Literacy Timeline

  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau

    Rousseau prided himself on the theory that children should learn on their own with no adult intervention.
  • Johan Heinrich Pestalozzi

    Pestalozzi created the idea that children learn through sensory experience, he believed it was impossible for a child to learn on their own.
  • Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel

    Froebel followed Pestalozzi's approach however Froebel created the approach that followed more closely to the importance of children and play and how it affects their development in fun activities.
  • Reading Readiness

    During this phase in life psychologists began to emphasize on the importance of reading in a child's lifespan.
  • Tests

    In the 1930's standardized tests began to unfold across the world in the hopes to test children on their abilities and skills, this helped people understand a child's maturity and mentality level.
  • Research Era

    The research era began in the 1960's and investigated early childhood literacy development. Many observations and case studies were conducted during this time.
  • Maria Montessori

    Montessori created the concept that children deserved and needed to have a classroom environment filled with specific order and materials in order for children to learn on their own and master skills at their own pace.
  • John Dewey

    Dewey created the concept that children should be taught in a classroom based upon the child's interests and not a set curriculum for all children who are different to follow.
  • Emergent Literacy

    Emergent literacy was first coined by Marie clay, explaining and theorizing that children learn literature skills before beginning school.
  • Jean Piaget

    Piaget created the theory of cognitive development explaining the levels and stages of a child's intelligence over time. Piaget created steps in which show that children learn through assimilation and accommodation.
  • Lev S. Vygotsky

    Vygotsky created a theory that children learn through new concepts.
  • Explicit Instruction and Phonics or Sound-Symbol Relationships

    Beginning in the 1980's a divide in education begun when teachers began to argue over the entirety of test scores and how it correlates to reading. Hence beginning phonics, where children are sought out to sound out words because it helps the child better understand the world itself.
  • Balanced Comprehensive Aprroach

    This approach began in 1999 explaining that no single child can learn from one single method or an accumulation of methods in order to read, this approach understands that every child is different and every teacher must study each child to understand the child's needs.