ABSTRACT
Rough drafts in mathematics go beyond talking to learn to include writing to learn or drawing pictures of our thinking to learn. Shifting the classroom culture toward communicating to learn puts students in the role of sense-makers. Doing mathematics becomes more exploratory and playful when learners are open to sharing their rough draft thinking. Learners can gradually shift their use of language to become more aligned with formal language use in mathematics, but they can do so when formal terminology makes sense to them. Children regularly use language that makes sense to them in ways that give us precise access to their thinking. Opportunities to revisit and revise thinking can happen regularly during mathematics lessons, either spontaneously or explicitly built into the lesson.
