Building Number Sense: The Power of Number Talk in the Classroom

This workshop introduces educators to the concept and implementation of Number Talks—a powerful, discussion-based instructional strategy that helps students develop mental math skills and deepen their number sense. Participants explore how short, structured conversations around computational problems enable students to clarify and share their thinking, investigate number relationships, and build efficient strategies. The session walks through the essential components of successful Number Talks including classroom norms, teacher facilitation roles, and selection of purposeful problems. Various tools and visuals are modeled to support early learners in fluency, reasoning, and flexibility with numbers.

• Limited student confidence and participation in mathematical discussions.
  
  
• Overreliance on procedural thinking rather than conceptual understanding.
  
  
• Lack of mental math strategies and flexibility in approaching computation.
  
  
• Minimal opportunities for students to verbalize and justify their thinking.
  
  
• Inadequate formative assessment data around students’ number sense
  

1. Design and Facilitate Effective Number Talks
   Educators will learn how to structure and lead 5–15 minute Number Talks that promote mental computation, active student engagement, and collaborative mathematical discourse. This includes using hand signals, prompts, and strategic questioning to elicit multiple student strategies and deepen collective understanding.
   
   
2. Utilize Developmentally Appropriate Tools and Representations
   Teachers will gain strategies to incorporate tools like dot images, rekenreks, five- and ten-frames, number lines, and hundreds charts to foster subitizing, fluency, place value understanding, and conceptual connections in young learners.
   
   
3. Build Classroom Culture and Accountability for Mathematical Thinking
   Participants will explore how to create risk-free environments where students feel safe to share ideas and make mistakes, and how to develop accountability through student prompts, exit tickets, and documentation of strategies to reinforce learning and guide instruction