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 http://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.
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