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A Flexible Text for Language Learningby: Gwen Pawlikowski
The English Smart books can be weighty books, getting close to 300 pages for some. Yet, my pre-kindergarten daughter carried hers all around with her last summer. She loved the exercises and worked through the book quite independently. The Complete English Smart series offers several levels which are ultimately very friendly books. The cover is colourful and mixes the concepts of play and learning. Inside, cute cartoon boys and girls blend with child-oriented fonts. The designers have made every effort to make these weighty books accessible, enjoyable and un-textbook-ish. The Grade 5 Complete English Smart I reviewed offers a challenging array of tasks. This allows readers to skip around the book in any order they like. Kids can move around from front to middle to back and easily start work on any of the pages in the four sections. It’s a nice kind of freedom not often found in typical texts. Should they choose, however, to start at the beginning, readers will find an Integrated Practice section that provides exercises aimed at teaching kids to pull main ideas from text, as well as scan for specific details, skills required throughout a student’s academic career. More than ever, children need to figure out what they need from a text, get that information and move on to other matters. We are an information society and this book shows an understanding of efficiency in learning. Furthermore, the topics change readily to offer variety. For instance, one reading offers a history of cats, another of cars, and information on the influenza phenomenon. Challenging stuff for Grade 5, but the guided activities allow the challenge to be accomplished. At the same time, the reading exercises prompt vocabulary development and enhancement. Another section on Grammar offers full-on grammar-based language learning. Not sure what an appositive phrase is? Check this book (page 128). It gives you a neat and tidy explanation plus example showcased in a shaded box to separate it from the rest of the page. Grammar seems kinder and gentler with this book, thanks again to the kid-friendly design. Throughout the Grammar section and into the Vocabulary and Usage section, Complete English Smart Grade 5 offers tips for writing, as well. Students receive training in the skill of writing topic and supporting sentences that is an absolute requirement for writing academic essays. The author, Desmond Gilling, also includes several other writing forms including narratives, poetry and informal writing such as that in postcards. The book ultimately offers children an opportunity to not only absorb language information, but to respond to tasks and produce their own writing. Canadian kids will see a strong Canadian component near the end of the text as well as a section offering fun activities such as crossword and word search puzzles. Oh yes, and my son’s favorite part? The answers are in the back, too. |
