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Jeanne Chall Memorial Lecture at Harvard University

Presentation Posted 02/10/2010 Permanent Link

Changing Readers, Changing Texts: 1960-2010

Dr. Elfrieda H. (Freddy) Hiebert presented the fifth annual Jeanne S. Chall Memorial Lecture on February 10, 2010 at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.

Presentation Synopsis
Jeanne Chall’s (1967) landmark study showed how differences in first-grade textbooks influence children’s reading acquisition. The ensuing years have seen massive changes in first-grade reading books and in the demographics of American classrooms. In this presentation, I trace the changes in texts and demographics of first-grade students over the past 50 years. This analysis shows that, in 2010, the discrepancy between the tasks of first-grade textbooks and the skills of those students who depend on schools to become literate is substantial. I illustrate how first-grade textbooks could be changed to support the changing profile of a first-grade cohort.

Presentation Slides with Audio
48 minutes, 57 seconds

Presentation Review
Jill Anderson from Harvard, Graduate School of Education has written a review of the fifth annual Jeanne S. Chall Memorial Lecture. Click here to read the review.