Teaching Young Children the Alphabet

Every era teaches in the best methods that are available to them. Who are them? For instance, when The New-England Primer was written they believed it was what was best for the children. There were no other recourses to teach children. In the past, children tended to learn ABCs, spelling and religious content through memorization. However, in the present day ABC by Dr.Seuss is a book parents have the opportunity to choose from; they have the resources to choose other books to read to their children to teach them their ABC’s. ←------ A little confusing. The most notable feature is that the book emphasis on imaginative play. Just a suggestion. Both books are aimed towards a certain audience, have different alphabet sections and both puritan and present day parents wish for different outcomes. Both (Repetitive) parents want their children to learn something in particular from the book that is being read. They both (repetitive) construct the identities of children and child-readers differently, because of the era they are placed in. You use the word BOTH a lot. Maybe use another word.

The New-England Primer was applied as a text that taught children to read and spell. The book combed religious indoctrination with instruction in literacy and usually contained an alphabet, syllabarium, prayers, hymns, catechisms, woodcuts, and questions and answers about religious doctrine. Ultimately, primers were used from the 17th century to the 19th century. According to Watters (1885), the “Primer defines for the child his or her place in relation to parental, civil, and religious authority figures.” Carrying further, when the child learns the religious metaphors the child has the opportunity to learn about his or her place in the worl...

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...ly start to modify books, lessons, and activities into what will help them learn best.

In the early 17th century people knew nothing about the way children learned. They did not have the resources to develop research about children. The Primer was there form of teaching them morals, ABC’s and their religious beliefs, because they had no information on how children learned. What we know today has changed the way children are taught. We have no right to judge them on how they taught their children, because for them that was, what was best. All we can do is learn from what we consider their mistakes. What we teach children and how we teach them is what we think is best. As society grows and new studies are done, our form of teaching changes. Every generation has a different input and chooses to grow on what is already known or come up with a whole new way of teaching.