Everything You Need to Ace Books

Everything You Need to Ace Books
Published at Workman

About the books

The BIG FAT NOTEBOOK™ series is built on a simple and irresistible conceit—borrowing the notes from the smartest kid in class. There are five books in all, and each is the only book you need for each main subject taught in middle school: Math, Science, American History, English Language Arts, and World History. Inside the reader will find every subject’s key concepts, easily digested and summarized: Critical ideas highlighted in neon colors. Definitions explained. Doodles that illuminate tricky concepts in marker. Mnemonics for memorable shortcuts. And quizzes to recap it all.

For the purpose of this review, I have received the books on English Language Arts, World History and Science.

English Language Arts

Everything You Need to Ace English Language Arts . . .takes students from grammar to reading comprehension to writing with ease, including parts of speech, active and passive verbs, Greek and Latin roots and affixes; nuances in word meanings; textual analysis, authorship, structure, and other skills for reading fiction and nonfiction; and writing arguments, informative texts, and narratives.

World History

Everything You Need to Ace World History . . . kicks off with the Paleolithic Era and transports the reader to ancient civilizations—from Africa and beyond; the middle ages across the world; the Renaissance; the age of exploration and colonialism, revolutions, and the modern world and the wars and movements that shaped it.

Science

Everything You Need to Ace Science . . . takes readers from scientific investigation and the engineering design process to the Periodic Table; forces and motion; forms of energy; outer space and the solar system; to earth sciences, biology, body systems, ecology, and more.

My Thoughts

I am always on the lookout for books that could help my kids to grasp a certain topic like World History or Science for example.   So when I stumble on these titles I though they would be great to have as reference for anything related to English Language Arts, World History or Science my kids might want to know.   Already I know that I will use the World History and the Science one this year.   The English Language Arts is always nice to have when they stumble on something with their grammar or writing.  

What I particularly like about these books is that the presentation of the information is original in itself.   The sections are color coded in the book so you can easily glance the table of contents and then switch to the section needed.   You will also find plenty of illustrations and graphs that will help to better assimilate the information and learn from the pages.  Finally each unit concludes with a small “test” called Check your Knowledge.  Answers are also provided for the student to check if he/she has the proper responses.

The use of color through the page of this book will be attractive to a middle school student for many reasons.  I recall using numerous colors when studying and this book will help to understand and comprehend a specific subject at hand.   Besides, knowing that these books were created from the brains behind the Brain Quest products helps to know that the information within these pages will be accurate.

English Language Arts

Here’s a quick look of the table of contents in the English Language Arts book:

• Unit 1: Grammar: Phrases and clauses, subjective pronouns, objective pronouns, possessive pronouns, intensive pronouns, verbals, active and passive voice and verbs, verbs and mood, defining from context, Latin and Greek affixes and roots, reference materials.
• Unit 2:  Language: figurative language, word relationships, nuances in word meanings.
• Unit 3: Reading Fiction: Types of fiction, objective summary, textual analysis and evidence, authorship and narration, setting, character, plot, theme, tone, poetry, fiction reading list.
• Unit 4: Reading NonFiction: types of nonfiction, textual analysis and evidence, authorship, central ideas and arguments, structure, nonfiction reading list.
• Unit 5: Writing: researching for writing, writing practices, writing arguments, expository writing – informative and explanatory texts, writing narratives.

Also here’s a few pages of the book so you can see what it looks like.

World History

Here’s a quick look of the table of contents in the History book:

