Basal Reading Approach
WHAT IS IT?
“The Basal reading approach is an all-inclusive set of commercially produced materials for providing classroom reading instruction” (Vacca, et al., 2015, p. 44). Basals are used widely throughout the country, providing an organized, systematic, sequential approach to literacy instruction. “Basal stems from the word "base" or "basic." Commonly called "reading books" or "readers," basal readers are short stories, including individual books for learners, a teacher's edition, workbooks, assessments and activities for a specific reading level” (Braunshausen, n.d., para. 1). The Basal reading approach dates back to the 19th century, at which point William McGuffey published the first set of McGuffey Readers. The primary books in the McGuffey Reader set followed an approach to learning to read that focused on phonemic awareness and decoding. When a new series of readers was developed for older students, the focus shifted to oral reading, presentation, and reading for understanding (Braunshausen, n.d., para. 2). Today’s basal reading programs include a teacher’s edition, complete with prereading and postreading activities and assessments, scripted questions to be asked throughout a story, as well as student books that are often leveled in order for teachers to match text to student ability. Typically whole group lessons, as well as small group activities are included in a commercial basal program (Vacca, et al., 2015, p.44). Many of today’s basal reading programs, such as Houghton-Mifflin’s Journeys, offer additional resources like digital learning tools, and RTI suggestions.
The goal of a basal reading approach is to provide systematic instruction to all students. With scaffolding, differentiation, and multiple assessment opportunities, a basal approach is designed to provide access for all students to quality instruction that meets today’s standards. Some teachers would argue, however, that the basal approach does not provide enough variety in instruction to meet the needs of all types of learners. “The approach can make it difficult to teach gifted, talented, advanced students and students with learning disabilities. Because the program is progressive, students who have less language understanding at the beginning of the program could start at a disadvantage. Basal readers may be too rigid and not engaging enough for students because they do not match children's interests” (Braunshausen, n.d., para. 5).
WHO IS IT FOR AND HOW IS IT USED?
Basal reading programs are now widely available for students ranging in grades kindergarten through eight. While there are often intervention programs available to target specific groups of students, Basal programs are typically utilized by whole schools or districts. In the case of Houghton Mifflin’s program, it is stated that “as students use Journeys over time, across multiple school years, the positive impact of the program grows stronger” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015, para. 1).
Today’s commercial basal reading programs are designed to target all areas of reading, including decoding skills, vocabulary development, fluency, as well as comprehension skills and strategies. Many also include “if-then” instructions for additional focus on areas in which students are struggling.
MY REVIEW
There is no question that data can indicate reading success when utilizing a basal reading approach. Publishers of such programs have worked hard to ensure that they are aligned with the standards, and present reading instruction in a systematic manner. Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of such a program is that it takes a lot of the “guesswork” out of the equation. That being said, I feel that this is also one of the disadvantages. I feel that basal programs lend themselves to teachers blindly following the program rather than offering thoughtful, responsive, appropriate instruction that meets the learning needs of individual students. In my eyes, for a basal program to truly be successful, it needs to be implemented by a teacher who is willing to be flexible, and who is skilled enough to offer supplemental materials and instruction to truly meet the needs of each and every learner.
“The Basal reading approach is an all-inclusive set of commercially produced materials for providing classroom reading instruction” (Vacca, et al., 2015, p. 44). Basals are used widely throughout the country, providing an organized, systematic, sequential approach to literacy instruction. “Basal stems from the word "base" or "basic." Commonly called "reading books" or "readers," basal readers are short stories, including individual books for learners, a teacher's edition, workbooks, assessments and activities for a specific reading level” (Braunshausen, n.d., para. 1). The Basal reading approach dates back to the 19th century, at which point William McGuffey published the first set of McGuffey Readers. The primary books in the McGuffey Reader set followed an approach to learning to read that focused on phonemic awareness and decoding. When a new series of readers was developed for older students, the focus shifted to oral reading, presentation, and reading for understanding (Braunshausen, n.d., para. 2). Today’s basal reading programs include a teacher’s edition, complete with prereading and postreading activities and assessments, scripted questions to be asked throughout a story, as well as student books that are often leveled in order for teachers to match text to student ability. Typically whole group lessons, as well as small group activities are included in a commercial basal program (Vacca, et al., 2015, p.44). Many of today’s basal reading programs, such as Houghton-Mifflin’s Journeys, offer additional resources like digital learning tools, and RTI suggestions.
The goal of a basal reading approach is to provide systematic instruction to all students. With scaffolding, differentiation, and multiple assessment opportunities, a basal approach is designed to provide access for all students to quality instruction that meets today’s standards. Some teachers would argue, however, that the basal approach does not provide enough variety in instruction to meet the needs of all types of learners. “The approach can make it difficult to teach gifted, talented, advanced students and students with learning disabilities. Because the program is progressive, students who have less language understanding at the beginning of the program could start at a disadvantage. Basal readers may be too rigid and not engaging enough for students because they do not match children's interests” (Braunshausen, n.d., para. 5).
WHO IS IT FOR AND HOW IS IT USED?
Basal reading programs are now widely available for students ranging in grades kindergarten through eight. While there are often intervention programs available to target specific groups of students, Basal programs are typically utilized by whole schools or districts. In the case of Houghton Mifflin’s program, it is stated that “as students use Journeys over time, across multiple school years, the positive impact of the program grows stronger” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015, para. 1).
Today’s commercial basal reading programs are designed to target all areas of reading, including decoding skills, vocabulary development, fluency, as well as comprehension skills and strategies. Many also include “if-then” instructions for additional focus on areas in which students are struggling.
MY REVIEW
There is no question that data can indicate reading success when utilizing a basal reading approach. Publishers of such programs have worked hard to ensure that they are aligned with the standards, and present reading instruction in a systematic manner. Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of such a program is that it takes a lot of the “guesswork” out of the equation. That being said, I feel that this is also one of the disadvantages. I feel that basal programs lend themselves to teachers blindly following the program rather than offering thoughtful, responsive, appropriate instruction that meets the learning needs of individual students. In my eyes, for a basal program to truly be successful, it needs to be implemented by a teacher who is willing to be flexible, and who is skilled enough to offer supplemental materials and instruction to truly meet the needs of each and every learner.