PowerBasics

Power Basics content and design contributes greatly to the program’s coherence. No background knowledge is assumed. This levels the playing field for all students in the differentiated classroom. Plus there are several features that contribute to the coherence of the text, such as heads and subheads, short, manageable lessons, clear examples of concepts, frequent opportunities for practice, and ongoing assessment.

One of the most important features of Power Basics is that each book has been divided into short, manageable sections with directly stated main ideas. Each section begins with an explicit learning goal and a list of words to know that students will encounter in the lesson. A brief practice activity follows each section of text. These practice activities are frequent, and help reinforce what students have just read. Brief activities are less overwhelming than long practice activities often found in traditional textbooks.

To ensure access for diverse learners, Power Basics uses a combination of controlled reading level and text organization to facilitate understanding. Sentences use simple structures and the active voice. Ideas follow logically from one sentence to the next, and linking words are used to show relationships among ideas.

Each lesson introduces key terms needed to understand the lesson content. These key terms are listed at the start of the lesson, appear in boldface type the first time they are used, and are clearly defined in context, using familiar words and concepts to explain the new terms.

Each lesson in Power Basics introduces a few essential new concepts, and elaborates on them to make them understandable to learners. Power Basics provides clear examples for each idea presented. Power Basics also contains explicit transitions from one topic to another.