( 8 reviews )
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Posted: May 2 2009
My class loves these stories. I really like the worksheet activities and appreciate the teacher suggestions. Activities include focus on pronunciation, matching pictures with partial captions, filling in missing words from paragraphs, inserting spaces between words in a sentence, and class discussions. There are more than 12 stories, but we'll be finishing soon, so I'm glad to see that there's also "All New Very Easy True Stories: A Picture-Based First Reader."
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Posted: Sep 10 2008
I don't want to detract from the great reviews, I share their enthusiasm for the stories in the book. There is a black and white photo on the main page with each story, as well as -on two separate pages -a set of comprehension drawings in boxes with the same story text beneath (one drawing per sentence or two) that tell the story in drawings. These (unlike some books) are skillfully drawn by an able illustrator. I must point out however, that the follow up questions are not the most artfully crafted but fairly typical of the genre. (e.g. true false or complete the sentence with the correct phrase, where only two phrases given have the right parts of speech for the answer- though these are supposedly comprehension questions.) But my real beef with the book is that it's a very thin volume made with almost newsprint-weight and type paper. The printing is good quality, just the paper is the kind that is a bit cheap and doesn't stand up to any abuse. For $23 it would be nice to have something that would last. Guess that's one way to crush the used book market, eh? But can't beat the stories.
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Posted: Oct 20 2007
I am currently using this book as a reader for my ELL low beginning students. The simplified text along with pictures makes reading more comprehensible and meaningful; what's more,the content does not condescend to the high school reader. The accompanying exercises are handy and helpful in the areas of pronunciation, vocabulary, and comprehension. My students are always impressed by the knowledge that these are true stories. Once I tried this book, I bought the rest of Sandra Heyer's true stories books. I consider this book an excellent choice for students of low English proficiency.
