8 FREE McGuffey Resources to Help Kids Learn to Read

Did you know that McGuffey Readers can help kids learn to read for FREE? Homeschool families have used them for decades and you can too. We’ve put together a list of his readers as well as a free copybook below to help you homeschool!

What is a McGuffey’s Reader?

William Holmes McGuffey was an American teacher in the 180’s who wanted to help kids learn to read so created a set of books called the Eclectic Readers.

How Many Books are in the Original Series?

There were 7 books in the original set:

1. McGuffey’s Eclectic Primer – An reading introduction for beginning readers
2. McGuffey’s First Reader – Students then focus on reading basics.
3. McGuffey’s Second Reader – More advanced readers move on to reading comprehension.
4. McGuffey’s Third Reader – Next students work on reading proficiency.
5. McGuffey’s Fourth Reader – Students move on to more complex passages to read.
6. McGuffey’s Fifth Reader –Readers move on to critical thinking in this next primer.
7. McGuffey’s Sixth Reader – Kids work on difficult texts and more complicated themes in this final reader.

What is a Primer?

A primer is an older term but is just a book used to teach the basics of a subject.  It uses simple words as well as pictures to help students learn.  It’s also usually designed to follow a step-by-step sequence where the information builds on what the students previously learned

McGuffey’s readers became very popular in America because he used different types of fun stories with simple sentences.  Quite often these stories also taught a lesson like to be kind or honest and were more enjoyable to read.

Why Should I Consider Using a McGuffey Primer?

There are 3 reasons to consider using these primers to teach reading:

1. Start at the Beginning.  A primer is a really good starting point to help kids learn to read because they are designed to start at the beginning using simple words.

2. Logical Path  – While teaching methods may have changed since McGuffey first created these books, the step-by-step approach used in them can still be very effective today.

3, Available for FREE – Homeschool curriculum can  be very expensive but because these were published over 100 years ago, they are available for FREE in the public domain. You can get your FREE copy of each book using these links:

McGuffey’s Eclectic Primer

McGuffey’s First Reader

McGuffey’s Second Reader

McGuffey’s Third Reader

McGuffey’s Fourth Reader

McGuffey’s Fifth Reader

McGuffey’s Sixth Reader

Are there any Disadvantages to Using a McGuffey Reader?

The books in this series aren’t set up as an “open & go” workbook format like a lot of current homeschool workbooks.  As such, you’ll probably need time to organize the lessons and create any worksheets you may want to use with these readers.

To help you get started with the first book be sure to grab McGuffey’s Primer Reading and Writing Copybook below.  This 60-page printable was created by Kimberly Garcia who initially made it to help her children, but she has since made it available to all our Homeschool Giveaways readers to use for FREE!

You can grab your copy below and be sure to check out her other programs, Write Through History series, if you are looking for more writing and/or history resources.

Conclusion

Teaching our children to read is one of the most important things we can do as homeschooling parents. The McGuffey Readers can be a great FREE resource to use to help achieve that goal.