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3000 BCE
Clay Tablets
The first known writing system was created in ancient Mesopotamia by the Sumerians. Clay tablets were used to write in cuneiform script, making that the first writing system invented. -
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The Enlightenment Era: John Locke & Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Throughout the 18th to 19th centuries, universal education began to spread. Philosophers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau influenced education. Locke used lettered blocks to teach reading to young children and Rousseau emphasized the use of natural materials with less books/words. -
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Dick and Jane Books
A book series seen mostly between the 1940s through the 60s focused on the "whole word" method of reading instruction (the oppenent of phonics at the time). These picture books had limited vocabulary and mostly narrated the illustration on the page. -
Jeanne Chall: Stages of Reading Development
Chall develops the Stages of Reading Development. There are 5 stages starting at birth and ending at age 18+. Chall determined that reading develops in a hierarchy where skills build upon each other. -
Early Childhood Education Act: Even Start Program
As part of the EDEA (created in the 1960s), the Even Start Program was created to improve literacy of parents to ultimately improve the literacy of young children. -
Every Student Succeeds Act
Created to replace the "No Child Left Behind Act", the ESSA improves the quality of low-income and low performing schools as well as increased the standards and expectations of all students to reach their highest potential starting at the Pre-K level.