Bess Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 This is for my grade 4 son. What I want is a reading program that incorporates him reading a text/story, then doing reading comprehension assignments following. I'd like for him to be able to do this rather independently, and then I can check his answers. I think I've narrowed it down to Bob Jones reading (from what I've read from reviews), but I'm confused about what I need to actually purchase. Do I need to buy the teacher's stuff or just the student stuff? Can anyone help me?? I don't want to call BJUP because I don't want to be talked into buying more than I actually need/want. Thanks for any thoughts on this. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 BJUP is not an independent program. While it does have a workbook, the majority of the reading comprehension questions are in the Teacher's Guide. Abeka might be more of what you are looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BizyPenguin Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 You can easily do BJ reading with just the student reader, student worktext, and teacher's worktext to check answers. That's how we used the program and it was PLENTY IMO. As it turned out we grew tired of the stories and the workbook pages were a drag too, so we dropped this (we were using their 5th grade) in favor of a living books approach to reading with oral discussion. In the fall we'll probably do Mosdos with just the student reader which includes comp questions, vocab, and info about literary devices and literary elements, as well as other info right in the student reader. Many recommend CLE reading, but the workbook pages turned me off. I know my ds would have really disliked it. Anyway, good luck choosing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neesek Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 BJUP is not an independent program. While it does have a workbook, the majority of the reading comprehension questions are in the Teacher's Guide. I agree with this. BJU is a great reading program, but it is not designed to be independent. Most of the information you need to actually teach the program is in the teacher's edition, like the comprehension questions, vocabulary, and literary elements. If you do use the program, I would recommend at least the Teacher's Edition, the student text, and the worktext. The flip chart and TE for the worktext are nice, but you could probably make do without them. I personally use all five items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Bess, like the others said, the BJU reading is teacher-driven. I just got the gr 5, and all the comprehension and discussion is in the tm. I've used the VP lit guides in the past for what you're describing, and they are great. Or for even less time-consuming, the comprehension test booklets by McCall-Crabbs work fine. You give them 3 minutes to read the short selection and do as many of the multiple choice as they can, then grade. You could do two of them and a chapter out of the VP lit guides each day, no problem. For the McCall-Crabbs, I made a sheet with the letter choices (A-E, numbers 1-11), so she could just go through and circle her answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 BJUP in general is oriented towards classroom or distance education via Homesat, which is why they have the BIG teacher's manuals. I love their science and am fine with the big TE there, but that was a big negative for me last year when I was looking for separate reading programs for my two children. I didn't want to have to teach and discuss two reading programs, I wanted to hand them something to finish on their own and have me grade. We ended up with CLE reading, and am very pleased. We're fine with the very plain workbooks and readers. Both children's reading scores on standardized testing were superb and way above last year. The one downside to me is that it is only a one-semester program for 4th and up, so you have to figure out something else to fill in or do two grades in a year (my oldest did the 4th and half of the 5th this year). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BizyPenguin Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 if you only use the three components that I mentioned. There is plenty of meat in the program even if you do it this way. I got this tip from a mom at HSR. Yes, you will miss a few things, but you will still cover plenty without all the teacher intensiveness. FWIW I did have the main TM with all the comp questions and vocab, etc. I wanted it just in case...but I found that using BJ with just the student reader, student worktext, and teacher's worktext to check answers was great. We stuck with this for 3 months before jumping ship. Clearly others disagree with doing it this way, but I just want you to know that if you do it this way it won't be so teacher intensive, which IMO sucks the enjoyment right out of a program. As I mentioned before, this program was not a good fit for my ds, but it is still an excellent choice for a reading program. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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