Homeschool Review Crew - Readers In Residence from Apologia Educational Ministries

Out of three children, I have only one who really enjoys reading, so I was thrilled to get a chance to review the Readers in Residence Volume 1 (Sleuth) (Full Set) from Apologia Educational Ministries, written by Debra Bell from a biblical perspective. It is a reading comprehension, literature and vocabulary curriculum intended for students in 4th grade through 6th grade or older students who struggle with reading comprehension. It can be used one-on-one or with a co-op group.

What is Readers in Residence from Apologia Educational Ministries?

The two-book set consists of the student book and the Answer Key.

The student book is colorful, thick, and provides the student with helpful, easy-to-understand instruction. It is designed to teach the student how to read to learn. It is broken down in Modules, which are small units with activities for any learning style, including:

Reading analytically

Book clubs to develop a sense of community in reading

Each module ends with questions that the entire family can join in on.

Applicable scripture is included throughout to teach students to look at literature with God's Word in mind.

Readers in Residence lays a great foundation for higher level reading for information. Students learn:

Elements of literature - plot, theme, characterization

Built vocabulary by collecting clues from the text

How to distinguish between genres

How to read for understanding, analyze and draw conclulsions from the text

How to make inferences from context clues

How to identify figures of speech

Develop critical thinking

The Answer Key contains answers to questions as well as:

Monthly Schedules

Rubrics

Checklists

The answer key is easy to follow, and the rubrics and checklists make it simple to grade and assess your child's progress.

  

This is a new reading curriculum that takes an engaging approach. It turns the student into a sleuth of sorts. The idea inside the cover of the Answer Key reads:

Your children have learned to read.

Now it's time for them to read to learn. 

It is aimed toward those in 4th grade through 6th and is suggested that you use it at least 4 days a week. My daughter is not only in the 4th grade, but we do Language Arts 4 days a week, so we were right there as the intended users of the curriculum.

The package arrived and included a thick spiral-bound student book and an Answer Key.

The books to read are the only part that is not included in the package, but they are easily readily available at the library or on our bookshelves already. The books the curriculum covers include:

Sarah Plain and Tall
Charlotte's Web
Because of Winn Dixie
Plus 3 books of the student's choosing

As an example of how the modules work, out of the First Module:

One covers nonfiction or fiction
One covers narrative or nonnarrative
One covers why genres matter
One covers historical fiction introduction
One talks extensively about the cover of the book
One has the student make predictions
One has the child create their own book cover
One discusses the book with family or friends

There is so much more. This is just a portion of the first module, and there are a total of 6 units with 14 modules throughout the book.

More information is found on this landing page along with many questions answered on the FAQ.

Debra Bell wrote a writing curriculum a couple years ago, called Writers in Residence. Now, it's time to focus on reading. Reading is more than just understanding phonics and being able to sound out the words on a page. The two programs are intended to be used either separately or together. If you use both the Readers and the Writers in Residence programs, it will cover the entire school year.

How Did We Use It?

The first thing I did was acquire the first book from the library. I presented it to my daughter and told her about the curriculum. To my surprise, she jumped right in and read the entire book while I was away helping with my parents one day. The curriculum, however, takes the student through the book step-by-step, reading a few chapters at a time. Since she had already read the entire book, it was time to slow down and now delve into it the best we could following the Readers in Residence guide.

What Did We Think?

First, I must say, that we love Apologia Educational Ministries and their approach to curriculum. I love how God and scriptures are always a consideration, written from a biblical worldview. I love how this is set up in modules, small snippets at a time. I love how everything is set out in an easy-to-follow format for both the teacher and the student and that it's not heavily teacher prep intensive, but is encouraged that the teacher interacts to get the most out of the program. Overall, it's a quality curriculum, packed with great information, and works well with the Writers in Residence which we also have.

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