treestarfae Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm wondering what everyone thinks of basal readers? Do you use them? Why or why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I use R&S readers and I think they are considered basal readers. I like that they have a controlled vocabulary and that vocabulary is introduced slowly. I use them with my dd who is dyslexic and needs lots of repetition of words. My younger son doesn't need a basal reader. He can sound out words easily and can read real book at his level. My dd gets too frustrated over many unknown words. Lots of new names can really throw her off. Basal readers normally have a set of characters and a dc is not constantly trying to remember a new list of characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I never used them. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I am going to try Pathway Readers next year for my 8 year old. I feel that without them he is missing the comprehension and application aspects of reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 My DD's former principal offered us a set of the Scott Foresman readers the school had used in their prior adoption cycle (they'd just bought new ones), and I have to say those books have been GREAT for introducing DD to new authors and pushing her from the easier books to harder ones. Because they're big, bright, and colorful, with lots of pictures, she didn't see them as being as intimidating as the longer children's novels, but starting at 3rd grade, almost all of the stories in the basal were chapters of longer works-a single incident in a person's life from a biography, a chapter of a novel, and so on. As a result, she got introduced to, for example, Chester Cricket, and then went to the library and discovered multiple books about Chester and his friends-which she would have termed "too hard". As she's gotten older, more and more of the stories are historical fiction and biography, which often leads back to things that we've read in history. I also admit that I like that they have the terminology and comprehension questions printed right at the end of the story. I've since bought several other sets really cheaply at used bookstores and library book sales, and use them for oral reading practice, for reinforcing history, and for introducing a new book/author, as well as for DD to just read on her own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I am going to try Pathway Readers next year for my 8 year old. I feel that without them he is missing the comprehension and application aspects of reading. Well, you can accomplish the same thing by having your do narration. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorbackmama Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Overall, I like them. I know what all the "homeschooling experts" say about them, how they just are little snippets rather than real books, they squelch the love of reading in children, etc. Well apparently my kids didn't read the homeschooling experts' book because my anti-reading kids LOVED BJU's readers, and the stories in those readers inspired them to want to read the books the stories were pulled from. My oldest son (who is anti-reading) begged me to buy some of the Journeyforth books that he'd read snippets about in the BJU readers. If I had just bought them and had them around for him to read, he never would have. Are they great literature? Nah. But my kids have really liked them. My pro-reading kids have even pulled them out to read for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 i thought that the title of this thread was a strange way of saying thermometers. now this means you know two things about me: I am up too late and am not reading straight. and I do not use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I have a collection of old readers (1960 or earlier). The vocabulary is at a much higher grade level compared to the same grade readers of today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I use them when the child is just beginning to read, but I like the Free & Treadwell readers as they contain folk tales. That being said, I watched the 60 Minutes segment on Marva Collins and found in her books what readers she's using, and I bought a couple of those too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 They are a tool to be used in certain situations, with certain children. I'm looking to get a small collection of basal readers for my preschool readers because now that some of them are taking off, I think that having books around that they will be able to read on their level to themselves will be good for them. We have some Calvert phonics readers and I might get the Now I'm Reading set also. But for now I use free ones off line (progressive phonics) and this summer I may get the I See Sam series offline also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 In the sense of being a collection of stories for kids to read, I think basal readers are fine. I used to love to get a new reading book when I was in elementary school -- I'd take it home and read it that first night. I don't know what I did the rest of the year. Whether they're needed to learn to read? Nah.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treestarfae Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 i thought that the title of this thread was a strange way of saying thermometers. now this means you know two things about me: I am up too late and am not reading straight. and I do not use them. Lol! Get some sleep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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