McGuffey's Eclectic Readers
 |  |
The first McGuffey Readers were published in 1836 and it is estimated that 121.5 million copies have been sold since then. William Holmes McGuffey created the primer and first four books in the series, which were all widely used in schools across the United States by 1840. Since they were some of the first textbooks to gradually get more difficult as you progressed, the McGuffey readers were unique. They introduced students to new vocabulary through repetition exercises, working the words into enjoyable stories, and comprehension questions included at the end of each story. William's brother, Alexander, created the fifth and sixth readers, which were for advanced students and featured essays, poems and speeches. Today the McGuffey Reader Collection is made up of the primer and 6 readers. Heritage Square Museum utilizes the readers during our classroom and library presentations. The following blog posts the original lessons along with activities, worksheets and videos. Please check it out to learn more: