William Holmes McGuffey, McGuffey’s Newly Revised Eclectic Primer (1836)
William Holmes McGuffey was hired in the 1830s by Truman and Smith, a Cincinnati publishing firm, to write school books appropriate for children in the expanding nation. His eclectic readers were graded, meaning a student started with the primer and, as his reading abilities improved, moved from the first through the sixth reader. Religious instruction is not included, but a strong moral code is encouraged with stories in which hard work and virtue are rewarded and misdeeds and sloth are punished.
William Holmes McGuffey was hired in the 1830s by Truman and Smith, a Cincinnati publishing firm, to write school books appropriate for children in the expanding nation. His eclectic readers were graded, meaning a student started with the primer and, as his reading abilities improved, moved from the first through the sixth reader. Religious instruction is not included, but a strong moral code is encouraged with stories in which hard work and virtue are rewarded and misdeeds and sloth are punished.