Sampling of selections:
Crispin: The Cross of Lead (Avi)
Hatchet (Paulsen)
Abel's Island (Steig)
Maniac Magee (Spinelli)
A Wrinkle in Time (L'Engle)
Ella Enchanted (Carson Levine)
The Family Under the Bridge (Savage)
Call It Courage (Sperry)
Ben and Me (Lawson)
The Great Gilly Hopkins (Paterson)
and many moreā¦
This best-selling series teaches vocabulary words and strategies through selections from outstanding grade-level appropriate fiction and nonfiction. Many of the excerpts are from literature commonly read in the classroom, so vocabulary-building instruction can be integrated into your curriculum.
Research-based
- selection of master words and instructional pedagogy grounded in scientific studies of the most effective strategies to learn vocabulary
- Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, and others
Literature-based context
- words are introduced in the rich context of selections commonly used in the classroom
- classic and contemporary literary passages and multicultural authors
- Exemplar and Exemplar Author texts
- 50 percent of each book is informational selections from three categories of informational texts
- English Language Arts; History/Social Studies; and Science, Mathematics, and Technical subjects
In-depth exposure
- 300 master words in each Student Edition
- 10 words per lesson with six activities for each provide multiple exposures and deepen learning
- six review sections focus on general and domain-specific use of master words
A three-step learning process provides multiple exposures to the targeted words. As students work through each lesson, they are actively engaged in learning.
- STEP 1
- Ten targeted words are introduced in the context of an excerpt from a fiction or nonfiction book, short story, essay, or poem. Students practice:
- using prior knowledge
- determining meaning from context
- STEP 2
- Students complete several exercises that teach strategies and reinforce word meanings. Activities include:
- finding correct dictionary definitions
- inferring meaning
- recognizing word associations and relationships
- using targeted words in new contexts
- word play
- STEP 3
- Chapter tests and unit reviews monitor student progress.
TEACHER GUIDES
- reproduction of Student Edition with answers
- reproducible glossary
- lesson and unit review tests and answer keys (grades 2 - 4)
TEST BOOKLETS
Test booklets with unit tests and review tests are available separately for grades 5 - 12.