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High-interest "Considerate Reading" series designed to promote independent reading for struggling readers aged 9 to 17 years but reading at grades 4-5 level

The Start-to-Finish® Library offers a wide-selection of engaging narrative chapter books for adolescent readers in the mid-primary and high school grades who are not proficiently reading at grade level – whether it is because they are learning English as a second language, at-risk, identified for special education or because they just learn differently and find themselves struggling with reading across the curriculum.

With this unique series, students accomplish several goals: they practise reading fluently and with comprehension using multiple text and electronic supports, while accessing the curriculum’s required topics, genres and literature. As a result, your readers will build volume!

“Reading more helps acquire the essential language, cognitive skills and background knowledge which promotes academic success.” – Cunningham, A. & Stanovich, K. (1998). What reading does for the mind.

“I have finally found a tool that has motivated my students to want to read. Start-to-Finish books give my students confidence as they work toward increasing their comprehension and fluency. I have a student who has brought his reading level up two grade levels and I give the credit to the Start-to-Finish Library Series.” – Special Education Teacher, Collier County, FL, USA

Available in on-computer, audio CD and paperback formats, the Start-to-Finish Library text is carefully written and edited to match the interests, social maturity and reading issues of an older struggling reader. The content is mature, while taking into account the barriers (language, syntax, vocabulary, dialog, etc.) that would normally make text hard to understand for a struggling reader. The Start-to-Finish Blue Library supports students who are reading printed text with a readability as low as fourth and fifth grade. Beyond the carefully-written text, each book is offered in multiple representations to provide an added layer of support. This unique combination of supports allows teachers and students to cultivate the right environment for successful independent reading.

See sample pages from Start-to-Finish Library Blue paperback book and screenshots of computer book

Benefits for Teachers

• Level the playing field for struggling readers by front-loading curriculum-tied vocabulary, topics and concepts through engaging narrative texts
  
• Apply the principals of Universal Design for Learning by providing multiple media formats
  
• Meet intervention initiatives using content tied to the regular education curriculum

Benefits for Students

• Acquire content vocabulary and construct concepts prior to attacking required curricular texts
  
• Improve fluency and comprehension, enabling them to build volume
  
• Develop a love of reading and learning through successful experiences

Start-to-Finish Library Benefits and Features

• Multiple representations of text
  
  • A Universal Design for Learning (UDL) solution – paperback book, audio book and computer book
    
  • Auditory and visual supports for different learning styles
    
  • Access to printed text that is above the students’ reading ability
    
  • Practise with age-appropriate content
  
  
• Considerate Text Increases Fluency and Comprehension
  
  • Quality sentence structure keeps ideas together to ensure comprehension
    
  • Careful introduction and control of vocabulary in context increases fluency
    
  • Clear story structure captures and keeps students’ interest
  
  
• Considerate Supports Scaffold the “Learning to Read” Process
  
  • Professional narrators inspire students to read with enthusiasm and intonation
    
  • Word- and sentence-highlighting focus attention on the text
    
  • Multiple reading formats increase independence and provide appropriate support
    
  • Short manageable chapters easily fits into daily schedule
    
  • NEW: Enhanced Student Preferences allow each student to read at their optimal reading level

  Read more about Designed-for-Success principles, multiple reading formats and built-in switch scanning support
  

• Teachers Prove Measurable Reading Results
  
  • Data collected from comprehension quizzes and fluency activities verifies student progress
    
  • Novels and literature for required reading increase literary understanding
    
  • High-interest topics grow reading volume by motivating students to self select reading materials

• Track Progress and Extend Learning

  Computer quizzes let students demonstrate comprehension and vocabulary development. Recording their own reading, students master fluency with repeated reading. Students get instant feedback and teachers get detailed reports on accumulated student performance and time-on-task. Completed and blank quizzes can be printed for off-computer activities.

