You might find that the basal series you are evaluating looks very different from the ones you were taught with in grade school. In fact, publishing companies have dramatically changed the formats of the basal readers in the past decade to meet the demands of changing educational objectives. Many of the stories include a variety of genres and are often pieces of high-quality literature written by famous authors and illustrators. The basal units are composed of integrated themes that can be incorporated into content subjects as well as the language arts. The lessons allow opportunities for listening, speaking, and viewing in the classroom, as well as reading and writing.
Emphasis is placed on tapping into students' prior knowledge about a story concept.
The teacher's manual gives suggestions for extended literature reading for a particular theme. The manuals give suggestions on promoting parental involvement. Decide which stories within the cluster theme will best meet the needs of your students. Because there exists a wide variety of reading levels within any classroom, decide what additional literature will be used for those students reading above or below the level of the basal stories. Many teachers implementing a balanced literacy program in their classrooms elect to use the basal stories within the Shared Reading component.