• Unit 1:  The First Humans – Prehistory – 3500 BCE: first humans and the paleolithic era, neolithic era.
• Unit 2: First Civilizations – 3500 BCE – 300 CE: Mesopotamia, Ancient Africa, Phoenicians and Israelites, Ancient India, Ancient China, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rom.
• Unit 3: Middle Ages 400 CE – 1500 CE: Byzantine Empire, Rise of Islam in the Middle Ages, early civilizations of the Americas, Medieval India, Golden Age of China, Medieval Japan, Europe in the Middle Ages, European Crusades in the Muslim World.
• Unit 4: Renaissance and Reformations - 1350-1650: Renaissance begins, Reformation.
• Unit 5: Age of Exploration – 1400-1800: Europe sets sail, Europe explores Asia (or tries to), American Colonies,
• Unit 6: Revolution and Enlightenment – 1500-1865: scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, monarchies rise in Europe, American Revolution, French Revolution, nationalism across Europe and Independence movements in South America and Haiti, American Civil War, Industrial Revolution, Women’s Movement.
• Unit 7: Era of Imperialism – 1800-1914: European quest for imperialism, scramble for Africa, Japan modernizes, Spanish-American War, reactions to colonization.
• Unit 8: World conflicts in the Early Twentieth Century – 1914 – 1945: World War I, Great Depression, political shifts after the war, World War II.
• Unit 9: Post-World War II – the World from 1945 to today: changes in Europe and the Middle East after World War II, Cold War, nationalist and independence movements after World War II, modern global transformations, global security and major world events of today.58

Also here’s a few pages of the book so you can see what it looks like.

Science

Here’s a quick look of the table of contents in the Science book:

• Unit 1: Scientific Investigation: thinking like a scientist, scientific experiments, lab reports and evaluating results, SI units and measurements, lab safety and scientific tools.
• Unit 2: Matter, Chemical Reactions and Solutions: matter, properties, and phases, periodic table, atomic structure, compounds, solutions and fluids.
• Unit 3: Motion, Forces, and Work: motion, force and Newton’s Laws of motion, gravity, friction, more forces in everyday life, work and machines.
• Unit 4: Energy: forms of energy, thermal energy, light and sound waves, electricity and magnetism, electrical energy sources.
• Unit 5: Outer Space – The Universe and the Solar System: the solar system and space exploration, sun-earth-moon system, stars, galaxies, origin of the universe and our solar system.
• Unit 6: The Earth, Weather, Atmosphere, and Climate: minerals, rocks, earth’s structure, earth’s crust in motion, weathering, erosion, earth’s atmosphere, water cycle, weather, climate.
• Unit 7: Life – Classification and Cells: organisims, biological classification, cell theory, cell structure, cellular transport, metabolism, cell reproduction, protein synthesis.
• Unit 8: Plants and Animals: plant structure, reproduction, invertebrates, vertebrates, homeostasis, behavior.
• Unit 9: The Human Body and Body Systems: skeletal and muscular systems, nervous and endocrine systems, digestive and excretory systems, respiratory and circulatory systems, immune and lymphatic systems, human reproduction and development.
• Unit 10: History of life – heredity, evolution, and fossils: heredity and genetics, evolution, fossils and rock ages, history of life on earth.
• Unit 11: Ecology – habitats, interdependence, and resources: ecology and ecosystems, interdependence and the cycling of energy and matter, ecological succession and biomes, natural resources and conservation.

Also here’s a few pages of the book so you can see what it looks like.

 

Keep in mind that these books are written with a secular perspective but I still find that they can be useful for any homeschool as well as school students of middle and even high school.  Two other titles are also available – one on Math and the other on American History. 

The Everything You Need to Ace Book (also known as the Big Fat NoteBook series) is available at your favourite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

  

  

  

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Allen for sending me the above mentioned books for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Pirate Talk

Pirate Talk – Receptive & Expressive Language Game
By Super Duper Publications

Pirate Talk was the second game that attracted my interest when I was checking the offered games from Super Duper Publications. This particular game is basically enforcing communications skills.   Actually seven communication skills are reinforced with this game.   Three of them are receptive – Sentence Repetition, Answering Questions, and Following Directions.  Four are expressive – Categorizing, Inferencing, Describing, and Social Skills.  

The game includes an 18x18 inches game board, 150 color-coded receptive and expressive language cards, 6 pirate players pieces, 100 gold coins and an electronic spinner (1-3).

