McGuffey Third Eclectic Reader 1857: With Instructions for Use with Charlotte Mason Teaching Methods (McGuffey's New Eclectic Readers)

McGuffey’s Third Reader begins with lessons on articulation and marks and pauses (punctuation), then moves into 86 language arts lessons, each based upon character-building stories, essays, and poetry. Focus: Reading and Spelling Grade level: Mid to upper elementary or as needed Format: Paperback; 5 x 7.75" Content: 86 lessons plus introductions to articulation and marks and pauses, 270 pages. The third reader begins with lessons on articulation and marks and pauses (punctuation). The articulation lesson reviews some of the words from the last half of the second reader, while the punctuation instruction provides a brief overview of the basic punctuation marks and their uses. Each of these lessons includes a note to the teacher and the articulation lesson includes a model for class drill. These introductory lessons are followed by 86 language arts lessons, each based upon character-building stories, essays, and poetry. Each paragraph or stanza is numbered, which makes it easy to assign portions of a passage or poem as copywork, recitation, or narration. Additional short lessons and teacher notes are found throughout the text. In this reader, students will find spelling words listed at the beginning of each lesson. The first spelling and vocabulary lesson in the third reader contains words from the story that follows, including learn, richly, culling, harvest, cause, wintry, engage, livelong, youth, summer, leaving, and brightest. Practice Spelling with McGuffey Readers provides an overview of how to use these spelling words. Most stories and nonfiction pieces are followed by a few questions about the text. In her review of the 1857 Readers, Cathy Duffy writes about a question in the third reader, "The first instruction, to relate the story, is essentially asking the child for an oral narration. The following two questions require students to think beyond the content of the story for their answers. This guided discussion stretches beyond narration but still fits the spirit of Charlotte Mason’s ideas." You may choose whether or not to use the provided questions. I would not use any that were simply questions of fact, but would instead substitute narration or a simple conversation about the story or poem. The nice thing about the third reader, as with the rest of the series, is that you may adapt it to suit your needs.