The Secret to Math Discussions: Easy-to-Use Talk Moves

Do your math discussions feel like pulling teeth—or a chaotic free-for-all where everyone talks at once? Are you unsure what to ask next to keep the conversation going and deepen student thinking?

Mathematical discussions are a powerful way to develop students' reasoning, communication, and problem-solving skills.

 Building a classroom culture where students confidently engage in math talk takes intentional planning, scaffolding, and practice. A teacher's role is to model and scaffold discussions, ensuring all students feel heard and valued in the conversation. It doesn’t happen overnight, but the payoff is worth it!

Math discussions often begin during the Mini-Lesson phase of a Math Workshop, where students practice structured talk moves before applying them independently. This guided math talk builds confidence and provides a foundation for deeper discussions during independent and small-group work.

Below, I share some of my favourite talk moves to create a talk-rich environment. These are based on the book Classroom Discussions: Using Math Talk to Help Students Learn (Chapin, O'Connor, & Anderson, 2009).

Turn and Talk

Purpose: Encourages students to clarify and share their thoughts in a low-risk setting or allows multiple voices to be heard when everyone has something to share.

How to Implement:

1. Pose a question and provide think time.
2. Students discuss their thinking with a partner.
3. Teacher circulates and listens.
4. Invite students to share insights with the whole group.

Best Use: When participation is low or as a warm-up before other discussions. I also like to use this intentionally during problem strings, when I am building reasoning towards a new strategy. Want to dive deeper into this specific talk move? Check out this blog post: Boosting math engagement with turn and talk. 

Revoicing

Purpose: Helps students refine their ideas and ensures clarity for both them and the teacher. It also helps slow down the conversation to give me time to document and make their thinking visual during problem strings.

How to Implement:

• Use prompts such as:
• "What I think I heard you say is..."
• "... is what you meant?”
• “So are you saying…”

Best Use: When an idea is unclear to the teacher or other students or you need to slow down the converstaion/idea. 

Say More

Purpose: Encourages students to expand on their thinking.

How to Implement:

• Use prompts like:
• "Can you tell me more about that?"
• "Can you give an example?"

Best Use: When students give brief or unclear responses. Especially if they share ‘just an answer’.

Who Can Repeat?

Purpose: Engages listeners and helps build connections between ideas.

How to Implement:

• Use prompts such as:
• "Who can rephrase what ___ said?"
• "Who can put  **’s strategy/idea in their own words?"

Best Use: When a key idea needs reinforcement or to highlight/celebrate an important mathematical idea or strategy.

Note: This should be used positively to encourage participation, not as a class management tool.

Press for Reasoning

Purpose: Deepens reasoning by prompting students to justify their thoughts.

How to Implement:

• Use prompts like:
• “How did you figure that out?” “What was happening in your brain to get that answer?”
• "Why do you think that?"
• "Are you convinced? Why?"

Best Use: To develop a culture of explanation and metacognitive thinking. This strategy is especially useful when children share just an answer to the problem, but not their strategy. 

Agree or Disagree?

Purpose: Encourages critical engagement with others’ ideas.

How to Implement:

• Use prompts such as:
• "Do you agree or disagree? Why?"
• "Does this make sense to you?"

Best Use: When students have a solid understanding of an idea but need to articulate reasoning.

Note: You might need to teach ‘How to respectfully disagree’ and also build confidence with ‘Changing your Thinking’ to allow space for children to comfortably disagree with one another. 

Adding On

Purpose: Encourages students to build on and connect ideas.

How to Implement:

• Use prompts like:
• "Who can add to that idea?"
• "Does anyone want to build on **’s idea?”

Best Use: When a student presents a strong idea that others can connect with. 

Implementing these talk moves fosters a classroom where students actively engage, reason, and learn from each other. As you integrate these strategies, consider:

• How will you introduce and scaffold these talk moves gradually? (Trying to implement all at once can be overwhelming!)
• Which talk moves best align with your students’ current needs? (Some strategies may be more effective at different points in the year as your math community develops.)
• How will you encourage meaningful discussions during mini-lessons? (Building a strong math talk culture during whole-group instruction sets the foundation for deeper peer conversations.)

By intentionally cultivating a strong talk community, we empower students to see themselves as capable mathematical thinkers and communicators. These moves not only enhance mathematical understanding but also support identity, communication, and collaboration in the math classroom.