“When we press beyond procedural explanations into explanations that include reasoning, we are supporting students in justifying their ideas.” Intentional Talk (Kazemi/Hintz)

When you are planning instruction, how often do you consider the sound of your mathematics instruction and the conversations you want your students to engage in?  If you answered not often, then Intentional Talk by Elham Kazemi and Allison Hintz might radically change the way you plan.

Math is no longer a spectator sport.  We know that to truly develop mathematical thinking, students need to be active participants–they should be doing math and talking about math.  This dramatically changes the role of both student and teacher. The teacher becomes a facilitator, rather than a giver of knowledge, while students drive the work and the conversations.  Intentional Talk provides a road-map for that change.

If you have tried incorporating accountable talk in your classroom, then you know it is easier said than done.  To focus your efforts, the authors outline four guiding principles of classroom discussions in the Introduction and differentiate between Open Strategy Sharing and five targeted structures, each with its own goal and talk moves.

• Compare and Connect
• Why? Let’s Justify
• What’s Best and Why?
• Define and Clarify
• Troubleshoot and Revise