Helping Children Build Number Sense &

Computation Skills through Daily Number Talks

NESA Spring Educators Conference"Bangkok, Thailand 2013

Presenter: Caira Franklin American School of Dubai

Goals for Today’s Session !   Rediscover ourselves as mathematicians

!   Distinguish the difference between computation and number sense

!   Consider the Importance of Numerical Power in our students

!   Walk away with something tangible

Welcome to Bangkok���How much time did it take you to travel from the airport to the hotel?

How much money did you recently exchange for Thai Baht and what did you get back based on the exchange rate?

On average, how much money are you spending on dinner here in Bangkok incl. tip?

What’s the going rate for a massage in Bangkok?

Most likely you…

•  Estimated about how much

•  Used friendly or benchmark numbers

•  Solved without a paper or pen

•  Held the numbers in your brain and solved mentally

•  Counted up

•  Counted back

•  Chunked numbers

•  Used number combinations

• Skip Counted

Based on your great mental math skills while traveling, how many of you think

you might have gotten cheated?

Computation vs. Number Sense Computation…

•  Answer to Arithmetic Problem (+ - x ÷)

•  Uses logic

•  Often considered quick (hmmmm….)

•  Accurate and Efficient

Number Sense…

•  Think flexibly

•  Break apart numbers

•  Make reasonable estimates

•  Make sound numerical judgments

•  See numbers as useful

The Power of Number Talks in Building Numerical Power

Just 5 minutes

a day

How They Work

!   No paper or pencils for now; Just our brains

!   Teacher poses the problem

!   Quiet think time (i.e. No Hollering Out)

!   Thumbs up when you have an answer/ No hand raising at !rst

!   Teachers ask for volunteers to share their thinking

~ IT’S NOT ABOUT THE PRODUCT. IT’S THE PROCESS ~

Just 5 minutes a day

Video Snippets

!   Watch and Jot

What do number talks…

look like?

sound like?

feel like?

Numerical Power & Number Talks

Numerically Powerful Children Can…

•  Develop meaning from numbers

•  Look for relationships

•  Understand & correctly perform computational strategies

•  Make sense of numerical situations

Number Talks…

•  Ongoing Daily Routine

•  Flexible in approach

•  Student Focused

•  Encourages Safe Sharing & Self Correction

•  Leads to Computational Fluency

Based on 2006-Kathy Richardson-Math Perspectives In-service Materials

Remember

“A collection of facts is no more mathematics than a heap of stones is a house.”

- Polya/Poincare

“What is essential to learning basic facts is learning how to recognize and describe number parts. Children need to see that basic facts as a set of interrelated ideas.”

- Amazing Math Concepts P. 26

Thank You and Don’t Forget…

•  You resource packet

•  Contact Info.:

Caira Franklin Numeracy Coach

American School of Dubai cfranklin@asdubai.org