Number Talks: Whole Class Examples

Thanks to the teachers and students who have opened their classroom for me (Alex) to run some number talks and learn from the students' ideas.

A 'Dot Number Talk' in Junior Primary

Two ten frames in Year 2

Questions to consider:

✨ What do you notice and what do you wonder? 

✨ What is interesting or surprising to you about how the talk plays out? 

✨ What would you have done the same/differently and why?

A 'Number Number Talk' in Junior Primary

12 - 2 & 12 - 5 in Year 2

Questions to consider:

✨ What is interesting or surprising to you about how the talk plays out? 

✨ Why did the teacher begin with such an easy problem?

✨ What would you have done the same/differently and why?

A 'Number Number Talk' in Middle Primary

2 x 7, 4 x 7, 9 x 7 in Year 3/4

This Number Talk String encourages mental play with a series of related multiplication problems.

Questions to consider:

✨ What would you have done the same/differently and why?

✨ What set of related problems might this teacher use next time and why?

A 'Number Number Talk' in Senior Primary

23 x 5 in Year 5/6

This is approximately 7 minutes of footage from a ~15 minute Number Talk in a Year 5/6 classroom.

This was a valuable experience for Alex who was welcomed as a guest teacher in the class.

Questions to consider:

✨ What is interesting or surprising?

✨ What would you have done the same/differently and why?

✨ What problem might this teacher use next time and why?

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