reading curriculum

Make Reading Lessons Interesting with Questions

September 26, 2017 by Megan

I often tell other homeschoolers that reading is my favorite subject to teach. I love the deep, enjoyable conversations that my daughter and I can have over a fairly short and simple reading selection. I love the fact that she’s not just learning phonics and vocabulary but also how to think critically about the things she reads. That’s a skill that will enable her to be a lifelong reader and a lifelong learner.

So how does our reading curriculum foster these conversations? Through a four-level questioning approach.

On the first day of every school year, my daughter and I get out the brand-new reading books from BJU Press, look at the tables of contents, and excitedly preview the selections we’re going to read over the next few months.

But last year, both us had to stifle a bit of disappointment when we saw that Reading 2 included the full text of the classic children’s book The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy, which tells the story of Petey the puppy and his search for a boy to love. Our disappointment wasn’t because the book wasn’t good—it’s a wonderful book, one that we have enjoyed. But we had already read it many, many times—so many times, in fact, that both of us had part of the text memorized. I wondered how I, as the teacher, would be able to hold my daughter’s interest through the several lessons that the Lesson Plan Overview allotted for that particular selection. Wasn’t she going to get bored reading something so familiar?

I shouldn’t have worried. My daughter and I both ended up enjoying this selection. She enjoyed reading it, and I enjoyed teaching it. The multilevel questioning approach in the BJU Press Reading curriculum ensures that my daughter and I can have interesting, meaningful discussions about The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy or any other of the selections because it guides us in looking at the text from several different angles.

Angle 1: Literal

When you look at the discussion questions in your Reading Teacher’s Edition, you may notice that some of them are labeled as literal. These questions are designed to assess the most basic level of comprehension—the answers are easily found in the text itself. For example, one of the first questions in The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy is “What is Petey?”

Even though it’s sometimes tempting to skip over these “duh” questions, we as homeschoolers need to ask them because we need to make sure that our children are reading carefully and are understanding what they read. However, if we ask only literal questions, our children are going to get bored really fast.

Angle 2: Interpretative

The selections in our reading book get a whole lot more interesting with the use of interpretive questions. With these, our children have to use the text to draw conclusions. For example, in The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy, I might ask why Petey’s mother is worried after she returns without a boy for Petey. The text doesn’t spell it out; my daughter has to infer the reason from the conversation Petey and his mother have.

Angle 3: Critical

Thinking questions take our discussions to an even deeper level. When I ask critical questions such as “Why do you think the boy Petey found is outside by himself?” or “Why do you think the lady allows Petey to come inside?” my daughter has to think beyond what’s stated in the story to make evaluations, predictions, and applications. Often, these types of questions lead to biblical-worldview building opportunities as we apply the Bible to what we’re reading.

Angle 4: Appreciative

Appreciative questions are useful for helping to draw my daughter into the selection. While we were reading The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy, I asked her about a time when she really wanted a particular gift for Christmas or a birthday. When I did so, she suddenly sympathized much more with our puppy-protagonist and his disappointing search for a boy.

If you’re interested, take a look at the reading curriculum I’m using this year. You can also check out some of my other posts about the BJU Press reading curriculum:

Learning About the Big Story in Reading

December 13, 2016 by Megan

The world is preparing for yet another Christmas. My family enjoys a lot of things about Christmas—the lights, the food, the special family time, the gift-giving—but I don’t want us to become preoccupied with those things to the extent that we forget about why we celebrate the holiday in the first place. I want my children to understand how the Christmas story fits within the storyline of the Bible. BJU Press reading curriculum is helping me reach that goal.

One of the things I love about the third edition of Reading 2 is the Bible retellings. When BJU Press revised the curriculum, they added four Bible retellings (one in each reader) in order to help develop a child’s biblical worldview. These selections recount the main storyline of the Bible (Creation, Fall, and Redemption) and challenge the student to apply these worldview-shaping truths to other selections as well.

The first Bible retelling at the end of the first reader deals with the first two major parts of the biblical storyline—Creation and the Fall. Honestly, this was one of my favorite selections in the entire first reader, and I felt that it was one of the most profitable. My second-grade daughter has heard this story countless times at home, at church, and during the first couple of weeks of our Bible curriculum. But covering it during “reading class” was different because we were able, with the help of the Reading 2 Teacher’s Edition, to dig deep into the narrative. The questions in the Teacher’s Edition not only deepened my daughter’s understanding of the significance of Creation and the Fall but also paved the way for some needed spiritual conversations.

During this Christmas season, we’ll have the opportunity to read the second Bible retelling that’s located at the end of the second reader. This selection recounts the birth of Jesus and highlights how God fulfilled His promise to Adam and Eve by sending mankind a Redeemer. Again I’m impressed by the questions in the Teacher’s Edition. They will help my daughter understand the significance of the incarnation as well as its connection to the Creation/Fall narrative in Genesis. I’m already anticipating some good discussions about the evidences of true faith and the sovereignty of God. What wonderful truths to have on our minds throughout the Christmas season!

Later on this year, we’ll continue learning about God’s redemptive plan by reading two more selections: one about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and one based on future events foretold in the book of Revelation. Again, these selections cover material familiar to us. But they’re a vital part of my daughter’s education. They explain the big story of the world. They teach her to value the things God values. And they help her think biblically and rightly about the world around her.

Interested in learning more about this reading curriculum? View some sample pages from the student readers and the Teacher’s Edition of Reading 2.

Does My Advanced Reader Need a Reading Curriculum?

