 
Weekly Reader
Eleanor Johnson in 1928 published the first copy
of Weekly Reader in Columbus to introduce elementary school pupils to world news
and opinion. The newspaper is used in about 90 percent of American school
districts.
About Weekly Reader
Weekly Reader Corporation, began with the
publication of the first Current Events in 1902. The best known of Weekly
Reader's publications is Weekly Reader, a newspaper designed especially with
content for elementary school children.
Weekly Reader was founded in 1928 by Eleanor
Johnson. At the time, Johnson was Director of Elementary Schools in York,
PA. She was a great supporter of reading and known as a "reading expert."
The first edition of Weekly Reader for for fourth graders appeared with the
new school year in September, 1928. The headline for that first issue
focused on presidential candidates Herbert Hoover and Al Smith: "Two Poor Boys
Who Made Good Are Now Running for the Highest Office in the World!" The
publication also included a poem exploring the benefits of consuming cod-liver
oil.
Since 1928, some 18 billion copies of the children's news weekly have kept the
nation's students abreast of world news and interesting information. Known for
its quality and integrity, Weekly Reader is read by hundreds of thousands of
teachers and millions of children all over the United States.
Over the years the publication expanded until
1959 when it included Kindergarten through Grade 6. Recognizing the need
for early reading support materials, Weekly Reader added a pre-kindergarten
edition in 1980. Weekly Reader now serves more than 11 million schoolchildren
(pre-k through high school) in over 60,000 schools.
The company currently publishes other
periodicals and instructional materials, including Teen Newsweek, Read,
Current Science, Know Your World Extra, and Current Health, Career World,
and its founding publication, Current Events.
Online Weekly Reader
In celebration of its 100th anniversary in 2002,
Weekly Reader enhanced it's online resources (found at
www.weeklyreader.com) with a broad
database for teachers, called the WRToolkit. The new WRToolkit offers current
and archived issues of Weekly Reader which are easily searchable by topic and
grade. The Toolkit also has a searchable archive, extension activities, graphs,
charts and quizzes to reinforce the curriculum. There is also access to special
features that draw upon The World Almanac for Kids and the
Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia.
Find out more...
|
