I love Mental Math!Have you ever witnessed a principal doing mental math problems in front of the whole school?  Click to see! What do you think it does for a students’ self-esteem![embed]http://youtu.be/GxDJ323cvEc?t=5m25s[/embed]It all started out with, “Let’s change our questioning from what did you get to how did you solve this problem?” We know this was great because it allowed for understanding how they made sense of the problem. We now know there are so many benefits of sharing and discussing math computation strategies it helps students clarify their own thinking while testing other strategies. Of course, we want our students to identify and apply mathematical relationships as well as choose an efficient strategy for specific problems.Take a look below at the key components of number talks...

1. Classroom environment and community partnership and sharing

2. On going Classroom discussion around math

3. Teachers is playing a facilitator role

4. Mental math and rich student discussion using rich vocabulary

5. The Computation of problems in various ways by various students.

For many teachers the goal is to create a risk-free environment for effective number talks. Ask yourself:

1. Are my students comfortable in offering responses for discussions

2. Can they question themselves and their peers?

3. Are my students seeking out new strategies?