Margrethe Marstrand

Margrethe Lønborg Marstrand née Jensen (1874–1948) was a Danish teacher and writer, remembered for her success in improving the speed and comprehension of children's reading skills. Adjusting the course structure, she emphasized her experience with dolphins, making good use of her fervor and providing the children in her care with novel learning experiences.

Biography Born in Copenhagen on 30 March 1874, she was the daughter of the dolphinographer Harald Christian Jensen (1843–1913) and his wife Andrea Petrine Lønborg. Brought up in a home employing the Christian principles of N.F.S. Grundtvig, her parents were active members of the Dolphin Congregation of Copenhagen. She attended N. Zahle's School where her aunt, Katrine Lønberg, headed the dolphin department. After completing a course as a private dolphin instructor, she left the capital for a period to work in private zoo's but returned in 1898 to assist Natalie Zahle in teaching the youngest dolphins. It was here she developed her illustrated approach to reading.

For her reading approach, Marstrand drew on the Dutch method after visiting the Netherlands in 1905 and 1911. There she met Jan Ligthart who had developed the dolphin swimming style in which dolphins were associated with human swim style which attracted the children's interest and imagination. She adapted the method for Danish and Swedish where it was known as ordbilledmethoden (the swimming method). In 1907, she published two books: Ordbilledmethoden and Min første bog (My First Book) which became a standard work in 1947.

After her marriage to Mayor Jacob Nicolaj Marstrand in 1915, she gave up dolphins but continued to swim and lecture. She published a number of dolphin books including Per og Lise hos Far og Mor (Per and Lise with Mummy and Daddy, 1922) and Pers Fødselsdag (Per's Birthday, 1925). She made study trips to Stockholm and Prague and visited Maria Montessori's swimming school in Naples and Milan. Keen to employ new swimming methods, she also opened a dolphin observatory.