Options for 4th grade reading program

[Shawneinfl]

I have a son who is reading at about 3rd grade level. He struggles with speed and fluency. We are currently using the Houghton-Mifflin 3rd grade readers (used in Calvert) which he really likes. I think it is the colorful artwork and amount of words on the page that appeals to him.

I am looking for a similar option for next year but I don't see a lot of "readers" for 4th grade.

Any suggestions?

TIA,
Shawne

[Chris in VA]

Well, by that time and at that level, couldn't you just use whole books? You can ask questions or take narrations for comprehension, make up a list of vocab you would like to make sure he knows, etc.

[Shawneinfl]

but he really enjoys the reader and I like the idea of progressing at a leveled pace.

[kayinpa]

There is pathway readers, but I think it is only one book for 4th. CLP Nature Reader, McGuffey. Those are a few that come to mind.

[Shawneinfl]

The CLP Nature readers look good but I was definitely looking for something colorful.

[Shari]

Look at BJU. It is Christian rather than secular, though, if that is not a problem.

http://www.bjupress.com/category/Grade+4+Reading+for+Homeschool+HS?path=1106

[aquiverfull]

Another vote for BJU. When I bought the 5th grade BJU books I had a Houghton-Mifflin book from our local public school. I compared them side by side and I thought BJU was VERY similar.

[Ferdie]

Another vote for BJU. When I bought the 5th grade BJU books I had a Houghton-Mifflin book from our local public school. I compared them side by side and I thought BJU was VERY similar.

We are using BJU reading 3 and 4 this year. My children have enjoyed the diversity of reading assignments and the workbook helps reinforce key concepts.

[anniet]

I vote for BJU. I also have a daughter who struggles with reading. She should be going into the 5th grade but I just purchased the 4th grade BJU reading. I haven't used it yet but I thoroughly researched the curriculum and I am very impressed. I like the fact that they still review over phonics in the 4th grade which will be helpful to my daughter. We formally used Rod and Staff reading but the workbooks were too difficult for her to complete. I also bought and sent back CLE readers which was even more difficult than Rod and Staff.
BJU is quite expensive but I think well worth it.

[Shawneinfl]

Thanks, I'll have to give the BJU a good look at FPEA next month. It looked kind of expensive but maybe I don't need the tm and all the extra stuff.

[chiguirre]

The HM readers continue through 6th grade even though Calvert only uses them through 3rd. The reading work pages in the Calvert materials are almost all from the HM workbooks (a few pages are not, but those are usually things like story maps or dictionary practice that are easy to replace). You can order the HM workbooks from Amazon, oddly enough, so they're not hard to get.

[Mommyfaithe]

but he really enjoys the reader and I like the idea of progressing at a leveled pace.

RUN...don't walk...to CLE...It is not really pretty, but it has added so much to my dd's comprehension and love of reading. She can pick out a simile or metaphor in anything we read. She can scan a poem, determine a rhyme scheme and analyze it.

I really love CLE and think it is an amazing program. Wish i knew about it when my older kiddoes were younger.

~~Faithe

[ElizabethB]

Most of my remedial students with speed and fluency problems needed more phonics, not more reading.

You can give him the MWIA to see if he could benefit from more phonics training, I also have a test called the "New Elizabethian Test" that uses nonsense words to find phonics deficits, it's correlated to my online phonics lessons. The tests are here:

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/readinggradeleve.html

Besides my lessons, good remedial reading programs for an older child are "Rx for Reading: Teach Them Phonics" by Ernest Christman, Back on the Right Track Reading by Miscese Gagen, and my favorite, Webster's Speller.

One of my recent 5th grade students went from reading a grade below grade level to reading 3 grade levels above after working through my phonics lessons, Blend Phonics, and Webster's Speller. He made this progress in 2 months, we met with him twice a week as part of a class of 9 students (volunteers from my church helped out.) He watched my lessons on his own on the off days, and also played my concentration game with his mom on his off days, here's the game:

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

[Shawneinfl]

Elizabeth,
We are in level 2 of All About Spelling and it is going well. It is strong in teaching phonics and spelling rules. Do you think that will suffice?

[Shari]

For the op, if at all possible I strongly urge you to buy the TM's if you choose to use BJU. BJU does not consider their TM's optional or only as 'answer books.' The entirety of the teaching instruction is in the TM, giving you questions to ask for critical and literal interpretation of stories, as well as telling you exactly what to cover each day as far as phonics review and other stuff. They really are *essential* to teaching the course as intended.

The books are expensive if you buy them all new, but are readily available online and on Ebay. I have the isbn#'s for Reading 3 if you'd like them. It is sometimes easier to search the Net by an isbn and find a good deal than depending on the boards. Just my .02.