Product Background

Overview

The great thing about the High Interest Series from Robinswood is that you'd never think that the books were anything other than just regular books. They look like, feel like and read like regular books.

But there's a lot of meticulous development behind each title to make the books attractive to readers right across the reading range in the classroom - from the avid to the much more 'reluctant'. This is invaluable for integrated classroom discussion, especially when reviewing the actual content of the books with the material in the Teachers' Handbooks.

Each book is developed, designed and laid out with great care to work really well with any reader - whether in the classroom or at home. It's then extensively tested and refined in the classroom environment to make sure that it will get read, that students won't give up on the story through over-challenging text, and that they'll get the satisfaction of having completed the whole book.

Also, as they look just like any other novels already in the classroom, library, or bookshelf at home, there's less risk of these titles being rejected (some 'hi-lo' books attract a 'stigma'). There are no end-of-chapter questions. No simplified, child-like illustrations. No 'reading level' indicators. Just gripping, well-illustrated, pacy stories.

The Main Ingredients

The success of this Series rests upon the following features:

- exciting stories that keep readers hooked, page after page, chapter after chapter.
- topics and characters to which students can immediately relate.
- sufficient illustration to help students visualise the characters and events.
- stories tested and revised, with feedback from all levels of readers.
- reliable, accurate control of reading level.
- text designed to eliminate unnecessary hyphens and lengthy white spaces between words.
- absense of difficult words used in isolation (98% from basic list of common words and phrases).

In addition, without any over-emphasis, each story conveys a social message which can be used to stimulate discussion in subjects other than just literacy.

Reading Levels

Proven techniques include controlled reading levels every 100 words - a student who can read page one can read every page of the story. [For more details, see Developing a High Interest Novel - coming shortly.]

Drama Workshops

A further option to encourage students' involvement is through use of Drama Workshops. A first free download for the title Avalanche is already available. Further Workshops will be introduced following feedback from this first download. The essence of the Drama Workshop is to stir the imaginations within a small literacy group and to encourage improvisation around the basic plot of the novel. The Workshops are being developed by a skilled practitioner with the Teaching Assistant in mind - so all the steps needed - from warm-up to imaginative interaction - are included.

Renaissance Accelerated Reader Programme

All the High Interest novels have been tested under the Renaissance Accelerated Reader Programm which is now providing rising standards of literacy in a large number of schools. For the AR Quiz Number, Reading Level and AR Points for each title, with the corresponding Robinswood Reading Age and Interest Age details, go to High Interest Teenage - Information Sheet.

About the Authors of the High Interest Series

A number of authors have contributed to the High Interest Primary - and Teenage - Series novels. Author biographies coming shortly.

Assessments

The Teacher Assessment Checklist and the Student Self-Assessment Worksheet, which are included in a number of the Teachers' Handbooks are useful tools for monitoring and encouraging progress. So we've made those available here as well as free pdf downloads. [Coming shortly]

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