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The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading is published
Edmund Burke Huey published this in 1908 and it served as the first comprehensive report on the history and scientific study of reading. Burke was one of the first psychologists to apply the scientific method to reading and it led to the development of the discipline known as literacy research. His reviews included eye-tracking studies and what they showed about pausing and rereading. Walczyk, J. J., Tcholakian, T., Igou, F., & Dixon, A. P. (2014). -
Beacon Primer
Introduced by Fassett as a famous and successful phonics method, this was later re-published in 1921. The 1921 edition is known for its change of moving the sight words to the back of the book, but the phonics instruction remains highly regarded. This helped pave the way for many other reserachers teaching blend phonics. http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/valuable_reading_programs_f.html -
Thorndike's Reading Comprehension Exam
Edward Thorndike brought his idea of Connectionism to classroom instruction and the pedagogy of reading and writing. He felt that frequently used words needed to be sequenced, target words needed to be repeatedly practiced, and correct responses should be praised. (Tracey and Morrow, 2012) -
Scholastic Magazine
Scholastic Magazine was started as a single classroom magazine and forged on a relationship with teachers. The magazine continued to grow and now Scholastic serves as thet world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. In more recent years, they have developed digital education programs worldwide. -
Debut of Dick and Jane books
These characters were introduced by an elementary school teacher as part of basic primer books for incorporating the "look-say" method into classrooms. Instead of using phonic exercises, these books constantly repeated a few words and a vocabulary list was included at the back of each book. The books contained extensive illustrations and Dick and Jane appeared in many sequels over the next few decades. -
Emergence of Silent Reading
Self-selection and pacing were two big factors that led to an increased focus on independent reading. Every child was thought to deserve an individualized reading program because they couldn't possibly get the attention they needed in a whole class or small group setting. Schools started to reserve 20-60 minutes each day for independent reading. (Heibert and Reutzel, 2014) -
B.F. Skinner- Operant Conditioning
B.F. Skinner called his classroom application of Operant Conditioning, "programmed learning," and it broke learning down into steps that maximized student success. This can be translated to teaching reading because of the way we read to children at a young age, then they start reading short text, and gradually progress to reading longer books. Chaining was the other term associated with Skinner, in which individual small skills are combined into a complex skill. (Tracey and Morrow, 2012) -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that established racially seperate schools to be unconstitutional. This overturned Plessy v. Ferguson which allowed for state sponsored segregation. The decision was still met with mixed responses across the country, but nevertheless can be considered one of the biggest decision in U.S. education history. -
Why Johnny Can't Read
Written by Rudolf Flesch, this book appeared on best-seller lists as it attempted to return reading instruction to a more phonic-centered approach. This went against the "look-say" and whole word methods that had previously been introduced in the Dick and Jane books. The book was a major turning point in what had previously been a stagnant world of reading instruction. As years went on, alternative methods were introduced and phonics were re-examined. -
Cat in the Hat
Although this wasn't Dr. Seuss' first children's book, it came at a time when creativity was needed for young readers. The books were visual, entertaining, and contained some useful vocabulary. Dr. Seuss went on to write and illustrate over 40 books and inspired a new genre for other authors to help children read with fun text. -
USOE starts research on different methods of teaching reading
During the time of the "Decade of Innovations in Teaching Reading," the United States Office of Education started reseraching other methods that were being used for first-grade studies. Some of these innovations included language experience, individualized reading, modified alphabets, and linguistic approaches. Ultimately it was decided that none of these innovations had a consistent advantage over another and they should still be considered supplements to basals. (Pearson, 2010) -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Passed by Lyndon Johnson, this provided Title I money for schools which provided an increase in the amount and type of aid that could be provided to struggling reading programs. This act was a big part of President Johnson's Great Society platform. -
"Learning to Read: The Great Debate"
This was much more than just one date, but Jeanne Chall completed this research to state her viewpoint on the benefits of code emphasis versus meaning emphasis when teaching reading to children. This meant that phonics should come first rather than a simple basal text. Chall's research served as a major turning point on the conventional wisdom of teaching reading. -
Kenneth Goodman
Goodman wrote, "Reading: A Psycholinguistic Guessing Game," in which he discussed the language that readers used as they tried to make meaning of text. He said readers use syntactic cues, semantic cues, and graphophonemic cues to reduce the uncertainty of unknown words. Therefore, errors were simply a window to the child's comprehension process instead of being a mistake. (Pearson, 2010) -
Nation's Report Card
Planning began in 1964, but the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) was given in 1969. NAEP looks at what U.S. students know and can do in the areas of math, reading, science, and writing. NAEP data is used by teachers, principals, policymakers and more to assess education and help improve best practice. -
Frank Smith
In a book titled, "Understanding Reading," Smith argued that reading was something that one learned to do instead of being taught. In other words, one learned to read from reading, so teachers were simply there to help instead of teach. A child didn't need a special background to learn to read, they just needed to be able to make sense of the information as it pertained to their environment. (Pearson, 2010) -
First Children's Literature Association Conference
This non-profit association of professors, critics, scholars, and others has met every year since 1973 to recognize exceptional service in the field of children's literature. The association recognizes books, film, or other media created for, or by children across the world. -
Louise Rosenblatt
