Determine the child's level. The McGuffey Readers are not labeled according to the child's school grade. There are only five levels of readers designed to take the child from first through 12th grade. The Paradigm Company, a publishing company of educational resources, recommends using the primer, first and second levels to teach your child through fifth grade. Then use the McGuffey Third Reader for middle school grades and McGuffey Fourth Reader for high school.
Choose the set of McGuffey Readers you want to use. The original versions are available in reprints, but you can also purchase revised editions. The original books contain significant Christian themes and references, moral lessons and some antiquated language. The newer books have updated the language and reworked the themes to make them more universally appealing. Either set of books will provide your child ample opportunity to read a variety of genres, so the set you choose depends on your personal preferences.
Begin oral reading. Sit down with your child to listen to him read aloud. Oral reading improves overall reading fluency and comprehension. Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise, authors of "The Well-Trained Mind," recommend listening to your child read aloud through sixth grade.
Help your child improve reading fluency and vocabulary. If he has trouble pronouncing a word while reading, gently help him sound it out. If he is unfamiliar with the word, tell him what it means and move on. Oral reading should not feel like a chore; it should be enjoyable so the child wants to continue reading on his own. As the authors of "The Well-Trained Mind" state, your purpose in the early years of reading is to "get the child to read quickly, well, and habitually."
Help your child improve reading comprehension. As your child reads aloud to you, ask questions about the text. Check basic comprehension (knowledge) by asking "Who?" "What?" "When?" "Where?" Then, check the student's understanding by asking questions like "Why?" "How?" Continue to work through the six levels of cognition as outlined in Bloom's Taxonomy: knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.