The Basic Reading Series Is Back!

The BASIC READING SERIES — the renowned whole-word phonics program for beginning readers — is now available in a new low-cost, paperback edition. Parents, homeschoolers, and teachers can now instruct 5- to 8-year-olds to read with a proven program used by millions of children. Whether for individual or small-group instruction, BRS allows children to progress at their own pace until they are confident, independent readers.

The BASIC READING SERIES has a dedicated and faithful following among teachers and parents who want an alternative to discredited reading programs. The sixth edition of BRS keeps the program up to date without altering its time-tested rationale and sequence of word patterns. BRS retains its light and humorous touch and emphasis on honesty, courage, kindness, loyalty, and cooperation.

The Basic Reading Series

Why is the Basic Reading Series so successful?

• For Every Kind of Learner

Average children using the BASIC READING SERIES discover that there is nothing laborious about learning to read and that progress is easy and swift. Gifted children virtually teach themselves with the program and love the way BRS puts nothing in the way of their impatience to race ahead. Yet teachers of children with learning disorders are also among the biggest fans of BRS. That’s because the program puts such a strong emphasis on the regular and predictable features of the language before any irregular or confusing elements are introduced.

• Structure, Pattern, and Consistency

The carefully controlled structure of the series and the incremental buildup of predictable spelling patterns (or “word families”) makes the program almost self-teaching for many children. Once they learn a pattern, they can unlock dozens of words that fit the pattern. Irregularities and inconsistencies in English spelling commonly cause confusion and shake children’s confidence — but not in the BASIC READING SERIES! Rigorous adherence to regular, predictable spellings in the early levels lets children grow confident, successful, and enthusiastic. Then the irregular language patterns are introduced — in small, manageable steps.

• Language Is the Starting Point

Careful attention to language lies at the heart of the BASIC READING SERIES success story, starting with language that is already known to the children at the oral level . . . language that is structured to promote accurate discoveries . . . language that delights children at the outset with its lively jingles and rhyming appeal . . . language that goes on to achieve full naturalness at a remarkably early stage.

• Discovery: A Natural Way to Learn

We know that all children have a natural capacity for inductive learning. After all, they come to school possessing language — a language they learned wholly through observation and discovery. The BASIC READING SERIES builds on that natural ability and enables children to discover how the written form of their own language can be turned back into the words they already know and speak!

• Decoding Underlies Comprehension

The BASIC READING SERIES strikes the ideal balance in its treatment of decoding and comprehension by emphasizing each at the proper time. The language children already comprehend is the basis for their first decoding efforts. A brisk and concentrated approach to code learning produces confident, successful readers who can then undertake greater comprehension challenges.

• Independence Is the Goal

The BASIC READING SERIES turns beginners into independent readers as early as possible. By achieving early mastery of the phonic code (so that they can figure out new words for themselves), BRS students can more quickly give their full attention to meaning without interference from mechanical difficulties.

Basic Reading Series
Scope and Sequence

Here’s a selective overview of key phonic elements introduced at each level of the BASIC READING SERIES along with a typical passage that children can read by the time they complete that level.

• Level A: A Pig Can Jig

Short vowels a and i, 17 initial and 10 final consonants in 2- and 3-letter words, compounds formed from those words, and 14 exceptional words.

I hid the cat in Dad’s hat.

• Level B: A Hen in a Fox’s Den

Adds short vowels e, o, and u; initial g and y; final x; and 6 new exceptional words.

Why did the tomcat get up on the box of catnip?

• Level C: Six Ducks in a Pond

Adds double consonants, initial and final consonant digraphs, and 36 new exceptional words.

Fred asks, “Can Mrs. Scott and Nell swim in the pond next to the tracks?”

• Level D: A King on a Swing

Adds consonant blends, clusters of 3 consonants, and 55 new exceptional words (mostly common contractions).

“I don’t have any milk for lunch, Ann,” said Mrs. Chen. “The milk truck hasn’t come yet. I think it’s in the next block.”

• Level E: Kittens and Children

Adds vowel digraphs and diphthongs; the 5 “long” vowels; inflected endings; and multisyllabic words with unstressed first or last syllables.

Jean was alone and miles from home. It was plain that her leg was broken. She needed a hospital. Getting safely out of the mountains would be a difficult struggle, but Jean was brave. She made up her mind to try.

• Level F: The Purple Turtle

Adds r-influenced vowels; the “soft” sounds of c and g; “silent” letters; infrequent vowel spellings; and a number of isolated words spelled in irregular ways (been, heart, women, etc.).

