Common Core: Suggestive Reading List

Common Core
"Dreaming in Cuba"

Warning Some Words are Sexually Explicit

The more research I do about the implementation of Common Core, the more outraged I become. Lets start by talking about the book “Dreaming in Cuba.” Sounds innocent…right? Maybe the book is about an individual living in a communist country and dreaming of one day being free. No, it is not about freedom. The book was pulled out of a school in Arizona because of its sexual text. “AZ School District Pulls Sexually Explicit Book Recommended by Common Core Standards.” (A Conservative Edge Sept. 13, 2013) According to this article, the book was in the suggested list of books for children in high school. “According to the Sierra Vista Herald, school district curriculum director Terri Romo informed the school board Tuesday that she contacted the Arizona Department of Education to find out how the book came to be placed on the list of Common Core recommendations. Romo said she was told the “exemplar texts” are intended to show the correct reading level and are not recommendations for purchase.” I'm a bit confused. Romo states “exemplar texts” are intended to show the correct reading level." (By the way, I googled the words exemplar text and this is what I found: a model or pattern to be copied or imitated.) How would a teacher evaluate the reading level of a particular student if the student does not read the book? "Dreaming in Cuba" might not be a recommendation for purchase but why is it on a list of books for children to read? Why are we “recommending” this kind of filth? Why should a high school child be exposed to this kind of language? And finally, why would anyone want this kind of inappropriate text to be "a model or pattern to be
copied or imitated."


According to A Conservative Edge, this is an excerpt from the book “Hugo and Felicia stripped in their room, dissolving easily into one another, and made love against the whitewashed walls. Hugo bit Felicia’s breast and left purplish bands of bruises on her upper thighs. He knelt before her in the tub and massaged black Spanish soap between her legs. He entered her repeatedly from behind.Felicia learned what pleased him. She tied his arms above his head with their underclothing and slapping him sharply when he asked.“You’re my bitch,” Hugo said, groaning.” Education activist Donna Garner provides the following commentary:"Yes, Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia is indeed recommended in the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.” Is anyone appalled by this?

To read full article please click below.

AZ Conservative

Review on Read Naturally Individualized Program

About Read Naturally:

Reading Naturally is an individualized web based program that uses strategies such as repeated reading, assessments, and progress monitoring to help students learn how to read. It's a reading program that promotes vocabulary development and comprehension. For $149.00, one student is able to enroll in the program. "Students progress through reading levels at their own pace, so more advanced students don’t have to wait for less skilled students to catch up. At the same time, struggling readers can continue working on a story without feeling pressured to move ahead too quickly." Students using Reading Naturally have the opportunity to choose from a selection of non-fiction and age appropriate stories giving them the sense of independence. The web based reading program helps them take their time to master a story and progress through reading levels.

Read Naturally Video

Contact Information

60 Days Free Trail 

Our Homeschool Experience:

My 7 year old daughter and I loved this web based reading program. She loved having the option of selecting her own stories to read and I loved that the stories were non-fiction. I appreciated that the reading program also checked for comprehension and promoted fluency and vocabulary. Being able to modify what level she was reading on without her having to read all of the books in that certain level was a convenient feature. There were a few times were I noticed that she was not being challenged. I was able to change the reading level to make sure it was not too easy for her. I also really liked being able to print out the assessment results. The print out showed a fluency graph, comprehension graph, retell graphs, level summary (list of results for each story in a level), and story details. Something that I also appreciated about the reading program was the ability it gave my daughter to re-answer a missed question. This opportunity was not immediate which confirmed that she had not memorized the answer. Something that made my daughter a bit nervous was the timed question at the end of each story. She had to recall and write the story in her own words.She also did not like the read out louds. The stories were read a bit too slow for her. I understand why this was done but she really disliked having to read them. She also did not like completing the vocabulary games. The games were beneficial not only because they were educational but also because they gave me an opportunity to accomplish other task around the house. The games would show a word and she had to find either the synonym or the antonym. Overall, this web based reading program was really great for our family and we would recommend it.

I have received this product free of charge for review purposes.

