Sentence starters to scaffold math discourse. Post on the wall, give to students on a card, or use in math journals. Helps every student speak up, including English language learners.
Explaining my thinking
Help students articulate their reasoning, not just give an answer.
I noticed that ...
I started by ...
First I ... then I ...
I knew that ___ so ...
My strategy was ...
The answer is ___ because ...
I used ___ to help me ...
What I did was ___, and here's why ...
The key step was ...
This connects to what we learned about ...
Asking questions
Build a culture where curiosity is normal.
Can you explain how you got ___?
I don't understand why ___. Can you say more?
What does ___ mean?
Could you show another way to do that?
How is ___ different from ___?
What would happen if we ___?
Why does that work?
Where did you get ___ from?
Could you give me an example?
I'm wondering whether ___.
Agreeing and adding on
Build on others' thinking rather than starting over.
I agree with ___ because ...
I want to add to what ___ said ...
Yes, and ...
I also tried that, and I got ___ too.
That's like what I noticed; I saw ...
I think the same as ___, plus ...
I want to extend that idea ...
Another example of that is ...
Disagreeing respectfully
Disagreement is part of math; teach the words for it.
I respectfully disagree because ...
I see it differently. I think ...
I'm not sure ___. What about ___?
I tried that and I got a different answer.
Could that strategy work for ___ as well?
I wonder if you considered ___?
I think there might be a mistake on the ___ step.
I solved it a different way; can I show you?
Reflecting on my learning
Build metacognition; useful for exit tickets and journals.
Today I learned that ...
I used to think ___, but now I think ...
The trickiest part was ...
I got better at ___ today.
One thing I still wonder is ...
My next step is ...
I would explain this to a friend by ...
I noticed I'm using ___ more often now.
One question I have is ...
I felt ___ when ___. (proud / stuck / curious / surprised)