It’s easy to play Pirate Talk.  The kids were eager to play this new game when I opened it up.  It was a great way to encourage them to express themselves based on the images I would show to them.   With their game pieces, they would move from island to island on the board game and collect gold coins when they would answer properly to their questions.   Depending of the age of the child you can opt to ask the receptive or expressive questions.  Five categories of social interaction is included in this game: School, People, Home, Community, and Activities.   When we played, I would pick the category myself and choose a card.   I would ask the child to come near me as I showed the image and ask the questions.  See the card below for an example of questions asked on the receptive or expressive language skill.

My kids had a blast playing this game together and asked for more when I decided that we were done.   They love the fact that the game is based on a pirate theme and that it encourages them to express themselves based on selected situations.  

My only disappointment is that our electronic spinner isn’t working anymore.   Somehow it died rather quickly.   I find that replacing the batteries is quite expensive.  Fortunately, one of my sons remembered that he had a dice that had the 1-3 faces repeated (compared to a regular dice).   So we are using this dice and honestly I think I prefer the dice over the electronic spinner which gets annoying with the noise it makes.

The Pirate Talk Board Game is available at the Super Duper Publications website for the price of 54.95$.

It is also available on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the game for review purposes from KidStuff PR and Super Duper Publications, Inc. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

The Private Eye

About the product

The Private Eye is a nationally acclaimed, hands-on learning process that rivets the eye and rockets the mind.
In the arts and the sciences, you’ll build close observation skills linked to the mental muscle of thinking by analogy. Learners write, draw and theorize at higher levels.

Discover new worlds. Magnify minds.

See what others are saying about The Private Eye.

Our experience

I discovered The Private Eye after another homeschooler posted about it on one of our city’s Yahoo groups.  The title intrigued me and I decided to google it to see what it was about.    As soon as I landed on their page, I was hooked.   It looked like a marvelous tool to have to do some nature study and incorporate into other activities in language arts and so on.    That’s when I decided to request it as a review.   They rapidly answered me and within a week or so, I received a box containing the following items.

The Private Eye Teacher Guide

This lively introduction to The Private Eye program will propel you, your students and colleagues into the drama and wonder of looking closely at the world, thinking by analogy, changing scale and theorizing. Designed to develop higher order thinking skills, creativity, literacy and scientific literacy — The Private Eye's "simple" tools produce "gifted" results. You'll use everyday objects, a jeweler's loupe, and simple questions to accelerate and magnify thought, whether you're working in science, writing, art, math, social studies, invention or even humor.
You'll discover how The Private Eye builds habits of close observation and inquiry across subjects. You'll learn how the loupe (a magnification tool with a simple but amazing difference) along with three powerful questions can transform the curriculum. You'll see examples of student writing, drawing and theorizing as you tour the process — with over 200 lesson plans, ideas and ticklers to enrich the five core disciplines. The Private Eye process builds communication, problem solving, and concentration skills as it develops "the interdisciplinary mind."

7 The Private Eye Loupes

The Private Eye Loupe, the best magnifier for classroom use, magnifies 5X with its marvelous lens! The superior optics and comfortable fit make focus easy and ultra-sharp for any age, and make entry into The Private Eye process a sure thing. Hold it up to your eye, place the wide, open end against your skin, sblock out the rest of the world, and see the wonder and concentration begin! Nest two loupes together for 10X magnification — you’ve got a little microscope that moves easily outdoors and back inside.

Used by preschoolers and PhD’s alike, The Private Eye loupe is the highest quality eye loupe of its kind. Durability? We’ve had teachers tell us they’ve been using the same set of Private Eye loupes for over ten years! We introduced the loupe to the world of education in 1989 and since then thousands of teachers and over two million students have entered The Private Eye state of mind: critical thinking skills and creativity. When using the loupe with The Private Eye process, you see more, you think more. This is the experience everyone’s excited about!

The Private Eye: Five Fun Steps (Pocket Version)

The perfect Cliff Note version of The Private Eye process, and a great companion to the teacher's guide. Plus - a wonderful book for kids or to read with kids! Adventure through the core Private Eye steps for writing, drawing, theorizing, and design. In full color with fabulous illustrations. NEW, enlarged version!

