How We Use Geography Skill Sharpeners by Evan-Moor : Product Review
Geography is one of those topics that can easily slip through the cracks as you homeschool. We have robust curriculums for math, reading, science and history. We really just added in some geography here and there as we went with no real focus.
After being given the opportunity to review Skill Sharpeners, we have decided to put more focus on geography because this book makes it just so easy! I’m finding so many creative and simple ways to implement geography lessons into our weekly homeschool routine with the help of the Geography Skill Sharpeners book.
I received a copy of Evan-Moor‘s Geography Skill Sharpeners Grade 2 in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. The opinions and thoughts expressed here are my own and were no way influenced by anyone. Links on this website may be affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission when you purchase an item by clicking on that link.
What Are Skill Sharpeners
Evan-Moor has dozens and dozens of amazing titles. Skill Sharpeners is probably one of our favorite series due to the low/no-prep activities and the easy-to-follow, bite-sized lessons. Not only can the girls open up their books and complete a lesson on their own – they actually ask to work in their Skill Sharpener books.
The Skill Sharpeners series includes many topics such as:
They are the perfect companion to a full curriculum but also can be used as the anchor if you want to build your own curriculum around them. You can read more about other Skill Sharpeners workbooks we use here.
Features of Skill Sharpeners Geography
The workbook includes 5 different page types:
- reading selections
- vocabulary
- visual literacy
- what I learned
- hands-on activities
Each of these page types is short, to the point and very well laid out. The pages are easy to read and complete. The answer key in the back of the book allows the kids to check their own work if needed. The length of each page is just enough to capture the kids’ attention, reinforce the topic and keep the learning fun.
One of our favorite features of the Skill Sharpeners series is the hands-on activities. Most workbooks are just that – book work, worksheets, reading, writing, etc. I’ll be honest, I tend to shy away from any type of activity that requires me to source weird supplies, prepare a workspace and clean up a big mess.
My kids on the other hand love any type of activity that gives them a break from bookwork. This is where Skill Sharpeners really made an impression on us. The books are packed with easy to complete, hands-on activities that truly are no/low prep. Here are all the supplies you’ll need to complete every hands-on activity in the 2nd Grade Geography Skill Sharpeners book:
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Plus, Skill Sharpeners now include free downloadable Teaching Guides. The Geography Teaching Guide includes:
- How to Use directions for teaching geography
- A sample pacing guide to complete lessons and activities if you’d like something to follow
- Geography discussion questions
- Amazing extended teaching ideas such as a geography journal, graphic organizers, and field trip suggestions
How We Use Geography Skill Sharpeners
With the easy open-and-go format, we decided the best way to implement this new book would be to use it as a free choice option for Gwen. Instead of assigning it weekly, I simply allow her to pick it up on her own. It turns out we find lots of instances when geography, mapping or other topics included in the book apply to our math, reading, history or science lessons. So we use that as an opportunity to include a section with our daily work.
One example of this was this past holiday season. As we started to receive Christmas cards from all over the United States, we talked about addresses and what each part of an address represents. We connected this to the Spatial Terms section of the Geography Skill Sharpeners book. Gwen completed this unit over a few weeks.
We even added in some fun activities like mapping the Christmas cards received on map sheets using the skills and vocabulary terms she learned in that unit. The units are short enough that you can implement them sporadically if needed. But they still have a lot of really great content and lay the foundation for you to build on that topic if you’d like.
I highly recommend checking out some of the Skill Sharpeners titles, including Geography. You can even view the workbooks in their entirety on the Evan-Moor website. Just use the Take a Look feature on each product page.
What a fun way to learn geography! I love seeing all of the connections your kids made from the book to real-life, too! Thanks for sharing!