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Number Talks are a great way to explore strategies from Alex Lawson's Continua of Numeracy Development. LKDSB intervention work has demonstrated the benefit of engaging students in learning a variety of strategies to become more efficient mathematical thinkers. It is important that all students develop a variety of strategies when developing early number sense that will continue to support their mathematical learning into more complex and abstract concepts.
Teachers are encouraged to use a variety of think alouds that provide students opportunities to demonstrate the strategies they are comfortable with, but may also consider using Number Talks to explicitly teach and practice strategies from the Lawson continua. Resources have been created in the Lawson Continuum area of the website that provide sample number strings that can be used to draw out the strategies that have been proven during LKDSB intervention work to move students along the continuum to more efficient strategy use.
Teachers are also encouraged to track student strategy use and to consider using the data to inform "where to next" as a class, or for independent intervention. A variety of tracking strategies are explained below.
Tracking Strategy Use
Tracking Strategy Use
Heat Map
Heat Map
Teachers can use a digital spreadsheet or printed checklist to track what strategies students use when completing think alouds or independent work. This sheet can provide a quick snapshot of what you know about the class understanding of strategies and where intervention may be beneficial.
Individual Continuum
Individual Continuum
Teachers can make a copy of the continuum for each student in the class and make hand written notes on each student's sheet about the student strategy use. Most teachers using this method store the class set of continuums in a duotang for quick reference.
Class Continuum
Class Continuum
Teachers may use one continuum and post it notes to track the most efficient strategy that students use regularly in one place. The limitation with this method is that we encourage students to gather a variety of strategies for success and tracking just the most efficient doesn't always paint the big picture.
Collection of Responses
Collection of Responses
Some teachers have chosen to save digital number talks or chart paper that indicate which students have shared at the number talks to reference for assessment purposes.
Using the Number Talk Books with Lawson Continuum
Using the Number Talk Books with Lawson Continuum
Sherry Parrish and Alex Lawson use different names for some of the same strategies. We will use the Lawson Continua names for the Number Talks strategies to maintain consistency but put Parrish’s term (in brackets and blue) if it differs from Lawson’s terms. Consistency with the terminology provides students (and teachers!) common vocabulary to aid in mutual understanding when sharing their thinking. Some number strings may elicit a variety of strategies.
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