How do I use these books with my Units of Study Phonics program?
The Jump Rope Readers were created by a team of writers and editors who also contributed to the Units of Study in Reading and the Units of Study in Phonics—and the books are an important resource for those series. However, the books can be used to supplement a range of reading programs as engaging material for whole class lessons, partner reading, shared reading, read-alouds, small group work, or independent practice.
Can I use this series with any Reading / Phonics series?
Like all decodable books, the Jump Rope Readers start off simple, then gradually grow in complexity as more phonics content is added. While the books follow a scope and sequence that aligns with the phonics progression behind the Units of Study—CVC words, blends and digraphs, silent E, vowel teams, R-controlled vowels, diphthongs, multisyllabic words—this same progression, or one quite similar to it, informs most phonics programs. Therefore, teachers in many classrooms will find the Jump Rope Readers a welcome addition to their libraries.
How do I access the digital books?
These books are available digitally, use the order form to fill out the digital access information. For any questions email: heinemanndigitalhelp@pearson.com
Why are the Jump Rope Readers Nonfiction decodable books illustrated with art instead of photos?
The goal of nonfiction is to deliver new information about the social and natural world in an easily accessible format.
The illustrations in the Jump Rope Readers Nonfiction books support the subject matter of the decodable text and its structure. This structure is often narrative because when new information is put into narrative form, students understand and retain it better. Explicit illustrations support narrative content in a way that photos can’t always achieve.
What are hybrid nonfiction books?
The Jump Rope Readers Nonfiction series can be called a hybrid structure because the books convey nonfiction knowledge within a narrative form featuring familiar characters from the Fiction series.
The hybrid genre provides a bridge for early readers from familiar fiction to informational text. Hybrid books blend elements of narrative and informational texts to offer readers an engaging way of learning new information. Although not as common in K–2 classrooms, this genre is uniquely designed in the Jump Rope Readers: Nonfiction decodable books to fully support and inspire students as they learn to read.
How do the Jump Rope Readers Fiction and Nonfiction series work together?
After students have read several fiction books––incorporating new skills all the while––they can read the related nonfiction books, which offer more exposure to those same skills.
The Nonfiction books have topics that mirror the content of the Fiction books. The Nonfiction books offer readers the opportunity to review and practice the skills from the Fiction books.
Beginners need lots of practice to master new skills, but often the tricky thing is making sure all that extra practice feels fresh, not more of the same. The genre switch that occurs as students move through each fiction series and into the corresponding nonfiction books aims to do exactly this—even as students read the same words and letter-sound correspondences over and over, they are learning about new content, in a new genre.
Together, the two sets offer readers lots of supportive practice that allows them to gradually improve their skills.