Brain Builders, Reading

Motivate children to practice key language and reading skills with interactive theme-based activities. Each of the 12 skill-based categories includes audio reinforcement, two levels of difficulty, and a varying progression of tasks to keep children engaged and challenged.

To maximize learning, every reading or language concept is introduced with delightful graphics, a concise review of the focus skill, and a variety of interactive activities to practice the skill.

The kindergarten level covers the following standards-aligned reading and language skills:
Sequencing events in a story
* Reading color words
* Using visual discrimination to match lowercase letters
* Identifying pictures of rhyming pairs
* Sorting animals into categories
* Distinguishing between real and make-believe story characters
* Identifying beginning sounds: b, c, d, f, g, and m
* Matching the upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet
* Reading word family words
* Identifying beginning and ending consonant sounds in a CVC word
* Using positional words to describe a situation
* Matching text (sight and CVC words) to illustrations

The first grade level covers the following standards-aligned reading and language concepts:
* Decoding short vowel word families
* Categorizing parts of a sentence
* Identifying rhyming pairs
* Identifying singular and plural nouns
* Counting the number of syllables in a word
* Alphabetizing words to the first letter
* Distinguishing between real and make-believe
* Practicing subject-verb agreement
* Identifying the two words that form a compound word
* Identifying complete sentences
* Sequencing events to make a sensible story
* Choosing a predictable ending to a sentence

The second grade level covers the following standards-aligned reading and language concepts:
* Rhyming Words
* Make Words with Digraphs
* Listen for Long Vowels
* Alphabetical Order
* Parts of a Sentence
* Singular and Plural Nouns
* Synonyms
* Antonyms
* Homophones
* Fantasy or Reality?
* Sequencing
* Predict the Ending

The third grade level covers the following standards-aligned reading and language skills:
* Contractions
* Sequencing
* Fantasy or Reality?
* Antonyms
* Synonyms
* Homophones
* Plurals
* Alphabetical Order (to the third or fourth letter)
* Main Idea and Details
* Prefixes
* Suffixes
* Similes

The fourth grade level covers the following standards-aligned reading and language skills:
* Alphabetical Order (to the fourth or fifth letter)
* Synonyms/Antonyms
* Sequencing Using Signal Words
* Prefixes
* Suffixes
* Word Roots
* Homographs
* Parts of Speech
* Similes
* Analogies
* Main Idea and Details
* Fact or Opinion?

The fifth grade level covers the following standards-aligned reading and language skills:
* Idioms
* Synonyms /Antonyms
* Homophones
* Homographs
* Prefixes
* Suffixes
* Greek and Latin Roots
* Parts of Speech
* Analogies
* Fact or Opinion?
* Word Meaning from Context
* Main Idea

The sixth grade level covers the following standards-aligned reading and language skills and concepts:
* Synonyms/Antonyms
* Homophones
* Homographs
* Greek and Latin Roots
* Prefixes
* Suffixes
* Analogies
* Idioms
* Similes and Metaphors
* Using Context Clues
* Inference
* Main Idea and Details

Additional features include:
Progress updates: children can see their progress through each of the categories.
Awards: children can earn a personalized sticker, printable on standard Avery labels, after completing a level.
Audio reinforcement: amusing sounds correspond to successful completion of tasks or activities to keep children engaged.
Flexible use: adaptable for whole-class or small-group collaborative learning, as well as for individual enrichment at a classroom computer or at home.

Correlated to state standards and Common Core State Standards