Review on Scaredy Cat Reading System Level 3

 Scaredy Cat Reading System Level Three (SCRS L3) 

About SCRS L3:

Joyce Herzog has a reading and spelling program that focuses on single syllable words, teaches word building through adding of prefixes and suffixes, beginning language, and thinking skills. The Scaredy Cat Reading System Level 3 program comes with a teacher's manual ,a student activity book, 2 audio CDs ,the reader, and a fun learning packet. The learning packet includes word and phrase flash cards and several games. The price for the entire reading and spelling program is $100 (Prices subject to change without notice.) The program provides a  free placement test to help you decide what level the child would be in. Once the child completes level 3, she may be able to score at a fourth grade reading and spelling level.

You Tube Video

 423-553-6387

Our Homeschool Experience: 

My 7 year old daughter was really excited when the package came with all of the Scaredy Cat Reading System materials. She had fun playing some of the educational games and completing the assignments found in the activity book. One of her favorite games was "Squeeze S-t-r-e-t-c-h Game." In this game, her and I had to draw a card, name the picture on it, and move to the first space with that beginning blend. Another game that she enjoyed playing was "Review Game". In this game my daughter reviewed blends. She also enjoyed acting out the review questions and being able to select what activity she wanted to complete. Additionally, she enjoyed listening to the audio script and I appreciated the answer key. I also loved all of the suggested activities for the word cards and working with sentences. Having her read thirty words in one minute and spell 10 random words correctly was really beneficial for me. It helped me to understand if my daughter had mastered that particular lesson or if we needed to stay on that lesson for a bit longer. 

One game that neither of us understood how to play was the "Encourager E Game." The game was designed to help the child understand the effects of the letter "E" at the end of a word. For example, bad and bade, kit and kite, and Jan and Jane. My husband and I both read the instructions and neither of us understood how to play it. My 7 year old wanted to play the game so I modified it. What I did was have my daughter roll the die and whatever number was facing up, that was how many spaces she had to move. When she landed on a particular spot, she had to read the two words written in the boxes. Unfortunately, there were several lessons that had misspelled words, words that were copied repeatedly, and sentences that were written several times for the same activity. Scaredy Cat Reading System had some faults but overall, I would recommend it.

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Schoolhouse Review Crew

READS Parent/Child Reading Comprehension System

 Really Easy And Dynamic Strategies
 

About R.E.A.D.S. :

R.E.A.D.S.  is a set of tools and strategies that help children from 1st - 4th grade become better students by providing reading comprehension skills, improving reading proficiency, and promoting independence. READS is designed to follow the Common States Standards and helps develop critical thinking skills. The tools and strategies may be used with fiction or non fiction reading materials including those in your child's school reading program. The question cards are designed so that the adult does not have to read the entire book to check for comprehension. The child's answers to the cards' questions will reveal if she read and understood the reading material. The strategies are designed for children reading at, below, or above reading level. R.E.A.D.S. tools and strategies provide the opportunity for the child to improve her verbal skills by promoting conversation between the child and the parent.

  Reading Comprehension Tools include: 

• READS Parent’s Manual – "Describes how to use READS with your child.  Explains each component of READS, how to develop a dialog with your child about their reading and the meaning of each question card."
• Question Cards and ring – "30 question cards designed to ensure your child’s focus on the reading material, help you determine if your child comprehended the material read, and to develop your child’s critical thinking skills.  Each card also contains a visual clue that matches the question on the card."
• Rewards Chart & Stickers –"Kids love to track their progress and have tangible goals that are meaningful to them.  The Rewards Chart and stickers help them do just that." 
• Magic Finger and Reading Guide Strip - "The Magic Finger helps your young reader track the text from word to word and prevents her from losing her place as she reads. The Reading Guide Strip highlights the line being read and blocks out the lines of text above and below to focus your child’s attention on one sentence at a time."
• Speedy Speller – "Speedy Speller, a Handbook for Readers and Writers puts young writers in charge and provides them with their own spelling handbook that keeps growing.  The Speedy Speller contains 1,400 words along with commonly used abbreviations, numbers, symbols, punctuation and more."

Contact Information
$19.99
Price is subject to change.

Video

Homeschool Experience:

I really appreciated the READS comprehension  questions and reward chart. After my daughter would finish reading a book, I would go over some of the comprehension questions and have her choose which questions she wanted to answer. Her favorite questions were the ones with the carrot on the right hand corner. These questions where the higher level thinking questions. One of the questions asked "While you are reading, find an example of a simile." A few months ago, I had taught her what a simile is so this question gave me an opportunity to review. A question that she really enjoyed answering was "What question would you like to ask the author?" She is very creative and this question gave her an opportunity to think outside the box. Another question asked her to select two vocabulary words and give a synonym and antonym for each. She learned what these two words mean so this was another opportunity for review. When she would finish answering the questions, she would place a sticker on the reward chart. Her reward was to have ice cream once she filled up the entire row with stickers. We do not eat sugar very often so this was a big deal for her.

