Does anyone still use McGuffey's Eclectic Readers?

[Surfside Academy]

I found 3 editions dating back to 1920 at a used book shop and bought them mainly for the nostalgia. I was wondering however, if anyone still uses them and if so, what exactly do you do with them?

[JAS]

I use one with my dd7. She reads one story to me every day. It helps her practice when to pause and exposes her to new words and ways of stating things.

[jolley]

Yes. My children started with Sonlight readers but the sections were too long for my oldest two; especially my dd who can read anything easily. We started reading the McGuffey readers for free online (www.oldfashionededucation.com). They LOVE them so I went ahead and have ordered them.

[Shelly in IL]

We use them for reading practice and use the progressive speller with my 7th grader for spelling. Thanks.

[Bula Mama]

I'm currently using the Primer with ds aged 5 that has been arranged into a copywork book that you can download for free at lulu.com :

http://www.lulu.com/content/1159762

 

He loves it!!! I've seen the more advanced books but have never actually used them.

[StephanieF]

Did you start with the first one? I remember that TWTM recomends starting with number 3 is there a reason for that? I haven't seen them in real life just on amazon. I like the idea that the language is a bit different than most books ds would have read before

Stephanie

[melmac]

.....

 

 

I'm currently using the Primer with ds aged 5 that has been arranged into a copywork book that you can download for free at lulu.com :

http://www.lulu.com/content/1159762

 

He loves it!!! I've seen the more advanced books but have never actually used them.

[BakersDozen]

I use the Primer to teach my dc to read, then they go to the first reader. If they really enjoy that I have them continue on. I think the Readers are so beautifully classic and if I had to choose only one thing for reading, these would be it.

[melmac]

We've been using them since 1st grade, until recently we used the free ones on the internet, I just had to finally buy a set- we love them that much and I have 3 kids who will go through them, so it's worth it.

 

Anyway, my dc use Pathway readers, but usually finish them before the "school" year is up, so then we switch to McGuffey's and finish up whatever level they're in at the time. I also like to pull copywork from them along with other sources.

 

So, IMHO I believe they are great and it wouldn't hurt for all children to be exposed to them in some way. :)

[brehon]

You bet! I inherited a complete set from my grandmother, including a spelling book, and I use them for my son to practice reading aloud to me and for copywork. I guess the language might be dated for some; but, as I'm an old fashioned kinda gal, it doesn't bother me in the least.

 

The primer does not generally follow a modern phonics program (at least not OPGTR; I'm not familiar with other programs), so I don't try to coordinate lessons. Any words ds is not familiar with, I read to him and give him a quick lesson on the "rule".

 

I plan on using all of the readers with my kids. As an aside, my mom and g-mom always said (usually in reference to messy hair), "Well, that looks like Ned in the first reader." Guess where that reference comes from!?:lol:

[Medieval Mom]

We love the McGuffey Eclectic Readers! My ds5 is almost done with the Primer. We've been reading one lesson per day. However, I'm not sure whether I should continue with a daily lesson (which would mean he's be finished with all six readers by the end of third grade!) or slow down to one to two lessons per week. Or, alternatively, use the 3rd reader for third grade, 4th for fourth, etc. ....... :confused:

 

Any advice would be welcome!

[LlamaMama]

Are these the ones that Peace Hill Press was selling at the conventions? I don't see them on the site, but they were carrying extra books at their booth.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

We use the Mott Media set from http://www.keepersofthefaith.com . It came with the Ruth Beechik parent guide and the progressive speller. I think the parent guide is helpful. keepersofthefaith.com also has workbooks, but I've never used them.

 

We learn to read with Spectrum phonics, the speller, and the primers. When we move up to the First Reader, we do one lesson per week. They practice read aloud skills and study the vocabulary and spelling. In the progressive speller they do about half a page per week.

 

To use the speller, they copy the words each day for 3 days and have a spelling bee on the fourth. They write the dictionary definitions to unfamiliar words.

 

If I had to to do over, I might buy the Elson Readers instead. I like the selections better and I think they're prettier. The McGuffeys have helped our boys become excellent readers and spellers, though, so we'll continue to use them all the way through.

[Kalypso]

We use them as read alouds in 2nd, 3rd & 4th. My kids have all enjoyed the stories.

[Chris in VA]

My daughter is reading the 3rd reader for fun. She was particularly excited when I told her it was the same book Laura Ingalls used!

[LauraL]

Thank you, Bula Mama; I'm going to download the copywork book right now!

[angela in ohio]

I have the Mott Media reprints. We use them for "elocution" (dc love to call it that.)

[LoveBaby]

I have the set from Mott Media. We use them for reading practice and the kids enjoy them.

 

I'd love to hear more how to use the progressive speller. Do you think the parents guide is worth purchasing?

[anissarobert]

We use them for reading practice and for elocution. I was going to say reading out loud, but Angela sounds smarter.

 

I love these books and Ray's Arithmetic, but I have to admit that I only use them as supplements. My dc are too modern not to demand some visual component to their lessons.:crying: However, I'm old fashioned enough, to demand that they use some older things. (One of my hobbies is collecting antique textbooks.) So we look for a balance.

[Medieval Mom]

As I posted earlier, we use McGuffey every day! I finally figured out our [tentative] plan last night:

 

K: Primer-- 1 lesson/day & First Eclectic Reader 2/week

1: Second Reader, 2/wk

2: Third Reader, 2/wk

3: Fourth Reader, 2/wk

4: Fifth Reader, 2/wk, first 85 lessons

5: Fifth Reader, 2/wk, Lesson 86 to end & Sixth Reader, Lessons 1-53

6: Sixth Reader, 2/wk, Lessons 54-end

 

I'll omit some lessons (or we'll just read through the extra) to come out even with our school schedule of 36-40 school weeks. Currently, we're using the Primer as an extra "learn to read" tool, as well as Alpha-Phonics. Once we get into first grade and the Second Eclectic Reader, I'll follow this schedule.

Monday: Read aloud lesson 1

Tuesday: Read aloud lesson 1 (focusing on oratory skills)

Wednesday: Read aloud lesson 2

Thursday: Read aloud lesson 2 (focusing on oratory skills)

Friday: Read aloud both selections as review

 

I'm also planning on using the "slate work" exercises and other interesting poetry, quotes, etc. for use in copywork and dictation exercises.

 

My son loves reading the Primer so far! He reads his daily lesson proudly to his daddy every night (and can spend quite some time staring at the pictures). It might seems stodgy to some, but we like them!:001_smile:

 

(Of course, we also use "easy readers" from the library, too. It's a nice balance between the seriousness of the McGuffey to have some silly, humorous readers to read, too!)

 

Oh... I took a look at the Elson Readers. They ARE beautiful!!!!! Wow!:iagree: Oh dear!

[Narnian]

We do. :) My son reads one lesson aloud to me 4x/week, and I require him to read and pronounce every word carefully and accurately. I know that when he reads to himself he still skips over some of the words he has a hard time with, so I will continue to have him read aloud from McGuffey's until his fluency improves.

 

I'm also thinking of using these for narration/dictation selections for WWE on occasion -- they're just the right length, and the sentences are perfect for copywork.