How do you use McGuffey readers?

[Jackie in NE]

Right now I'm using them as a read-aloud with my 3 youngers. I read the story or poem, and then ask them comprehension type questions. We talk about words that they don't understand, and basically reinforce the moral teaching in the story.

I also have my ds read aloud to me from them. He struggles a bit with reading and needs the extra practice.

The readers seem to progress rapidly in terms of difficulty. How do I stretch out the "lessons"?

What else have others done with these?

TIA:bigear:

Jackie

[Jackie in NE]

anyone?

[clarkacademy]

there is a site called oldfashionededucation.com and a yahoo group called 3RHOMESCHOOLING that I know could help you I also know that the ones that were put out by mott media have the teacher guide hope that will help you

[Laurie in VA]

We use McGuffey's as readers for my DD. She tired of Bob Books after the 1st two boxes, so we moved to the Primer. She has completed that and the 1st reader and is now in the 2nd. She reads from McGuffey's 2-3 x/wk and chooses other books the other 2-3 days. Nothing exciting, but it's how we do it here!

[GretaLynne]

Whichever (or both) as age appropriate. That's the only thing that's coming to mind at the moment.

We use McGuffey too, and really like it. But for us it's a supplement and we use Elson (complete with review questions and worksheets) as our "primary" program.

[Jackie in NE]

We use McGuffey too, and really like it. But for us it's a supplement and we use Elson (complete with review questions and worksheets) as our "primary" program.


Is there someplace where I could see the Elson worksheets? I'm thinking that perhaps I could make something similar for my McGuffey lessons.....

Thanks, Jackie

[GretaLynne]

Yes, here's the link:

http://www.lcbcbooks.com/

I can't link you directly to the sample pages, but click on readers on the left hand side, then The Elson Readers. Then click on whichever level you're interested in, then the Read Excerpt button near the top.

[Jackie in NE]

This is perfect. Thanks.

[Camy]

I have been using McGuffey Readers with my 9 year old boy for about 3 years.

He is currently in the Second Reader.

We do one lesson per week. Our method of using these books consists of him reading aloud the same lesson each day, working on his reading and public speaking skills. He then copies one sentence from the lesson (copywork, grammar, and penmanship skills).

The Second Reader also has a long spelling list after each lesson. I extract 10 words from the list and have my son copy them once each day.

On Fridays, I give him a spelling test (featuring the words he copied all week) and a few sentences of dictation.

These exercises are kept in a 3-ring binder. I like to use the blank compostion notebooks, and I noticed that Walmart is now selling composition notebooks geared specifically for the younger set. These have the 3-line format w/ a blank area above the page for making illustrations.

I know this isn't the most exciting and entertaining way to use the McGuffey Readers, but I have been amazed at how much my son has learned. My son is used to the routine of doing this each day, and it takes less than 1/2 hour! We are able to kill many birds with one stone.

Blessings!

[Jackie in NE]

Thanks, Camy.

You've given me some good ideas. I might adopt some of your practices with respect to spelling, copywork, and dictation.

An aside:
I've been using the composition notebooks you mentioned for art. My little guys draw a picture and then construct a sentence which summarizes what they've drawn. It has been SO much fun.

Thanks for your help on McGuffey's.

Jackie