The Project Gutenberg EBook of McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader, Revised
Edition, by William Holmes McGuffey

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Title: McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition

Author: William Holmes McGuffey

Release Date: June 29, 2005 [EBook #14640]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MCGUFFEY'S FIRST READER ***

Produced by Don Kostuch

[Transcriber's Notes:

Welcome to the schoolroom of 1900. The moral tone is plain. "She is kind
to the old blind man."

The exercises are still suitable, and perhaps more helpful than some
contemporary alternatives. Much is left to the teacher. Explanations given
in the text are enough to get started teaching a child to read and write.
Counting in Roman numerals is included as a bonus in the form of lesson
numbers.

Each lesson begins with vocabulary words, followed by the description of a
picture (if any) related to the lesson's reading exercise. The lesson then
consists of printed text for reading and sometimes script (handwriting)
for reading or copying.

Don Kostuch
]

ECLECTIC EDUCATIONAL SERIES.

MCGUFFEY'S [Registered]

First

ECLECTIC READER

Revised Edition

McGuffey Edition and Colophon are Trademarks of

JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.
NEW YORK - CHICHESTER - WEINHEIM - BRISBANE - SINGAPORE - TORONTO

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS.

This First Reader may be used in teaching reading by any of the methods in
common use; but it is especially adapted to the Phonic Method, the Word
Method, or a combination of the two.

I. Phonic Method.--First teach the elementary sounds and their
representative, the letters marked with diacriticals, as they occur in the
lessons; then, the formation of words by the combination of these sounds.
For instance, teach the pupil to identify the characters a, o, n, d, g, r,
and th, in Lesson I, as the representatives of certain elementary sounds;
then teach him to form the words at the head of the lesson, then other
words, as nag, on, and, etc. Pursue a similar course in teaching the
succeeding lessons. Having read a few lessons in this manner, begin to
teach the names of the letters and the spelling of words, and requ