Individual student practice in the past have used up trees worth of paper. As our ideas of ‘practice’ grow and change, a variety of substitutes formats are available. Here are the pros and cons of several alternatives.
1. Individual dry erase boards work well for practice and review. Students record their ideas, adjust with a quick wipe and then share. The results are not able to kept without the possibility of some erasures so the use is definitely limited. They also require an ample dry erase pens and soft cloths.
2. Laminated worksheets. Initial expense of laminating paper worksheets limits their use unless you have a personal laminator and laminate sleeves that you are able to use. Again you need erasable pens such as Vis-a-Vis and soft cloths to erase, but student work on laminated sheets lasts longer than dry erase and can be turned in for evaluation before being erases. They work well for review and for tasks that are not needed to be shared for student evaluations ‘down the road’ since keeping a single student’s work limits other students from using the laminated worksheet until it is erased.
3. Manipulatives such as math cubes also work well for practice and review. They allow students to work through their thinking with hands-on objects, adjust their technique and “show” their outcomes. Cubes, etc. work well for students who are tactile and to work one-on-one when sharing new concepts. For use by more than a few students, you will need a huge number of manipulatives plus easy storage to keep them organized.
4. Thunk-Pair-Share with partners works well for discussions of numerous subjects. Reading review, basic facts, problem solving ideas are shared and adjusted by partners before sharing with the rest of the group or the class.
5. Partner or group charts show findings and create a sharable project. Students organize and list information, present it to the group and/or class, adjusted their findings and turned it in. It’s a representation of student thinking and work and can be saved for later use as well. If it is shared aloud with the group or class that adds a chance to develop speaker skills.
6. Oral sharing of projects provides students with the chance to speak before their peers and share their findings. It involves taking or making notes (4×6 cards), organizing those cards, practicing the ‘talk’ and presenting it before the class. Individual reports require extensive student work time and teacher time teaching them note-taking skills, and requires multiple skills. Over time it builds student confidence for speaking before a group.