  • Questions quiz poses inferential questions to demonstrate comprehension
    
  • Meanings quiz reinforces new vocabulary and idioms introduced in the chapter
    
  • Optional speech in quizzes allows for additional support, if needed
    
  • Fluency practice activity uses short, manageable passages to allow students to practise fluent reading through repeated reading
    
  • Fluency readings are recorded for students and teachers to assess the quality of rate, intonation and accuracy
    
  • NEW! Completed and blank quizzes can be printed by students for off-computer activities
  
  
• Teacher Central puts you in control of Start-to-Finish Library from one convenient location. Teachers manage class lists, set individual reading purposes, select general preferences and view collected data for every book read.
  Click here to find out more about Teacher Central.

  Click here to see the Start-to-Finish Library Books: A Scaffolded Approach to Reading.
  Read the Research Foundations of the
  Start-to-Finish® Library White paper – (PDF format)

Blue Library Books Features

• Grades 4-5 readability
  
• Opportunity for students with lower ability to read with full support of the computer book
  
• Syntax and vocabulary of more formal or literary English
  
• More complex or abstract vocabulary than the Start-to-Finish Gold Library
  
• More ideas introduced into longer sentences
  
• More varied sentence structures
  
• Auditory support for individual words above 3rd grade level (mastery of 1st and 2nd grade level words assumed)
  
• Sentence-by-sentence highlighting

For more detailed examples of the text features, view Start-to-Finish Library Book At a Glance (PDF format).

Each book has:

• 10,000 to 12,000 words
• 150-200 words per page
• 10 to 12 chapters
• 900-1,200 words per chapter
• Illustrations, vary in size and placement
• Two pages viewable on-screen
• (Click here for examples)

How to Implement Start-to-Finish Gold and Blue Books Into Your Classroom

Every student will read these narrative books at their own pace and they will have a guaranteed, successful reading experience that will entice them to want more.

• Have a bookshelf of every Gold and Blue Library title to reach a variety of students’ self-selection needs
• Have multiple copies of paperback books for each student, enough computer books to accommodate each computer and audio books for listening stations and home use
• Use the narrative Start-to-Finish Library books to warm students up to difficult topics or literary language

Choose the Start-to-Finish Blue Library to familiarise students with formal literary language and help them make the transition to grade-level text. Mature themes are appropriate for middle and high school.

Use Start-to-Finish Library books to:

• Support Your Intervention Initiatives
  Incorporate Start-to-Finish Library computer books into your intervention program to:
  
  • Practise fluency and comprehension skills with volume reading exercises
    
  • Customise the reading experience for each student to provide as much or as little support as needed
    
  • Collect reading data to monitor progress and determine response to the intervention
  
  
• Encourage Independent Reading
  Manage independent reading time to help students have productive experiences that lead to motivation and confidence.
  
  • Build reading volume with over 100 titles – enough to complete a book a week… or more!
    
  • Use in reading centres for routine access to any of the three formats
    
  • Eliminate frustration by providing materials at students’ independent reading level
    
  • Meet the interests and issues of older struggling readers
  
  
• Supplement Your Curriculum
  Invite students into content-area reading by using these highly-engaging texts to introduce critical topic vocabulary, build essential background knowledge and strengthen literary language through narrative story format.
  
  • Use historical fiction, biographical stories and stories with embedded science facts to pique readers’ interest and connect them to characters and plots
    
  • Increase vocabulary acquisition and comprehension across curricular topics with materials that define unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary in context
  
  
• Differentiate Your Instruction
  Reach a variety of learning needs by pairing students with text they can and want to read. You will foster successful reading and learning experiences every time.
  
  • Offer content choices to support reading abilities ranging from 1.5 to 5.5
    
  • Provide engaging narrative content to build background knowledge
    
  • Give a choice of paperback, audio or computer book version of curriculum-related content
    
  • Monitor student progress to provide “just right” support

 

For more details, click on an item below...
If you are unsure where to find the product you are looking for, search using the options to the left.
 

• Start-to-Finish Library Blue Books - Reading Across the Curriculum
• Start-to-Finish Library Blue Books - Required and Suggested Reading
• Start-to-Finish Library Blue Books - Self-Selected Reading
• Biographies Start-to-Finish Library Blue Books
• Retold Classics Start-to-Finish Library Blue Books
• Science Start-to-Finish Library Blue Books
• Social Studies and History Start-to-Finish Library Blue Books
• Teen Series Start-to-Finish Library Blue Books