Yippee! You are now on Day 5 of the Riverside eBooks Series!
If you missed a day, please be sure to get your ebooks (10 books a day) for Day One, Two, Three and Four.
Ok, recap. On Day Four I concluded with stating the 1886-1887 recommended reading list was for a “Fourth Reader Grade”. However, what exactly does “Fourth Reader Grade” mean? Does it mean it’s for a fourth grade student? Don’t you like how I can make things complicated?
It appears the answer is “sorta”. Using information from the 1895 edition of Old China by Charles Lamb (Bonus Book!) the readers were used in various grade levels depending upon location (see image below). I’m seeing references of “Fourth Reader Grade” books listed from 4th grade all the way to 9th grade. For example, if you were a student living in Cambridge, Massachusetts during this time period you would be reading these books from your 6th to 9th grade; however, if you lived in Longview, Texas you would have read them from 4th to 6th grade.
My grand takeaway is you can’t base grade level upon the book number (see Day Two book list). For example, books 47 and 48 are for a lower grade level than books 7 and 8. The organized person in me yearns for the the books to be in order by reading level, like graded readers. However, at least it is valid to say these books were intended for elementary/middle school students.
Since we are currently entrenched in the elementary years, I’m glad homeschooling allows me the freedom to add books such as these into our curriculum. We are not limited by the “current trend” or the latest test preparation packet. We can take time and savor great literature, enjoy the richness of vocabulary and relive the past with words written long ago.
Day Five eBooks
Webster’s First Bunker Hill Oration; Adams and Jefferson
Biographical Sketch, The Bunker Hill Monument, Adams and Jefferson (87 pages)
Dickens A Christmas Carol and Cricket on the Hearth
- A Sketch of the Life of Charles Dickens, The Chronology of Dickens’s Principle Works, The Purpose or Aim of Some of Dickens’s Novels, Passages in the Writings of Dickens Especially Adapted for Reading Aloud, A Word About “A Christmas Carol”, A Christmas Carol in Prose Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, Questions and Suggestions for Teachers, Passages in A Christmas Carol Suitable for Oral Reading, Subjects for Written Exercises, The Cricket on the Hearth A Fairy Tale of Home (112 pages)
Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading
Preface, Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading, Various Poems and Stories (98 pages)
The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers. In Two Parts.
Introduction, Chronological Table of the Lives of Addison-Steele-Budgell, Critical Estimates, Sir Roger De Coverley, Index (193 pages)
Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare.
Introductory Sketch, Preface, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice, Cymbeline, Macbeth, All’s Well that Ends Well, The Taming of the Shrew, The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night: or What You Will, Timon of Athens, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Othello, Pronouncing Vocabulary
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
Introduction, Dramatis Persona, Julius Caesar with Notes (103 pages)
Malory’s Book of Merlin, and the Book of Sir Balin
Introductory Sketch, Caxton’s Preface, The Book Of Merlin, The Book Of Sir Balin, Glossary (86 pages)
A Selection from Whittier’s Child Life in Poetry
- Selections from Child Life (100 pages)
- Child Life in Prose found after page 100 (96 pages)
The Song of Roland Translated by Isabel Butler
Introduction, The Song of Roland, List of Words Not in Common Use, Translator’s Note (156 pages)
Scudder’s The Book of Legends
Preface, The Proud King, St. George and the Dragon, The Bell Of Justice, How The Lame Man And The Blind Man Helped Each Other, King Cophetua And The Beggar Maid, William Tell, The Dog Gellebt, The Wandering Jew, The Legend Of St. Christopher, How The Princess Was Beaten In A Race, Abraham and The Old Man, The Image and the Treasure, The Flying Dutchman, The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, The Little Thief, The Fair Melusina, The Brazen Head, The Monk And The Bird (82 pages)
Wow! Our five day journey is complete. Thank you so much for following along. It’s been a delight sharing these books with you.
Ok, your e-bookshelf should now have 50 books from the Riverside Literature Series. If not, please be sure to check out the books listed on Day One, Day Two, Day Three and Day Four.
Looking for more great content?! Head on over to iHomeschool Network’s 5 Day Hopscotch. Great content. Great subjects. Go!
