Woodland Park Elementary 24-25

Our focus at Woodland Park is to foster number sense in our learners. Over time, we have noticed that students aren't always able to connect their understanding of what numbers mean to what numbers represent. Some of our intermediate staff focused on "number sense" with all of the students in their classroom this year. This became our school-wide inquiry project.

Their inquiry question was:

Can student number sense be improved with daily numeracy routines?

• Are students building crucial mathematical thinking habits?
• Can daily routines reach all learners?

Daily Numeracy Routines:

How do daily routines increase number sense and improve student ability to communicate their thinking?

Daily numeracy routines allow students to have a sense of predictability and comfort in their classroom. Students learn what to expect for each numeracy task so they are able to focus on the learning as opposed to the steps of the routine. 

Routines help with:

• organization 
• classroom management 
• smooth transitions
• creating a community of learners 
• students taking responsibility for their own learning 

In our classrooms, this looked like:

1) Mystery numbers: using clues related to concepts such as: place value, factors, multiples, odd/even to predict and identify the mystery number

2) Today's number is: using a particular number, students work through tasks such as writing the number in expanded form, deciding if it is odd or even, finding factors and multiples of the number, and writing word problems based on the number

3) Estimation mysteries: an image is presented and students are invited to estimate how many objects are in the picture. Clues appear that will allow the students to use math concepts to narrow the set of possibilities until they reach a final estimate  

4) Patterning tasks:  students look at visual growing patterns and discuss, describe and extend the pattern

5) Which one doesn't belong:  four options are provided and students are invited to rationalize which of the four options doesn't belong using mathematical thinking and vocabulary                                                                                                                                                                                               

6. 3 Act Tasks: an innovative approach to teaching math that emphasize problem-solving, curiosity, and real-world application. Inspired by the structure of storytelling, these tasks are designed to engage students in mathematical thinking and conversation.

Act 1: The Hook

In the first act, students are presented with a visually compelling and often puzzling scenario—usually through a short video or image—with minimal information. The goal is to spark curiosity and provoke questions. For example, students might see a video of someone filling a tank with water or stacking objects, prompting them to ask: "How long will that take?" or "How many will fit?"

Act 2: The Information

Once students have posed questions and made predictions, they receive the necessary information and tools to solve the problem. This might numbers, charts, or formulas. The focus is on exploration and mathematical modeling, with students collaborating to develop and test their strategies.

Act 3: The Resolution

In the final act, students see the conclusion and discuss how they found their answers with each other and the whole group. Students walk to various group’s station and share how they solved the problem. This act encourages reflection, discussion of different methods, and a deeper understanding of the math involved.

Teachers followed students at varying levels in numeracy so we could document the growth of student learning over time. Learning was recorded through observations during individual and group work, conferencing, and student reflections. Students at Woodland Park focused on critical thinking, talking about numbers, and using mathematical vocabulary.

At the beginning of the year,  our students were initially reluctant to talk about their mathematical thinking: 

"my brain hurts"

"this is too hard"

"no one has ever asked me to think like this before."

Over time, by the end of the year, our intermediate students have become more comfortable and confident discussing numbers with their peers. Students are becoming more and more excited to share their thinking and learning in numeracy. When posed with challenging tasks, they are more enthusiastic to try and are starting to develop a growth mindset.

"solving these number mysteries is fun "

"I now know why we learn divisibility rules"

"hearing how other people solve math problems is interesting when it is a different way than my own"

We interviewed three teachers about their experience explicitly teaching "number sense" this year. We asked them to reflect on their teaching and student learning by answering our original inquiry questions:

Can student number sense be improved with daily numeracy routines?

Inquiry Question #1: 

Are students building crucial mathematical thinking habits?

"I saw improvements from doing things like esti-mysteries where in the beginning of doing routines, estimates weren’t reasonable. By the end of the year, they were so strong at it and were making reasonable estimates." - Teacher #1

"Which one doesn’t belong. At first, they were just looking at the numbers. By the end they were adding digits together, ones and tens, odd and even, patterns and multiples. Two answers in the beginning to twenty answers in the end. Flexibility in the way they saw numbers improved dramatically. There was complexity in their answers. Deeper thinking and deeper understanding of numbers." - Teacher #2

"I think their overall ability to use mathematical language when they are discussing any of the daily tasks has improved dramatically throughout the year." - Teacher #3

Inquiry Question #2:

Can daily routines reach all learners?

"Absolutely. For me the tasks at the boards are already inclusive of all learners. The reasoning being is that the tasks are leveled with basic understanding so everyone can engage and slowly increases in complexity from that. A student who may have been struggling will be able to get where they need to go. The students who can engage further -- they go as far as they can. In terms of building blocks of numeracy, student endurance  improved. They didn’t want to stop. They begged me to keep going with a hard task to deepen their understanding." - Teacher #1

"Yes they can. I thought it was nice because I found that my students who were extending their thinking were challenged to explain their answers deeply, but in a way that other students could understand what they were seeing. From there, the others in the class began to see numbers more flexibly from the extending students. My beginning level students were able to focus on where they were at, focusing on odd numbers, even numbers, and which numbers were smallest or largest. There was always an entry point for everyone." - Teacher #2

"Yes. All students of all ability levels always had an access point. Although some were reluctant to participate at first, over time they became more comfortable with sharing their ideas. By mid-year, some students that minimally participated in the beginning were able to share reasons for their thinking, such as “that number won’t work as it is not a multiple of 5.” The increase in their confidence was amazing to see!" - Teacher #3

Next Steps 2025-2026

Some teachers will continue to strengthen students’ number sense through a variety of engaging, hands-on learning experiences. As a school, we will shift our collective focus toward supporting students as writers, with an emphasis on identity and self-expression through storytelling. By exploring diverse narratives and encouraging students to reflect on and share their own stories, we aim to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment. Through writing, students will not only develop communication and literacy skills but also use it as a powerful tool for self-regulation, personal growth, and connection.