May 04, 2010

Reading Horizons Curriculum for Teaching Reading: Part 3

Tags: Reading Horizons News

Curriculum Craze!

Day 1: Comprehensive Manual

Day 2: Condensed Manual

Day 3: Reading Library

Day 4: English Language Enhancement (ELE)

Day 5: Professional Development for Teachers

Reading Horizons is CRAZY about its improved teaching reading curriculum and manuals! To help others see the benefits and improvements of the new manuals this week’s blog posts will take an in-depth look at the changes and features of the new Reading Horizons v5 curriculum manuals and instructor materials.

Participating in the comment section of each separate post will enter your name into a drawing for a free Reading Horizons v5 Condensed Teacher’s Kit (refer to question section at the bottom of this post for more information).

Reading Library Overview

The Reading Library Books are an entirely new component to the Reading Horizons reading program. This new offering was created to provide students a resource for transferring the skills taught in the lesson manuals. The Library books were written to match the content of the passages presented in the Reading Horizons v5 reading software.

Reading Horizons Reading Library Books

Key Features

-    Over 225 passages

-    15 different genres

-    Leveled from 1st-12th grade reading level

-    Graphics

-    Comprehension question & answers

The content is divided into 3 books:

Book 1: 1st-4th grade reading level passages

Book 2: 5th -6th grade reading level passages

Book 3: 7th-12th grade reading level passages

There is also a Teacher Edition available to assist instructors in helping their students get the most out of the material found in the Library books.

Example Passage

CLOUDS

Look at the sky. Do you see clouds? Clouds can be pretty. Clouds can bring rain. They are interesting. They are made of water.

How are clouds made? Rivers, lakes, and the ocean are made up of water. The sun shines on the water. The water gets warm. Small, warm drops of water turn into gas. The gas floats up to the sky. This water gas makes clouds.

Up in the sky, it is cold. The water drops begin to stick together. They are still small, so they can stay in the air. When it gets colder, the water gets bigger. It gets heavy. It falls down. This is rain.

Clouds help our world. Clouds move water from the ocean to the mountains. They rain water onto plants. This helps trees to grow. The rain helps our food to grow. Animals drink the water. We need clouds!

Level: 1.0

Lexile®: 170L

Word Count: 147

Video

In this video, Reading Horizons Marketing Manager, Erika Huff, discusses how the Reading Library will help students get excited about reading:

Question

What impact do you think the new Reading Library Books will have on student reading abilities?

By answering this question in the comment section of this blog your name will be entered into a drawing for a FREE Condensed Teacher’s Kit. Responding to the question in separate posts will enter your name in the drawing multiple times (up to 5).

Be sure to check back on the blog tomorrow to learn more about the English Language Enhancement (ELE) Manual. For automatic blog updates subscribe to Reading Horizons RSS Feed.


To learn more about Lexile Levels, visit our free resource.


No Comments

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Karen said

I think the broad range of passages and topics will be most beneficial to student reading. Giving students something to be excited about reading is very helpful when trying to encourage them to read.

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Dawn Gonzagowski said

I think it is a great idea that multiple grade levels are in one book. I think for my adult learners who want more instant examples of success, they can find that feeling of breaking the stagnation. As they are able to move up in grade levels, they will be more motivated.

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Trudy Parker said

Reviewing the sample, I notice the passages are cross-curricular, a task which is often hard to accomplish in a conventional RLA classroom. I also like the fact that the passages are on varied topics, thus increasing the liklihood that the students will eventually come across a passage they actually enjoy.

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Korah Winn said

I'm new to teaching so I'm very grateful to find materials like this available for use.

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Mary Ellen Smih said

The new library books, with cross-curriculum material at different grade levels, is a great addition because it will motivate the readers knowing they are are learning information that is in textbooks of those subjects, and a grade level. We can supplement the library with textbooks at the grade level reading of the student to broaden their horizons on subjects they enjoy. When they realize they are actually reading textbooks, their motivation will increase 10 fold! They may start experiencing success in their classrooms. For adult readers, it speeds up the process to get the level of reading they need to function in American society, meaning being able to increase job opportunities, read for pleasure, and be aboe to help their children with school work. The new library books expand the horizon of this reading program, which was limited to just the little books in the ESL programs and the 1st through 12th grade programs.

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Michelle Robbins said

I'm looking for materials for students with profound/moderate/severe abilities. I have students MS/HS across a variety of grade levels, but I don't have to have to buy 6 different programs for 6 students.

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Raquel Montiel said

I like how it is leveled and that there are multiple grade levels in each book. With all the budget cuts being made, it's important to find resources that are can be used for many students at many different levels.

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Debbie Dorsey said

I think it is exciting to have leveled books over a multitude of genres to get students motivated to learn to read and to continue to read. It is so crucial to be motivated and interested, especially when one is first learning to read. This is a great idea!

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Deon said

We are always looking for high-interest books for students. Non Fiction reading is key to integrating literacy curriculum into science, math, and social studies. This will help the school budget. THANKS!

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Sharla Book said

Super! Leveled high interest books are just what is needed for student to take the skills they have learned in the online software and immediately put them to use practicing their reading skills. I also like how the levels range from 1-12, so we can even use them with our older struggling readers.

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C. Matson said

Having a variety of materials from different genres is so beneficial for the students. The selections look like they are very high interest!

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