Basal Reader - History

History

Basal readers have been in use in the United States since the mid 1860s, beginning with a series called the McGuffey Readers. This was the first reader published with the idea of having one text for each grade level. Since then, teaching methodologies in school basals have shifted regularly. The Scott Foresman Company published what is perhaps the most famous basal series, whose stories starred two children named Dick and Jane. Dick and Jane books emphasized memorizing words on sight, a method which came to be known as "look and say." This philosophy came under attack in the late 1950s, largely due to Rudolf Flesch's book Why Johnny Can't Read. This was a scathing condemnation of the "look say" method, and advocated a return to programs that stressed teaching phonics to beginning readers.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, the pendulum did swing back toward a more phonics-based approach. During the latter part of the 1980s, basal usage declined as reading programs began to turn to whole language programs that relied more heavily on trade books, rather than textbooks. The 1990s and early years of the 21st century have seen a renewed interest in skills acquisition which has sparked a resurgence in basal dominance.