Learning to read the McGuffey way offers a phonics foundation, moral growth, and a rich vocabulary. McGuffey's first concern in teaching reading was that the content should promote moral growth and excellence of mind in habits, attitudes, and literary tastes. He believed in phonics for beginning reading and that methods and timing should be adapted to the individuality of each child. McGuffey also believed in memorizing as a way to develop habits of attention that promote understanding and mastery of all learning, even those studies which are not memorized. He believed that an obvious result of a cultivated mind is a wide vocabulary. The best way to cultivate a wide vocabulary is to learn words in their context, as in studying the important ideas and noble thoughts presented in the McGuffy Readers.
