Beyond the Code Book 4

A phonics program, utilizing workbooks, covering letter sounds and most phonograms. Ample practice using a variety of exercises helps children to both learn and reinforce reading skills. These are particularly well-conceived, with alternate (incorrect) choices containing most probable letter or word confusions. This will assure well-honed phonetic reading skills. There is plenty of practice here, so if you use these in conjunction with another phonics program (for reinforcement), you will want to pick and choose exercises or pages to complete. The "1/2" level books provide practice for the skills learned in the whole-level books Please note that Get Ready for the Code, Get Set for the Code, and Go for the Code no longer include teacher's guide inserts. A much-enhanced teacher's guide is now available separately, that contains teaching information and answers for these three books. Teacher's guides are available for upper levels as well, with each teacher's guide covering two levels.

The new second edition features some small changes from the original, including revised student instructions, some updated content and artwork, and revised stories in Book 7 and 8. There is also a new chart on the inside front cover of the teacher guides which shows the overall lesson routine.

Finally, the missing link! Reading comprehension and reasoning skills designed to accompany the Explode the Code series. Following and using the same presentation of phonetic structures as Explode the Code, Beyond the Code contains introductory (reading warm-up) exercises, reading selections, and follow-up activities that test understanding and critical thinking. This series is typical of the high quality of EPS products. The stories and exercises look very interesting to young readers. One feature I appreciate is the continuation of a story in several parts which I think would hold the attention of a child better than unrelated shorter stories. Although the publisher states that these two volumes are meant to be used with the first four books of the Explode series, my sample copy of Beyond the Code Book 1 begins with the long vowel constructs introduced in Explode the Code Book 3.