Explode the Code Levels 1-8 | Detailed Flip Through of Phonics Workbooks & Tips for Using Them

Рет қаралды 7,092

Жыл бұрын

Today, I'm sharing a look inside levels 1-8 of the Explode the Code series and talking about how to place your child, and options for using these books in your homeschool. I hope this will help you decide whether Explode the Code would be a helpful resource in your homeschool, and if so, which level to choose.
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I'm Rachel, a mom of two and the oldest in a family of 8 kids. I'm a second-generation homeschooler who is passionate about education. I'm originally from Michigan, but am living overseas. My two young boys and teaching homeschool lessons to my youngest sisters keep me busy, but I make time for writing and for making KZfaq videos, too! On this channel, you can expect videos featuring books and homeschool curriculum, homeschool tips for hard days, our journey raising bilingual kids, and vlogs about the intentional adventure that our homeschool lifestyle allows! Subscribe to join our family here:
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Пікірлер: 51

@pixelated23-b9z Жыл бұрын

Love your videos, this has been sooo helpful to me.

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

Awesome! Thank you!

@helloharrishomeschool9554 Жыл бұрын

Love this type of video, they’re so helpful!

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

Glad it's helpful!

@amandamendoza4181 Жыл бұрын

Perfect timing thinking of using the last few of these for my 5th grader next year!❤

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@jerilyn-ourhomeschooltable Жыл бұрын

My daughter has loved Explode the Code since Kindergarten. We are finishing this year (3rd grade) with Book 7 because she decided that Book 8 doesn’t have all the exact same activities as the others. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Its served her well the last 4 years and I definitely plan to use them with my other kids when they start. They went along perfectly with All About Reading in my opinion. I never really had to teach her the skills because she’d already learned it in AAR. 😊

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

They're a homeschooling classic for a reason! :)

@chipsea 11 ай бұрын

Thank you for this 😊 It is SO expensive buying curriculum here in Australia. The price is very high plus shipping. It is so great to be able to see info like this before we buy!

@SevenInAll 11 ай бұрын

I very much understand the high cost of international homeschooling and dealing with international shipping--glad these videos are helpful!

@SouthernCouture4 Жыл бұрын

OMG! I was just thinking I wanted to look into these more and see about adding them into my son's kindergarten curriculum for the next year and this video pops up that you just posted. I love how God works in the little details. Thank you!

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

Glad it was good timing!

@Mare00711 9 ай бұрын

Very helpful! We are going to give it a try. Thanks.

@SevenInAll 9 ай бұрын

Awesome!!

@faithfullyinfertile Жыл бұрын

My Kindergartener is finishing up ABC and then we will start 1 in first grade. I may use it as his phonics for the first part of the year. I have never done that before. With my other kids I have used it to reinforce what they have already learned in phonics like you mentioned in this video. He needs something gentle and I have always loved this series with my other kids so I thought I would just use that to start his first grade year. It was nice to see all the books again. It is such a wonderful resource to use in our homeschools!

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

These are a homeschool classic for good reason! Have stood the test of time.

@RockSimmer-gal4God Жыл бұрын

I love how you are placing!!! My youngest is going get ready for the code and learning to read!!! My older kids love ABC Duolingo and my youngest isn’t into it!!! I’m not bothered as she’s doing workbooks!!! I just need her to practice!!! My older kids don’t practice as offen!!! My older kids could start at level 4!!! I didn’t know where to place my older kids and they prefer technology!!! I think I may encourage it!!!

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

Get Ready, Get Set, and Go for the Code is a great series! I've just recently started that with my youngest.

@raij465 Жыл бұрын

Although we no longer homeschool, we still use the Explode the Code books. Every summer, completing a couple of pages in ETC is one of the items on the kids’ Wake Up List, to keep them busy and quiet in the mornings so that I can sleep in. 😂 I love it because it’s quick and easy, but keeps their minds fresh over the summer when they’re not in school.

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

These are definitely ideal for quick independently work--the repetition of the same types of pages means that there are fewer opportunities for kids to get confused on how to complete the activity--great for working independently!

@salishheights2320 Ай бұрын

So glad I saw you recommend this a short while back. It was exactly what my 8 year old needed, and he's already on to the next level! I thought I was gonna have to teach that one phonics while he jumped on the trampoline! It's probably overkill/double duty, but I have him doing Spelling You See (Jack and Jill), too, and it's been a good combo to trick him into becoming a much more fluent little reader in a short time! ;) What really got him motivated was realizing that progressing (and getting to more interesting stuff) in math (his one true love) would take reading. 😇

@SevenInAll Ай бұрын

Spelling You See is a great resource, too! That realization is gold--the ability to read independently will help curious little minds go far in whatever their passion subjects are!

@caseyjeanchapman Жыл бұрын

I'm looking at switching from the good and the beautiful to explode the code for my son who is finishing up K. He just gets so frustrated with the good and beautiful work text... I think he needs something more streamlined and page a day that I can stick in his morning binder. This was so helpful seeing inside the different levels! I think he is ready to do level 2.

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

I'm glad it was helpful to see inside the levels! I've heard that some have been frustrated by purchasing one level and then finding it was too easy or hard--its can be tricky since the book numbers don't align to grade levels.

@thelittlesimplethings7842 Жыл бұрын

I love using these books to help with spelling. My son reads very well but struggles with spelling. It amazes me.

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

The ability to read definitely doesn't predict the ability to spell well. Many struggle with spelling even beyond the school years! It can be a challenge.

@MariaMaria-sr8zg 8 ай бұрын

And my child has always spelled well but struggles with reading. My mind is boggled at what to do for her.

@HarvestingFaith 11 ай бұрын

I have loved EtC for my kiddos. My oldest absolutely hated it because it didn't have color? So we switched to a Spectrum Phonics (I believe that is the name) but I really don't like that one. Wanting to go back and try EtC with her again as I feel it was working great for her, just trying to figure out where to start her. She is just now working on compound words so I think book 4, but she is a struggling reader so maybe 3 would be good review? Thanks for this video! I will probably watch a couple more times while trying to decide. 😅

@SevenInAll 11 ай бұрын

EtC will definitely never win any awards for beauty of illustration...but it's a very effective tool! Hope this helps with deciding on the right level!

@rochellearthur1395 Жыл бұрын

How are you planning on blending this with AAR? My 3yo is loving the A, B and C ones and I've purchased level 1 to use with AAR, but don't know how to blend them together, when we get there

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

Whenever I use multiple resources in the same subject area...I don't really worry about blending or aligning them. I did wait until my son was probably about halfway through AAR1 before introducing Explode the Code, because I wanted Explode the Code to be more of 'practice' for him, not teaching anything new. That's worked well for us. So, in his AAR he's learning to read compound words right now but in Explode the Code it's still all one-syllable CVC words and that works great for us.

@rochellearthur1395 Жыл бұрын

@@SevenInAll super helpful!! So more of an "independent review" vs the stretch new material.

@themodernhomemaker 18 күн бұрын

would you say the transition of the primers (a,b,c) to 1 is easy? doing the primers with my 5 year old but worried it’ll be a jump? Or would you recommend pairing ETC with another program for reading/LA? We haven’t really started any other phonic or LA programs yet.

@SevenInAll 18 күн бұрын

I feel like there IS a bit of a jump from A,B,C to 1 -- but it tends to feel the same with any program that moves from alphabet mastery to okay, now it's time to read. It is a natural "jump" in skills and tends to take extra time in the transition from knowing the sounds of letters to now successfully blending them to make words. In my own homeschool, I like to use ETC more for independent work/review vs. teaching a concept for the first time, but some do successfully use it for introducing phonics concepts, but if used that way, you will probably need to add extra practice with those concepts as you go (and I hear that the ETC teacher's guide offers some of that).

@rachelenglish1211 2 ай бұрын

New to homeschooling here and researching for the first time! I just have to ask, do you photo copy each page before the child fills it out? Or were these books not used yet?

@SevenInAll 2 ай бұрын

These books are designed for the child to write directly in, so these are unused books. There are som ways to make workbooks reusable, i.e. writing answers in a separate notebook or using markers on a plastic page protectors over the page, but those probably wouldn't be that 'worth it' given the design and cost of Explode the Code. I have used those strategies with other workbooks, though.

@kristyauringer2116 4 ай бұрын

Do you think using this with the teachers guide is enough for phonics, spelling, grammar?

@SevenInAll 4 ай бұрын

I have heard that with the Teacher's Guide makes it a complete phonics program. I don't believe that there's really any grammar included? But I haven't seen the Teacher's Guide so I'm not 100% sure on that. There's no grammar in the workbooks...but you don't really need to start teaching grammar until you've gotten pretty far along in learning to read, so could probably easily wait to start grammar until after Explode the Code book 4 or so.

@fordfamily-zl9bc 10 ай бұрын

I have an 11 year old who is dyslexic. He had tutoring for awhile but due to financial situation we stopped. Curious if explode the code would be a good practice for him? Also have a 5 year old.

@SevenInAll 10 ай бұрын

If you see a level that looks like it would fit your 11 year old's needs--it's worth a try! Our experience with dyslexia leads me to suggest doing a great deal of practice and review using a variety of methods and resources to really cement words into long-term memory...more practice and review than others would think necessary. My dyslexic sister asked for and received an electronic spelling machine for her 11th birthday and used it for years afterwards (nowadays people probably just use computers or smartphones for spelling help, ha!). My 5 year old is using Explode the Code Book 1 because that's slightly below the level of reading he's at and it gives him the opportunity to practice spelling and really working with those CVC words.

@sara-uv5ko 10 ай бұрын

Great. My daughter is six years old. How much time should we spend on each lesson?

@SevenInAll 10 ай бұрын

If using this as a supplement, I would just do a page each school day.

@lisaroper421 Жыл бұрын

Yes! English is awesome! 😂😅

@SevenInAll Жыл бұрын

So very delightful!

@vee9133 5 ай бұрын

I just asked a question on the other video you answered that already but I have another since watching this. Would you suggest using these books over all about reading? I have a 1st grader who is struggling with remembering what sounds are what. I also have another child who will be starting k this august and would like to be able to maybe just start again teaching both children since my 1st grader is struggling. Any suggestions? Thank you

@SevenInAll 5 ай бұрын

With children who don't yet know their sounds very solidly, I would not start with Explode the Code yet. You are pretty much expected to know all sounds going into Explode the Code book 1. There are teacher's manuals which, when followed, will turn Explode the Code into a more complete program, but when just using the workbooks alone, it's tough to solely rely on the workbooks for teaching how to read. A child who picks up reading very easily and quickly could probably do it, but when there are more struggles with mastering sounds and with blending sounds in the correct order, I would lean toward All About Reading. And you could definitely use All About Reading with two children--probably some of the activities will be more fun if you have two kids taking turns reading the words, etc. But with All About Reading, you definitely want to know all the sounds and have the basic idea of blending before beginning level 1.

@vee9133 5 ай бұрын

@@SevenInAll thank you for your help!

@MariaMaria-sr8zg 8 ай бұрын

I'm just at a lost to help my 7 year old daughter. I have 2 older sons. My eldest child learned to read on his own. We read to him every day but we never taught him to read. He learned to read well by age 4. My middle child/son needed some instruction and didn't seem to be getting anything until it all clicked when he was 5. When it clicked he immediately was able to go to chapter books. He started with Charlotte's Web and then went to Stuart Little and went from there. My youngest daughter was doing very well until we all became ill about a month after she turned 6. Now she is a little over a month after turning 7 and I feel like we continue to go back to the beginning. She no longer enjoys learning to read either. Could these books help her? I have no clue how I went so wrong in her instruction this time. If anyone has any advice I will gladly take it. She loves grammar and I stopped her grammar instruction because what we were using requires a bit of reading. She also can spell very well. She knows the phonics rules and applies them quickly when spelling but she still has to decode each word when she reads. She can read but it isn't fluent . She doesn't whole word read. She has to look at the word, decide the rules, then sound out the word applying the rules. I've been homeschooling and tutoring over 8 years. Before that I taught k4 and kindergarten with reading instruction.Thanks so much for your video.

@SevenInAll 8 ай бұрын

When reading is a struggle, it's very normal for kids to not enjoy learning to read. It really only becomes 'fun' once they have achieved a certain mastery. I would definitely say that Explode the Code could be a helpful resource, especially if you notice any link between her being able to more easily read words that she has practiced writing and spelling (that's the big benefit of Explode the Code for my own son--for him, he reads more fluently when he's had practice writing and spelling out words). Sounds like perhaps your daughter could benefit from more repeated review or re-reading the same books to build confidence and fluency speed. Once kids get very comfortable with de-coding a word, they should be able to read that same word quickly every time without having to start over to de-code it. Perhaps try playing some reading games where the goal is to gradually read more quickly and speed up the decoding time--but giving words that allow her to comfortably and gradually speed up the reading pace.