Middle School Number Talks

You’ve heard of it, but you’re not quite sure what it is. You see people posting about it, but you’re not sure how it would work for you. That’s okay! We are all in this together. Today I am going to be sharing with you all about daily math talks for middle schoolers. You will learn how to use these number talks in your classroom, how to implement these daily math talks, and how to make your daily math talks for middle schoolers effective!

Background knowledge: I have been teaching for five years now. I have taught 4th, 6th, and 7th-grade math, pre-algebra, geometry, consumer math, and a math intervention class. Of those seven classes, there is one thing they all have in common: Students struggle with math fact fluency, conceptual understanding, mathematical reasoning, and even their confidence in math. No matter how many math fact fluency worksheets students had done in the past, they still struggled with their math facts.

This summer, while gearing up for my fifth year of teaching math, I knew something had to change. I have been putting my heart and soul into every single one of my students, doing everything I possibly could to help them be more confident as a mathematician, but something was missing. I remember it clearly, it was really late, probably 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, my husband was fast asleep, and there I was, trying to figure out what I could do for my next group of students that would change the entire way they approach math.

It suddenly hit me, I remembered listening to a professor in college briefly mention the idea of math number talks in the classroom, but I didn’t recall the professor ever going to into detail as to what they were or how they worked. Cue the middle of the night research party. I know we’ve all been there, trying to keep our phone brightness down without waking up our spouse. I started reading articles, journals, research studies, everything I could to gain more information. I was hooked. I knew this was exactly what my students needed.

After spending some time trying to find what I thought would work best for my students and my classroom, and coming up unsuccessful, I decided to design my own. Because honestly, who knows better about what a classroom teacher needs for success than a classroom teacher!

So let’s get into it. You’re probably thinking, ‘Okay, I have read five paragraphs, and I still don’t have a clue as to what a math talk is, why it’s necessary, or how it would work for me and my students.’

What are Middle School number talks?

A number talk takes a relatively simple problem, has students work through it mentally, and then allows time for discussion, reasoning, and problem-solving. Number talks help with math fact fluency, mathematical reasoning, middle school number sense, and more!

What is Number Sense?

Number sense is the conceptual understanding of numbers and their relationships. It is more than just knowing what an answer is, but knowing why. Number sense helps students think flexibly about math and gain confidence in their mathematical practices.

How long do Middle School Number talks take?

On average, a number talk shouldn’t last more than 7-10 minutes.

Why are Number talks In middle School important?

Daily Number Talks are important because:

They help students gain confidence
They encourage collaboration and social skills
Students will gain conceptual understandings of mathematical concepts
Students will develop fact fluency and gain memorization skills
Students will deepen their mathematical vocabulary
They teach students perseverance and productive struggle
They help develop the understanding that, “Mistakes are proof you’re trying”

Who benefits from daily Number talks?

Math talks are great for any age of students. I know there are teachers using kindergarten math talks all the way through high school math talks and even college math talks too! As soon as students are beginning to develop number sense is as soon you should begin implementing number talks. Although my math talks are formed around the middle school standards, these could also be perfect if you have upper-level classes or even college students struggling.

How do I implement a Number talk?

The most important part of a number talk is setting a tone for the classroom community. We want to be sure that all students know that this is a safe space and all students are welcomed and encouraged to participate. Of course, like with anything in life, the first few times a student gets an answer wrong they are going to have a wave of emotions; embarrassment, sadness, disappointment, etc. This is why the classroom culture is a huge part of this. Be sure you take the time during these wrong answers to build up the student who was brave enough to share their thoughts. I am always trying to be positive with statements such as, “Wow, I loved your thought process!” “It was so cool how you…” “I’m so impressed with how you approached..” Although they got the answer wrong, hopefully we are still filling their bucket enough to want to share again soon.

What does the process look like?

Number Talks usually last around 7-10 minutes

Present the problem
Give students 1-3 minutes to silently figure out the problem mentally.
- You’ll know they’re ready when they display their number talk hand signals.
Have a few students share the answers they got using math talk sentence starters (1-2 minutes)
Have a few students share HOW they got the answers they got (2-3 minutes)
Clarify thinking and give positive ownership to their thought process

What kind of problems should I start with?

When first beginning your number talk journey, begin by introducing easier equations such as addition or subtraction. When students are feeling more comfortable, move into multiplying and dividing. After a few months, you might introduce a few word problems, decimals, negatives, variables, and other topics you are focussing on in math at the time.

Check out these number talks! Be sure to look at the preview as well!

Math Number Talk Themes:

If you’re still unsure or need more information or are looking for number talk examples, please check out this Number Talk Youtube video that I made. Each of the middle school number talks above even come with number talks math solutions! They are truly no prep. Just download and go!

I would also love to connect with you online. If you have any questions or just want to chat email me or send me a dm!