1. Practices to Establish Meaningful Dialogue in the Classroom
Accountable Talk
Practices to Establish Meaningful Dialogue in the Classroom

2. What is Accountable Talk?
Accountable Talk is a structure that engages students in dialogue with each other
Uses a combination of verbal and non-verbal prompts to remind students of expectations
Builds on itself over the course of the year (or acts as a menu)
Replaces the tennis talk that often fills classrooms (teacher-student-teacher)
Aligns with the curriculum, character and culture goals of the building by centering students and emphasizing critical thinking

3. Essential Teacher Actions
Neutral face and tone for verbal prompt
Neutral face and body language for nonverbal, unobtrusive to the speaker
Be consistent and stubborn, but not negative
Teachers stay neutral through discussion and do not show their opinion
When verbal prompt is given, nonverbal should be given also

4. REMEMBER
The entire premise of Accountable Talk is that students have inherent value and that what they say matters. Every prompt is meant to reinforce this idea- structure for the sake of empowering students, not structure for the sake of controlling them.

5. The Basics (Layer 1) Prompts Sit up- tap two V’s, then thumbs up
Track the speaker- point to your eyes, then the speaker
Hands down- both palms down
College voice- tap palm then salute
Complete sentence- purse fingers then stretch
Speak to the class- scoop the class

6. Orient Students To Each Other(Layers 2-4)
Prompts
Thinking time- fist tight to the chest
Ready to respond- thumb up, index when ready to explain
Agreement- ‘Y’ sign linking speaker and student
Encourage each other- spirit fingers
Build on each other- fist over fist

7. Implementing Accountable Talk
Introduce each prompt
verbal cue
explanation
bullet on an anchor chart
nonverbal cue*
Practice one skill at a time, then incorporate fully
Prompt students consistently
without judgement
without interrupting the speaker
without backing down
referring back to the purpose: what students have to say is important!
Perfect time to implement or introduce sentence frames
*Not all prompts have a gesture- refer students back to anchor chart

8. Building Computational Fluency and Mathematical Discourse
Number Talks
Building Computational Fluency and Mathematical Discourse

9. What is a Number Talk?
Number Talks are fast, targeted whole-class exercises over a set of math problems
3-4 problems which build on each other around a concept or skill
No more than 15 minutes daily, can be less frequent
Can build on Accountable Talk practices
Can be done independently or using the book
Absolutely appropriate for all students

10. Today’s Talk Signs: Procedure: 10 + 10 + 10 16 + 14 13 + 17 + 5
thinking (fist)
have an answer (thumb)
strategy to explain (fingers)
Procedure:
silent think
answer dump
explain and scribe

11. The Basics
Ahead of time, teacher selects problems around a specific skill or concept
perfectly appropriate to begin with talks that are below grade level and not aligned with the rest of math block if you choose
Write one problem at a time on the board
silently present the problem or picture without explanation
Students think silently- no writing or using manipulatives
this is crucial because you want to understand their internal processes and their ability to articulate them
Take ALL responses, scribe them
be completely neutral throughout this step and simply collect ideas for students to defend and explain

12. The Basics (cont’d)
Call on students to explain HOW they found their answer- focus on their process and their mental visualization
ask probing questions but be comfortable with students’ being wrong- you are doing an error analysis
Teacher scribes each response as students explain (even if incorrect)
this illustrates math thinking and actions for other students, shows you where they’re coming from, and can uncover patterns, misconceptions, connections
Students can redact possible answers or respond to each others’ thinking
narrow down the responses and have students explain why they agree/disagree, “read each others’ minds”, etc.
Complete each problem in succession and THEN point out or draw out strategy/concept
if possible, keep up all of the work until all problems are complete and then connect them- possibly create an anchor chart around the concept or skill o connect it to math lesson

13. Why Number Talks? Students will verbalize and justify their thinking
engage in meaningful dialogue with each other as well as with the teacher
see math strategies in action as the teacher scribes
build connections between concepts
remediate previously missed concepts
see numbers as flexible and malleable

14. Resources Number Talk Book and DVD
Dropbox materials for Accountable Talk