Mcgraw - Hill Reading 1 Book 4: People Anthology Level 4

This book is very pretty and very basic, and I am pleased with how it teaches phonetically for first-time readers. It introduces basic study skills, has fun rhymes, and colorful pages that will amuse any 6 year old. As the first book in the series of 5 for the first grade level, it's a winner. We've only gotten to page 53 so far, and extra activities are included at the end of each story, providing an opportunity for a child to incorporate an artistic skill and research similar topics. At the begginning of each story, you are introduced to the author and illustrator which gives the child a visual of the person who wrote what they are about to read. What makes this significant is that children become aware of how books are more personalized when they get to see the author before each story. The stories progressively become more difficult, and by the end of the book the child is critically thinking. Short poems at the beginning of each chapter encourage children to rhyme, and then create a fun segue into each topic. These rhymes allow the student to associate certain letters and sounds. The first words can easily be sounded out phonetically and are not memorized words.