The basal reader plays an important role in vocabulary instruction. In a basal reader, vocabulary words are carefully and deliberately chosen according to the ability level of the reading assignment. Therefore, it can be used by students to learn reading-level appropriate vocabulary words in context. Rather than present a list of required words for students to memorize, instructors can assign a story or chapter from the basal reader so that students learn words by gleaning meanings from contextual clues in the sentences.
The basal reader arranges short stories and excerpts of longer stories in a single book. The reader draws upon classics and traditional fables, especially in the primary years. In fact, the reader is criticized for including only established writers of the children's literary canon and excluding a lot of minority and women writers. However, it is essential for students to understand the literary and cultural references to these established texts. Therefore, instructors can use the basal reader to supplement other texts and narratives read in class, so that students read a diversity of texts, including texts within and outside of the traditional canon.
The basal reader includes different practice and assessment tools, which can be very useful for an instructor to teach a certain concept or set of reading skills. For instance, early elementary readers include practice on phonics and word analysis. Such practice is incorporated into a reading assignment. While the instructor should not rely on the reader to teach students these important literacy skills, the reader can be used to reinforce and provide additional practice in diverse skill areas.
Basal readers have an important role in a balanced literacy framework because they are useful resources for teaching basic reading comprehension in both fiction and non-fiction. For instance, a teacher can assign a short reading from the textbook and ask questions of students to assess comprehension of read material. The textbook provides reading comprehension questions, but the teacher can also create her own based on the reading.