The ''New England Psalter'' was an early reading
textbook
A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...
for children which was first published in the late 17th century. It was preceded by the
hornbook
A hornbook (horn-book) is a single-sided alphabet tablet, which served from medieval times as a primer for study, and sometimes included vowel combinations, numerals or short verse. The hornbook was in common use in England around 1450, but may ...
and the
primer as early reading texts and by a variety of
psalters which were used in religious services. The contents of the ''New England Psalter'' included: the Psalms, some of the stories of the Old and New Testament, rules for reading, lessons in spelling, instructions for printing letters, reading verse and the use of capitals. It is significant that during this period of time the laws of England forbade the printing of Bibles outside of Britain. It was considered legal to print the Psalms in America. Once children had completed the lessons in the ''New England Psalter'' they proceeded to the Bible, the catechism and the spelling book.
The ''New England Psalter'' was reprinted regularly throughout the eighteenth century.
References
{{Portal , Children's literature
* Monaghan, J.(2005). Learning to read and write in colonial America. Boston, MA:
University of Massachusetts Press
The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts a ...
.
* Smith, N.(2002) American reading instruction. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Psalters