Age Range: All
Author: Cassandra Lowry
Description:
Number Talks are a relatively new term being used in education circles. It describes the process of helping children to identify different ways a problem could be solved.
Basically, it works by presenting children with a problem and asking them to find a solution. The children are then asked to explain their method or strategy for finding the solution and different strategies are then compared and discussed. This is an opportunity for parents to share their own methods.
The aim of this process is to help children recognise that there are different ways to solve problems and some methods may be more straightforward than others. This understanding will hopefully help children when they are presented with similar problems in the future.
There are many different types of Number Talks, including:
- Dot Talks – children are shown an image with several dots and they need to explain how they managed to find the total
- Number Talks – children are shown a problem, like 5 + 19, and they need to explain how they found the solution
- Fraction Talks – children are shown an image and are asked to identify the fraction that represents a certain part
More examples of Number Talks to try with your child can be found in the document below.
Links and Resources:
