cross-post...Rewards Intermediate or Secondary?

[caedmyn]

Trying to decide between the two of these for my rising 5th grader to do this summer.  I've read that the main difference is harder words in the Secondary one, and she does read many more difficult multi-syllabic words correctly (and then sometimes reads easier ones incorrectly), so I'm wondering if the Secondary one might be a better fit to make sure she doesn't already know most of the words.  Or will the program work regardless of whether she already pronounces the words correctly?  The advantage of getting the Intermediate one would be that my rising 2nd grader could use it in a year or so too...

[alisoncooks]

I'm using Intermediate with my 4th grader.  I've found it starts gently, practicing 2-syllable words while teaching the prefixes/suffixes, as well as the skills to identify these sounds in longer words.  Then it starts ramping up to some longer words.

 

Here's a sampling of some words in the first 3 units:

Lesson 1:  misfit, mishap, admit, abstain, disclaim, backspin

Lesson 5:  misbehave, minimum, entertain, reconstruct, invalid, extreme, promote, conclude

Lesson 8:  employer, considered, unfortunate, disrespectful, personal, specific, unsuccessful, proposal

Lesson 10:  comprehensive, protection, unprofessional, receptionist, participation, percentage, invasion, regenerate, demonstrations

Lesson 15:  competitive, impossible, predictable, investigation, internalize, uncomfortable, incapable, misunderstanding, documentary

 

Practice sentences start in Lesson 16.  Here are some:

Lesson 16:

All spectators hope for excitement when they watch competitive sports.

Although scientists have learned a lot about hurricane prediction, they cannot predict the intensity of these storms.

 

Lesson 18:

The teacher had exceptionally high expectations of her students, but she also helped them meet the standards.

Lucas constantly complained and expected to get his way; his parents found his whining intolerable.

 

After Lesson 20, the sentences are replaced by content-area lists and definitions, as well as a reading passage.

Lesson 20 vocab:  nutrients, dissolve, various, electricity, wriggles, miniature, fascinating

Lesson 21:  Wilma Rudolph, pneumonia, polio, physical therapy, Olympic Games, tournament, triumph, obstacle

 

Each lesson also has spelling words (used in a dictation section).  Here's examples:

Lesson 1:  admit, miscast, abstain display

Lesson 10:  percentage, comprehensive, positive, intentional

Lesson 20:  premature, disagreement, imaginary, unreasonable

Lesson 25 (final lesson):  incomprehensible, productivity, administrator, individuality

 

Hope that helps you get a good understanding of the program.

Edited May 5, 2016 by alisoncooks