As well as some activity sheets for grades K-2.

Not too long ago, we packed the whole family and embarked on a journey toward Toronto because my husband had a contract there.    In our RV, I made sure we had some homeschool work with us – French and nature studies.  And since I wanted to open up the mind of my kids, I brought the jeweler loupes with us.

From the first days the loupes entered our home, the kids were eager to use them.   They immediately brought them outside in our backyard and started to explore it.

But it didn’t stopped there.    Every time they had something new, they would yell to the others to come and check it out.

So when we were planning to leave for a month, I knew we had to bring these with us.   We went exploring the section where only tents could go at the campground and found plants and a spider to observe.   We go close and personal with sand, flowers, wood and more.

During a trip at the Royal Botanical Gardens, I had packed the loupes in the camera bag and a whole new world opened up to us.   We had numerous plants to observe and discover.   Even my husband took a loupe and was amazed at the quality of the close-up he got.   

Here Alexandre is observing one of the numerous plants at the Royal Botanical Gardens.

The fact that we are using The Private Eye helps us to be more observant now with the nature around us.   When immediately see what makes it so alive.   Opportunities of great photos are now possible because the kids call me when they found something interesting.

While at the Royal Botanical Gardens, we also discovered an interesting spider which would bring two of its legs up as if it goes in a ninja pose to keep predators away.      We spend some time looking at it and learn more about it.

And since The Private Eye is helping us to expand our observation, we also found a wasp building a nest under the ledge of the wall at the Royal Botanical Gardens.   Needless to say we didn’t use the loupe to observe this one but it was interesting to see it at work.   I wish there would have been no wasp so we could have observed the miniature nest though!

Finally, we encountered an interesting spider at the campground.   Well it was the second “ninja” spider we met during our time out of town but this one was white. 

The book itself is packed with ideas on how to use the loupes and incorporate them in various lessons throughout the year.   The first section of the book will introduce  you to the process and the tools.  It will give you detailed explanation on how to use the loupe and how to stir the thinking process in your kids by going through five simple questions: What else does it remind me off? Why did it remind me of that? and Why is it like that?. 

The biggest section of the book, will help you to build your own collection of things to observe from the cantaloupe to the simple rock using a variety of containers.   While we were camping, I had an old peanut butter jar where we put the insects we had found for further observations.   The loupes can be also used throughout the school year as well as in arts, science, writing and mathematics.   It is a tool that is multidisciplinary and will expand your possibilities.   For example, take your hand and observe it.  What do you see?  There are many activities you could do based on simply observing your hand.  In writing you could come up with a poem.   You could ask your kids to draw their hands by observing it with the loupe, explore maps in geography, learn more about fingertips in science and so on.  

The book also contains ideas and plans for you to use throughout the year in writing, art, science, math, and social science.  It will help your kids to expand their vocabulary and become more aware of their environment.    As Christians, having the loupes open up a whole new way of observing and pondering of God’s amazing work.    Seeing the delicate details in a flower is breathtaking in itself.    Using the loupes at the Royal Botanical Gardens, we were able to discover the reproductive system of a flower with amazing details. 

I will be honest and tell you that at this point in time, I only brushed the basics of possibilities for this curriculum.   I know there are so much more I could do with it to expand the thinking process and also their abilities to utilize the loupe elsewhere.  This book and the loupes will help me expand their creativity and develop their scientific side.   Already all my kids are excited about the loupes and ask for them whenever they can.  The loupes are included in the camera bag for easy access when we are on a field trip.  

I hope I have picked your curiosity about  The Private Eye and that you will consider it to become part of your homeschool (as well as school for teachers reading this).   You can purchase the book and the loupes at their online store.  Personally, I wish I had the money to purchase the World in a Box which looks absolutely fabulous.  But I will keep looking in the nature to find what we need to expand our learning possibilities with The Private Eye.  If we keep our eyes open we can find many things to discover and observe. 

