Weekly Reader: Summer Express (Between Grades 4 & 5) Workbook

"I get my children workbooks every summer. I believe that if you don't keep practicing the things you learned in school over the past year you're at a disadvantage at the start of the next school year. I honestly think this is one of the better books I've found for them. It is not a large book, which makes the son this is intended for not feel like this is ""too much"" to do in the summer.

The book is fairly straightforward. It has 100 pages, divided into 10 weeks. That gives you two pages to do each day. The daily pages are done as front and back, but I wish they were done side to side (so you're looking at both pages to do at once). I know it's a strange distinction to make, but I feel like if you're looking at the page spread you're not as likely to worry about what's next. You don't see the next pages and therefore you don't want to go on and do more work. You see all you have to do all at once.

The book has a weekly chart for the child. The back of the book has stickers that you put on the chart each day when you do the work, in the bottom of that chart has a weekly certificate. There is a full certificate in the back for the entire book being finished. There's also several pages at the front of the book to help you as the parent know how to use the book. Of course, you can just plop the kid in front of it and make them do it, but they will get more out of it if you use it to teach. I like that it offer some critical thinking ideas, such as getting the child to tell you how they're going to approach the work. It also has ideas for going to beyond these pages to find real life applications of what they're learning. For instance, don't just have them do some math, let them help you figure the grocery budget or do some of the balancing of the checkbook. This age is old enough to help with things like that. I also really love the idea of having your child keep a journal at the same time that they're doing this. And of course, there is a lot of promotion of reading. Each week starts with a page of ideas for the week and a review of which skills they will be practicing. There's also an answer key in the back.

The majority of the days will have both grammar and math worksheets. Each Friday page is strictly reading based, with comprehension questions. A lot of those are civic or science based. And of course, the work progresses in difficulty. I expect my son to argue a bit because the math pages (some, not all) can be lengthy." --A. Looby

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"The Weekly Reader Summer express Between grades 4 & 5 continues to bring more to the table both mathematically: Hello fractions, word problems and an intro to Pre-Algebra and in reading and writing comprehension: exact words verses commonly confused words, synonyms and antonyms and an extra side of science, geography and social studies with a dash of morse code thrown in. (pun intended).

The Weekly Reader series over the decades has managed to maintain a remarkable level of education and entertainment in brief yet concise installments such a way that children look forward to the exercises and challenges and these brief lessons have actually helped many children bridge the learning gap when their in class lessons fail to engage. So I am very glad to see that Scholastic has taken the step beyond the class room and produced these wonderful summer program workbooks to keep children engaged throughout their summer break. These are truly a wonderful investment." --D. Matlack

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"This is a 10 week program, but my child is already itching to do more than the recommended pages each day. I like that the book gives you ideas for enrichment and a jumpstart for other ideas to help review with your child. I am planning to add these pages in amongst other hands on and outdoor activities, hopefully enriching our summer while providing opportutnities for review and practice. Weekly Reader has produced another wonderful program!" --Mimi

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"Every spring i try to get my granddaughter a resource or two to help her practice her learned skills over the summer. This book is perhaps my favorite I've ever picked up for her. It begins with a letter to the parents explaining how the program works--10 pages per week. These can be done over five days throughout the week or condensed into two or three days. It really is up to the parent and child. There are also enrichment activities for the entire the child and/or the entire family. The parent is encouraged to make a journal for the child to record what they enjoyed learning, what was most difficult, etc. There are other enrichment activities, including simple science experiments that include doing research to explain why the results occur, writing a poem (and memorizing one), more research about the local history of where you live, and more. The reading assignments cover a broad range of subjects, from history to geography to science; the math includes decimals, fractions, and measuring, even including some simple geometry. Seriously, this book pretty much has it all!

Every week there is a certificate and a tracking sheet for the child to track their progress using included star stickers that can be found in the back of the book. It's easy for the parent to remove the answers that can also be found in the back of the workbook. And there is a full page certificate of completion at the back that can be laminated and hung up.

I am super excited to give this workbook to my granddaughter. I know it will help her to retain some of the skills she learned over the summer and possibly master some she still needs to practice before the next school year begins." --Satia Renee

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"""How perfect,"" I said to myself when I saw this offered in the Amazon Vine program. I have a grandson in 4th grade at the moment. This will be something for him to do during the summer to stay in shape for 5th grade. Not only that, but this is by Weekly Reader. Educational material by WR has been around since before this grandma was even born, actually beginning in 1928 as a weekly magazine for children. I can remember my delight when my weekly copy arrived.