The Speedy Speller was so easy to use since all of the words were in alphabetical order. Towards the end of the handbook, the book provided an opportunity for my daughter to review punctuation marks, capitalization rules, and abbreviations. READS has not only provided an opportunity for me to make sure my daughter understood what she had read but it also allowed me to review language art lessons. I really appreciated the tools and strategies provided by R.E.A.D.S. and I would recommend it.

I have received this product free of charge for review purposes.

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Schoolhouse Review Crew

Excellence in Writing

Excellence in Writing:

Excellence In Writing is a program that teaches students from grades K-12 how to write well. "In order to succeed in every area of life, children must hone the skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively. Through the process of learning to write well, students learn how to think clearly and to express themselves eloquently and persuasively." Excellence in Writing offers two programs PAL Reading and Primary (K-2) Primary Arts of Language. The reading program uses poetry to teach phonics and whole words. Each student is introduced to letters through stories and with daily games the lessons are reinforced. PAL Reading should be used in conjunction with PAL Writing.

$69.00

The Language and Reading package includes:

Primary Arts of Language: Reading Teacher’s Manual

Primary Arts of Language: Reading DVD-ROM

• Instructional Video by Jill Pike
• The Four Language Arts MP3 Audio by Andrew Pudewa
• Nurturing Competent Communicators MP3 Audio by Andrew Pudewa
• Poetry as an Integrator MP3 Audio by Anna Ingham
• Intro to the Blended Sound Sight Program MP3 Audio by Anna Ingham
• Primary Arts of Language: Reading Student Book (e-book)
  (Would you rather have us print out your PAL student e-books for you? Click here)

Primary Arts of Language: Phonetic Games

Primary Arts of Language: Phonetic Farm folder with Stickers

Primary Arts of Language is their writing program. The program introduces letters through printing practice.This program is divided into three parts: printing, copy work, and composition. For the printing section the student learns how to correctly form her letters. She will learn her letter sounds by learning how to write them. "The copy work exercises will make printing automatic in preparation for the composition lessons, which will gently teach your student to write stories and paragraphs with style."

All About Spelling is the spelling program that Excellence in Writing uses. The spelling program teaches your child what she needs in order to know how to spell. The lessons are multisensory and mastery - based. The child will learn by using sight, sound, and touch. All About Spelling uses letter tiles, flash cards, word banks, spelling lists, dictation, and writing exercises.

 

$89.00

Writing package includes:

Primary Arts of Language: Writing Teacher’s Manual

Primary Arts of Language: Writing DVD-ROM

Includes the following:

• Instructional Video by Jill Pike
• Reading Comprehension MP3 Audio by Adam Andrews
• Dictation, Narration, and Public Speaking MP3 Audio by Andrew Pudewa
• The Four Language Arts MP3 Audio by Andrew Pudewa
• Primary Arts of Language: Writing Student Books (e-book)
  (Would you rather have us print out your PAL student e-books for you? Click here

All About Spelling Basic Interactive Kit

All About Spelling Level 1 (Teacher’s Manual and One Student Material Packet) By Marie Rippel

Bonus e-audio downloads:

• Units 1 & 2 in the K–2 Classroom MP3 Audio by Shirley George
• Unit 3 in the K–2 Classroom MP3 Audio by Shirley George
• Preparing the K-2 Writing Environment MP3 Audio by Richelle Palmer

Homeschool Experience:

Last year, my girl friend told me about IEW and how much she loved the program. At the time, I was using something else so I decided not to pursue purchasing it. When I was selected to review the product, I was so excited. I viewed the webinar and saw how the program is to be used and I loved it. The lessons began with poetry which I would read to my daughter and then we would discuss them. She would then journal about any topic she wanted to. I would then respond to her journal and we would go back and forth. After she completed the journal, we would begin Stage 1. In this stage, I had to modify the lessons since my daughter already knew her letters and sounds. She played with Mugs the dog and I would incorporate the letter sounds from the spelling book All About Spelling. Every time a new sound was learned, I would write it on a piece of paper and tape the paper to the wall. Now, we have a "Sound Wall." We would also play the Card Game. Once we were finished with sounds, she would place the letter sticker on the Phonetic Farm. Since I will be using this program with my youngest, my oldest did not place the sticker on the Phonetic Farm Folder. I would cut out the sticker, place a tape on the back, and have her stick it were it belonged.

