Worldly Wise 3000 2nd Edition

Clemmie and Spencer recently finished working their way through the old Worldly Wise 3000 books A & B. We started C but then our Wordly Wise 3000 2nd edition Book 3 arrived. We quickly transitioned over to the new set and got busy.

I definitely prefer this edition. It has a much nicer appearance, is easier to read and something about the information provided allows the kids to progress better on their own. I haven't figured out quite what this is but our success rate with independent work is greater.

Since this was a new version I ordered the Teacher Book, Answer Key, Student Books and Test Books. First-don't waste your money on the answer key (OK-it is only $2.50) if you order the Teacher Book it includes the answer key. Second-the Teacher Book is much better than the book I had for the old A,B, & C books. This Teacher Book has teaching tips and activities, answers for all the exercises in the student book, a series of fill in the blank review exercises for each lesson with answer key(these are not in the student book), all of the tests for Book 3 with the answer key, and an alphabetical list of all the vocabulary words in the book referenced by lesson number. Yes, the review pages and tests are reproducible (so you pick between order test books or making copies). The Teacher's Resource Book was a worthwhile purchase!

As for the student book-I think the exercises are more challenging (not harder but better designed) and I love that they now include parts of speech with each definition (similar to a dictionary entry). The paper also seems to be higher quality-always a plus with little ones who erase and correct their work.

The review I read at Rainbow Resource says there is also an online test generator but I haven't tried this yet. There are also student games, graphic organizers, and MP3 files designed to help with correct pronunciation available at the Wordly Wise 3000 website. You can also purchase audio cds of the words. I still haven't figued out how to download all of this but it seems some aspects may still be "in production."

The only negative I can find is that there are only fifteen lessons and 6 cumulative tests. That means that either you move very slowly through the book or you finish before the end of the year. Moving too slowly leads to boredom in the students here at Chartwell and finishing early can mean a loss of momentum. We may continue on with the next volume, my reservations come from not knowing the future content and if it will be beyond a younger child or inappropriate. Not that these early books give any indication of such an eventuallity. It appears that I need to head over to the publishers website and download the K-12 word list and decide. On the other hand, it can be a plus to have a shorter subject and leave extra time for catchup in other subjects.

Overall, Wordly Wise 3000 2nd ed. is a huge winner this year and when we finish I will be ordering Book 4 and the Teacher's Resource Book with out a look back to the old version.