Subitize It! Number Talks

Number talks have become my absolute favorite way to practice math. They require no prep, my students love them, and most importantly, they allow students to engage with numbers in a meaningful way.

I love how number talks develop mental math skills, give students the opportunity to show and explain their thinking, and the chance to learn from their peers. It is amazing to see the number of different strategies they can come up with for the same problem--often, they come up with strategies I didn't even think of!

Subitize It! makes a great starting point for introducing number talks. Kids usually have some kind of prior exposure to subitization of some sort, just from using dice or playing with dominoes.

When I use Subitize It! in my classroom, I display a slide, and then give students silent think time. When they are ready with a strategy, they know to show me a quiet thumbs-up in front of their chest. I opted for this procedure rather than hand-raising, because I didn't want the students to feel pressured if they noticed a friend was finished thinking before they were.

After everyone has had adequate think time, I call on a few students to show us their strategies. They circle the groups they saw on the board, and write number sentences to represent what they saw. They get SO excited to show off their own unique ways to solve a problem! I think for some of them it has become a competition to see who can come up with the most creative strategy to arrive at the answer.

This is a fabulous way for kids to really start putting the meaning behind the numbers; so much more effective than the old memorize-and-drill methods that were used when I was in school. I am thrilled with the number concepts my students are developing; they are able to manipulate numbers in ways that show me they truly understand what the numbers actually mean, instead of merely repeating rote facts.

Subitize It! is the first release in my new Calculate It! Number Talks line, with many more to come! Get it here in my shop, or here in my TPT store.

I know you'll love watching your students blossom with these number talks as much as I have!
Keep teaching with heart and passion!