One of the best methods for teaching number sense and math facts at the same time is a teaching strategy
called ‘number talks’, developed by Ruth Parker and Kathy Richardson. This is an ideal short teaching
activity that teachers can start lessons with or parents can do at home. It involves posing an abstract math
problem such as 18 x 5 and asking students to solve the problem mentally. The teacher then collects the different
methods and looks at why they work. For example a teacher may pose 18 x 5 and find that students
solve the problem in these different ways: