For the past decade, customers have asked us to publish a series of reading workbooks with Canadian content. We are pleased to launch the first workbook in The Active Reader series. This series is based on the premise that fluent readers actively engage with the text, using a variety of strategies. The Active Reader workbook provides ten carefully levelled reading passages on five compelling themes: people, relationships, health and safety, environment, and history. Each unit aims to engage learners in the process of active reading by providing:
-pre-reading activities that encourage students to connect the passage to their lives
-a non-fiction passage with strategically placed inference and prediction questions
-thought-provoking questions that promote reflection, critical-reading, and discussion
-a mini-lesson that provides explicit instruction to reinforce a key comprehension strategy
-activities that develop decoding, vocabulary, and dictionary skills
-an authentic literacy practice that focuses on how people use literacy in their day-to-day lives

The remaining four workbooks will be available in January 2011.