Science, Grade 5 (Spectrum)

Well-written with questions that prompt deeper thinking and actually processing the information that was read. If you're looking for a book that gives your student the answers in the text, this is NOT the book for you. However, if you are looking for a workbook that is written to grade level and prompts the student to think and go a little deeper, this may be the right text. Each lesson has a small section for vocab and additional information, roughly a page of reading, and a page of questions (both multiple choice and short answer), with about every other lesson having an activity that goes beyond the lesson. Unit tests require that the student retain not just the reading, but that deeper level of processing that they used in the lessons. Our homeschooler usually finishes a lesson within 30 minutes from start to finish with a little help from us (pronunciation of new vocabulary and prompting some deeper thinking without us giving her the answers).

I bought this workbook because I wasn't satisfied with my son's Science grade. The reviews I read were largely correct, in that it is an excellent review product, but wouldn't stand alone as a home school resource. The lessons are broken down into one-page readings followed by a quiz. As you can imagine, the format limits the depth of the lesson; however, it has proven to be a very good refresher on the subjects my son had problems with. He executes one lesson each evening in addition to his homework; on nights in which he doesn't have homework, he completes two lessons. I've been impressed enough with this course that I've purchased the sixth grade text so he can get a head start on next year (and hopefully prevent the report card that got his XBOX taken away).

This is a great workbook for kids. I homeschool my children, and the Spectrum series are a great tool to help them learn and give us ideas or curriculum at a great price. They give you a lesson and then questions for each lesson to make sure students grasp the concept. There is also a review at the end of every chapter that I use for a test. The only complaint I have is that some of the lessons could be a little bit more detailed. Overall, a great product and I would definately recommend it!

I love spectrums books. Especially their science books. They are a great, daily, bite sized, short pieces of science. Each page has a lesson on a subject, the following page is comprehension questions about the subject matter. Therefore these can also be used as extract language arts practice. My only complaint about this would be that from one page to the next the lessons don't necessarily coincide. One page may be DNA and the next Weather. Other than that, as long as you are supplementing with a real science curriculum, I think this is a great book.

This is an excellent book to have to keep your student learning and to help struggling ones as well. The science book is filled with different levels of work that the child can complete. I would say these books would also be good for any home schooled children as well, as they keep up with eh current curriculum they would be learning in school. Great buy for the price!

Each of the one page introduction of concept is well written. Questions after the concept descriptions are good. This book could be used as a "reading comprehension" with science as content. It is a good overview "fun" book for kids to do, but I wish the book could be a bit more in depth.

I was very disappointed to see that the topics covered were so "random". Their explanations for some of the short written responses were very vague. I could have quizzed my child using our existing student textbook/teacher materials and skipped this book. Don't waste your money on this piece of propaganda. It is a HUGE disappointment! I only gave it 1 star because it actually arrived on time and the book was in excellent condition.Another oddity was the mention of the "Golden Age of Islamic Science". Where is the mention of Christian scientists whose contributions were massive in comparison? There is none! The Judeo-Christian roots of modern science is largely ignored! As Andrew Lamb of Creation.com says, "n most cultures and times there have been sporadic flashes of intellectual brilliance, but science as we know it only became established once, in Christian Europe in the Middle Ages. This was not the result of some sort of racial or ethnic superiority, but because it required people holding explicitly biblical assumptions and a society practicing Christian ethics."

This is a gem of a book, and it has high quality science material. Purpose of this book is NOT to just learn science concepts, but presents it in a format to check for comprehension, and is most useful for practice prior to a standardized test. Would highly recommend. Used this as practice for STAAR exam in Texas....