Are you looking for quality readers for seventh grade? These vintage school readers, published in the late 1800s and early 1900s, are now in the public domain and free online. You’ll find well-known classics like Elson, Treadwell, and Wheeler, as well as several other lesser-known series. You may download the books for your child to read on a computer or tablet or print the books.
Why Choose Vintage Readers
Vintage readers offer beautiful classic literature, rich vocabulary, and charming illustrations. The stories are age-appropriate and typically encourage strong moral values. There’s also something special about reading a book that’s been used in schoolhouses and homes for over a hundred years. Perhaps your child’s grandparents or great-grandparents enjoyed some of these same readers when they were in school.
Free Seventh Grade Readers
The grade levels some of these vintage readers were intended for may not line up exactly with current grade-level expectations or your child’s reading level. So, in addition to the seventh grade readers listed below, I’d recommend taking a look at other grade levels, too. Our Vintage Graded Readers page includes free readers for primer level through eighth grade.
Baldwin’s School Reading by Grades: Seventh Year
The Carrol and Brooks Readers: A Reader for the Seventh Grade
Everyday Classics Seventh Reader
The Golden Rule Series: The Golden Word Book
Graded Literature Readers: Seventh Book
Holton-Curry Readers: The Seventh Reader
The Kipling Reader for Upper Grades
The New Barnes Readers: Book Seven
Reading With Expression: Seventh Reader
Treadwell’s Reading-Literature Series: The Seventh Reader
Wheeler’s Graded Literary Readers: A Seventh Reader
The Purpose of Teaching Reading
This excerpt from the introduction of Wheeler’s Graded Literary Readers: A Seventh Reader (1919), co-authored by William Wheeler and William Crane, gives an overview of the purpose of reading.
It is not possible to do anything rationally without first having in our possession a perfectly clear conception of the purpose for which the thing is done; for the purpose is the only thing that can show how the thing is to be done correctly. Therefore, in the preparation of a series of readers the first thing to be determined is — The Purpose of Teaching Reading.
The Purpose of Teaching Reading is unquestionably to enable the child to get from a printed page the Images, the Thoughts, and the Emotions of the author who wrote the page.
No good literature has been really read unless the reader has been able to attain from the printed page these three things — the Images, the Thoughts, and the Emotions of the writer.
The teaching of reading consists in using all of those processes which will lead the child most directly and certainly to the ability to interpret correctly the printed page.
As the reader’s introduction continues, it describes these purposes in more detail and the process of teaching students to read and interpret literature.
Not a Typical Literature Textbook
Vintage readers aren’t just another literature textbook. Using classic literature, they teach skills like oral reading, reading comprehension, and vocabulary development while instilling positive values. But what makes them truly special is their long history. Families have loved them for generations. So, while browsing the internet for free homeschool resources, don’t overlook these gems. Whether it’s the familiar stories and poems or the charming illustrations accompanying them, these vintage readers are a treasure trove waiting to be rediscovered.
More Resources for 7th Grade
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