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The Colonial Period
The Protestant migration was a major influence on reading instruction in colonial America.The primary goal of reading instruction was to enable participation in religious life.Reading materials were religious in nature. Primer, Psalter & Bible to teach reading & spelling. -
Noah Webster
Webster created the first dictionary in order to standardize American language and spelling. 1985, Noah Webster wrote Speller and grammar readers. The lessons progress by age level. The Blue Black spell sold 24 million copies. -
Hornbooks and Primers
Young children used a hornbook to learn the alphabet. Instruction was based on the alphabetic principle. Texts progressed from the alphabet to syllables, then to reading religious passages. -
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1776-1839
After the Revolutionary War, education’s focus changed to creating a unified democracy. Secular material began to appear in textbooks and had a moralistic focus. They began to include:
Fables
Riddles
Real stories with moral message -
Friedrich Froebel
Friedrich Froebel established the first kindergarten and emphasized the importance of play in learning. McGuffey Readers were the first leveled books, becoming more challenging with each progressive volume. -
Horace Mann
Horace Mann was an education reformer who advocated for universal secular free education. He felt that education was foundational to good citizenship.Horace Mann started the first teacher training programs. -
Period: to
1840-1880
Education was considered to be a vital means for intelligent citizenship and for building a strong economy. The aim was to prepare students to be good citizens and functioning members of society. -
George Furnham
George Furnham promoted the Look-Say Method, which is also known as the “recitation method.” Students repeated the teacher’s reading which was in complete sentences. -
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1880-1910
Reading was viewed as a cultural asset and the moralistic focus began to diminish. -
Sarah Louise Arnold
Sarah Louise Arnold was an American educator who taught children how to identify, select and read good literature.
Structuralist approaches emphasized sentence structure, patterns of sentences and grammar. -
Edmund Huey
Edmund Huey wrote The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading, which attempted to describe the cognitive processes of reading. -
Period: to
Behaviorism
Behaviorism manifested itself in reading instruction through the focus on observable reading behaviors that could be measured using standardized assessments. Behaviorism became the overarching psychological paradigm of this period.
Behaviorism suggests learning can be studied and understood through observable behaviors. -
John Watson & Classical Conditioning
John Watson, known as the Father of Behaviorism, theorized that reading is a behavior composed of isolated skills which can be reinforced to increase achievement. Watson was the first to apply Classical Conditioning to human behavior. He also suggested that documentation of behavior related to learning would help make psychology a true science. -
John Dewey
John Dewey was one of the first constructivists in America. Dewey's theory was based on Unfoldment Theory. Unfoldment Theory was developed by Rousseau, Pestalozzi and Froebel. Dewey focused on the growth of individuals, the environment, and the role of the teacher. He believed students must actively create their own learning and they build on previous knowledge to make sense of what they are learning. Dewey's philosophy became known as Inquiry Learning. -
Edward L. Thorndike and William S. Gray
Edward L Thorndike & WIlliam S Gray witnessed the development of numerous assessments. William Gray created the first oral reading assessment. This assessment required teachers to judge the quality of their students responses. -
MIlford Matthews
Milford Matthews introduced words in the earliest stages and immediately had children decompose words into letters. -
Period: to
Scientific Movement
The birth of the Scientific Movement in Education started a period of intense research and application of scientific theories.
Researchers focused on interest, disabilities, and readiness. -
Jean Piaget
Piaget proposed that there are four stages of cognitive development. Piaget’s theories provided a framework for teachers to create developmentally appropriate lessons for children. -
Preprimer
The preprimer was invented during this period. Preprimers were used for the children that were learning to read. There were a limited number of words. Supplemental materials appear and the term “reading readinesss" used. -
Arthur Gates
Work Play books by Arthur Gates were introduced. The books were divided into two parts. Part one focused on acquiring skills and part two focused on play and enjoyment. -
William H. Elson And WIlliam S. Gray
William H. Elson and WIlliam S. Gray join together to create this series for the Scott Foresman Company. Basal Readers were focused on comprehension. Children read silently to find answers to comprehension questions. -
Period: to
1935-1950
Reading instruction is viewed as a driving force for Democracy.
