Bill Gates

April 1, 2015

Gr 4-7-These enlightening and clearly written volumes cover the lives and careers of newsworthy individuals, flaws and all. Each slim title is textbooklike yet engaging, impressively meeting Common Core standards with comprehensible graphs and charts. Some especially notable student-centered features include "Straight to the Source," a section that highlights spoken or written quotes by the subject and presents follow-up questions, and "Explore Online" (also referred to as "Further Evidence"), which provides students with opportunities to compare and contrast material in the texts with a publisher-provided Common Core site). Another excellent resource is the "Stop and Think" spread, which contains activities that challenge students to write or think creatively. Solid, mostly color photos enhance the books. VERDICT Highly useful for current events units.

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