Reading, History of

Adriana L. Medina

How individuals learn to read and how to best instruct individuals in reading have been two questions that have long intrigued educators and medical doctors alike. Each investigation has shed light on how reading is learned, and each has influenced how instruction in reading is provided. Although several centuries have passed since the first American settlers began teaching their young to read, evident still are the methods used then and the tug of war between teaching letters and sounds and teaching whole words. This entry looks at that history. From the history of America emerges the history of reading instruction in America. This history began in seventeenth-century colonial New England. The methods used today can be traced to methods from England brought to America by early settlers. During this period in American history, the purpose of reading cannot be teased away from religion. Early books for young readers were meant ...

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