NEA (National Education Association) published a study that revealed little progress was being made in reading.
There was a rediscovery that many soldiers in WWII couldn’t read adequately to do their duties. As a result, there was a dramatic increase in remedial reading programs at the high school and college levels. -
Elson-Gray Basic Readers
Elson-Gray Basic readers revolutionized the American reading curriculum, using a limited vocabulary and simple illustrations and introduced the popular characters, “Dick and Jane.” -
Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow introduced his Hierarchy of Needs which was designed to explain human motivation. -
B.F. Skinner
B.F. Skinner, building on the work of Behaviorists such as John Watson and Edward Thorndike, applied his theory of Operant Conditioning to a classroom setting. He proposed using this method to teach students, using reinforcement to achieve desirable outcomes. Behaviorism created an understanding of reading as a complex act consisting of component parts -
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1950-1965
Reading knowledge continued to expand and technology began to revolutionize teaching. The larger focus on equity and accessibility in society drove social changes in the schools. -
Rudolph Flesch
Rudolph Flesch wrote Why Johnny Can’t Read in 1955 as a critique of current reading materials he considered insipid and boring -
Jeanne Chall
Jeanne Chall’s book, Learning to Read: The Great Debate had an enormous impact on beginning reading instruction. The goals for reading instruction included comprehension, interpretation, and application. -
Period: to
Cognitive Development
Theories of Cognitive Development had a significant impact on reading instruction during this time period.Theories of Cognitive Development had a significant impact on reading instruction during this time period. Constructivist theory became an important force driving educational trends during this period. Constructivism emphasizes the construction of knowledge by individuals. -
The Theory of Literacy Development
The Theory of Literacy Development (Donald Holdaway) explained the developmental nature of literacy. Emphasized the importance of a rich home literacy environment.Explained a method of teaching that would encourage literacy development. Researchers in the 1970’s found that proficient readers employ a number of metacognitive strategies during reading that aid in comprehension. -
Schema Theory
Schema Theory is also a constructivist theory. People organize everything they know into schemata. This includes everything that occurs in their lives and it is individualized. The differences in schema greatly influences learning. -
Comprehension Focus
Improvement of comprehension skills was a focus. Strateiges and routines included: Trasactional strategy instruction, graphic organizers, and questioning the author. -
Louise Rosenblatt
Transactional/Reader Response Theory by Louise Rosenblatt extended the application of Schema Theory to reading. She argued that each reader’s experience is unique based on his or her individual schema. -
Whole Language
Dr. Kenneth Goodman’s work (1967) lead to the development of whole language approach. Readers recognize whole words as parts of language. Meaning and strategy instruction were also a focus. Social interactions are promoted as well as the use of authentic text. Whole Language is a philosophy that suggests that reading is a natural process that will develop when children are immersed in high-quality literacy environments. -
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Neuroscience and Education
Scholars saw the value in studying how the brain functions when a child is learning to read. Examining reading abilities lead early intervention needs and special education needs. -
Reading Recovery
Marie S. Clay (1992), founded of Reading Recovery to serve low-achieving readers. -
National Reading Panel
NRP In 1997, assessed the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching children to read. -
Family Literacy Theory
Denny Taylor coined the term Family Literacy theory in 1983 to describe and build on the embedded literacy practices in the home -
Reading Wars
The Reading Wars is an ongoing debate about the best way to teach reading. There are two main camps: Whole Language and Phonics. Whole Language is primarily a top-down approach with a focus on utilizing a student's background knowledge to facilitate comprehension -
No Child Left Behind
NCLB-No Child Left Behind Act 2001 required all public schools receiving federal funding to administer a statewide standardized test annually to all students. The goal was to close the gap with accountability.