Choral Counting gets to the heart of what we want for our mathematical communities. This activity creates space for all students to notice, to wonder, and to pursue interesting ideas. Students and teachers alike wonder together about patterns, and why and how numbers change or stay the same. [Franke, Kindle Locations1526-1528}

I wonder what can be learned from using a number line or ten-frames to shed more light on the patterns naturally found from members of the chorus.

Beginning with 6 and counting by 5s, we counted. Learners began adding “because…” to what they noticed. #Awesome

Choral Counting is an invitation; it provides an opportunity for each student to generate important mathematical ideas and for teachers to be curious about their students’ thinking. [Franke, Kindle Location 2057]

One learner said, “To move from one row to the next row, you add 30 because 6×5 is 30.” It is a regularity that repeats. Using the number line shows that to move from 6 to 36 there are 6 hops of 5 or a distance of 30.

The next comment was, “Each term on the diagonal going from the top left to the bottom right increases by 35 because 7×5 is 35.” Another regularity that repeats. Again, the number line shows 7 hops of 5 from 6 to 41, 11 to 46, 41 to 76, and so on.

Awesome that one “I notice…” that includes “because” inspires additional ones. Facilitating meaningful mathematical discourse invites students to develop and share important mathematical ideas.

What tools are within reach of learners as they deepen their numeracy and understanding? What is to be gained when we both author and illustrate mathematical understanding?

[Cross-posted at Author and Illustrate Understanding]

Franke, Megan L. Choral Counting and Counting Collections: Transforming the PreK-5 Math Classroom. Stenhouse. Kindle Edition