Strategy #2

Strategy #2 - Occasional Paper

The name of this strategy is called the occasional paper.  An occasional paper is a brief written reflection.  It is an assignment that is to be read aloud to the class on a volunteer basis.  It is not a graded assignment so there is no fear of failure.  Students are able to choose when they will complete the assignment and what they want to write about.  This strategy provides students with writing and reading practice on a personal level.  It is the most appropriately used by assigning a given number that must be completed by the end of a unit or a quarter.  Other than that there is no hard due date.  At the beginning or end of each class ask the students to volunteer to share their occasional papers.  Once a student has shared their paper then you should open it up to the class for discussion.  Teachers should use this strategy because it makes a connection between what the students experience outside of school and what they do in class.  It also teaches students to listen and appreciate the differences between themselves and their classmates.  This strategy could also open up discussions about different cultures as students share their own personal experiences.  As a math teacher I would like to be able to use occasional papers to make a connection between the concepts that the students learn in class and the math they see in the real world.  Students are always asking, “When will we ever use this?”.  I would like for them to be able to find instances on their own and share it with the class.  I think they would be surprised at how often math appears in their daily lives.