Within eight blocks of Carlos’s neighborhood were four barbers, a grocery, and a large vegetable market. The library was right on the square, next to the dairy store. Carlos’s father, the doctor, had his office over the ice cream parlor.

Parents and Homeschoolers Love
the Basic Reading Series

“This teaching method is the most basic and effective way to build a solid reading foundation by building simple phonics concepts. This is not a sight word program. There is a short word list with every story. The stories are only written with what is on the list. Example: Dan, fan, man, ran, can. Your child will be filled with confidence after the first story. The entire series should bring your child well over a third-grade level. My child is already reading and sounding out words after the first book. I am extremely pleased.”
—Goody-2-Shoes, Amazon.com, July 19, 2013

“These books should be a requirement for children pre-K and up. My 4-year-old son learned to read by the age of 5 using these books. These books are a hidden gem. I am a mom that uses these books to supplement my child’s education in school when it comes to reading and not just memorizing words.”
—Cherline XO, Amazon.com, October 14, 2014

“I remember these books vividly. I was taught reading with these books back when I was in first grade in 1976-77. We went through all the titles and levels. The great thing is the way the books build on skills and are progressive. Based on level, our class was divided into small reading groups and each group was assigned one of the books based on where they were in reading comprehension. A Pig Can Jig, A Hen in a Fox’s Den, Six Ducks in a Pond, A King on a Swing, etc. Here I am 40 years later, and I vividly remember these books and highly recommend them.”
—August A. Galifi, Amazon.com, May 30, 2017

Teachers Praise the
Basic Reading Series

“The ‘basal’ series I have found most successful and wonderful for readers through the third grade — and a lot of work, but worth it — is the BASIC READING SERIES, written by Donald Rasmussen and Lynn Goldberg. In all my 30 years of teaching, the only two classes of students that made it to my eighth grade reading on grade level (or very close) were the classes (pretty much kept intact) that experienced this series in grades one through three. Rasmussen and Goldberg had great perception in knowing how to teach children how to read, and great creativity in developing this program. The essential philosophy/approach of this series has been around for over 50 years. There is definitely a reason: it’s excellent and teaches reading enjoyably.”
—James Charnock, Amazon.com, July 4, 2015

“I have been doing daycare for over 20 yrs. I have taught close to 100 kids to read with this series. And I mean REALLY read. Most enter as the top reader in their kindergarten classes. Years later they are still exceptional readers. My daughter was tested at 8th grade level reading in the 1st grade, and she was not an unusual case. I believe that the systematic use of this phonics book is essential to growing a good reader. The bonus is all the children enjoy this series. I have never heard one complaint when we begin our work. The lessons are simple, short, and last a lifetime!”
—Lisa Stewart, Goodreads.com, January 19, 2013

“In the 1970’s and 80’s I used this series with children identified with ‘dyslexia’ or ‘specific learning disorders’ to use the terminology of that era. (A terminology I prefer, by the way, because ‘special needs’ is too vague.) It was especially helpful with kids who were discouraged by previous failures in reading. The stories were fun, and the logical progression of phonetic patterns gave the pupils a stable, firm foundation for reading and spelling. It was the best of many programs I had tried.”
—M.C. Sears, Amazon.com, June 19, 2022

The BRS Story

Dr. Donald Rasmussen and Lynn Goldberg developed the BASIC READING SERIES in the early 1960s at the Miquon School, a small parent-teacher cooperative near Philadelphia. At that time, most children were taught to read using the “sight” or “look-say” method epitomized by the “Dick and Jane” readers, and many were left behind. Don and Lynn knew there must be a better way, so they spent five years developing their own reading program based on the work of the renowned linguist Leonard Bloomfield. They called their method “inductive whole-word phonics, with a strong linguistics research base”.

After tryouts in inner-city and suburban schools around the country and almost a dozen revisions, the BASIC READING SERIES was published by Science Research Associates (SRA) and enjoyed great success. Over the years, other reading methods have come and then gone out of favor. Now, decades later, phonics is recognized as the scientific approach to reading instruction, and the BASIC READING SERIES is once again available.

Ordering BRS Readers and Workbooks is Easy!

Basic Reading Series components are printed and shipped by Amazon.
To order single books or the entire series, simply click on the links below.

Basic Reading
PO Box 10191
Berkeley, California 94709
info@BasicReading.com

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