1. Integrating the Elementary
Language Arts:
A Historical Perspective
E. Jennifer Monaghan
Douglas K. Hartman
Chapter 16

2. Toward Defining the Language Arts …
• “Our goal is to define … what students should
learn in the English language arts—reading,
writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and visual
representing.”
International Reading Association/National Council of Teachers of English
(IRA/NCTE). (1996). Standards for the English Language Arts. Newark, DE:
International Reading Association/National Council of Teachers of English.

3. 1620s to 1780s
Sequential Teaching of
Reading & Writing
Reading the Bible is the route to
salvation
New-England Primer (n.p.). (1727). Boston: S. Kneeland & T. Green.

4. 1780s to 1840s
Integrating Speaking &
Spelling Instruction
Oral spelling is the route to reading
acquisition
Webster, N. (1843). The elementary spelling book; being an improvement
on the American Spelling Book (p. 20). New York: Cooledge & Brother.
(Original work published 1829).

5. 1840s to 1880s
Pestalozianism & Schoolbooks
A shift toward child-centered
reading instruction
William Holmes McGuffey (1837). Eclectic First Reader (p. 14). Cincinnati: Truman &
Smith. Reproduced in John H. Westerhoff III (1978). McGuffey and His Readers: Piety,
Morality, and Education in Nineteenth-Century America (p. 115). Nashville, TN:
Abingdon.

6. 1840s to 1880s
Pestalozianism & Schoolbooks
(continued)
A shift toward child-centered writing
instruction
Frost, J. (1839). Easy exercises in composition (p. 24). Philadelphia: W. Marshal.
Reproduced in Schultz, L.M. (1999), The young composers: Composition’s beginning in
nineteenth-century schools (p. 52). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

7. 1880s to 1930s
Progressivism & the
Integration of Literacy
Instruction
Francis Wayland Parker
Source: http://www.ucls.uchicago.edu/photo_album/1809s/parker.html

8. 1930s to 1970s
Disintegrating the Language
Arts
The Whole Word Approach
Kleiser, C., Ettinger, W.L., & Shimer, E.D. (1917). The Progressive road to
reading: Story steps (p. 7). Boston: Silver, Burdett.

9. 1980s to 1990s
Integrating the Language Arts
Emergent literacy, process writing,
whole language, & literature-
based reading
Mavrogenes, N.A. (1987). Young children composing then and now: Recent research
on emergent literacy. Visible Language, 21, p. 281.

10. 1990s to 2010
Citations of the Words “Reading,” “Writing,” “Language Arts,” and
“Literacy” in Public Law 107-110 (2001), the No Child Left Behind law
Reading Writing Language Arts Literacy
COMBINED
TOTALS -249 26* 7 108
The disparity in favor of reading and reading instruction over writing and
Where We Are Now in the Era writing instruction is obvious.
* This total includes a deduction of 3 citations of the phrase “in writing.”
of NCLB Sources:
TITLE 1 Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged
Sections 1001-1004; Part A, Improving Basic Programs, sections
1111-1120B;
Part B, Student Reading Skills Improvement, sections 1201-1208; Subpart 2,
Early Reading First, sections 1221-1226; Subpart 3, William F. Goodling Family
Literacy, sections 1231-1242; Subpart 4. Improving Literacy…School Libraries, section
1251;
Part C, Education of Migratory Children, sections 1301-1309.
TITLE 2 Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and
Principals
Subpart 2. National Writing Project, sections 2331-2332.
Public Law 107-110, the No Child Left Behind of 2001. Retrieved November
29,
2010, from http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html
Renewed emphasis on reading
rather than writing instruction

11. Summary of Chapter
Era Years Themes/Events
Reading is taught before writing
The New England Primer: because it is through reading
Sequential Teaching of Reading 1620s to 1780s that the young acquire the
& Writing values (at this time, the
religious values) of adults.
In the 1730s, spelling books
emerge as the key text for
Noah Webster’s Spelling Books: American reading instruction,
Integrating Speaking & Spelling 1780s to 1840s which is based on the alphabet
with Reading Instruction method. Noah Webster’s
spellers outstrip all others in
their sales.
(Monaghan & Hartman, 2010)

12. Summary of Chapter
Era Years Themes/Events
The sterility of the alphabet
method and rote learning gives
Pestalozzianism & Child- rise to reform. Reformers
Centered Schoolbooks: invoke the child-centered
1820s to 1880s
Parallel Shifts in Reading & principles of Johann Pestalozzi
Writing Materials to introduce child-centered
reading and writing
instructional texts.
The same principles are
Francis Wayland Parker: adopted by Progressives, who
Progressivism & the Integration 1880s to 1930s integrate reading & writing into
of Literacy Instruction their curricula. Children read
what they have written.
(Monaghan & Hartman, 2010)

13. Summary of Chapter
Era Years Themes/Events
Both the Progressives & their
successful rivals, the adherents
of the scientific movement in
The Whole Word Approach: education, adopt the whole
1930s to 1970s
Disintegrating the Language Arts word approach to reading
instruction while synthetic
phonics and writing take a back
seat.
Research on language
acquisition & emergent literacy,
Integrating the Language Arts: combines with process writing,
The Impact of Cognitive 1980s to 1990s whole language, & literature-
Research based reading to renew a focus
on integrating the language
arts.
(Monaghan & Hartman, 2010)

14. Summary of Chapter
Era Years Themes/Events
New voices call for “balanced”
reading instruction, but “high
stakes” national and state
Where we Are Now: testing conflict with integrative
1990s to 2010s
In the Era of No Child Left Behind goals since they renew the
exaggerated emphasis on
reading, rather than writing
instruction.
(Monaghan & Hartman, 2010)

15. For More Information …
http://historyliteracy.org