The Reading for all Learners Little Books, otherwise known as I See Sam is a collection of 8 sets of books, each containing up to 27 books per set. Published by Academic Success for all Learners, the Little Books collection begin at a kindergarten reading level and progress up to a 3.6 reading level. As a TOS Homeschool Review Crew member I had the opportunity to review the Little Books sets 1-4 with my 6 year old.
You can read the scope and sequence of the Little Books series here.
Little Books Set 1: for reading level K-1.0 and includes 27 books. This set teaches 27 new sounds, new sound combinations, 73 new words, 9 new sight words, and comprehension skills. Reading assessments are covered in books 6, 11,16, 21, 26. $30
Little Books Set 2: for reading level: 1.0 - 1.3 and includes 27 different books. This set teaches 5 new sounds, 2 new sound combinations, 98 new regular words, 8 new sight words, and comprehension skills. Reading assessments are covered in books 6,11,16,21,26. $30
When my 6 year old son and I first began this review I started with a couple of the reading assessments provided in sets 1 and 2. I wanted to make sure I was starting him in the appropriate set of books which would be at his learning level and not his frustration level. Once I found his learning reading level we dove right in to that set of books. Initially my son wanted to read multiple books at one setting, it was new curriculum so he was excited. Reading is something that comes easy to my son so I allowed him to set the pace at which he wanted to move through these books. With each book completed however I made sure he knew the words he was reading, could identify them on the flash cards included with each book set, and was mastering reading comprehension. There are scripted questions throughout each of the books which help assess reading comprehension, you could choose to use these questions or make up your own if you prefer. Also helpful in these book sets are the review and new "upcoming" words included in the front and back of every book. Before reading the story in each book, the student is encouraged to review the previously introduced words at the beginning of the book and then upon reading the story there is a list of new and upcoming words that will be included in the following book in that set. This feature was nice for my son because it helped review and reinforce words that he may have forgotten and it served as a quick reminder of the words he would be seeing in the upcoming story.
Also included as part of our review packet, I received the flash cards that correspond to each set of books. You have the option of purchasing these flash cards or downloading them for free. I found the flash cards to be very helpful with my son. When beginning a new set of books I sat with my son and we read through all of the flash cards for that set. As he tried to read the words I separated each card into a "know" and "need to work on" pile. Then before beginning any new book in that set we would read through the "need to work on" pile again and take out the ones he had learned, adding them to the "know" pile. My son really enjoyed this exercise. Not only did he gain confidence from seeing how big his "know" pile was but he also gained encouragement when he got to transfer a card form his "need to work on" pile to the "know" pile. This process not only helped him learn but it also helped me to gauge his overall learning and sound blends that we need to work on and reinforce more often.
I am happy to report that my son is still enjoying his I See Sam books. He will choose to read these books on his own fruition and enjoys the cute little story lines and fun characters.
Click here for an interactive view of a book in set 1.
Academic Success for all Learners has also made a bunch of downloads freely available for your use.
I will definitely be using this series of books to help start my preschool age daughter reading later this year!
You can read more reviews from fellow TOS Homeschool Crew Members!
Disclaimer: I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review and opinion. No other form of compensation was received.
We loved this program. We will continue to use it. My son is only on book 9, but he is reading, and he loves it!
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