Literature as Exploration (1976) and The Reader, the Text, the Poem (1978) were written by Rosenblatt where she argues that meaning is created in the transaction between the reader and document. Previously, researchers had claimed that meaning was found in the head of the reader or in the text itself. Her work is considered the most influential in reader response among reading educators. (Pearson, 2010) -
Center for the Study of Reading
This federally funded center focused national attention on comprehension and tried to introduce a variety of strategies to improve comprehension for students. Although the Center started the comprehension talk it soon spread to other educators in the form of transactional strategies, KWL's, and author questions. The importance of comprehension would soon be seen in basals at all levels. (Pearson, 2010) -
Creation of U.S. Department of Education
The mission is to promote student achievement and prepare U.S. students to compete educationally in the world. Additionally, the Department of Education monitors the funding used for education and collects data on America's schools. Equal access to education is ensured to all through the department's monitoring of education discrimination. (http://www2.ed.gov/about/landing.jhtml) -
A Nation at Risk
This report came from President Ronald Reagan's National Commission on Excellence in Education and basically asserted that America's schools are failing. Some interesting findings were that 23 million American adults were functionally illiterate and that we were well behind other nations on a comparative scale. All of this led to education reforms on the local, state and national levels. -
Becoming a Nation of Readers
Publication from the Center for the Study of Reading stressed the importance of "just plain reading" in elementary reading programs. Following this was the expansion of new children's books that was annually published. Previously, basals and instruction-based text were the focus in elementary schools, but this report helped promote independent readers. (Pearson, 2010) -
In the Middle: Writing, Reading, and Learning with Adolescents
Nancie Atwell attempted to influence teachers with this story about how exisiting literature and reading workshops could be more beneficial than basal programs. She stated that these things could accomplish more in skill development, while giving students a more engaging literary experience. This piece was considered so influential mainly because of Atwell's reputiation in the literacy world. -
1988 California Reading Framework
This legislation mandated the use of genuine literature instead of the excerpts and simplified stories found in basal programs. The impact here was tremendous as more challenging texts could be found at all levels. Basals no longer contained simple comprehension questions, but went to authentic activities to provide an engaging experience. (Pearson, 2010). -
Even Start
This federally funded program was intended to help low-income and low-literate families break the cycles that they were currently in. Major components of the program were early childhood education for children, adult education for parents, and parent assistance. In addition to education, families were given help in the areas of transportation, healthcare, and nutrition. -
Beginning to Read
This book from Marilyn Adams incorporates a phonics and whole language approach in trying to teach reading. Adams felt that teachers and researchers were too caught up in the debate over what is the right way and instead thought that there were mutlitple methods to help children learn to read. -
Whole Language
Although there isn't a specific date, the late 1980's and early 1990's were a key time period for the whole language movement. It started as a simple opponent of the basal readings, but eventually turned into the way things were taught in literacy. The movement is based on taking advantage of opportunities within lessons and developing skills through authentic activities. Teachers were instructed to fine-tune their teaching to a much broader approach to literacy. -
Goals 2000
Considered the predecessor to No Child Left Behind, this policy set standards based goals for educational reform. The overall idea was to develop world-class academic standards, measure student progress, and provide student support. Some specific goals were to have every adult American be literate and to increase the high school graduation rate to at least 90%. Goals 2000 was put into play by President Bill Clinton. -
Improving America's Schools Act
President Clinton signed this to re-authorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act with about $11 billion for schools K-12. About 75% of the money went towards Title I and other assets went to the Even Start program. The act also helped reform charter schools, drug-free schools, education technology, and disadvantaged students. -
Reading Excellence Act of 1999
This was a grant program intended to improve K-3 reading instruction in low-performing high-poverty school districts. The overall goal of the program was to teach all students to read by the end of the third grade and use research to improve teaching practice. In teaching students to read, students had to be able to read fluently, decode unfamiliar words, have a sufficient vocabulary background, and actively construct meaning from text. -
U.S. National Reading Panel
In 1997, Congress asked the Panel to review how children learn to read and determine the most effective method for teaching children to read. The Panel reviewed hundreds of thousands of studies and their results were a big part of No Child Left Behind. The Panel found that the best approach to reading instruction should incorporate phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and comprehension. -
Put Reading First
Based on the findings of the National Reading Panel to provide analysis and instruction for the reading classroom. The suggestions for classroom teaching are based on the NRP's findings of phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. -
No Child Left Behind
NCLB was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002 as a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. NCLB is a standards-based reform that requires states to create their own standards and give assessments in order to receive federal school funding. High standards and measureable goals were thought to improve individual outcomes in education. -
Race to the Top
Shortly after President Obama was elected, Race to the Top was enacted to try and incorporate competition while reforming America's schools. The following areas were emphasized: designing and implementing standards and assessments, attracting and keeping great teachers, and using effective approaches to turn around schools. The Act required a $4.35 billion investment and is trying to create college and career ready students. -
Adoption of CCSS
In 2009, development began on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) with the attempt to provide what students need to be college and career ready. In June of 2010, the CCSS was found to be reflective of core skills, appropriate clarity, informed by research, and comparable to other nations. In 2011, states began adopting the standards and have since modified curriculum and assessments to match.
