William McGuffey

...and His Readers
                       (FREE BOOKLET BELOW!)
​The Report Card has posted about our dear friend Susan Webb, The Traveling Schoolmarm, a number of times in the past, sharing her lessons and her videos. She was one of our most dedicated CSAA board members and a regular conference presenter who passed away in 2023. One of her legacies, among many, was to offer countless free country school lessons to schoolmarms/schoolmasters across the country for use in their living history programs.

In our travels we've noticed many schoolhouse programs use William Holmes McGuffey's Eclectic Readers to bring the typical 19th century reading lesson into focus. We're all familiar with McGuffey as a schoolbook writer, but Susan provided us with a handy little manual that highlights McGuffey's approach and his appeal, along with numerous sample lessons. This free resource will give you a clear understanding of the historic shift in teaching 19th century reading by providing stories that appealed to children's actual interests! This was the secret of McGuffey's success.

To quote the McGuffey Publishers..."The grand object of the authors has been to afford the pupil the very best facilities for easy attainment of the art of spelling and reading in its highest perfection. It has been considered of scarcely less importance, however, to furnish him with that kind of reading that best adapted to his interest and exercise his opening faculties, and educate the heart as well as the intellect." In short, like Peter Parley, McGuffey understood what would capture his young readers' attention.

Please make use of Susan Webb's resources as you may. The PDF is printable. Susan Webb's husband, Bill, one of her biggest supporters, has given his permission to share her work.

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CLICK ON THE COVER ART TO ACCESS SUSAN'S BOOKLET