Explode the Code Book 2

My daughter is a auditory learner and like almost all kids at five years of age learning is enhanced by a "hands-on" approach. These books are a good combination of both. Children have to mark their selections with X's and circles and introductory spelling of short vowel words. Book 2 focuses on beginning blends as well. They must also read simple sentences aloud to answer yes/no questions and to choose the sentence that best describes a picture. My daughter and I enjoy these books. They are a good complement to our homeschool phonics program.

The progressive phonics introduction, the engaging little drawings, the repetitive tasks, the systematic skill progression, among other educational objectives, all boil down to one fact ~ THIS WORKS! I've tried several other methods to assist my special child in spelling and reading. While these workbooks are marketed more as a supplement to a reading program, nothing has been more influential in my daughter actually GETTING IT! She is always eager to pull out her Explode the Code book first. The progess is consistently steady. My friend's child who is not learning challenged feels the same enthusiam. The publisher of this series also produces the wonderful Wordly Wise 3000 workbooks which are equally successful and well-received by my students.

I have taught with the Explode the Code series for years in private schools, especially in first and second grade. The lessons are very easy to follow - each 8 page sequence introduces a new phonics pattern; the exercises get more challenging as the child moves through the lesson. The directions are very simple and the format is consistent throughout the series. The "1/2" books provide more practice with the previous book's lessons before your child moves on to the concepts in the next book.

My son was given this book by the Title One reading assistant at our school. He was able to do the pages himself and gained confidence in spelling.

I feel this is a great supplement for kids who are a bit behind in their reading skills. I'm getting book 2 &1/2 and 3 to work on in the summer months.

My six year old is almost finished with Explode the Code 2; her decoding skills have increased 100% since starting this program. She loves the simple illustrations and the easy to follow instructions, and I love the pace she is learning at-not too fast, not too slow. She actually loves doing her lesson each day, since the worksheets have a predictable format but aren't boring. The lessons are also short, which helps to keep her attention. Overall this is a wonderful foundation phonics program for beginning readers as well as for those readers learning the more complicated rules of grammar.