October 20, 2016 by Megan

Last spring, my daughter’s first-grade class took the Iowa Assessments^®. The test confirmed what my husband and I already knew—my daughter excels at reading. At that point she was already reading at a third-grade level, and I have no doubt that her reading skills have only increased since then, considering that she reads during almost every spare moment of the day.

So why am I teaching Reading 2 this year? Why didn’t I skip Reading 2 and go straight to Reading 3? It’s not uncommon for homeschoolers to skip grade levels in certain subjects. It’s also common for homeschoolers to skip the reading curriculum altogether if they have a child who is an avid reader. So why do I use a reading curriculum at all? Why don’t I just let my daughter loose in the public library? Below are some of my thoughts as I struggled with some of these questions.

The Importance of Reading Choices

Many homeschoolers as well as educators in traditional schools write about the benefits of allowing students to choose their own reading materials. They argue that students who make their own reading choices read at a higher reading level than those who read only from a prescribed reading list. They’re right. Allowing students to choose what they read does result in higher reading comprehension. Why? When students are more motivated to read, they tend to choose materials that contain vocabulary they’re already familiar with.

My husband and I do give our daughter some freedom to choose her own reading material. She spends most of her free time reading historical novels that were written for a fourth- or fifth-grade audience. She’s being stretched as a reader, and that’s important.

The Power of a Reading Curriculum

But we knew that we also needed a reading curriculum. We needed a curriculum that would give me opportunities to teach my daughter literary and critical thinking skills so that she can wisely evaluate and appreciate what she reads.

BJU Press’s reading program combines a basal reader with the study of a novel in order to help me accomplish those very goals. I love all the opportunities I have to help her develop literary skills. Right now, in her first reading book, we are reading a dramatized version of the book A King for Brass Cobweb. Before we started reading, we discussed features of drama such as stage directions, the role of the narrator, and the separation of the plot into different acts. We also discussed some key vocabulary words such as what it means to be a citizen. All of that preparation work helped boost both her comprehension level as well as her appreciation for the piece.

BJU Press’s reading program also does a phenomenal job of teaching critical thinking skills. These higher-level thinking skills take time to develop, but they’re a critical part of the educational process. The development of these skills was one of the main reasons we decided to use Reading 2 this year (as opposed to using Reading 3).

Because of my daughter’s reading abilities, I have made some adjustments to the curriculum. I rarely spend any time on phonics although there is a phonics component to almost every lesson. Sometimes we pick up additional books from the library to supplement some of the nonfiction selections. I also use the included Book Activity lessons and Sustained Silent Reading lessons to encourage my daughter to read books that more closely correspond to her reading skills.

An Essential Combination

Letting a child choose his or her own reading materials or working through a reading curriculum are not mutually exclusive approaches to developing reading skills. Instead of pitting one approach against the other, use them both to develop reading skills and passion.

My daughter isn’t bored by her reading curriculum. She has enjoyed the selections that we’ve read and is always eager to start reading class. I am too. BJU Press has made it easy for me to share with my daughter my own enthusiasm for reading, and I’ve enjoyed watching her grow in her ability to critically evaluate and appreciate what she reads. However, I know that a lot of her reading success doesn’t come from the reading curriculum. It comes from her almost constant reading of books and other materials that she enjoys. Through them, she is developing a lifelong love of learning that will keep her mind challenged for years to come.

You can view the BJU Press Reading program I’m using here.

The Importance of Developing Comprehension Skills in Elementary Reading

June 9, 2016 by Megan

My oldest daughter, a rising second-grader, reads everything—books, magazines, catalogs, advertisements. I even caught her reading the teacher’s edition for a high school Bible textbook one afternoon. Is she an awesome reader? Absolutely. Does she understand everything she reads? Probably not. That’s why reading is such an important part of her curriculum.

A reading curriculum in the elementary school years is not just about learning how to sound out words, even though phonics plays a big part in kindergarten and first grade. Reading class is primarily about the development of reading comprehension skills.

My daughter has been using the BJU Press curriculum since preschool. In the fall, we’ll be using the third edition of Reading 2 in our homeschool, so I’ve been spending a lot of time with the curriculum. Below are some ways I have found that it promotes reading comprehension.

Introducing New Vocabulary in Context

Our children won’t be able to understand a text’s meaning if they don’t understand the meaning of the individual words that make up that text. The Teacher’s Edition always directs us as teachers to introduce new vocabulary words before our children start reading.

Teaching Reading Skills and Strategies

In Reading 2, before our children read a selection, they are directed to the Reading Focus page(s), where a particular reading skill or strategy is emphasized. The information on these pages will help our children better understand and appreciate the accompanying story.

Exercising Pre-reading Skills

Before reading, our children are also directed to take a look at the title page of the selection. We as teachers then ask a series of questions designed to challenge them to make predictions about the text. That exercise not only gets them excited about reading but also sets the stage for better comprehension.

Using Various Levels of Questions

If you are using any of the BJU Press elementary reading textbooks in your homeschool, you know that every teacher’s edition is full of questions. Reading 2 is no different. These questions, based on the four levels of Barrett’s taxonomy (literal recognition or recall, inference, evaluation, and appreciation) are designed to help our children think about the reading selection on a lot of different levels. They also help us assess how well our children understand the text.

Reinforcing Learning

After our children read a selection, we’ll have opportunities to review vocabulary and reading focus skills. We’ll also get another opportunity to read the selection, but usually in a different way (such as turning a narrative story into a drama). These exercises continue to build comprehension.

I’m really excited about using Reading 2 in my homeschool next year. It’s filled with a lot of great selections that I know my daughter will enjoy. But, most of all, I’m anticipating that through this curriculum she will continue to grow in her ability to read with understanding.

Have you used BJU Press’s elementary reading curriculum? What was your favorite feature?