Has anybody ever used any of them?? Thinking about using a few workbooks as part of our curriculum and saw these.
We used Spectrum workbooks a lot in the past and really liked them. They came in handy when extra practice was needed.
They're not really a complete curriculum, but for fill-ins and supplements and such, they're great. I've particularly used several levels of the Reading, and actually did use it as my reading curriculum for one student. It covers lots of comprehension skills.
Spectrum Workbooks When my kids were younger (K - 6th) I used Spectrum Language Arts, Phonics, Reading, Vocabulary, Spelling and Writing as my complete language arts curriculum. I also used the Geography, Math and Science as supplementals. I used the Spectrum Test Prep workbooks to do our end of year testing. Here in Louisiana we are not required to do formal end of year testing, but I used the workbooks for testing just to ease my own mind. I really liked all of the Spectrum workbooks. Back then they were made by McGraw Hill.
Love them! The first year I hsed, (k and 1st) we were completely broke and these things saved the day. Like someone said, I wouldn't completely depend on them for their entire education, but they are excellent in a pinch.
We used the Science workbook last year, and I liked it as a non-fiction reading comprehension. We will be doing it again this year. I like that they read educational, science based passages and answer questions. But I don't think the workbook would pass as a full year Science course, imo.
We have used them for reading, spelling, science and math as a cheap method of reviewing knowledge. The reading is excellent, the spelling less so, math and science are both worth while for early grades, but not as a complete curriculum. You might be able to get away with math k and 1 with very little added to it, but not beyond that in my opinion.
Like others said the Reading is really good. My girls are bookworms, so I let them read whatever they want. We go to the library weekly and they check out both fiction and nonfiction. So I used the Spectrum Reading to discuss the types of skills they need to be aware and to see how they are doing generally -- things like readers purpose, type of writing, vocabulary development, sequencing, dictionary skills, etc. They are quick and painless. Nice to document you covered the skills! We used the Lang Arts book in 1st & 2nd then switched to Easy Grammar. They had a good foundation of the basics and had no trouble switching. Phonics was ok. Personally did not like the Spelling or Writing -- way too simplified. Never tried the Math. DD1 hated the Science... no hands on.
