Reading History

1
Reading History

• Education for Intelligent Citizenship, 1840-1880

2
Aims and Motives

• Instruction was to prepare people to discharge
  their duties as citizens intelligently (pg.70
  top)
• Prussian and Saxon influence particularly
  Pestalozzi (pg. 71-72)
• Articulation and elocution
• Knowledge, intellect, refine taste, moral and
  religious values (pg. 77 bottom)

3
Materials of the Period

• Still no teacher manuals
• Graded series of readers were an outgrowth of the
  graded system of placing children in schools
  all children (white) needed education
• Authors Worcester, McGuffy, Watson, etc.
• Patriotic selections declined, moral selections
  remained the same, more informational texts, less
  literature, more pictures

4
Methods of the Era

• Disappearance of the syllabarium
• More attention to moving from simple to complex
• Upper grades were given questions on vocabulary
  and comprehension
• Smaller number of new words with more repetition

5
Specific Methods Word Method

• See the word
• Hear it pronounced
• Illustrate the meaning
• Finally, analyze (letters, spelling,
  syllabication, etc.)
• Better than ABC method?
• Bumstead example of s-l-a (pg. 81 bottom To the
  Teacher)

6
Specific Methods Alphabet-Phonetic Methods

• A major departure from the ABC method (letter
  names, then syllables)
• Teach sounds of letters, with or without names
  (Thayer pg. 93 middle)
• Students can then read words because they can
  sound them out

7
Other new old ideas

• Spelling is integrated carefully into the readers
  and thought to be an essential part of reading
  (new)
• New emphasis on nature (Pestalozzi)
• New emphasis on punctuation
• Realistic narrative predominates
• Hard (cardboard) covers (new)
• Example of remaining moral values (McGuffy, 4th
  grade, p. 101 bottom)