Routines to Promote Numeracy
(including warm-up ideas, exit tickets, and other classroom routines!)
Embedded Files
- Middle School Math Routines Bank - includes a vast number of routines covering topics from whole numbers through expressions and equations. This is a great place to start to introduce number routines to your students.
- Estimation180 - One for each day of the year, estimation challenges that increase number sense and problem solving skills.
- VisualPatterns.org - More information on the Number Talks/Visual Patterns page of this site.
- Which One Doesn't Belong - Sets of 4 images/equations/etc where students find reasons why each "doesn't belong." This routine is a great silent start then class discussion. Have students silently examine the images and show the number of reasons they have with their fingers held against their chest. Then begin the discussion once everyone has at least 1 reason.
- Mental Math Mondays - mental math problems from 6-8th grade (NCDPI from 2013), listed under week-by-week essentials. These are pre-common core, but cover lots of middle grades content.
- SolveMe Puzzles - These puzzles are a very visual way to reinforce solving equations skills.
- Would You Rather Math - Students choose one of the 2 given options and justify their decision mathematically.
- MathMistakes.org - This site is about compiling, analyzing and discussing the mathematical errors that students make. Search by standard, and discover plenty of sample mistakes for you and your students to discuss!
- NumberTalks.net - encourages multiple approaches, 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 relationships and the structures of numbers to add, subtract, etc.
- Brilliant.org - unique and challenging problems to get students discussing and thinking in new ways
- Fraction Talks - Number Talks/Class Discussion using visual fraction models. These are a great way to increase your students' comfort level with fractions.
- Math Arguments - 180 days of Math Debate prompts. Some are more appropriate for Math 3/AFM students, but there are also plenty for 8th grade - Math 1.
- Math Hooks - challenging, inquiry-based activities for 7th & 8th grade math to foster student participation, enthusiasm and improvement through rigorous discussion
- OpenMiddle.com - Open middle problems have a “closed beginning” meaning that students all start with the same initial problem, have a “closed end” (one answer), and an “open middle” meaning that there are multiple ways to approach/solve the problem.
- Area Mazes - These only use positive whole numbers, but are a good way to reinforce multiplication skills. Some are extremely easy. (Click the red boxes across the top of the page to access each maze.)
- Yohaku Puzzles - number puzzles that will test your number sense and problem solving skills. Each yohaku is either an additive or a multiplicative puzzle (as indicated by the symbol in the bottom right of the grid). Your task is to fill in the empty cells such that they give the sum or product shown in each row and column. Great for use in classrooms as a lesson starter.
- Start A Math Fight - Having students regularly discuss, argue, defend, and justify ideas using mathematics helps them understand the topic at a deeper level.
- Don Steward's Problem Bank - lots of worksheets full of non-routine problems. Most activities could be easily adapted to whole numbers, integers, fractions. I recommend using a problem a day as a routine rather than giving an entire set. The following list is ranked beginning with the easiest activities.
- Finding a value to create a whole positive number given a rational expression (substitution)
- Change a given binomial by applying 1-digit operations
- Find 2 ways to build an expression
- Find the average of given expressions
- Order of Operations reinforcement - One Step at a Time
- Combining Like Terms Pyramids & a second set
- Change an expression to create a different given expression
- Find the Gaps with Expressions
Click any of the links in the section below to access video presentations
Click any of the links in the section below to access video presentations
for routines that support numeracy.
for routines that support numeracy.
Contemplate then Calculate, Notice/Wonder Activities, and lots more!
Ideas for warmup routines, as well as how to improve your existing warmups to increase critical thinking and promote numeracy!
This Youtube playlist includes classroom videos of many types of number sense routines. Pay close attention to the questioning strategies used by each teacher!
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