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The History of Reading from 1607-1807
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The Earliest Period of American Reading Instruction (1607-1776)
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The Hornbook
o “The first piece of instructional material specifically mentioned in American records.” (Smith, Pg. 14)
o Extremely popular throughout the colonial period. o Primary uses include catechizing in church, and used in schools as a tool to introduce children to reading instruction. o Their appearance resembled a wooden paddle.o The last advertisement of hornbooks that could be found appeared in 1760. (Smith, Pg. 15) -
The Protestant Tutor
o Printed by Sam Green
o Sold by John Griffin
o The first reading textbook printed in America
o Originally printed by Benjamin Harris in 1679 -
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“A New Era in Reading Instruction” (1776-1840)
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Noah Webster
o Became a teacher after graduating from Yale College in 1778
o The shortage of reading texts in American schools was becoming apparent, and Webster knew something needed to be done
o “Produced the first set of readers written by an American author.” (Smith, Pg. 40)♣ Published in 1783, the readers were titled, A Grammatical Institute of the English Language o Wrote his dictionary from 1807-1827 -
American Spelling Book (1783)
o Written by Noah Webster
o Had sold 100 million copies by the end of the century
o Taught students how to read and spell, as well as teach lessons regarding subjects such as morality. -
The New England Primer
o “The authorship of The New England Primer is generally ascribed to Benjamin Harris, who also is credited with originally printing The Protestant Tutor
o “The first reading textbook specifically designed for the American colonies.” (Smith, Pg. 17)
o Included the alphabet, stories, verses, and rhymes.
