A Number Talk is not the same as a warm-up or a problem-of-the-day. It is a structured 10-minute routine that builds students' confidence in their own mathematical reasoning by making thinking visible.
The anatomy: (1) Anchor — a single problem or image, chosen for its multiple solution paths. (2) Quiet think time. (3) Share — students offer strategies; the teacher records on the board. (4) Compare — the room examines how the strategies relate. (5) Close — the teacher names what the strategies showed about the math.
Reflection
Choose one of the five stages above. What does it ask of you as the teacher, and where do you tend to rush past it?
0 words · need 60