In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on August 6, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education

Want more? Check out the archive of all of our #MathStratChat posts!

How can teachers help students be more sophisticated additive reasoners? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss the major addition strategies, what properties they use, and how to model student thinking.

Talking Points:

• Addition strategies and models
• Addition strategies modeled with equations
• Proporties that the addition strategies are based on
• When manipulatives are appropriate
• Why teachers need to own the major strategies addition

Get the free ebook of Major Strategies at: https://www.mathisfigureoutable.com/big

Check out our social media
Twitter: @PWHarris
Instagram: Pam Harris_math
Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education
Linkedin: Pam Harris Consulting LL

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on July 30, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education

Want more? Check out the archive of all of our #MathStratChat posts!

If your only focus is answer getting, students may never experience and grapple with and understand multiplicative properties. In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how to use models to help students progress to more sophisticated strategies using multiplicative properties.

Talking Points:

• Modelling different strategies on area models, ratio tables, and equations
• Using models to visualize properties
• Strategies that use the associative property are more multiplicative than the those that use the distributive property 

Get the free ebook of Major Strategies at: https://www.mathisfigureoutable.com/big

Check out our social media
Twitter: @PWHarris
Instagram: Pam Harris_math
Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education
Linkedin: Pam Harris Consulting

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on July 23, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education

Want more? Check out the archive of all of our #MathStratChat posts!

How does proportional thinking prepare students for reasoning with variables? In this episode Pam and Kim explore the transition from proportional reasoning to functional reasoning.

Talking Points:

• Connecting proportional reasoning to linear functions
• Scaling triangles
• Proportions "within" and "between"
• Introducing tricks stifles students' opportunity to build sophisticated reasoning 
• Rich task with non-unit rates

Check out our social media
Twitter: @PWHarris
Instagram: Pam Harris_math
Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education
Linkedin: Pam Harris Consulting LLC 

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on July 16, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education

Want more? Check out the archive of all of our #MathStratChat posts!

Should you require student's to show their work in mathematics? Whose work? When? How much work? For what purpose? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss classroom culture and the importance of communication in mathematics, diving into these questions and more.

Talking Points:

• Whose work are you asking student to show?
• Motivations for showing work
• Don't fix the math, mentor the mathematician - Cathy Fosnot
• Communication is a mathematical behavior
• Determining 'just enough' is a mentoring opportunity

Check out our social media
Twitter: @PWHarris
Instagram: Pam Harris_math
Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education
Linkedin: Pam Harris Consulting LLC 

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on July 9, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education

Want more? Check out the archive of all of our #MathStratChat posts!

How can Problem Strings help build big ideas? In this episode Pam and Kim walk through a Problem String that helps students dig into area and multiplicative equivalence and help you know how to expertly facilitate.

Talking Points:

• Facilitating the string
• Teacher moves during the string
• Modeling the string
• Equal products means total area is the same
• Why we want students to have lots of experience with concepts rather than just direct teaching.

Check out our social media
Twitter: @PWHarris
Instagram: Pam Harris_math
Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education
Linkedin: Pam Harris Consulting LLC