This colorful and engaging series improves academic performance in Reading, Writing, Math and Science and prepares students for a wide variety of cognitive tests commonly used for academic placement. The highly effective verbal and spatial reasoning activities also develop analysis skills, problem-solving, logical thinking, and visual and auditory processing skills. Students learn to analyze relationships between objects, between words, and between objects and words.

• Colorful and engaging series improves academic performance in Reading, Writing, Math, and Science
• Prepares students for a wide variety of cognitive tests commonly used for academic placement
• Highly effective verbal and spatial reasoning activities also develop analysis skills, problem-solving, logical thinking, and visual and auditory processing skills
• Students learn to analyze relationships between objects, between words, and between objects and words

This 136-page book is comprised of intriguing activity pages to wake up sleepy brains for the day's lessons. Each activity page takes about 5-15-minutes to solve and develops the most important reading comprehension skill found on all standardized reading tests. Synthesizing disparate information and using the result to produce a reasonable conclusion is an essential skill assessed on standardized reading tests. This comprehension skill usually determines a student's reading score—and every Daily Mind Builders: Social Studies activity develops this skill.

Each daily activity page includes two puzzles that are often solved in 5-15 minutes. The first puzzle is a short, true mystery. Its solution requires careful reading, inferential reasoning, and deductive thinking. The second puzzle involves deductive thinking, and is designed to build vocabulary and associative thinking skills. This puzzle uses a process of elimination involving the meanings of words or relationships between words. Try a sample and you'll be hooked!

The best use of these books is when presented as a non-threatening, non-graded, fun activity where students are praised for all logical answers even if they don't happen to be the correct answers. Remember, in critical thinking, the journey is as important as the destination, and all reasonable efforts at critical thinking should be commended.

These intriguing puzzles can also be used as a:
Motivational beginning activity as an addition to the curriculum.
Culminating activity after a lesson or at the end of the day.
Fill-in activity when there is an awkward time break during the school day.
Valid educational activity for students who finish assigned activities earlier than their classmates.

• Each activity page takes about 5-15-minutes to solve and develops the most important reading comprehension skill found on all standardized reading tests
• Grade 5-12
• This 136-page book is comprised of intriguing activity pages to wake up sleepy brains for the day's lessons
• Answer guide included

The Balance Math™ & More! activities sharpen your child's critical thinking skills, computational skills, and develop algebraic reasoning. The second book (Level 2) focuses on multiplication and division of whole numbers, but has a few problems involving fractions. The spiraling difficulty level is designed to scaffold a child's conceptual understanding of the targeted operations from beginning to advanced. Try one of these intriguing puzzles -- and then try to stop!

These highly-effective, literature-based critical thinking activities develop the analysis, synthesis, and vocabulary skills students need for exceptional reading comprehension. This 208-page activity book is especially effective at helping students in Grades 7-8 understand challenging critical reading concepts such as making inferences, drawing conclusions, determining cause and effect, using context clues to define vocabulary, and making predictions and generalizations.

Students read and analyze short literature passages and stories that include fiction and nonfiction genres. Then they answer multiple-choice and short-response questions, citing sentence evidence to support their answers. Concepts and skills covered include:

Literary Analysis Skills
• Define vocabulary using context clues
• Recognize figurative language
• Identify main idea, supporting details, and theme
• Recognize literary devices
• Identify story elements: theme, plot, setting, and characters

Reading Detective® B1 includes the following genres:

Award-Winning Literature Excerpts
• The Cay
• Sparrow Hawk Red
• El Güero
• The Moon by Night
• The Giver
• Under the Blood-Red Sun
• The View From Saturday
• The Trolley to Yesterday
• How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin From Just So Stories
• Face to Face
• The Bronze Bow

Stories and Articles
• Mystery
• Humor
• History
• Adventure

Nonfiction Topics
• Science
• Math
• Geography
• History
• Biography
• Inventions
• Sports

The Grades 7-8 (B1) level include mixed-skills throughout. All levels provide an introductory lesson for each skill. Teaching Support Includes: pretests, post-tests, lesson guidelines, and answers with detailed evidence. Reading and literary analysis skills are based on grade-level standards.

• Literature-based critical thinking activities develop the analysis, synthesis, and vocabulary skills students need for exceptional reading comprehension
• Features award-winning literature excerpts
• Help students develop literary analysis skills including defining vocabulary using context clues, recognize figurative language and more
• 208-page activity book

These highly-effective, literature-based critical thinking activities develop the analysis, synthesis, and vocabulary skills students in Grades 3-4 need for exceptional reading comprehension. This 192-page activity book is especially effective at helping students understand challenging critical reading concepts such as making inferences, drawing conclusions, determining cause and effect, using context clues to define vocabulary, and making predictions and generalizations.

Students read and analyze short literature passages and stories that include fiction and nonfiction genres. Then they answer multiple-choice and short-response questions, citing sentence evidence to support their answers. Concepts and skills covered include:

Literary Analysis Skills
• Define vocabulary using context clues
• Recognize figurative language
• Identify main idea, supporting details, and theme
• Recognize literary devices
• Identify story elements: theme, plot, setting, and characters

Reading Detective® Beginning includes the following genres:

Award-Winning Literature Excerpts
• The Barn
• Sable
• Dexter
• The Cricket in Times Square
• The Stories Huey Tells
• Sideways Stories from Wayside School
• Chocolate Fever

Stories and Articles
• Mystery
• Humor
• History
• Adventure

Nonfiction Topics
• Science
• Math
• Geography
• History
• Biography
• Inventions
• Sports

The Grades 3-4 (Beginning) level is organized into single-skills units with a concluding mixed-skills unit. Teaching Support Includes: pretests, post-tests, lesson guidelines, and answers with detailed evidence. Reading and literary analysis skills are based on grade-level standards.

• Reading Detective's standards-based critical thinking activities develop the analysis, synthesis, and vocabulary skills students need for exceptional reading comprehension
• The activities are especially effective at helping students understand more challenging reading concepts such as drawing inferences, determining cause and effect, and using context clues to define vocabulary
• Grade 3 thru 4
• answer guide included
• 192 pages

These highly-effective, literature-based thinking activities develop the analysis, synthesis, and vocabulary skills students need for exceptional reading comprehension. This 192-page activity book is especially effective at helping students in Grades 5-6 understand challenging critical reading concepts such as making inferences, drawing conclusions, determining cause and effect, using context clues to define vocabulary, and making predictions and generalizations.

Students read and analyze short literature passages and stories that include fiction and nonfiction genres. Then they answer multiple-choice and short-response questions, citing sentence evidence to support their answers. Concepts and skills covered include:

Literary Analysis Skills
• Define vocabulary using context clues
• Recognize figurative language
• Identify main idea, supporting details, and theme
• Recognize literary devices
• Identify story elements: theme, plot, setting, and characters

Reading Detective® A1 includes the following genres:

Award-Winning Literature Excerpts
• Fudge-A-Mania
• Mr. Popper's Penguins
• Maniac Magee
• Owls in the Family
• Blue Willow
• The Jungle Book
• Island of the Blue Dolphins
• Where the Red Fern Grows

Stories and Articles
• Mystery
• Humor
• History
• Adventure

Nonfiction Topics
• Science
• Math
• Geography
• History
• Biography
• Inventions
• Sports

The Grades 5—6 (A1) level include mixed-skills throughout. All levels provide an introductory lesson for each skill.

• These fiction and nonfiction activities use higher-order thinking to develop reading comprehension
• Students answer multiple-choice and short-response questions then provide sentence-level evidence for their answers
• Each reproducible book contains goals, pretests and posttests, 50 activities, a glossary of terms, and answers with evidence and detailed explanations
• answer guide included
• 112 pages

These highly-effective, literature-based critical thinking activities develop the analysis, synthesis, and vocabulary skills students need for exceptional reading comprehension. This 192-page activity book is especially effective at helping underperforming students in Grades 6-12+ understand challenging critical reading concepts such as making inferences, drawing conclusions, determining cause and effect, using context clues to define vocabulary, and making predictions and generalizations.

