All About Reading

Overview:

All About Reading is a fun and engaging program that has everything your student needs to become a fluent reader for life! Using direct instruction phonics rules, hands-on alphabet tiles, and engaging worksheets and readers, this program is for Pre-K through Fourth Grade.

 Key Characteristics:

• Clear, systematic reading and spelling instruction

• Interesting and effective

• Hands-on, and multisensory

• Research-based

Things to Think About:

• The learning coach (parent) needs adequate time to prep

• Lots of worksheets

• Moves quickly

All About Reading Website

Bookshark

Overview:

BookShark is a complete, literature-based, curriculum that uses a variety of educational resources including literary fiction and nonfiction, biographies, illustrations and hands-on experiments to deliver an engaging and complete education that extends beyond textbook memorization.

Bookshark is easy for parents to teach, providing 36-week, 4-day schedules designed to save one day a week for sports, field trips or other extracurricular activities.

BookShark combines a proprietary History, Science, and Language Arts offering with a wide range of math options, to ensure you have everything you need for an entire school year.

Learn More:

Bookshark Website

Cathy Duffy Review

Flexpoint (FLVS)

Overview:

Flexpoint is an innovative digital curriculum. While it is predominantly text-based, it also includes interactive technology such as games for review, Discovery videos, virtual labs, and even some avatar clips. These core subject-area classes are very solid and great preparation for students planning to go on to future education after high school. The content presents real-world situations and asks questions that connect back to real events and situations as often as possible. K-12th grade.

Hybrid Option:

• Flexpoint Virtual Elementary (K-5th) * worksheets will be mailed

• Flexpoint Elem Info

• Online Lessons with a workbook packet sent from BWA

• Online subjects: math, language arts, science, and social studies
  

Key Characteristics:

• Rigorous

• Includes text to speech options

• Includes videos and interactive lessons

• Discussion-based assessments

• Compelling and varied

• Students and parents can go back to content when they need to review

• There are opportunities to work with the teacher and other students in the course if the teacher has set up these assignments as an option.

• Although the math is partially multiple-choice, it has “real world” problems. The lessons present the material in a way that relates back to how math is used in the real world.

• Students can see how much each assignment is worth so they can gauge how much time and effort to spend on each assignment. This is a great skill to learn.

Things to Think About:

• Requires strong reading and writing skills.

• Assignments vary in complexity, so it is not always possible to set a consistent daily goal. In other words, finishing 1 lesson per day could mean a short quiz or a long paper.

Learn More:

Course Outlines

Flexpoint Virtual Course Tours

McRuffy Language Arts

Overview:

McRuffy Language Arts programs cover phonics, reading, spelling, grammar, and composition. Optional handwriting workbooks easily integrate with the other components of each course. It is adaptable to students learning needs and provides spiral instruction so skills are revisited throughout the level. K- 5th grade.

Key Characteristics:

• Students benefit from increased spelling, reading, and writing skills

• Great for students at or above grade level

• Great leveled readers come with curriculum

• Detailed lesson guide

• Spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension tie in very well with the reading

• Has online games available that work with each lesson

Things to Think About:

• Numerous books and worksheets

• This curriculum is probably not the best choice for a struggling reader

• The parent needs time to prep

McRuffy Website

Mosdos Press

Overview:

Mosdos Press presents outstanding classic and contemporary literature and is dedicated to excellence in the teaching of literature, writing, vocabulary, and language arts. Meeting the most stringent academic standards, the content is intellectually challenging and morally framed. The curriculum is rigorous and engaging and thoughtfully explores positive ideals. Students who learn from Mosdos Press often become lifelong readers, thinkers, and writers. 3rd-8th grade.

Learn More:

Mosdos Press

Cathy Duffy Review

Moving Beyond the Page

Overview:

Moving Beyond the Page is a unit study approach based on constructivist theories of learning that primarily targets gifted children. Each year’s curriculum is designated with an age range rather than a particular grade level.

• Age 4-5 (Recommended for kindergarten or advanced pre-k students)

• Age 5-7 (Recommended for first grade students or advanced kindergarten students)

• Age 6-8 (Recommended for second grade students or advanced first grade students)

• Age 7-9 (Recommended for third grade students or advanced second grade students)

• Age 8-10 (Recommended for fourth grade students or advanced third grade students)

• Age 9-11 (Recommended for fifth grade students or advanced fourth grade students)

• Age 10-12 (Recommended for sixth grade students or advanced fifth grade students)

• Age 11-13 (Recommended for seventh grade students or advanced sixth grade students)

• Age 12-14 (Recommended for eighth grade students or advanced seventh grade students)

Key Characteristics:

• Connects literature across many different subjects

• Students benefit from literature-based thematic learning

• Great for students above grade level and are good listeners (k-2nd) and independent workers (3rd+)

• Project-based learning – hands-on

• High-quality materials

• Great literature collection

• Offers an age range rather than grade level

Things to Think About:

• May be more challenging to use if teaching multiple children at once

• Significant amount of reading or lessons to be read out loud to students

• Significant 1:1 time for instruction and parent prep time

• Weak spelling instruction

Moving Beyond the Page Website

Timberdoodle

Overview:

Timberdoodle all-in-one curriculum kits are perfect for students who want their school-at-home life to be creative and fun. Games, art projects, and activities are all included in this kit along with specific instruction in every academic area. This is not an online curriculum. K-8th grade. 

Key Characteristics:

• Kits offer something for everyone

• Creative and specific instruction

• For the creative students

• Strong geography for younger students

• Has a weekly schedule for each grade level

• High emphasis on thinking skills

• High-quality workbooks, games, and activities

Things to Think About:

• The parent needs to have a significant amount of time to prep

• The curriculum kit includes many pieces

• The hands-on games don’t necessarily follow what’s being taught in the subject areas

• Subjects are not integrated

Timberdoodle Website