I also chose to eliminate these two questions in particular
because many of my students used the same solution methods for these as they did for the
problem before it.
 In problem 6, I changed the fraction from 17/24 to 6/25 because for one, I wanted the
answer to this question to be different than the previous question (I wanted students to
work with a fraction less than ½). Furthermore, I liked that this new fraction was close to
the benchmarks 1/5 and ¼ and thus was kind of on the tipping point between 0 and ½.
This would require a little more problem-solving from my students which I liked.
 For the last question in this list, I knew that I wanted to shorten the number of fractions
that my students would have to order from least to greatest. Since they do not have paper
or pencils available to them during our Number Talks, it would be difficult to order all of
those fractions in their heads. As a result, I decided to use just 6 fractions in total: 3
negative fractions and 3 positive fractions. In addition to shortening the list of fractions, I
also decided to change some of the fractions to better flow with the rest of the sequence. I
ended up choosing a couple of well-known fractions (1/2 and -1/3) as well as some
fractions with the same denominators as fractions we discussed in the previous questions.
 Works Cited

Neergaard, Lauran. “Early Number Sense Plays Role in Later Math Skills.” Associated
Press(2013): n. pag. Yahoo! News. 26 Mar. 2013. Web.