In Open Up Resources K–8 Math – California Standards, language is more than vocabulary; it’s the bridge to understanding. Math Language Routines (MLRs), developed by Stanford University’s Center for Professional Development and the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE), were designed to help all students, particularly multilingual learners, develop the language needed for deep mathematical reasoning.
Open Up Resources intentionally integrates MLRs throughout our math curriculum to strengthen classroom discourse and access. MLRs provide powerful, research-based structures that help students talk, reason, and make sense of mathematics together, creating inclusive, language-rich classrooms where every student can thrive.
Read more about each MLR below, and see them in action with accompanying lessons.
MLR 1: Stronger and Clearer Each Time
Through writing or discussion, students begin by sharing an idea, then engage in structured peer conversations to refine and revise their thinking. Each round strengthens both understanding and expression, helping students produce more precise, complete, and accurate responses. Especially supportive for multilingual learners, Stronger and Clearer Each Time builds confidence and academic voice and ensures that every student’s reasoning becomes richer and more articulate.
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MLR 2: Collect and Display
As students share their thinking, teachers collect and publicly display key words, phrases, and representations in real time. This co-created visual reference allows all students to access mathematical language and ideas. By bridging informal talk and formal vocabulary, Collect and Display amplifies student voice and highlights the value of collaborative meaning-making.
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MLR 3: Clarify, Critique, Correct
Students analyze a sample response, often one containing a developing conception, to identify what makes sense, what’s unclear, and how it can be improved. Clarify, Critique, Correct transforms errors into opportunities for reasoning and reflection. This routine nurtures thoughtful critics who use precise mathematical language and embrace revision as part of the learning process.
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MLR 4: Information Gap
In this interactive structure, paired students hold different pieces of information needed to solve a problem. To succeed, they must ask questions, share reasoning, and listen actively. Information Gap builds authentic communication and collaboration skills, reflecting real-world problem-solving while supporting language development in a purposeful, low-stress environment.
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MLR 5: Co-Craft Questions
Rather than starting with a problem question to solve, students explore a situation, image, or data set and collaboratively craft their own questions. Co-Craft Questions transfers ownership of learning to students, promoting curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. It’s not just about finding the right answer; it’s about asking the right questions.
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MLR 6: Three Reads
Students read a word problem three times: first to understand context, second to identify quantities, and third to determine what’s being asked. Three Reads shifts focus from rushing to computation toward comprehension and meaning-making. It supports multilingual learners and ensures all students can access the math before solving.
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MLR 7: Compare and Connect
After solving, students examine and discuss each other’s strategies while spotting similarities, differences, and key mathematical connections. Compare and Connect deepens reasoning, strengthens vocabulary, and builds appreciation for diverse ways of thinking.
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MLR 8: Discussion Supports
Sentence frames, visual aids, and discussion prompts guide students to express ideas, agree or disagree respectfully, and extend one another’s reasoning. Discussion Supports ensure that every voice is heard, turning everyday talk into academic discourse and classrooms into communities of mathematical thinkers.
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Through these eight powerful routines, Open Up Resources helps educators bring the Math Language Routines to life—building language and understanding in every math classroom. For more on MLRs, watch our webinar “Amplifying Discourse” with OUR’s Brooke Powers and Morgan Stipe.