I am part of the Homeschool Review Crew. All opinions are my own.
When Mary was in Kindergarten, we used Apologia Educational Ministries for her science curriculum. I really liked how everything was laid out and was easy enough to understand. So now that she is getting ready to go into fourth grade this year, I was happy to start using the Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth) from Apologia Educational Ministries.
Like me, Mary was quick to learn to read. I started reading by myself when I was about three years old and Mary was four. Before she started kindergarten, she could read a book by herself thanks to a whole lot of dedication and practice. But being able to read and then actually understanding what you're reading are two different things. You can sit for hours reading a book and get nothing from it. So that's why I was intrigued by Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth). It's like a reading comprehension curriculum for kids that helps them understand the books they read for a deeper knowledge.
The Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth) set comes with two books. The first is the student workbook with all the text and information the students need. The second is the answer key for the teacher.
Using the Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth) is very easy too. As Mary's teacher, I have a hard time understanding curriculum that isn't laid out in a clear and concise manner but Apologia Educational Ministries is very easy to follow. The student workbook starts with the daily schedule they suggest to follow and then an introduction for having book club meetings if you would like. We have a book club meeting once a month and last month, we actually read Charlotte's Web which is one of the books from the Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth).
The Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth) is broken into 6 units of study:
Unit 1 - Reading Sarah, Plain and Tall
Unit 2 - Pick your own historical fiction
Unit 3 - Reading Charlotte's Web
Unit 4 - Pick your own animal fantasy
Unit 5 - Reading Because of Winn Dixie
Unit 6 - Pick your own fiction
Even though we did start with Charlotte's Web, we only did that because of our book club. It is best to do Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth) in order. In my opinion, Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth) is the most comprehensive reading comprehension curriculum I have seen for elementary age students. The student workbook is over 550 pages and is full of so much information! Not only that, but there are so many questions the students answer to go along with the story. The Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth) really explains the story well and helps even struggling readers follow along.
Just from the book club alone, I could see a tremendous response to the comprehension of the story. The kids answered the questions perfectly and even remembered things I didn't myself! Overall I am extremely impressed with Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth) and I can't wait to finish the entire workbook with Mary. I'm not sure about other parents, but I have always loved reading comprehension so I look forward to this program just as much as her! I love being able to learn more about classic books so this is a super fun program for our whole family.
Make sure to check out what the other crew members are saying about Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth) below!
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