We use Harcourt Storytown

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Home : 2008 : February : 21

We use Harcourt Storytown
By Teaching2nd

We got the brand spankin-new 2008 version in September. I teach 2nd and there is a lot to it!!! I was very overwhelmed at first and spend hours planning my reading for the week. It does get better with time and as the kids
become more accustomed to it.

If you are used to doing a story a week (which I am) it is tough to get every piece in. The series is heavy on grammar, fluency, and comprehension. I give the weekly comprehension check-ups and they are much longer than the old Harcourt and much more involved.

I love the robust vocabulary piece---definitely raising the bar there! The kids

are introduced to some challenging words. My kids are doing well with it and have impressed me with their use of the words in everyday conversation.

I find that I cannot get to all the writing that they suggest. I am working my way through it for the first year. There are some errors in the teacher manual and on some student papers. I think they will clean up the errors.

The stories on CD are terrible! Very disappointing. The narrators are like robots. My kids read much more fluently and with expression!

Good luck!