The Private Eye is an amazing curriculum that will help you to develop various skills in your kids.   Not only will they observe nature up close and personal but they can write about their thoughts and draw what they see.   That’s only a sample of the activities that can be done with The Private Eye.   I highly recommend this curriculum to anyone interested in expanding their learning experience.   It will take your breath away!

Disclaimer: Thanks to The Private Eye for sending me the above mentioned products for review purpose. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Editor in Chief Beginning 1

Editor in Chief Beginning 1
From The Critical Thinking Co.

About the product

Editor in Chief® Beginning 1 improves students’ grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and attention to detail using a standards-based thinking approach rather than drill and practice. This effective method teaches students to carefully analyze and edit stories. This book includes 16 lessons in grammar and mechanics. Students identify and circle errors in each story and write their correction. The grammatical and mechanical errors in the paragraphs are based on general instructional guidelines for specific grade levels; the content level, however, is ungraded, allowing usage of these materials at many instructional levels. Writing styles and content are varied to sustain interest and to broaden the students’ exposure to different writing formats, such as letters, stories, and dialogue. The illustrations integrated into the context of the activities further spark student interest. The skills developed can be applied to the students’ own writing. Detailed answers are also included.

Our Thoughts

A few years ago, a friend of mine purchased an Editor in Chief for her kids while attending a homeschool conference.   I thought it was a marvelous idea of making the kids look for errors in a text but never got around to purchasing one for my own kids.   So imagine my delight when I received the brand new Editor in Chief Beginning 1 which are geared for students in grades 2 and 3. 

Editor in Chief® Beginning 1 includes lessons and practice with the following concepts:

• Capitalization
• Punctuation
• An and A
• Verb Tenses
• Contractions
• Nouns and Pronouns
• Singular and Plural
• Am, Is, Are
• Me and I
• Subject/Verb Agreement
• Was and Were
• Run-On Sentences
• Sentence Fragments
• Good and Well
• Comparisons
• Homophones

This little gem is perfect to apply grammar lessons learned.   Each lesson starts with a page that will teach your child on the tricks of the English grammar.   For example, in the Capitalization lesson you will learn when a capital letter is necessary.    My 2nd son is currently in grade 2 and we are going through another book to learn basic English grammar.   So when I received the Editor in Chief book, I decided to test his comprehension by writing the text of an exercise on the white board we have in the dining room.    I then asked Dominic to take a different pen and make necessary corrections.    He was able to identify the errors while reading the text.   

Immediately, my 5th grade student asked if he could do one.    However, this book is geared for grades 2 and 3 students.   So I decided to take a text that is at the end of the book to see how my oldest son would do.     The text at the end of the book are a bit more complicated as the child has to find various errors not just the ones based on the lessons.   In a nutshell, as the child advance progressively in the book, he will also get more challenges in the corrections to make.   So I wrote one of the review texts for Alexandre and like his brother he proceeded to identify the errors in it.   

I think the fact that they have to search for the errors help quite a bit to revise the rules and apply it in the sentences that they read.    Both kids did well and since then every day they ask me to do another one.    I am still at the beginning of the book for Dominic while Alexandre works on the ones at the end of the book.    Today, I even made an extra error in Alexandre’s text without realizing it.   He found it no problem.   Smart kid!

My kids are totally hooked on this product and my oldest would love to have one for his level.    I would totally recommend this product to any homeschoolers as well as parents for supplementing lessons from school.   It is well done and creative at the same time.   The kids will love to become the Sherlock Holmes of grammar errors!

The Editor in Chief books are fabulous to challenge your kids to find grammar disasters and punctuation faux pas.   Different levels are available;

• Grades 2-3 => Beginning 1
• Grades 3-4 => Beginning 2  (also available as a software)
• Grades 4-5 => A1 (also available as a software)
• Grades 4-5 => A2 (also available as a software)
• Grades 6-8 => B1 (also available as a software)
• Grades 6-8 => B2 (also available as a software)
• Grades 9-12+ => C1 (also available as a software)
• Grades 9-12+ => C2 (also available as a software)

Editor in Chief Beginning 1 for grades 2-3 is available for purchase on the website of The Critical Thinking Co., Christianbook.com or  at Rainbow Resource.

