Orals are voluntary and not graded. They are offered on the Monday and Tuesday prior to Wednesday written unit tests. Students attend orals to improve their understanding and to help themselves prepare for the written exam. Small groups of 5-6 students are quizzed by a facilitator who has been provided appropriate conceptual questions. Orals allow facilitators to identify many of the students’ misconceptions and allow the facilitators to work individually with students to clear up misunderstandings that are blocking their mastery of the material. Students learn to defend their thinking, negotiate meaning with the facilitator and their fellow students, and are able to make mathematical connections in the process. When students understand the reason for using procedures and are able to explain their graphical representations, they are then better able to extend their learning to novel situations. They no longer have to simply “pattern match.”