Students read and analyze short literature passages and stories that include fiction and nonfiction genres. Then they answer multiple-choice and short-response questions, citing sentence evidence to support their answers. Concepts and skills covered include:

Literary Analysis Skills
• Define vocabulary using context clues
• Recognize figurative language
• Identify main idea, supporting details, and theme
• Recognize literary devices
• Identify story elements: theme, plot, setting, and characters

Reading Detective® Beginning includes the following genres:

Award-Winning Literature Excerpts
• The House on Mango Street
• The Face on the Milk Carton
• Sarny
• River
• Out of the Dust
• Sing Down the Moon
• Call of the Wild

Stories and Articles
• Mystery
• Humor
• History
• Adventure

Nonfiction Topics
• Science
• Math
• Geography
• History
• Biography
• Inventions
• Sports

The Grades 6-12+ remedial (Rx) level is organized into single-skill units with a concluding mixed-skills unit and provides an introductory lesson for each skill. Rx activities are prescriptive to help under-performing students in Grades 6-12+ improve their comprehension skills. Reading level is Grades 4–6; story content is Grades 6+. Teaching Support includes pretests, post-tests, lesson guidelines, and answers with detailed evidence. Reading and literary analysis skills are based on grade-level standards.

• These fiction and nonfiction activities use higher-order thinking to develop reading comprehension
• Students answer multiple-choice and short-response questions then provide sentence-level evidence for their answers
• Each reproducible book contains goals, pretests and posttests, 50 activities, a glossary of terms, and answers with evidence and detailed explanations
• Grades 6-12
• 112 pages

This 48-page book contains several of our verbal deductive thinking puzzles. Unlike our other Mind Benders® products, these puzzles are read to students, so they develop the logic, listening, mental organization, and memory skills vital to achieving higher grades and top test scores in all subjects. These award-winning, fun puzzles are also great for developing real-life, problem-solving skills!

Students learn to carefully analyze each Mind Benders® story and its clues, identifying logical associations between people, places, and things. The key is to make sure you get all the information out of each clue, by starting with the most obvious associations, then deducing the less obvious associations until everything finally fits together.

Step-by-step instructions and detailed answers are included. Puzzles increase in difficulty.

• These activities may be read aloud to young students to encourage them to comprehend and organize sets of clues, deduce logical conclusions, and match up attributes in simple situations
• Reproducible for single-classroom or single-home use
• Reading level - Grade 3; Ability level: Grades K-2.
• 78 activities and answers included

Mind Benders®, our best-selling deductive thinking puzzles, develop the logic, reading comprehension, and mental organization skills vital to achieving high grades and top test scores in all subjects. They're also great for developing real-life, problem solving skills.

Your child will carefully analyze each Mind Benders® story and its clues, identifying logical associations between people, places, and things. The key is to start with the most obvious associations, then deduce less obvious associations until everything finally fits together.

• This deductive thinking puzzles, develops logic and great for developing real-life, problem solving skills
• Develop reading comprehension, and mental organization skills vital to achieving higher grades and top test scores in all subjects
• Students carefully analyze each story and its clues, identifying logical associations between people, places, and things
• Includes step-by-step instructions and detailed answers

This 56-page book contains several of our best-selling deductive thinking puzzles. It develops the logic, reading comprehension, and mental organization skills vital to achieving higher grades and top test scores in all subjects. These award-winning, fun puzzles are also great for developing real-life, problem-solving skills!

Students learn to carefully analyze each Mind Benders® story and its clues, identifying logical associations between people, places, and things. The key is to make sure you get all the information out of each clue, by starting with the most obvious associations, then deducing the less obvious associations until everything finally fits together.

Step-by-step instructions and detailed answers are included. Puzzles increase in difficulty.

• This deductive thinking puzzles, develops logic and great for developing real-life, problem solving skills
• Develop reading comprehension, and mental organization skills vital to achieving higher grades and top test scores in all subjects
• Students carefully analyze each story and its clues, identifying logical associations between people, places, and things
• Includes step-by-step instructions and detailed answers