Most teachers love when you can use a resource in more than one way on more than one occasion. It saves money and you can use the math packets differently depending on your class needs for a particular year. I love having flexibility with math packets knowing I can use them at different times in different ways. Over the years, I have found 4 ways to use summer math packets in your classroom.
Choose summer math packets that are divided into weeks or smaller chunks that won’t be too intimidating. For example, in these Summer Math Activities for Incoming 8th Graders, students complete one page of multiple-choice and one page of skills review for each of the 10 weeks of summer.
1. Over the summer to avoid the summer slide
This is probably the most common use of summer math packets. It’s always to a teacher’s advantage to have students ready to learn at the beginning of the school year. Sending home summer math packets is a great way for students to review the previous year’s math while enjoying their summer break.
In this case, you would be giving students the summer math packet that reviews the previous year of math. For example, if you are teaching 6th grade, you would send your future students home with the 5th Grade Math Summer Packet.
2. As a fun test prep for end of year state tests
If you’re looking for some fun test prep, summer math packets are a great change of pace. This is especially fun if your testing is in May or June when students are getting excited about summer break.
Many of the summer math packets like this one here, cover all the math topics for the year. This makes it perfect for test prep. Many even have the standards listed on the page so you can easily see what topics need to be reviewed before the big end-of-year exam.
The summer math packets in my store also feature multiple-choice questions. This is great for practicing test-taking skills.
3. As a fun activity in the final days of school
Once students take the end-of-year exam, it’s hard to find engaging content. They’re done reviewing and so exhausted from the test prep. Depending on the class, I could sometimes introduce new topics for the upcoming year but that’s not always an option. Using summer math packets is a great way to get students excited for the summer break while still having valuable content in your math class.
4. An assessment at the beginning of the school year
Because summer math packets cover all the math topics for the year, they’re a great tool for assessing your students. Having students complete the math packet in school can help you understand what topics got lost in the summer slide. It also helps to know what you might need to review before the beginning of the school year. Plus, it’s something fun to ease students into the first days of school.
If you’re using the summer math as an assessment, you’ll need to give students the previous year’s math packet. For example, if you are teaching 5th grade, you’ll need to give students the math packet that reviews all the 4th-grade math topics, similar to this one shown on the left.
Summer Math Packets You Might Be Interested In
