Newsletter 2: Would You Rather...?

​Table Talk Newsletter #2
Would You Rather have the bag on the left and share it with 1 friend OR the bag on the right and share it with 7 friends?This prompt comes from a website called Would You Rather Math, orwouldyourathermath.com, a website that puts two or three scenarios against each other and asks students to choose one, then justify the choice. Created by John Stevens, the goal of each WYRmath prompt is to get a solid conversation going that would be better justified if there was some math involved. While it isn't necessary to use math as a means of defending your choice, it sure does help with over the other side of the argument.

Here are some tips on using Would You Rather Math at home:

• Give time to think about each rather than rushing through the thought process
• There is no such thing as a single correct answer
• Justification is key; encourage children to explain their reasoning
• Feel free to swap out the product in the image for something your child(ren) would enjoy discussing. For example, this post is about Sun Chips. Maybe those don't resonate, so choose a flavor/brand that will (all while promoting healthy eating habits, of course).
• Avoid an actual argument. If things are getting heated, let's call it good and move on.
• Avoid hunting for a mathematical explanation. If the math comes, great. If not, but the explanation is still sound, great! You've just had a good conversation with your child and that's perfectly fine.

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Some potential sentence starters for using WYRmath at your dinner table:
Can you explain what you mean by...?
Tell me a little more about...
How might you explain this to your friend?

Potential vocabulary:
Justify, defend, rate, unit rate, conversion

What we want to avoid with a WYRmath task is making a child feel like they've been duped or conned into having a conversation about math; let it happen naturally and, as you engage in more of these, the discussion will naturally flow.  Hopefully this week's Table Talk Math did that for you and your dinner table!

If not, see the post below that might be more suitable for older children.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us on Twitter (@TableTalkMath) or reply to this email.

Thank you for taking the time to improve math fluency for children, one table talk conversation at a time.