Disclaimer: Thanks to The Critical Thinking Co. for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Talking Fingers

Talking Fingers – Read, Write & Type! Learning Systems
http://www.talkingfingers.com 

What is Talking Fingers?

This software is geared for student grades K-3 and integrates phonics, reading, writing and keyboarding.   The Talking Fingers approach is based on a simple idea: text is speech made visible!   We use our mouths to talk, to make sounds of words.   We use our fingers (with a pencil or keyboard) to represent those sounds on paper.  When children learn to link speech sounds with letters, they can use the alphabet code to write any word they can say.  Their fingers are “talking”.  The Read, Write & Type! Learning System is a revolutionary reading software.  

How it works it quite simple.   Kids learn to hear the individual sounds in words, and associate each sound with a letter and a finger stroke on the keyboard. The program is multi-sensory as it uses the eyes, ears, mouths and fingers of the kids during the learning sessions.  

You will also find special features for students with learning disabilities, reading difficulties, or learning English as a second language.  

Our Thoughts

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I have received access to the online version of Read, Write & Type! Learning System.    I didn’t know what to expect from it and hoped that my kids will be interested in it.  

The program has a total of 40 lessons that encourages the kids to find letters, read as well as type them on the screen.   As they advance in the program, the level of difficulty is risen and they are challenge to read longer group of words and type them.  

We love multi-sensory program and this one covers this.   The kids will see, hear, speak, touch, move their fingers as they learn through phonics, games, adventure and have fun at the same time.    The program is geared for 6-8 years old but I can honestly say that my almost 5 year old son enjoyed it as much if not more than his 6 year old brother.    *grin*   I had to put on a schedule for who would play when on the TV as we have set up a PC on the big screen as a PVR.    The possibility to play on the big screen was fun because they could all sit together on the couch – even my almost 3 year old daughter.    She loves the characters and to listen to when was said.

I’ve seen immediate results within days of using it on our 6 year old son.   He is currently learning how to read and sometimes I had trouble helping to him to remember certain sounds.    When we got this program, he jumped into it and I was amazed of what he could do within a few days on it.     His younger brother, age 4 3/4, is also enjoying the software.   Even though he is quite younger than the age group intended for it, he enjoys it.   His progress is a bit more slower than his older brother but he is learning nevertheless.   Another aspect that I really appreciate on the program is that it gives reward for the child after completing a level.   The rewards are exciting for my kids.  They loves them and print them right away when they get one.  

As they progressed, the level of difficulty is raised.   And sometimes it can cause frustration as they were used to have it easy.  But learning is achieve and they enjoy getting their reward afterward.   

This product can be purchased for schools or home.    And you can access to the online version of it or order the CD product (which is NOT compatible with Windows 7 or Mac 10.6 by the way).

There is two different version of the Read, Write & Type.   The CD Home Edition for the United States is 79$.  However, the International Edition  (which includes 2 program CDs) is 39$ US.   You might wonder why such a big difference of price.  The US edition contains an activity book already printed while the International version it is a pdf file on the CD.   Also the US Edition have a laminated keyboard for practicing dictated words in the car or at home which is not included in the International Edition.

The company also has a product for Reading and Spelling for grades 2 and 3 called Wordy Qwerty.    I have not product tested this one but you can purchase Read, Write & Type and Wordy Qwerty together as a package deal for K-4.    We were so impressed with the progress that our 6 year old has done, that we are going to get the Reading Bundle in the weeks to come.  I asked if there would be the possibility of downloading the software directly when we purchase it but I was told that this option was not available.   It would have been nice to save on the shipping fees but that’s okay.  The program is so worth it that we are willing to purchase Wordy Qwerty as well.

If you are interested, you can try Read, Write & Type Learning System on their website or download the free demo of Wordy Qwerty.   Simply go to http://www.talkingfingers.com and be prepare to be amazed.