McGuffey's Second Eclectic Reader: Revised Edition (1879) (2) (McGuffey Readers)

In this Second Reader from the 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;
• Penmanship 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.

William Holmes McGuffey (1800-1873) McGuffey was an American theologian and Professor of Moral Philosophy, Greek, and Latin who was described as "rich in pungent phrase and anecdote, apt in citation from history, literature, and life, skillful in analogy" (William Holmes McGuffey and his Readers, 145) He believed education should include spiritual and moral training, and was mindful of the practical and budgetary issues of teaching in the one-room schoolhouse on the frontier. His Readers were often the only books that children had access to, and according to an article in the History and Culture newsletter of the National Park Service (NPS), "Most prominent post-Civil War and turn-of-the-century American figures credited their initial success in learning to the Readers." McGuffey's goal was to create a curriculum that even untrained teachers could use to provide practical instruction in communication skills through memorable stories and poems. The upper-level Readers introduce students to many classic works, though McGuffey did not see them as a replacement for full-length classic literature. He understood that many of his readers would not have access to a library, but wished to impart as rich an education as was possible with the limited time and resources available in nineteenth-century schools. He is credited with "creating a generation of gifted orators and readers" (NPS). Over a million copies of his books have been sold since they were first published, and they are still used in some schools and home schools.