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Syllabary and Hornbooks
Noah Webster uses phonics to teach reading using a syllabary. A syllabary consists of letters or groups of letters in uppercase and larger than normal font. The hornbook was paper attached to a frame (wooden, leather, bone) with a handle that could be tied to a child's waist. Thephonicspage.org -
1840s
Teaching schools begin to become widespread throughout the United States. Thephonicspage.org -
Standardized Reading Test
Reading was one of the last subjects to be measured with a standardized test. Researchers struggled with creating the test because reading was typically an oral activity and it because it was generally complex in nature. Assessment for the Masses: A Historical Critiwue of High Stakes Testing in Reading by Andrew Huddleston and Elizabeth Rockwell. 2015. -
Teacher's Word Book
Edward L. Thorndike publishes "The Teacher's Word Book." It was a book that consisted of the most common words in English. Thephonicspage.org -
Dick and Jane
Characters Dick and Jane enter the reading scene as popular characters. Thephonicspage.org -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
In 1965, then president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law, which provided funding for education for K-12. The idea was to provide equal opportunities to children in all schools in an effort to close the achievement gap and end poverty. Pearson (2010) -
Noam Chomsky
In 1965, Noam Chomsky published Aspects of a Theory of Syntax in which he was able to change and challenge linguistics and the way psychologists thought about reading comprehension. Pearson (2010) -
First Grade Studies
Debates about how to teach beginning reading were ongoing. At an attempt to end the debate, the Cooperative Research Branch of th United States Office of Education funded the First Grade Studies, which were several approaches to teaching beginning reading instruction. Pearson (2010) -
Hanna Study
A 1,721 page study that set out to prove that 17,000 words in the Engloish language had phoneme and grapheme correspondences. This relates to units of sound and written language to differentiate between meaning, Paul R. Hanna and others (1966) -
Jeanne Chall
Jeanne Chall publishes Learning to Read: The Great Debate which detailed a set of principles regarding reading instruction. American Reading Instruction Since 1967 by P. David Pearson (2010). -
Basal Reading
Basal reading became big in the 1970s. At the time, Basal books were books that taught fluency and comprehension in the lower grades for high, medium, and low groups. Vogt & Shearer -
Understanding Reading
Frank Smith published his ideas in "Understanding Reading" to argue that reading was learned and not taught. You learned to read if you belonged to a society that read (but how did they learn to read and those before them and so on and so fourth???). Pearson (2010) -
Center for the Study of Reading
A federally funded center that focused the entire nation on reading comprehension. The center has been known to bring thoughts into conversation about schema theory and knowledge comprehension to the table. Also sought to help students learn strategies to improve comprehension. Pearson (2010) -
Reading is a Transaction
In 1978, Louise Rosenblatt published The Reader, the Text, and the Poem in which she argues that meaning of a text is a transaction between the reader and the text and that it is a new input of information. Pearson (2010) -
Schema Theory
This theory emerges as a highlight to enforcing the idea that learning takes place when there is already some existing knowledge. Lenses on Reading by Tracy and Morrow (2012). -
Process Writing
Process writing came about to have students write for realistic audiences and purposes. This allowed educators to worry less about grammatical errors and more about the content. Pearson (2010) -
Integrated Instruction
Integrated instruction sought to combine reading instruction with writing, speaking, and listening in reading and other core subjects like math ansd science. -
Whole Language Emerges
Whole language is known as one of the most important movements in the dvelopment of reading instruction. It emerged in the 1980s and has challenged much in the way we think about reading instruction. Pearson (2010) -
Why Johnny Can't Read and What You Can Do About It
Rudolph Flesch published "Why Johnny Can't Read and What You Can Do About It." A book on phonics about teaching reading at home. Thephonicspage.org -
The ABCs and All Their Tricks
Margaret Bishop publishes "The ABCs and All Their Tricks," which is a compilation of the results of the Hanna study in a friendlier, easy to read format. Thephonicspage.org -
Whole Language = Standard
By the 1990s, whole language had become a standard in reading instruction. Pearson (2010) -
Change in Basals
By the mid 1990s, basals had changed dramatically. Some of those changes included more support for whole language and questions that tasked readers to respond to literature. Pearson (2010) -
Brain Research
Brain research using the MRI shows that the brain reads by sound. Thephonicspage.org -
Protest of Whole Language
In 1993, 40 professors of linguistics in Massachussetts write a letter to the State Commissioner of Education to protest the introduction of Whole Language. Thephonicspage.org -
Research on over 34,000 Children
In 1999, Dr. Reid Lyon (National Institute of Health) reports to Congress how important phonics and phonemic awareness is in teaching reading. Thephonicspage.org -
Literacy Coaches
Although the role of the literacy coach was not clearly defined, the number of literacy coaches has steadily increased. -
NRP
The Report of the National Reading Panel in which they discuss alphabetics, fluency, comprehension, teacher education and reading instruction, and computer technology and reading instruction. -
NCLB
Former President George W. Bush signs into Law the No Child Left Behind Act. It was basically a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Act in 1965 by Lyndon B. Johnson. Vogt & Shearer Chapter 1 -
IDEA
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act states that students with disabilities are afforded a free public education with accomodations as needed. Idea.ed.gov -
Response to Intervention
With the creation of IDEA, RTI was included as a way to possibly identify students who need more than general instruction. RTInetwork.org -
Common Core State Standards
On the rise since 2008, the CCSS slowly became the norm across many states after being implemented by multiple state leaders. -
Literacy and the Brain
Stanislas Dahaene's article titled "The Massive Impact of Literacy on the Brain and it's Consequences for Education" details how the brain goes through the reading process and suggests reading phonics but without sight words. Thephonicspage.org -
Webster's
Webster's is republished and used in elementary remedial classes Thephonicspage.org -
Technology
Technology has, over time, become a big deal in the classroom. With the introduction of Smart boards, the revitalization of the document camera (like Elmo), and the introduction of new applications such as Remind101 to keep students, parents, and teachers connected to Class Dojo, which gives parents a snap shot into their child's daily behavior.
