Math Talk Prompts
Would you rather?
Would you rather?
- You are given two scenarios in which you need to use math to justify your decision
Convince me that...
Convince me that...
- if given the answer, children have to focus on the how, the why and the process
- 36 ÷ 7 ≠ 5
- 3/4 = 6/8
- a square is a parallelogram, a rectangle and a rhombus
Which one doesn't belong?
Which one doesn't belong?
- This is a math talk routine that can be used for any kind of math.
- Find a reason why each one does not belong.
- It gets kids using their mathematical reasoning skills and communication skills to justify why each one doesn't belong.
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
- Use this prompt when first looking at a word problem. When faced with a word problem, children sometimes either think "I don’t understand, I’ll never get this," or "I know exactly what to do, let me work as quickly as I can." This helps your child understand the problem better.
- Noticings and wonderings are great tools for checking your work at the end of the problem. Students don’t have to ask, “Am I correct?” They can look at their noticing, wondering, and estimates to make sure they were accountable to all the information in the problem.
Always true, sometimes true or never true?
Always true, sometimes true or never true?
- A square is a rectangle.
- A rectangle is a square.
- A rectangle has two long sides and two short sides.
- All four sides of a square have the same length.
- All three sides of a triangle have the same length.
- Two triangles put together make a square.
- Triangles have to have the point on top.
- Parallelograms are slanted rectangles.
- Stop signs are hexagons.
- Shapes can only have straight sides.
- A circle is curved, so it’s not a shape.