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Teacher Institutes and Normal Schools
Teacher Institutes taught teachers various methods on how to teach their students. Normal schools were schools that educated teachers. During the 1840's they spread across the nation and gained in popularity. -
Horace Mann's Seventh Report
Horace Mann's Seventh Report advocated for whole word teaching in school systems. A committee of 31 Boston School Masters refuted his claims in the report, but many school still continued use of the whole word method. -
Leigh Print
Leigh Print was developed by Edward Leigh and first used in Saint Louis schools. It was a self-pronouncing print that gained popularity until 1878, when it was dropped from many schools due to their beliefs that whole-word was better. -
Meikeljohn published "The Problem of Learning to Read"
Alexander Meikeljohn published "The Problem of Learning to Read" advocating teaching to read common words first, and exceptions later. This is still a commonly used technique in classrooms today: teaching the common basics of phonics to student first before introducing them to the many exceptions that we have in the English language. -
Teacher's Word Book
Thorndike published the "Teacher's Word Book", listing the most common 10,000 words in the English Language. This would serve as a useful tool in teaching students the words they would most frequently use. -
Dick and Jane
Dick and Jane were introduced to readers. These books relied on the whole-word or sight word method of learning to read. The books still utilized phonics, but with less focus. Many critics disliked the lack of multicultural characters and the books began to be used less and less as phonics became more of a focus in education. -
Brain Research
Brain research, using MRI scans, show that the brain reads sound by sound. This was huge for the fight for phonics in the classroom. -
National Reading Panel
The National Reading Panel was established in 1997, after Congress got involved, trying to determine how to change the high amount of illiterate young adults in the United States. Congress asked the director of the National Institute of Child Health and and Human Development and the U.S. Secretary of Education to create a panel of 14 education experts to determine the best ways to teach children to read. -
No Child Left Behind
No Child Left Behind legislation was passed. The Reading First portion mandates phonics and their use in the classroom. -
Jeanne S. Chall
Jeanne S. Chall published the book "Learning to Read: The Great Debate" which was a comprehensive look at hundreds of studies showing that phonics was more effective that the whole-word approach. The book was later republished in 1983 with new findings, strengthening her case for phonics. -
Davidson Reading Method
In my classroom we will have a "Daily 5" - five reading activities that the students will do every day. The five activities will include reading alone, reading with a buddy, listening to a book recording, word work, and working on writing. This will give my students a well rounded approach to learning to read.
