Explode the Code 2 1/2 Paperback – January 1, 1990

This is an awesome phonics workbook. My daughter loves the silly drawings and can’t wait to see what’s on the next pages. She is supposed to enter kindergarten this Fall... but covid has us homeschooling. I bought the Explode the Code level 2 to start her for lessons (she just turned 6 and can read simple words/books) but wanted to get this as a refresher/practice before we get into level 2. It helps with writing practice and some pages are more involved (writing a sentence) and some are less which I love. This can be done mostly independently... so if you have another child to tend to or breakfast, or work etc, you can sit and supervise occasionally as they compete a couple pages.

Teaching Kindergarten during Covid. Found that Book 2 was just a tad beyond her, so ordered 1 1/2. Turned out to be a great decision as halfway through the book she was ready for Book 2 and is now reading easily. Author uses many devices to encourage sentence structure along with simple words. My only complaint is sometimes it is hard for a 5 year old to figure out which word to print when she sees just the illustration -- could be several different words.

I had read a review that said to skip the 1.5 book if your kid did well or found the 1 easy. My daughter cruised through 1 so I went back and forth on whether or not to do 1.5 but decided it couldn't hurt. I'm glad I got it. It's a little different but not enough to make it a big leap or repetitive enough to make it boring or too easy. I like for my daughter to be successful and feel almost as if she can do it on her own, while giving her just enough challenge that she stays interested and keeps learning and progressing. So this book is perfect for us. -- as far as explode the code in general, I really love these books! The pictures could use improvement but my daughter 96% of the time can see what they are right off the bat and I never have a problem.

I have been using Explode the Code books with my son for a little over a year now. I chose them because they seemed to get good reviews and many of the homeschoolers I follow online say they like these books.The books are all simple and straightforward. No need to plan ahead, just pick up and start working. The drawings are simple as well and not too distracting - although a couple times, it wasn't very clear to me what the drawings were indicating.Overall, though, they are very easy to use and my son doesn't argue about doing his work at all. I think, though, that the 1/2 issues are not really necessary for my son now, because he seems to get a little bored sometimes. I think this is just because we are reviewing content he has already mastered. So, if your child is doing well, skip the 1/2 issues and move ahead to the next full level book.

Perfect for my 5 year old. We home school and are working on phonics. We just completed explode the code book 1 and I decided to go with 1 1/2 instead of going into book 2. I’m glad I did. I recommend this book if your student did good in the first one but didn’t strongly grasp all of it. It’s review of the first book with some new concepts added. I don’t know I would probably still have chosen to do this one even if my child had whizzed through the first. It’s good practice and unless your child was bored with the first I would highly recommend.

Got these as extra phonics practice for my (homeschooled) kindergartner. We also use this same brand for my second grader.I love how simple yet effective the exercises are. Engaging and funny, even if the illustrations are occasionally vague.Bonus: after completing a few pages with your child, they will probably be able to complete the book alone. This is because the exercises are of the same type and have the same format throughout all of the books.My daughter usually completes a couple of pages per day in about ten minutes. Great resource for the price!

My daughter really enjoyed going through this book. We have one short vowel left, and I have already ordered the other books in this series. My only suggestion for the makers of this series is to add a couple of drills that I found effective with my daughter. While she can pronounce the sounds of letters, she had a hard time putting them together to make words. Creating two-letter drills for the short a and short i (did not need it for the other letters once she grasped the concept) was what was needed to help her make this connection. I'm thinking that there are other little children out there with this trouble. (e.g. ba, ca, da, ...) and then put different consonants at the end of each (e.g. bad, bass, bam, bat, ...)

I cannot say enough good things about these books. Yes, they have some "silly nonsense" but 5yr olds love that "silly" stuff. We have been very happy with all the Explode the Code books and this one is no exception! After introducing a new phonic sound, etc my son can sit, follow the directions and practice independently. As some other people have said, I do agree that the pictures can be somewhat confusing and need some explanation. Multiple times a week (we do 2-3 of these worksheets a day) my children have to stop and ask what the pictures represent. I can see how that may be frustrating for struggling readers also. That is why I gave this 4 stars.

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my little one love the book