As teachers, we are constantly getting new resource books. Some of them we use often and others sit on our shelves for years without ever being touched. When I got the Evan-Moor Math Skill Sharpeners book, I knew immediately that it would be a resource I would use all the time. There are so many different ways to incorporate it into your math lessons!
Evan-Moor Math Skill Sharpeners for Guided Math
**I received a free copy of Evan-Moor Math Skill Sharpeners for 3rd grade in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. I only recommend products that I use and love.
I’m always looking for new resources to use for my guided math centers. At the problem solving center, my students work with their group to apply the day’s lesson. When I saw the Math Skill Sharpeners book from Evan-Moor, I knew it would be perfect for that center.
This book has 128 pages of math practice covering all of the grade-specific skills. There are activities to match every math lesson I teach from addition to mulitplication to fractions. All I have to do is copy the page and put it at the center so my students can practice the day’s skill.
The Math Skill Sharpeners also make it really easy to differentiate. There are 10 different units, and they get progressively harder. For my division unit, I chose a basic division activity from Unit 5 for my lowest group, a more challenging division word problem activity from Unit 7 for my middle group, and a division with remainders challenge from Unit 10 for my highest group.
My students often struggle with word problems and figuring out what they are asking them to do. This book has lots of word problem pages that require the students to decide what operation to use and how to solve the problem.
Another amazing feature of the math skill sharpeners is that they have an answer key in the back. That makes it so easy to check the center work and have students make corrections.
Other Ways to Use Skill Sharpeners
Even if you don’t do guided math, you can still use the Evan-Moor Math Skill Sharpeners. There are lots of ways to incorporate them into your daily lessons. Here are just a few.
Morning Work
The skill sharpeners are a great warm-up as your students enter the classroom in the morning. They can review the previous day’s skill or use it as a spiral review of previous concepts.
Remediation
If you have a group of students who are still struggling with a specific skill, these activities are perfect for remediation. You can pull a small group or have a resource teacher use the pages to review the skill.
Homework
Another option is to send the skill sharpeners as homework. They will give your students extra practice at home, and your students’ parents will know what they are working on at school.
Assessment/Test Prep
There are “Test Your Skills” pages throughout the book that review multiple skills. You can use them to assess your students’ understanding. They have multiple choice questions that are structured like the state tests, so they can be used for test prep, too.
Try It in Your Classroom
The Evan-Moor Math Skill Sharpeners books are available for every grade level. Just click the link below to check it out for the grade you teach.
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What Do You Think?
How would you use the skill sharpeners in your classroom?
Let me know in the comments below.
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Wow, I really like how you shared all of the different ways to use this one resource in different ways. There is so many ways to adjust it for exactly what kids need.
And..the full color pages are so bright! Do you ever laminate them and let the kids use a dry erase on the pages?
Thanks so much, Amy! The full color pages are really nice. We don’t have color copiers at our school, so laminating the pages and letting the kids write on them with a dry erase marker is a great idea!