VersaTiles® from hand2mind are classroom resources that have been used for the last 40 years as a way for students to practice various cross-curricular skills. VersaTiles® are meant to be a skills practice system that can be used primarily in K-8 classrooms to help students build math and literacy proficiency. Students use a workbook and a set of tiles to answer questions, and then check their own progress to see what they know and what gaps they might have.
Overall, it’s a simple system, but also an effective one. Students can use VersaTiles® individually, in small groups, or as a whole class. This image provides a quick overview of how students use the tiles:
And this video goes into a little more depth showing a student actually using the tiles for skills practice:
One of the things I really like about VersaTiles® is their flexibility. From my own elementary teaching experience, I could see these being enormously helpful during station work. Plus, hand2mind offers differentiation kits which would be beneficial for remediation, supporting advanced students, and for meeting all the different learning needs present in the classroom. They offer a math differentiation kit and a literacy differentiation kit, both of which are meant for K-6 students.
In addition to being great for stations or small groups, VersaTiles® could also be used with individual students who finish work early, or who need some extra practice with specific skills. A take-home configuration includes a book and case that some schools purchase for summer or afterschool use.
Plus, for teachers who have the resources to purchase a class set, I could see this being beneficial as a whole class activity as well (as long as students don’t get their tiles mixed up with each other!).
In terms of the curriculum, VersaTiles® offers K-6 content for math, science, English, and social studies. They have specific workbook sets for each grade level as well.
You can see one of the sample lessons below (and more are available here under “Resources & Samples”):
The kits also include teacher guides which provide assessment options, classroom management tips, and ideas for creating your own VersaTiles® activities (or even having students create their own, which I absolutely love). The teacher guides also have recommendations for how to use VersaTiles® across a variety of academic settings.
Finally, VersaTiles® offers a complete scope and sequence for each topic and grade level (Available here under “resources and samples”). These days, almost every teacher I know is responsible for making sure their students are mastering specific standards and objectives. Fortunately, these scope and sequence documents from VersaTiles® make it easy to see exactly what CCSS or TEKS standards and objectives are being assessed by each and every VersaTiles® activity. This is an excellent supplemental resource, and one that makes it incredibly practical to integrate VersaTiles® into existing curricula.
Overall, I do think VersaTiles® offers opportunities for valuable skills practice for K-8 students. I appreciate the flexibility of the system and that students can work individually, in small groups, or as a whole class. I also think the differentiation kits are great, especially for meeting the needs of diverse learners. Plus, the sample lessons and the complete scope and sequence that VersaTiles® offers makes it easy for teachers to integrate these lessons within their existing curriculum.
The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I was not compensated for writing this review.
I received a sample VersaTiles® kit for review purposes.
I was not compensated for writing this review.
I received a sample VersaTiles® kit for review purposes.
RSS Feed
