Article: Choral Counting
Angela Chan Turrou, Megan L. Franke, & Nicholas Johnson. (2017). Choral Counting. Teaching Children Mathematics, 24(2), 128–135. https://doi.org/10.5951/teacchilmath.24.2.0128
Pg 130
Classroom vignette
“I know you love counting by fives, so for today’s count, we’ll count by fives. But instead of starting at five, we’re going to start at a different number. We’re going to start at twenty-one. [She pauses as students gasp.] Will you try that with me? [She pauses again.] OK, count with me as I write the numbers! Twenty-one. . . .”
“OK, let’s pause. That was some really lovely counting that you all did together. Look how far we got! Now take a look at the numbers we have up there. I want you to think about what you notice about the numbers. [pause] What do you notice? What do you see? [long pause] Show me your signal if you have an idea you want to share.”
A few students give a chest-level thumbs up; more thumbs follow. Moscoso prepares to orchestrate a discussion that will engage students in mathematical reasoning and higher-level thinking, using student ideas as a launch pad (NCTM 2014). She will pose purposeful questions that probe for further detail, orient students to one another’s ideas, and press for explanation and justification of mathematical ideas.
The instructional activity of Choral Counting
Choral Counting is designed to leverage children’s thinking to support reasoning, sense making, and problem solving.
- chorally counting a number sequence together and recording the number sequence in a purposefully chosen way; and
- facilitating a conversation about the number sequence that includes students sharing their ideas and the teacher following up on student thinking in strategic ways.
pg 131
Chorally counting and recording the number sequence
This activity gets students to count in lots of different ways. When we engage students in Choral Counting, we count by “accessible” numbers (1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, . . .) and by “tricky” numbers (7, 8, 19, 99, . . .). We count by big numbers (125, 200, 500, 1500, . . .) and by small numbers (1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 7/8, 0.02, 0.05, 0.15, . . .). We might even go backward, particularly with older students.
During Choral Counting, the teacher records the number sequence in a public space where students can see the number organization being created as they count (this part is important— the representation supports the counting).
pg 132
… Moscoso makes sure she pauses strategically during the count (sometimes early on, other times when she hears voices begin to trail off) so that students’ strategies for counting can be made public and accessible to others. She knows that supporting each student to participate in the count is a key component in making sure that Choral Counting remains a productive, engaging activity.
Facilitating a conversation about the number sequence
These moves can range from open-ended questions that invite students to share and engage with one another’s ideas, to specific prompts, gestures, and representations that encourage students to think more deeply about what is happening with the numbers, why it is happening, if it happens elsewhere,
and if it will continue.
pg 133
We encourage teachers to launch the conversation just as Moscoso did, with the question, “What do you notice?” The language of this question is open and inviting and encourages students to explore the intricacies of the recorded number sequence in ways that make sense to them.
Although we can become intrigued by every idea that is put forward, being strategic about follow-up is important so that we can dive into the mathematics in a purposeful way.
To engage students in such mathematical ideas, teachers draw from a range of follow-up moves. Some might be planned responses to anticipated student shares; others emerge in the moment. This is where planning and improvisation meet as teachers move the mathematics forward while staying tightly connected to student thinking and allowing student ideas to drive the conversation.
pg 134
Getting Choral Counting started in your classroom
Think of a count that seems accessible to your students (i.e., “Count by , starting at .”). Jot down different ways of organizing the sequence; choose one that you think will work for your goals (and for your board space). Anticipate how your students will participate: what they might notice, how they might describe their ideas, where they might struggle, and so on. Grab some colored markers, gather your students, and try it out! Do not worry too much at first about where the conversation will go; just let your students (and yourself!) become intrigued by the numbers and find space to try out some follow-up moves. Then, do it again on another day.
pg 135
By placing children’s ideas at the center, our hope is that Choral Counting can provide one way to support students to see themselves as knowers and doers of mathematics and to experience school mathematics as a place where their ideas matter.