Other editions of book McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader

Born in 1800, William Holmes McGuffey had a remarkable ability to memorize, and could commit to mind entire books of the Bible. After becoming a teacher at the age of 14, classroom size was just one of several challenges faced by McGuffey. In many one-teacher schools, students - ages varied from six to twenty-one, and few textbooks existed. In 1835, a publishing firm asked McGuffey to create a series of graded Readers for primary level students. The series consisted of stories, poems, essays and speeches and it is estimated that at least 120 million copies of McGuffey's Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster’s Dictionary. Since 1961 they have continued to sell at a rate of some 30,000 copies a year. No other textbook bearing a single person's name has come close to that mark.

The tried and true McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader develops basic reading comprehension skills for children as young as three all the way to adults learning to read. Using stories, word lists, phonics charts, and 19th-century illustrations, it is a timeless teaching tool. This is the revised 1879 edition. The McGuffey Readers are among the best known schoolbooks in the history of American education, having sold more than 120 million copies since the time of their first publication in 1836.

McGuffey Readers were a series of graded primers for grade levels 1-6. They were widely used as textbooks in American schools from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, and are still used today in some private schools and in homeschooling.It is estimated that at least 120 million copies of McGuffey's Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary. Since 1961, they have continued to sell at a rate of some 30,000 copies a year. Only the Ray's Arithmetic series (1834-1913) matched it in popularity, written by a colleague of McGuffey's and begun in 1834.

Note - this Kindle version of McGuffey's First Reader contains all of the original illustrations that are in the printed books. Comments below which may say otherwise are referring to a different Kindle edition of this book.Filled with happy tales, good morals, and a systematic approach to teaching reading, it is clear why McGuffey's Readers have been among the most loved and most used books in American history. McGuffey's First Reader starts out with the basics of the alphabet and gradually builds up the phonics skills and sight word recognition until the child is reading full paragraphs and narratives. The strength of this Reader is in its sequential gradation of skills. Its beauty is in its timeless stories.

In the First Reader from this revised 1879 edition of McGuffey's Eclectic Readers, you will find dramatic stories, vintage illustrations, phonics-based reading instruction, and more, all designed to teach children language arts and communication skills. Whether you use them for instruction or simply as readers, these books offer an authentic glimpse of historic lives and values while expanding vocabulary and perspective. Across the series, you will find: Complete original text from McGuffey’s 1879 edition; Phonics-based reading instruction; Vocabulary and spelling taught and reinforced in context; Penmanshiip instruction and practice; Age-appropriate instructions on elocution (art of speaking); Increasingly challenging literature selections for grades K-12; Original text presented as a facsimile edition (exact reproduction) with original diacritical markings in place; Interior text printed on high quality cream paper for exceptional readability.