Mugs

The writing program made writing fun. My daughter loved to journal and instead of learning how to print, she learned cursive which she really loved. We enjoyed reading Aesop poems and she learned how to summarize a story by recalling the characters and setting, problem, climax/resolution, and clincher. These topics were taught by using stories she was already familiar with such as Goldilocks, Three Bears, and Red Riding Hood. Some of the lessons also included fables written by Aesop for example, The Ant and the Grasshopper and The Ant and the Chrysalis. With these lessons not only was my daughter learning comprehension skills she was also understanding the importance of character. She also learned what a Who/Which Clause is and reviewed what nouns and verbs are. For the lesson dealing with verbs, I wrote down on a large piece of paper the word "said". My daughter was to think of stronger synonyms for the verb. With this one lesson she reviewed what synonyms are, what a verb is, and learned new  vocabulary. I then taped the piece of paper to the wall and we review the vocabulary words every so often. After our lesson, my daughter would read a book and have to summarize it by using the Story Sequence Chart.

Illustration of  September Poem

All About Spelling is a great program. I loved that the program reinforced the previous lesson and used multiple senses to teach my daughter sounds. My daughter is a tactile learner so using the tiles helped her to remember the sounds and also visually see how a word is spelled. The CD was very beneficial to my daughter and I. There were a few sounds I had forgotten and listening to the CD helped me to remember and be able to teach them to my daughter correctly. I also appreciated how the program taught the spelling rules. Every time my daughter had to spell a word that uses the letter C, she goes over the rule. This helps her to spell the word correctly. My daughter and I loved IEW. It is complete for its purpose and we would recommend it.

All About Spelling

1-800-856-5815

info@excellenceinwriting.com

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I have received this product free of charge for review purposes.

Samson's Classroom Sight Words, Reading, & Spelling

 

 Samson's Classroom:

Samson's Classroom is an on-line Reading Software program which combines Sight Words, Reading, and Spelling. The umbrella on-line program provides a 3 minute Demo Video which shows you how to use the software. Samson's Classroom also provides the Demo Classroom.  This gives the student  the opportunity to try games out without having an account. Samson's Classroom is a program designed for children ages 4 -8. The Resource Center offers printable PDF Rewards which provides an opportunity for the student to receive a certificate. Samson's Classroom also provides "Samson's Classroom Letters." This option would give a teacher the opportunity  to send a letter home with each student notifying their parents about this product. In the Resource Center, you will also find Lesson Plans. This page provides a selection of suggested games that will help to reiterate the words being taught.



Sight Words with Samson is a reading program for beginners. The program gives the student the foundation he needs to become a successful reader. "This engaging product is proven to help early readers master the 224 most commonly used words in the English language."

  

 

Reading with Samson is a product that helps students analyze reading material and learn how to draw conclusions and answer questions based on the information. The program "combines everything you have come to expect from the Samson product line with a new patented user feedback system."
               

Spelling with Samson is a comprehensive program that has over 5000 words. The program provides the tools needed for the student to improve his spelling ability. Spelling with Samson also provides an opportunity for the teacher to customize the spelling list.

 



242 Union Street
Suite 2A
Schenectady, NY 12305

(518) 356-0039

general@knowledgewand.com 

Homeschool Experience:

My 6 year old really enjoyed playing some of the Samson's Classroom games. One of her favorites was Spelling With Samson "Crutch Time." In this game she needed to "watch out" for Wally the Walrus as she tried to keep Samson from falling into the cold icy water by spelling the word correctly. One of the other games that she also enjoyed playing was "Missing Letters." In "Missing Letters," my daughter helped "Samson karate chop his way through the missing letters for each word list." 

 

With Reading with Samson, my daughter loved reading the stories and later answering questions pertaining to what she had just read. If she answered a question incorrectly, the section in the story that had the answer would be highlighted. This gave her an opportunity to reread that section and try to find the correct answer. The stories were arranged in different levels. I was given the opportunity to select a level and have her read the story and answer the questions. If she mastered the game, she would earn a certain amount of "hammer swings." This would give her extra time to spend in the carnival.

