Week 9 Post - Basal Reading

The Tompkins chapter seemed to support the Basal reading program.  In one part of the chapter, they say that some teachers feel that they are limited with the textbooks, while others feel it's a great resource.  I feel that the Basal reading program is an easy way out for teachers.  Students should be reading tradebooks from second grade on.  The Basal reading program does not provide students with the full version of a book, they shorten the stories so the students are not getting the full effect.  I think the Basal reading program is great for first year teachers, but after your first or second year when you become more familiar with the curriculum and your atmosphere, you should step away from this reading program and be creative!  My CT strongly disagrees with the Basal reading program.  The third graders in my field placement read tradebooks and my CT has actually created packets full of comprehension, vocabulary, and prediction exercises for the students to complete as they read through the book.  By reading an entire book, students are able to see the full plot of the story, and learn more about the characters in the story.  The Basal reading program seems choppy, jumping from book to book.  I feel that you can learn the same content, such as spelling, grammar, vocabulary etc... by completing worksheets after each chapter of a book, instead of multiple shorter versions of books.