Number Talks : Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages

Number Talks

1. A five- to fifteen-minute classroom conversation around purposefully crafted problems that are solved mentally.
2. The best part of a teacher’s day.

Number Talks: Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages is a dynamic multimedia resource created in response to the requests of teachers―those who want to implement number talks but are unsure of how to begin and those with experience who want more guidance in crafting purposeful problems.

It supports teachers in understanding:

• what a classroom number talk is
• how to follow students’ thinking and pose the right questions to build understanding
• how to prepare for and design purposeful number talks
• how to develop fractional reasoning and strategies for working with fractions, decimals, and percentages.

Streaming Video and Reproducibles Included

Number Talks: Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages also includes streaming video clips that provide a visual platform for teachers to reflect on their current practices and target essential understandings from their readings. The video clips feature number talks filmed in actual middle grades classrooms and range from five to ten minutes in length with a total viewing time of approximately two hours. The resource includes reference tables to help you quickly and easily locate the video clips by chapter and grade level.

More than 150 pages of user-friendly reproducible area, set, and linear models (from Chapters 4, 6, 7, and 8) are also included for free with this resource.

Steve Leinwand is Principal Research Analyst at American Institutes for Research in Arlington, Virginia and the author of Accessible Mathematics and Sensible Mathematics, and coauthor of Developing Numerical Fluency. Steve served as Mathematics Supervisor in the Connecticut Department of Education for 22 years and is a former president of the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics. In 2021, he was awarded the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sherry Parrish is best described as “a teacher of teachers.” With over 35 years in the field of education, Sherry’s experiences as a classroom educator, university professor, and national and international speaker focus on teaching and learning mathematics through inquiry. A recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, Dr. Parrish is an advocate of students constructing their own mathematical relationships. Sherry is the author of the AEP Distinguished Achievement award winning book, Number Talks: Whole Number Computation and the AEP Golden Lamp winner, Number Talks: Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages.

Ann Dominick received her undergraduate degree in education from Auburn University, a Master’s in Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a doctorate from Vanderbilt University, and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Curriculum and Instruction at Harvard University. She was awarded the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching Elementary Mathematics and is a former Alabama State Teacher of the Year. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Birmingham-Southern College teaching mathematics education courses and working with pre-service and in-service teachers.