Rebekah and I have been reviewing First Start Reading from Memoria Press. For this review, I received First Start Reading Student Books A, B, C and D; as well as, the First Start Reading Teacher Manual (2nd Edition).
First Start Reading from Memoria Press is a phonics based curriculum designed for Kindergarten children. Memoria Press is a family run, classical education based, publishing company.
The First Start Reading Student Books have a colorful, soft cover with a glossy finish. Although they are a soft cover, they have been very durable. The Student Books are broken out into lessons which are not too long to hold Rebekah’s attention and enthusiasm. The lessons have taken about 20-30 minutes each so far, which has been just the right length.
Book A has 25 Lessons which focus on short-A words. There are 27 short-A words and 13 common (sight) words that the student learns in Book A. Beginning in Lesson 5 the student begins to read simple sentences such as, “I am Sam” and “A ram ran.” These may not seem like much but to a child who is eager to learn to read these are so rewarding.
In Lesson 23, they begin to read short stories which review the words the student has been learning. Following Lesson 25, there are Word Mastery Review Lists that cover all the words learned in Book A. An important part of the learning process is the ability to dictate the words the student hears. In Book A there are four Dictation Practice Pages (two for common words and two for CVC words) which are broken into 10 words per exercise.
Book B is 26 Lessons long and teaches the short-I and short-O words. Book C has 33 Lessons and introduces the short-E and short-U sounds; while Book D has 12 Lessons. Book D introduces the student to long vowels, consonant digraphs, final consonant blends (i.e. lift, soft, wilt) and beginning consonant blends ( i.e. stamp, spin, crop, frame). The Word Mastery Review Lists, Dictation Practice Pages, Assessments and Notes are also in the each of these Student Books. The student will learn well over 400 phonetic words and 45 common (sight) words in the four student books. Emphasis is also placed on proper pencil holding and penmanship.
The Teacher’s Guide is also a soft cover and contains 322 pages. It is full of teaching resources such as a phonics overview, general teaching guidelines, lesson plans that show each page of the student books and have helpful teaching tips for each lesson. There is also an appendix that contains the graphics for each of the vowels, how to tell it it is a “b” or “d” and learning right hand versus left hand.
We found First Start Reading enjoyable and easy to use. Everyday, Rebekah has been eager to work on First Start Reading. She has completed Book A and much of Book B. She is so excited to be reading the stories in her workbooks and I enjoy her enthusiasm! Rebekah and I look forward to finishing the remaining lessons of First Start Reading.
I would recommend First Start Reading to anyone with a child who is ready to begin learning to read. I think it would also be a great review for a struggling reader to help them have a better reading foundation.
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You can also find out what other members of The Crew thought in their reviews.
Blessings,
Jennifer
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