Instructional+Materials

=__﻿﻿Books__= == =__ Instruction __=
 * ====//American Spelling Book//====
 * ====//Webster's American Dictionary//====
 * ====//McGuffey Readers//====

== Skill and drill instruction was the method of choice in the schools of both the Early American and Common School eras. Students were expected to work silently and independently on assignments that were specific to their ability. Students were grouped based upon the particular book they were using, not necessarily by age. The primary focus of teaching and learning was the three Rs-reading, writing, and arithmetic. Other subjects included penmanship, geography, morality, and history. The students had to memorize verses and important dates in history and then they had to recite them in front of the class or quietly to the teacher. This was called //recitation//, as shown in the picture below. ==

[[image:recitation.jpg link="Book Ad"]][]
= An excerpt from the Common School Journal of Massachussets in 1839 proposed new methods of instruction that were not solely based on recitation. The article encouraged teachers to teach so that pupils will study to know, instead of to remember. Teachers were being prompted to instruct so that pupils would retain their knowledge for practical uses, instead of being repeated and forgotten. =

__Instruction In A One-Room School House __

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