Like the other workbooks in the Advantage series, these provide good, solid subject practice in a clean, non-distracting format, while slipping in a standardized test prep. This series provides practice in grade-appropriate reading skills, including comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, interpreting graphic information, reading with expression, writing, phonemic awareness (in the lower grades), structural word analysis (upper grades) and more. The books use a variety of genres, both fiction and non-fiction. Reading skills covered include not only reading regular text but also reading charts, graphs, labels, maps, and recipes.
Each unit of the workbook is focused around a theme, and each of the major skills covered in the book is presented again in each unit, with slightly more difficulty. Each unit contains exercises and activities to practice these reading skills including fiction and nonfiction passages, reading comprehension questions in multiple-choice and short answer format, writing assignments, using graphic organizers, fill-in-the-blank questions, matching and more. Each unit begins with a page where students answer questions about the theme based on their prior knowledge, and at the end of each unit there is a writing assignment based around that theme as well as suggested follow-up activities. All multiple choice questions are presented in a format similar to standardized tests, where students must bubble in answerd. An answer key is included in each book. An excellent series that provides a well-rounded practice supplement to any elementary reading program. Please note that several of the books have been replaced by Ultimate Advantage Reading workbooks. These are virutally the same as the originals, but also include full-color quiz cards (answers on reverse) for additional practice. Reproducible, approx. 105 pgs, pb - Jess / Caryl
