When I was teaching my children to read I found a little gem to help reinforce their phonics skills. Explode the Code!
These books were a surprise to me because my children hate workbook type learning! Whenever I tried workbooks with my children it was a disaster! Explode The Code was different. My children would actually ask if they could do their Explode The Code workbooks!
Explode the Code In Your Homeschool
Explode the Code is a multisensory phonics program for grades pre-K -4, geared towards improving literacy with direct, systematic, phonics instruction. It can be a complete phonics program or a supplement to what you are already using.
How it Works
Explode the Code has three different sets of books. They have the Pre-Literacy Primers, the main Explode the Code books, and a Beyond the Code reading comprehension companion.
Pre-K to Grade 1: Pre-Literacy Primers
This pre-literacy workbook series teaches the 21 consonants, and their sounds as well as letter formation through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic activities. Students also learn print concepts.
Students will:
- practice fine-motor skills and letter formation through tracing and writing consonants.
- learn through visual activities.
- use matching exercises to develop visual discrimination and letter recognition.
- reinforce letter recognition through the use of capital and lowercase letters.
- Get Ready for the Code A
- Get Set for the Code B
- Get Go for the Code C
Grades 1 – 4 Explode the Code
Ideal for developing critical comprehensions skills, these books feature charmingly illustrated stories. Writing and spelling exercises introduce new sight words and reinforce phonetic patterns.
The lessons are set up in a consistent manner that helps the child to easily learn the phonic patterns. The lessons consist of matching, reading, copying, spelling, writing sounds and words. The lessons take very little time. My children easily had the lessons done in 10 minutes. There isn’t any teacher preparation!
There are 14 books at this level:
- Books 1-8
- PLUS books numbered ½ (1 ½ – 6 ½) for extra practice
Each day your child does one or two pages. Once the children have done the workbooks for awhile they are able to do them on their own with little instruction.
Grades 1-4: Beyond the Code
For reading comprehension practice, Beyond the Code features decodable stories that follow the phonetic sequence of the series. These books are the comprehension and reasoning companion books for Explode the Code books.
- Each book in the Beyond the Code Reading Comprehension Series has different stories.
- Introductory exercises teach word families and vocabulary.
- Follow-up questions develop students’ understanding of the stories and encourage their reasoning abilities.
- After each story, students can complete illustrations by adding their own drawings.
New ONLINE Explode the Code
Explode The Code Online Vs. Print Workbooks
Explode The Code Online provides direct, systematic phonics instruction for beginning readers that is effective, and easy to implement.
Students build the essential skills for reading success— phonological awareness, decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and spelling — throughout the program.
Explode The Code Online uses time-tested content from the award-winning print workbook series, and provides adaptive, individualized placement and instruction.
This can be a complete phonics program or a supplement to your program. I saw wonderful progress with my children. It really cemented their phonics skills!
I highly recommend these workbooks! These were a gem in our homeschool.
How To Purchase Explode the Code
- Explode the Code is available on-line! That’s right you can now access the program on your iPad or favorite tablet device!
- Explode the Code is very affordable, less than $10.00 a workbook. You can find them at Educators Publishing Service and from many online homeschool curriculum stores like ChristianBook.
- Buy in sets or in singles at Amazon.
- Rainbow Resource often has Bargain Buy versions available. “Bargain Books” are brand new items that have minor physical blemishes due to shipping or handling that do not affect the use of the item.
More Explode the Code Reviews Here at The Curriculum Choice
- Get Ready for the Code Review – This fun pre-literacy workbook series (prek-1) teaches the 21 consonants, and their sounds as well as letter formation through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic activities. Check out this review from Cindy.
