Rod and Staff reading sets

[mamalotsoftots]

I'm new to homeschooling & think that maybe having a structured program for teaching reading would be good for me until I 'get' what it is I'm supposed to be doing.

 

I'm getting ready to order the Rod & Staff Grade 2 reader set. I'm kind of hesitant though. I want to just get the whole set so I can go through it & familiarize myself with what I'm doing, how to teach phonics (I didn't know I needed to teach him phonics still) and the like.

 

Do you recommend them? I'm trying to decide between the Pathway readers (is that what they're called? The cheaper set of readers that R&S doesn't publish themselves) & the set they actually DO publish. I'm sorry to be so confusing!!! I'm rather confused myself still!!

[Ellie]

The Pathway readers are sweet :-) Adding the workbooks makes a more comprehensive course.

 

However, the 2nd grade Bible Nurture and Reader series materials have a scripted teacher manual and includes phonics as well as reading (you might think that "reading" and "phonics" are the same, but they aren't).

 

If your dc is already reading well and you'd just like some good reading material, Pathway readers would be fine. In fact, even R&S's readers alone would be good. If you think your dc actually still needs more instruction, then probably the BNRS materials would be better.

[Beth in Central TX]

I use the R&S reading program from 1st to 4th grade. For 2nd grade I did not purchase all of the units offered. It's a lot of work, and my goal was to work on their oral reading skill, reinforce the phonics rules, and improve reading comprehension. I purchased the reader for units 1-3 and the corresponding workbooks. Each unit has 30 lessons, so this represented 90 lessons for our school year. All 5 units include 150 lessons which I thought was too much for my 2nd grader.

 

I'm not familiar with the Pathway readers, so I can't compare the two.

 

HTH!

[anewday]

I use the R&S reading program from 1st to 4th grade. For 2nd grade I did not purchase all of the units offered. It's a lot of work, and my goal was to work on their oral reading skill, reinforce the phonics rules, and improve reading comprehension. I purchased the reader for units 1-3 and the corresponding workbooks. Each unit has 30 lessons, so this represented 90 lessons for our school year. All 5 units include 150 lessons which I thought was too much for my 2nd grader.

 

I'm not familiar with the Pathway readers, so I can't compare the two.

 

HTH!

 

We also do the reading program - we use it from 2nd-4th. Beth's idea on purchasing only 3 of the 5 reader sets is a great one - I should have done the same! It is a lot of seat work! This was how ours worked out, as I tweaked it to fit our style and goal after her 2nd grade year:

 

Grade 2 - all readers and workbooks (she did every workbook lesson in full which was too much)

 

Grade 3 - all readers and workbooks (I changed mid year to a more narration approach and kept her doing most of her workbook lessons). I don't think we got through the 5th reader and workbook.

 

Grade 4 - all readers and workbooks but I reduced her workbook lessons dramatically. Some lessons I only gave her A. and B. to do, some only C. or D. etc. I also had her narrate much more than year 3. Because I cut seatwork so much, she could do one lesson per school day instead of spreading it out to one lesson every 2 days which is what they recommended. Right now she is finishing up her 3rd reader and we are primarily doing narration.

 

HTH!

 

What I love about R&S's reading program for the early grades is that it familiarizes them with the Bible on a deep level! My dd really enjoyed it. R&S is a wonderful curric in so many respects! We will be continuing with their English and Math next year.

[mamalotsoftots]

My hesitation with not getting the phonics set also is he's coming from public school & I have no idea what he's done and what he's not caught onto. As the teacher is 'helping' the parent by not giving them much homework. For 99% of the parents that probably is helpful, but I have no idea where he's at!! LOL.

 

I've noticed that when he reads he sees what the word starts with & guesses what it is. Doesn't take the time to really look at the word. I guess phonics wouldn't really help this problem though.

 

Ellie ~ I had DS read to me their sample pages online Saturday, I really liked the story! I was sold after he read the story. lol. Then I looked deeper & seen these OTHER books. So many options! Thanks for your insight!

 

Beth, Thank you for point out how many lessons are in each book! Wow.!. That's a lot of lessons.

 

Thank you also Dawn for giving me an example of how one would use these books! :)

 

I think I'll go ahead with the Nurture set, but only purchase the first 2 or 3 workbooks & the first reader?

 

Thank you so much! It's so overwhelming to be looking for what you need & not know how much or how little you truly need. :)

[anewday]

Sarah, I forgot to mention that we did the phonics workbook for 2nd grade. That totalled 3 years of phonics for her and I think it was very useful. :)