QUICK SHOPPING
MCP Plaid Phonics
A very solid series of phonetic and word study skills, from letter recognition in the K level, to alphabetizing, syllabication, and dictionary skills in the upper levels. Built-in review of previously learned skills within books helps students master concepts. They now also contain some pages in "standardized test format," so you get a little test preparation as a bonus. There is considerable overlap between levels, allowing you to "jump in" anywhere in the program. Levels K, A, B, and C are in motivating full-color. Levels D-F are available only in two-color editions. We are offering the 2011 edition, the 2003 edition, and the '98 edition. The 2003 edition is updated but highly similar to the 1998 edition; both feature photos instead of the black and white illustrations of previous editions. In fact, a lot of the pages are exactly the same, and about the only real difference I could find at a glance was that the tear-out book pages include only four pages, so you simply fold them in half instead of folding and cutting for eight pages. Homeschool Bundles are also available for this older edition, which include the student and teacher's edition, along with a parent guide booklet.
With the 2011 edition of Plaid Phonics, the Modern Curriculum Press (MCP) name is gone - only "Pearson" is left. The phonics content, however, is unchanged (yay!). The print is slightly bolder; colors are also slightly bolder. The cover has updated graphics and although many of the internal graphics are changed they are essentially the same (i.e., a cow picture is a different one but it's still a cow).