- Do Early Phonics with Explode the Code Primers -These primers offer easy to do and fun phonics learning. Each primer follows the same format, with illustrations drawn by children throughout the books. Each of the lessons uses a predictable sequence, and takes about a week to complete. Check out this review from Betsy
- Explode the Code – The classic print program includes a sequence of skills-based student books with coordinating placement tests and instructional support. Build the essential literacy skills needed for reading success: phonological awareness, decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and spelling with the Explode The Code series. Check out this review from Betsy
I agree about Explode the Code. I had heard about it and seen but was not sure about it until we tried it. My son does not like any language arts (and we’ve tried many) expect for this. Both of my children LOVE ETC and beg to do it!! I am so thankful to the manufacturer for these workbooks.
.-= April Kelley´s last blog ..Megan’s first Lost tooth =-.
I never realized that they were by grade level. My newly 7 year old is on book 5 and doing awesome so is that 5th grade level?!
Shannon, I haven’t used them by grade level, personally. How ever many pages can be done in 15 minutes is what we do generally. Then we spend the rest of the time reading or playing phonics games.
Debbie, I’m sorry I have not heard of the book you mentioned.
.-= Brenda´s last blog ..Sunday pancake breakfasts =-.
Has any one used the preschool Explode the Code workbooks (I think there are 2?)? I’m wondering if they are worthwhile.
Heather
I use the code books as well for my children. I wanted to leave a comment because it seems that there may be some confusion with the grade levels. These books only go up to grade 4. First grade books 1-2, second grade books 3-4, third grade 5-6 and fourth 7-8. I am writing this in response to the post from Shannon C. The 1/2 books are in case a student needs more help.
The preschool books are Get Set For the Code A, B and C.
I am looking for a spelling program… and my children are significantly older than the basics (daughter age 12 and son age 9). I have never “seen” explode the code, but have heard good things about it. Can I jump in at the ‘end’ and get an explode the code lesson #6 or 7? Or is this something they need to have started in book 1. What do you think? Thanks!
Stephanie,
I was happy to hear of your recent interest in Explode the Code. Your blog is the one of the more recent in this conversation. I hope you are still checking for responses. I am an RTI specialist for Reading at my school and I have researched many programs. I love Explode the Code! The best part about it is that, yes, you can jump to whatever book is designed for the specific problem your kids are having. I helped some older students and only used the books that were appropriate for them. The series is very affordable, easy to use, and appropriate for any age. Older kids don’t feel like they are using little kid books. There is a book of placement assessments that use can use to tell you exactly which book they need. The assessments are fast and easy. Hope this helps!
I love these books and, what’s a more telling feature, so does my daughter.
She knew her letter sounds and how to blend them to make simple words like “cat” before she was 4. I borrowed several “teach your kid to read” books from the library and she hated them all. Of them, she hated “Phonics Pathways” the least so I bought that one. I only tried to do about 5 minutes a few times a week but she quickly began resisting, telling me it was boring and that she hated the book. I gave it a rest for a few months and tried again with the same result.
So, I decided to try “Explode the Code”. She loved it. The simple pictures, short exercises, and predictable format really worked for her.
I still only do about 5 minutes 4 to 5 days a week. Some days we do 2 pages, some only 1. We also supplement with books from the Bob series and from the Now I’m Reading series – those help with variety and with reading longer things instead of mostly individual words. We finished book 1 of the Code today and she was so proud of herself for reading such a long “book”!
We’ll be off to book 2 tomorrow!
I’ve used Explode the Code with my son and now my daughter. My son worked his way through book 7 by the end of 3rd grade by doing a couple of pages a day on average. I supplemented with an additional handwriting workbook and phonics readers. Then for 4th grade we started him on Switched on Schoolhouse 4th grade language arts and he is doing well! He’s very well prepared.
My daughter is in 1st grade and just about to finish book three right before Christmas break. I plan to keep working with her on Explode the Code, handwriting, and readers through 2nd grade and go as far as we go, then transition her to Switched on Schoolhouse in 3rd grade. She’s learning to read so we are doing something right!!
This series is absolutely wonderful. When My son was 4 we god through all of the “Primer Books” A, B & C. He’s 5 now and is halfway through Book 1. He is really enjoying the books and understanding the material. I use this curriculum to help him practice reading and writing, we also use hooked on phonics for reading and combining them both has been very useful.