Don’t Just Give an Answer—Prove It!
You solved the problem. Now show why your answer makes sense.
A correct answer is only the beginning.
Strong mathematicians make a claim, show evidence, and explain their reasoning.
Make a Claim
Clearly state what your group discovered.
Your claim should answer the question and tell the reader exactly what you believe is true.
“We found the answer.”
“We found every solution that follows the rules of the problem.”
Show Evidence
Use mathematics to support your claim.
Your evidence might include:
4 × 6 = 24
4 groups × 6 students = 24 students
Explain Your Reasoning
Connect your evidence to your claim.
Do not only list the steps you completed. Explain why your strategy works.
“We multiplied because that is what we did.”
“We multiplied because the situation contained equal groups of the same size.”
Helpful words: because, since, if, then, therefore, and this shows.
Put the Three Parts Together
Use this frame when your group is ready to explain.
Our group determined that .
Our shows that .
This supports our claim because .
The Convince-Me Check
Before your group says, “We’re finished,” check your explanation.
- We answered the actual question.
- We showed our mathematical work.
- We labeled our numbers and representations.
- We explained why our strategy works.
- We followed every rule in the problem.
- Every group member can explain the solution.
Make Your Thinking Visible
Your board should show the complete story of your thinking.
An answer tells what you found.
An explanation proves why it works.
Student Response
Think about your group’s most recent Thinking Math activity.
- State the claim your group made.
- Identify one piece of mathematical evidence.
- Explain why that evidence supported your claim.
- Describe something your group could have explained better.
- Explain what you will do differently next time.
4 Responses
1. Group Claim :The plant grows at a steady rate of 2.5 centimeters per week.
2.Mathematical Evidence: The height increased from 5 cm to 10 cm between week one and week three, showing a constant slope of 2.5 cm per week (\(10 – 5 = 5\), and \(5 \div 2 = 2.5\)).
3.Why Evidence Supported the Claim: The slope value matches the predicted growth rate in the claim.
4.What Could Have Been Explained Better: The group omitted how measurement errors might affect the slope calculation.
5.What to Do Differently Next Time includes a discussion on potential data errors.
The claim that our group made was we determined multiplying to get the correct amount.One piece of mathematical evidence is trying different ways to get the same evidence.That evidence supported my claim because there is more then one way to get a specific answer.Something our group could have explained better ways the way we tried to explain how we got our answer.What we can do differently is try more ways to get the same answer and explain how we did it better.
Yesterday during our Thinking Math lesson, we made a multiplication chart with four and six to represent the cars and vans. Then we calculated how many cars and vans we needed to fit 120 kids. After we did one we used what we had to figure out the rest. One thing we should have done was look the numbers carefully. in the end we only found two ways to fit all the kids.
1. Group Claim :The plant grows at a steady rate of 2.5 centimeters per week.
2.Mathematical Evidence: The height increased from 5 cm to 10 cm between week one and week three, showing a constant slope of 2.5 cm per week (\(10 – 5 = 5\), and \(5 \div 2 = 2.5\)).
3.Why Evidence Supported the Claim: The slope value matches the predicted growth rate in the claim.
4.What Could Have Been Explained Better: The group omitted how measurement errors might affect the slope calculation.
5.What to Do Differently Next Time includes a discussion on potential data errors.