WHY MCGUFFEY READERS?

Since 1836, children everywhere have been delighted by the McGuffey Readers, which are filled with exotic adventures, exciting stories, beautiful poems, and funny fables. 

The Primer through Fourth Reader, written by schoolmaster William McGuffey, teaches morals, manners, proper English, and pronunciation.  The Fifth and Sixth Readers, compiled by attorney Alexander McGuffey, are outstanding collections of great literature.

The McGuffeys’ approach in teaching reading is a phonetic method. Children quickly learn to pronounce and read new words and comprehend advanced material.  Voice modulation, tone, pitch, and inflection are emphasized in the oral reading of the material.

Children also learn to evaluate, reason and develop critical thinking skills as they read.  Some of the vocabulary is Old English, but the unique expressions and idioms force students and teachers to slow down and focus on the meanings of the words, the details of the unfamiliar settings, as well as the character building situations in which the subjects of the stories find themselves. 

The Readers contain selections from Daniel Webster, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Washington Irving, Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Browning, Edgar Allen Poe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and William Shakespeare.  Children are introduced to the timeless stories of King Arthur, Romulus and Remus, and Joan of Arc—masterpieces written by true masters in literature.

At Happy Valley, our reason for using the McGuffey Readers is simple.   Children, who are taught using the McGuffeys, learn to read!  McGuffeys have endured the test of time. They were used successfully in public schools for over 100 years.  Today, students finishing the McGuffey texts score significantly higher in reading on modern achievement tests than their counterparts who have used basal readers exclusively.

McGuffey Readers provide a high standard for measuring student progress in reading, and provide a way for us to meet the need to build leadership and good character in our students, as expressed in our mission statement.

Excerpt from Delite Gaddie