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This week, I am reviewing several additional workbooks for kindergarten and first grade.
When schools closed at the start of the pandemic last March, I purchased a few workbooks for my son to do while I worked from home. During the summer, we bought a few more, and he has since either fully or half completed all of the selections I am reviewing today. I would recommend any of the workbooks below for parents looking to supplement academic work at home or for teachers looking for some educational resources to adapt.
1. Bob Books: Developing Readers Workbook
Why I recommend it:
- Activities are based on 24 short stories, sorted by word families and reading difficulty.
- A large variety of reading and writing activities are offered – phonics practice, inference, word recognition and printing, matching, sentence completion
- Many activities require two steps to complete (e.g., “Find and color the hidden word. Then draw a line to the matching picture”), offering practice for following more complex directions.
Things to keep in mind:
- This series also comes in a version for Beginner Readers (Pre-Kindergarten) and Emerging Readers (Kindergarten) so you can choose the appropriate level for your child.
- The workbook is quite large and can be overwhelming for some kids. Something I like to do is tear off a couple of pages at a time for my son to work on. It also makes it easier for him to write because the pages can lay flat on the table.
2. Phonics for First Grade, Grade 1: Gold Star Edition
Why I recommend it:
- The entire workbook is on phonics – great for targeted practice on recognizing and reading specific letter sounds (beginning and ending consonants, blends and digraphs, long and short vowel sounds) and word families.
- My son loved the included gold stickers and placing them on the incentive chart at the back of the book after he completed each page.
- Good size – 60 small pages, and the book lays flat when opened.
- The “three-lined guides” (the two solid blue lines with the pink dotted line in the middle) are provided whenever the child is asked to write.
- The small and manageable size of the book is a good motivator for kids – the success of completing each activity occurs quickly and frequently. This was the only book my son picked up and did on his own without any prompting from me.
Things to keep in mind:
- I haven’t tried the kindergarten level phonics book from this line but according to my research the activities look quite similar. The skills focus are on beginning consonant sounds, short vowel sounds, and sight word recognition.
3. Reading Comprehension, Grade 1: Gold Star Edition
Why I recommend it:
- This is from the same Carson Dellosa education line as the phonics book above, so it comes in the same small size with gold star stickers.
- Progression from simple couple-of-sentence-long passages to more complex three-paragraph passages.
- Nice mix of types of comprehension questions – true/false, multiple choice, matching, fill in the blank, short answer.
- There is usually at least one question for each story that requires a bit more thought or higher-level comprehension skills to answer.
Things to keep in mind:
- The lines given for writing are not very spacious.
- There is a lot of text on each page – this can be a plus or minus depending on whether you like getting more content for your money or prefer to have the layout be a bit more manageable for young kids.
4. Ready to Learn: Grade 1 Reading
The Ready To Learn series of educational materials are well-thought out, targeting different learning expectations with provided explanations and strategies for success.
Why I recommend it:
- This book was clearly developed by a teacher – thought was given to include content on all the various types of skills required in reading (e.g., decoding, sight words, story elements, reading comprehension).
- As each reading skill is introduced, there is a short description to explain what it is and strategies for success.
- Each reading skill is further broken down and reinforced via different activities. For example, in the reading comprehension section, activities include looking at the cover of a book, making predictions, visualizing what you read, making connections, understanding what you read using clues, and following directions.
Things to keep in mind:
- I purchased my copy as well as a couple of other books from this series from my local big box store, but it is available for purchase online. Try searching the keywords “Ready to Learn Tammy Hayes”.
5. Complete Canadian Math Grade 1
Why I recommend it:
- This book is huge – there are over 300 pages, and most topics include at least 10 pages of practice
- The amount of content contained is impressive – besides over 300 pages of worksheets, there is a glossary of math terms, suggestions of activities for parents broken down by math topics, a skills checklist, and practice tests.
- The addition and subtraction sections are especially well laid out – they really take the time to introduce the concepts, offer lots of visual aids, sufficient word problem practice, and break things down step by step.
- A visual answer key with the answers printed on the actual image of the worksheet (fellow teachers out there know how helpful this is, as opposed to simply listing out the answers)
- Perforated pages! I love that the pages are easily removable, so I can assign just a couple of pages to my child at a time.
Things to keep in mind:
- I mentioned the thorough coverage of addition and subtraction up above. Because these topics are so fleshed out in this workbook, it can be boring for kids who have already mastered simple arithmetic. I would recommend skipping the beginning sections and jumping to the mixed practice questions if your kid is ready to move on.
6. Complete Canadian Curriculum Gr.1(Rev)
Why I recommend it:
- This is one of the few workbooks that offers social studies and science content in accordance with the Canadian curriculum.
- Content is comprehensive – with a large variety of activities, topics, and skills practice.
Things to keep in mind:
- Due to the broadness of topics and complexity of themes, this workbook is not something most kids can do independently. Many of the concepts require further explanation or demonstration. It would be best used as an exercise supplement after a lesson.
- I wish that the science and social science sections, in particular, contained real photographic images instead of illustrations.
7. Human Body Activity Book for Kids: Hands-On Fun for Grades K-3
Why I recommend it:
- Interesting science content – a lot of information is provided about the different parts and systems of the body.
- I would describe this book as a mix between a reference book and an activity book – for each body part/system, there are detailed labeled illustrations, fun facts, at-home activity ideas, and simple pencil-paper activities.
- Representation of different skin tones in the illustrations.
Things to keep in mind:
- The activities are suitable for K-3 (ages 5-9) kids, as indicated, but the content skews on the older side of that age range. For younger kids, this book would be best used with some parental or teacher support.
I hope you found this information helpful in your search for educational materials for your kindergartener or first grader. All of these workbooks offer traditional pencil-paper-type practice, but a well-rounded education engages other types of activities. Be sure to include play, conversation, and other types of interaction in your child’s learning!
Source: TheBrainyMommy.com
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Last Updated on August 28, 2024 by Tania Nizova | Published: August 27, 2024
Mom of 3-year-old superhero Michael and 7-year-old princess Stasia. 👩👧👦
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