Dynamic Literacy

I have a new vendor to share with you today!  I hadn't heard of Dynamic Literacy before this review opportunity, but I'm so glad we got the chance to try it out.  We received WordBuild: Foundations, Level 1.  This program consists of a soft cover teacher's book and two student books.  One of the student books is a 20 page workbook that covers compound words, prefixes and suffixes in a fun and simple way.  The second book is a 184 page soft cover book


I've mentioned before that Jack struggles with reading.  Foundations, which has 3 levels, was designed to be used by 2nd to 5th graders, or it can be used as remedial work for 5th to 9th graders.

Jack, who is finishing 5th grade, used Level 1, and it was just right for him.  Sometimes when he's expected to do a big chunk of work, he gets overwhelmed.  But this program only takes about 15 minutes a day, which is totally doable.

Jack had a prior knowledge of what compound words were, but this really gave him the chance to play with them and create them from single words.

See these cool word cubes?  The teacher's manual has the masters of those for you to copy onto cardstock.  I like learning methods that allow kids to move and touch.  Jack would roll the cubes and come up with compound words from them.

Once we got into the big student book, we would work with each prefix or suffix for a few pages before moving on to the next one.  While we were working with OVER- words (overtime, overdue, etc.), we had a subject crossover moment that made me smile.  Jack finished his page in Dynamic Literacy and then we started working on Science.  Our experiment involved a balloon, and I cautioned him not to overinflate it.  I wrote the word on our white board and he was able to read it on his own because he's learning to break words down into understandable chunks.  This is huge for him, and such a blessing to see.  

Another crossover success came when Jack was working on an unrelated writing assignment, and asked me how to spell a word.  I spelled the root of the word for him, and then asked him, "how do you spell the suffix for past tense?"  This concept was covered extensively in the small, introduction workbook, and his face lit up and he said, "-ed!"  He's getting it!

The Teacher Edition was far more than just an answer key.  It contains an overview of each unit, ways to discuss the material with your students, "making connections" boxes with additional teaching ideas, and oodles of word lists.  There are also periodic check-up style quizzes you can use, which do not appear in the student text.  While I am able to gauge how Jack is doing without the quizzes, by watching him work, families working with a charter school or needing to submit portfolios would probably appreciate having something test-like to show as proof of learning.

The complete package that we received sells for $82.99, and the additional student books (which I'm thinking about getting for Hannah, so she can use it alongside Jack) are only $16.99.  We will definitely be continuing with this book in the new school year.  Level 2 looks pretty good, too, covering more advanced concepts, like changing a Y to an I (flurry, flurries).

I'm delighted to be able to offer you a special coupon code for Dynamic Literacy!  Use blessed to receive 25% off physical books or 10% off WordBuildOnline.

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