Saturday, July 21, 2018

Progeny Press ~ A Review


My 5th grade daughter has been reading The Scavengers and using The Scavengers - eGuide from Progeny Press over the past weeks. The Scavenger by Michael S. Gilleland is geared for grades 5-8. The intention is for the student to read the book while working through the eGuide over a course of an 8-10 week period. For this review I received the downloadable eGuide. I purchased the book on my own. The eGuide is 73 pages in length. I printed out the eGuide. You can also use the downloadable study guide in Adobe Acrobat Reader interactive PDF format that will allow the student to interact with the eGuide, working directly on the computer. 


What exactly is included in the eGuide?
  • Author Background
  • Note to Instructor 
  • Book Synopsis
  • Idea's for Pre-reading Activities
  • Chapter Vocabulary
  • Chapter Comprehension Questions
  • Thinking About the Story Analysis and Critical Thinking
  • Digging Deeper Questions
  • Optional Activities
  • Crossword Puzzles
  • Additional Resources
What is The Scavengers about?
My daughter said, "The story's main character is Maggie who lives in the OutBubble with her family. Maggie decides to call herself, Ford Falcon after a car she finds and claims as her own. Her family lives in the wild. Some people live in Bubble Cities but they do not. Her parents decided that they did not want to be a part of the UnderBubble. People live UnderBubble or OutBubble. UnderBubble people are protected and OutBubble people are not. OutBubble people have to fend for themselves. Ford Falcon and her family has to dig through trash to survive. There is a lot of mystery about what goes on around the Bubble Cities. URCorn is bad and cannot be eaten by OutBubble people. There is a third kind of people that are kind of weird. They are called Grey Devils. They will do anything for this corn! They also love what is called PartsWash which is what is used to clean machine parts. There are lots of other weird creatures in the OuterBubble. One day her family goes missing and Ford Falcon gets very scared. She knows that she has to be brave and confront the people of the UnderBubble!" 


Since my daughter was on the younger side for this eGuide I decided to do most of it with her aloud. We talked through the comprehension questions. The vocabulary section was a very practical section for her. This by far was the most valuable section for her. I really liked the variety of activities that Progeny Press used to teach vocabulary. In Chapters 1-8 they ask the students to choose from three words and decide which word has the closest meaning to the vocabulary word listed. In Chapters 9-16 students are given the vocabulary word from the text in the book and then are asked to give a synonym and antonym for each vocabulary word. In Chapters 17-24 students match the vocabulary words with the definition. In Chapters 25-34 students again read the vocabulary as it is used in the book. They are then asked to write their own definition of the word and then they are asked to look up the definition in a dictionary. In Chapters 35-45 students choose words from a box and write sentences demonstrating their understanding of its meaning. In Chapters 46-53 students are asked to chose a word or phrase that is closest to the meaning of the vocabulary word underlined. And in Chapters 54-59 students read a sentence and answer a question. 


The eGuide covers so many elements throughout the book that are critical for students understanding of literature such as:
  1. foreshadowing
  2. Alliteration
  3. Repetition
  4. Flashback
  5. Simile and Metaphor
  6. Proverb
  7. Onomatopoeia
  8. Cliffhanger
I love how Scripture is woven into the eGuides. 

Student's are continually asked to Dig Deep and think more critically about what is going on in the book. Instead of just reading the book at face value they are asked to really think about what they are reading and dissect it. They are asked to think about what is really going on with the characters and their situations. I love that by the time the students have read the given book they haven't just READ THE BOOK they have studied the book. 

I am all for reading books for leisure but I do feel that it is important that students learn how to really study and dissect a book. 

I absolutely love Progeny Press and their collection of eGuides. There are eGuides available for Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School, and High School. I would highly recommend eGuides. 

To read more reviews click here.

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