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Jan 1, 1500
Alphabet Method
Use of the alphabet method was a very early approach to teaching reading. Recitation was followed by hornbooks and then primer readers -
Battledores and Spellers
Reading instruction shifted to a phonics focus, with the instructional materials consisting of a tri-folded book with illustrations. Later, a syllabary method came about, where students learned a table of syllabic sounds before reading text. -
Whole Word Approach - Focus on Meaning
Amongst advocating many educational reforms, Horace Mann, the "father" of the progressive movement, advised the use of whole words so students would have meaning to their reading instruction.
The very popular McGuffy readers came to use at this time. Including teacher instruction and activities, the readers were used successful across the country, in a variety of school settings. -
Phonics Readers/Reformed Alphabet
Occurring at roughly the time of the Civil War, some educators pushed for students to know not only the name of the letter but also the sound. Phonics Readers were developed. Elsewhere, others thought that students would be better off with the used of an invented alphabet, with a one-to-one correspondence. The second method did not last long as it was quite confusing to use two systems. -
Synthetic Phonics
In the late 1800's, the synthetic phonics approach began in earnest. Students were first taught the letter sound, then were taught blends in order to create a whole word -
Sentence Method & Story Method
Greater emphasis was placed on the meaning and understanding of what was being read. In the sentence method, students were shown a picture and asked about it. The students responses were written down, and then the sentence was read together. The story method involved the repetitive reading and memorization of a story, like a fairy tale. When presented with the text, the thought was that the students would be able to use the memorized text to correspond to the written text. -
Scientific Research Influence - Silent Readers
Literacy education changed around the turn of the 20th century with research being conducted into how and why a student reads. It was discovered that students had a higher level of comprehension when they read silently rather than orally. This was the beginning of a researched methodology approach to education -
Basal Readers
Reading instuction continued to evolve with the introduction of basal readers. Many are familiar with the Dick and Jane series, which was primarily a whole word approach, focused on a suburban Caucasian family and their adventures. The books contained word lists and instructional plans for teachers, and were used for 50 plus years. (Sidenote - Diversity was introduced into the series in the late 60's) -
Return to Phonics
"Why Johnny Can't Read and What You Can Do About It" was written by Rudolph Flesch in response to the current reading instructional methods. He advised a return to teaching phonics, and in his tome, used harsh language to criticize the whole language and Dick and Jane series. Though some instructors changed in response, many still continued to practice the same methods as before. The philosophies of whole language vs phonics continue to have passionate advocates to this day. -
Whole Language
Authentic texts, teacher intuition and a response against the drill and practice phonics became the basis for the whole language approach. Using real words in real settings, where the reader focuses on the meaning, became a movement in education. -
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
With the publication of a study of the results of 100,000 reading research studies contributing to legislation, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind act. It required testing to demonstrate that students had passed various benchmarks, with the first one including phonics instruction -
Common Core State Standards Inititive
Representatives fro 48 states met to develop standards of what children should be able to know and demonstrate at the end of each grade level. This approach has required additional testing but aims to have children prepared to be 21st century learners.