 



Sight Words with Samson provided a list of words for the student to master. The program would spell the word out a few times and use it in a sentence. Once the student knew how to spell the word, he could click on the "Next Word" button and move on to the following word. The program provided 4 levels. Each level had 7 lists of words. When my daughter mastered a list, she would receive a check mark (perfect score) and a gold star. For every 4 gold starts she earned, she would move up on the color belt system. "The Sight Words Black Belt Program is designed to help encourage and motivate your student." If she did not master a certain level, she would receive an X (needs improvement).

Overall Thoughts:

Samson's Classroom is an on-line Sight Words, Reading, and Spelling program that I would recommend. I appreciated being able to customize the spelling word list. This provided the opportunity for me to incorporate the words I was teaching her through my spelling program. Being able to see what words my daughter mastered and which ones she needed help with was also very helpful. One thing that I would change was what the program considered a "good grade." My daughter received a few 80% but the program considered this score to mean that she needed improvement. Even though some of the games were hard for my daughter to move Samson around, she enjoyed the program overall. I would recommend this program and it is complete for its purpose. 

I have received this product free of charge for review purposes.

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Schoolhouse Review Crew



Reading Kingdom

 

Product:

The Reading Kingdom is a fun online program that teaches children 4-10 years old how to read and write to a third grade level. Before the child begins the program, he/she is evaluated and placed in the appropriate level in the program. "This means that the program works for almost all children in this age range including early readers, accelerated readers ,and struggling readers." Since the program is able to be customized to the level of the individual child, Reading Kingdom is an ideal program for teaching children at all levels.The time it takes for a child to complete the program varies on his/her skills. It will take about 12-15 months for the student to complete the entire set of components. This is assuming  the child will be completing 4 to 5 sessions a week. Many children may move quicker if some of the skills have already been acquired. Reading Kingdom teaches six skills Sequencing, Motor Skills, Sounds, Meaning, Grammar, and Comprehension. 

 

 Reading Kingdom offers a free 30 day trial. Once you subscribe to the program the cost will be $19.99/month (with no monthly minimum), or $199.99 per year (20% off). If there are additional children in your account you will receive 50% off ($9.99/month or $99.99/year).
  

Contact Information

 

My Experience:

One of the options that I appreciated about the program was the different levels the on-line program offers. I also appreciated being able to have my daughter assessed with The Progress Check at the end of each of the levels of reading/writing. This information showed if she had mastered that particular level. This was very beneficial for me because I was able to use the information for her annual review. Something that I also found beneficial was how Reading Kingdom would provide a set of review activities to bring my daughter to the level needed for continued progress when she would misspell a word. The activities enabled her to overcome any errors she had committed. The problem with the activities were that she found them to be a bit boring. She would complained that there were to many of them. I do understand what the program was trying to achieve by having the student complete different activities using the same word that was misspelled. Something that she did enjoy about the program was earning points per activity she would complete correctly. Once she would acquire a certain amount of points for finishing the activity, she would be able to open her Reading Kingdom Passport Book. Once she opened it there would be a virtual stamp on the page of the book. Even though at first earning the points was motivating to her, later on she did not want to complete the assignments. She complained about the amount of points needed to be acquired to "open" the Passport. Having to wait so long to be able to earn a certain number of points to open the book was a bit discouraging to her. I appreciated that the program was structured to allow my daughter to skip words she already knew how to read and write. After a very short time she was able to use the program on her own. I appreciated being able to log into my account and view a report of my daughter's progress. The reports were also emailed to me. Reading Kingdom is complete for its purpose and I would recommend it.


Overall Thoughts:

     One of my favorite options of this program were the reports. I'm a certified teacher and seeing results is very important to me. Having the options for the student to acquire points was also a bit motivating to my daughter. The review activities were long and this would discourage her from wanting to complete them. The initial evaluation was also important to me. Even though the activities were a bit boring to her (because she already knew many of the assignments), I appreciated having the opportunity to make sure she would be placed in the proper level. Reading Kingdom also provided the opportunity for my daughter to complete the activity on her own which gave me the possibility of taking care of other things.This was definitely a mixed review. I appreciated many aspects of the program but my daughter really gave me a hard time to finish the activities.

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Schoolhouse Review Crew 

I have received this product free of charge for review purposes.

Reading Kingdom You Tube