McGuffey's Eclectic Primer
Short words with pictures: a cat, a rat, a man. Each lesson adds a few words and a line of handwriting, building to simple sentences.
Scanned from a Brigham Young University–Idaho copy.
Homeschool · Reading
McGuffey's Eclectic Readers
The readers that taught generations of American children to read, from the first letters in the Primer to great literature in the Sixth Reader. All seven books and the McGuffey speller, free to read here or download, with a step-by-step teaching guide for every lesson.
Start here
For a child just learning to read, begin with the Primer, then go on to the First Reader. Each lesson brings in a few new words, shown at the top, followed by a short reading with a picture, and often a line in handwriting to copy.
An older child who already reads can start wherever the reading feels comfortable but not easy: try a page aloud from the Second or Third Reader. The later books add spelling lists, definitions and notes, and the Fifth and Sixth Readers open with lessons on reading aloud well.
- Pick a lesson (start with Lesson 1).
- Press Teach this lesson.
- Follow the steps one screen at a time, with the book page beside you.
What are McGuffey's Readers?
William Holmes McGuffey (1800–1873) was a teacher and minister who taught at Miami University in Ohio and later at the University of Virginia. In the 1830s the Cincinnati publishers Truman & Smith asked him to prepare a series of school readers. The first ones appeared in 1836 and 1837, and his younger brother Alexander added the higher books. Together the readers became one of the best-selling schoolbooks ever printed in America, with sales usually estimated at over 100 million copies.
The books were revised several times. The 1879 revision, issued by Van Antwerp, Bragg and later printed by the American Book Company, is the edition most homeschool families use today, and the one on this page. It moves step by step: letters and short words in the Primer, simple sentences in the First Reader, then stories, poems and finally selections from great English and American writers, with lessons on reading aloud clearly and with feeling.
The seven readers
In order. Ages are rough guides; go by what your child can read comfortably.
McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader
Short lessons with a picture, the new words listed at the top, and a handwriting line to copy. The sentences grow from a few words to short stories.
Scanned from a New York Public Library copy.
McGuffey's Second Eclectic Reader
Longer stories and simple poems, many about children, animals and home, with the new words for each lesson.
Scanned from a University of Alberta copy.
McGuffey's Third Eclectic Reader
Stories, fables and poems, with words to define and spell at the start of each lesson.
Scanned from a University of Alberta copy.
McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader
Selections from well-known writers, with short notes about the authors, definitions, and lessons on reading aloud.
Scanned from a University of Alberta copy.
McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader
Opens with a course in reading aloud well, then prose and poetry from British and American authors, with notes and definitions.
Scanned from a University of Alberta copy.
McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader
The most advanced book: essays, speeches, stories and poems from great writers in English, with notes on each author. Many families use it as a high-school literature reader.
Scanned from a University of Alberta copy.
The McGuffey speller
McGuffey's Eclectic Spelling-Book
Word lists arranged by sound and pattern, with short dictation sentences, from simple words to hard ones.
Scanned from a University of California copy.
About these copies
More spelling and grammar: see Webster's Speller and Harvey's Grammar.
Every book here was published in the United States before 1930, so it is in the public domain there: free to read, print and share. The scans are kept by the Internet Archive, which shows them on this page and supplies the PDF downloads. The teaching guides are written for this site. Modern reprints are also sold, if you prefer a clean printed copy.