This moderately-priced 142-page workbook is divided into 10 sections for 10 weeks of summer. The pages of each week have different colored borders so it's easy to access the appropriate week and also it gives a pretty rainbow look to the outer edges of the book. Within the pages for each week are exercises in math, reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary. Some of the exercises look like they're fun but some look like homework drudge so this will be more successful with a highly-motivated child.

For those children who are less motivated, adult guidance and outside motivation will need to be provided. This isn't a book you can sit your child down to and just say, ""Have at it."" Parental interest and participation will lead to greater success, but that's usually the case with learning, isn't it? These pages have a homework look to them and are not flashy and fast-moving like things a kid can do on an i-pad or PC, so a less motivated child or one not quite at grade level will need encouragement and help to stay on track.

Pages 5-8 give you tips for using the book. In addition, the first page of each weekly section gives you ideas for helping your child get ready for that week's activities. There are 10 weekly sections with 12 pages per section and 12 pages of answers at the back of the workbook. Let's hope that as a parent you already know the answers, but it's good for the child to be able to check how well he has done by himself. And there's a sheet of stickers to reward good work, color coded to match the week. For example, Week One has a blue border on the pages and there are blue stars for rewards for that week. Or, what the hey! Go crazy. Use red stars for Week One.

To summarize my thoughts on this review workbook: 1) It's inexpensive and colorful and on good, glossy, sturdy paper. 2) There are a variety of exercises for practising math and verbal skills. 3) However, the whole set-up of the book looks like schoolwork or homework kids have been doing during the school year so some encouragement may be required to get them to want to do this in the summertime." --OLT

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"This book comes in different versions for different ages / grades of children. This book is for kids between grades four and five.

This book is made-up of exercises for a ten-week program. It's to keep kids learning during the Summer break. There are lots and lots of different exercises for continued learning in math, reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary. This is NOT a ""picture book"" . . . meaning that it's not just a book filled with a lot of pictures and not much else. . . like some others. This is all about learning. It's colorful, and there are some pictures, but it's mostly filled with exercises.

My only ""dislike"" about it is that the answer key in the back is not removable. I think that parents will still want to use a knife (or something) to remove this section so that they can check the answers. It's just too tempting to keep it in the book." --G. Hearn

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"There's a lot to like in this book if you're looking for something consistent to keep your child's skills fresh over the summer. The pages are on high quality thick paper, and every page is full color like a magazine. The pages are a little glossy but writing with a pencil still works on them. Each week is a different color, which you can see as you flip through the book and on the edge with the book closed. Makes it very easy to find your place and get started. 2 pages per day. No back-to-back repetitive activities. No excuses. Each week begins with a page that lists the skills for the week as well as some suggested activities. Let's be honest, you'll be lucky to get your child to do the pages, but there are extension activities for those overachievers out there. The extensions are pretty good--write a restaurant review after the next time you eat out or 30 second activities that could easily be done in the car at a stoplight (all the words you can think of that rhyme with [word] or all the synonyms for [word]). There are some clever ones such as counting how many cricket chirps in 15 seconds and multiplying by 37 to get the temperature--combo math and science plus neat party trick! Reading passages alternate with word roots and prefixes, with grammar, mechanics, and usage, and with basic writing skills like topic sentences and sentence combining. The word parts and grammar are sometimes puzzles. My only real beef with the workbook is that the set-up of pages has the reading passage questions on the BACK of the reading passage. It's so much easier to look back at the text, which the questions required (great for comprehension building), if the questions are side by side with the text. It's annoying to have to flip back and forth, but students have to do it enough at school that your child might not even notice. What this workbook won't do is remediate or develop specific skills in depth. What this book will do is keep skills freshened up a bit and remind your child how good they have it with 2 months away from 6 hours of school a day! Much of this might be accomplished with some online apps, but sometimes old school paper and pencil works best. With the apps, there's temptation to go to the game apps or negotiate for game apps. Requires more parent discretion and supervision to use the online apps. The workbook is easy to throw in a bag wherever you're going. There is a built-in incentive sticker page with certificate, but I can't see that motivating rising 5th graders without the stars attached to some incentive outside of the book (maybe time with those game apps)." --Julie

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