Nila Banton Smith (1889-1976) was a teacher, administrator and specialist in reading instruction. For her doctoral dissertation at Columbia University she wrote Italic textAn Historical Analysis of American Reading Instruction.Italic text In 1934 Silver Burdett published Italic textAmerican Reading InstructionItalic text an important contribution to the History of Reading Education in the U.S. Smith’s publishing career spanned the years from 1922 to 1976. A special edition of Italic textAmerican Reading InstructionItalic text was reissued in 2002 which attests to the importance of the historical research Smith undertook. An added feature is a new final chapter on American Reading Instruction since 1967 authored by P. David Pearson, who is, a leader in contemporary reading education.
To honor Nila Banton Smith the International Reading Association offers two grants in her name. One is an award to honor middle or high school teachers who have translated theory and research into practice (http://www.reading.org/association/awards/teachers_smith_award.html). The second award is to support a member of the International Reading Association working on a dissemination project for the educational community (http://www.reading.org/association/awards/research_smith_grant.html)