A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THC PHILOSOPHY

OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE

TO READING READINESS

APPROVED:

tfec Scibool •£ Educfttioe

A C O M P A R A T I V E S T U D Y O F T H E P H I L O S O P H Y

O F C E R T A I N A U T H O R S R E L A T I V E

T O R E A D I N G R E A D I N E S S

T H E S I S

Presented to the Graduate Council of the North

Texas State College in Par t i a l Fulfi l lment

of the Requirement*

Fo r the Degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE

By

223580 Z a n a S t o c k s t i l l , B . S

Paducah, Texas

August, 1953

223580

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Fag®

LIST OF TABLES r

Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . 1

The Problem and l is Purpose Definition of Steading Readiness Source# of Data Limitation* of the Problem Significance of the Study Related Studies

H. THE PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO EVIDENCES OF THE NEED FOR A FIRST-GRADE READING-READINESS PROGRAM 7

Certain Effects of Fai lure in Learning How to Read

The Incidence of Fai lure Implications

IU. THE PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO FACTORS INVOLVED IN THE READING-READINESS PROGRAM . . . IS

Preview of Major Fac to r s Physical Fac to r s Mental Fac tors

Role of the intelligence quotient Variations in mental age The best mental age for learning to read

Emotional and Social Fac to r s Home and School Fac tors

iii

Chapter Page

IV. THE PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO DESIRABLE TYPES OF READING-READINESS PROGRAMS. . . 51

Teaching Method* Desirable Type* of Reading - r eadinc s s

Programs

V. FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AMD RECOMMENDA-TIONS . . . » 64

Findings Conclusions Recommendations

BIBLIOGRAPHY 68

iv

L I S T O F T A B L E S

Table Page

1. The Philosophy of Certain Authors Relative to Some Effects of Failure in Learning to Read, 9

2. The Philosophy of Certain Author® Relative to the Incidence of Reading Failures . . . 12

3. The Philosophy of Certain Authors Relative to Major Factors in Reading Readiness . 16

4. The Philosophy of Certain Authors Relative to Major Areas @1 Physical Readiness for Learning to Read If

5. The Philosophy of Certain Authors Relative to the Role of the Intelligence Quotient in Learning to Read . . . . . . . Z4>

6. The Philosophy of Certain Authors Relative to Variations in Mental Age of F i r s t -g rade Pup* 1» 29

1. The Philosophy of Certain Authors Relative to the Best Mental Age for Beginning Reading Instruction . . . . . . . . 32

®. The Philosophy of Certain Authors Relative to Major Areas of Emotional and Social Readiness for Learning to Read . . . 37

9. The Philosophy of Certain Authors Relative to Home and School Adjustment in Learning to Read . . . . . . . . . 43

Table Page

10. The Philosophy of Certain Authors Relative to Methods of Teaching and Contents of the Reading-readiness Program in the First Grade . . . . . . . . . 52

vi

C H A P T E R I

I N T R O D U C T I O N

T h e P r o b l e m a n d I t s P u r p o s e

The problem of this investigation i s to determine the amount of

agreement or disagreement in the philosophies of certain authors rela-

tive to reading readiness in the first grade. Comparative data are in-

cluded on evidences of the need for a reading-readiness program, ma-

jor factors involved, and desirable types of activities. The purpose of

the study is to determine the apparent agreement o* disparity found in

current educational literature.

D e f i n i t i o n of R e a d i n g R e a d i n e s s

For the purpose of this study, reading readiness i s interpreted

as meaning a very specific state of preparedness for carrying out

varied types of activity involved in tfce reading process. All reading

developments which precede the actual reading from a book are in-

volved. In other words, the term "reading readiness" i s a synonym

for maturity of the whole child, and the maturation of physical, mental,

social, and emotional factors i s a part of the process.

S o u r c e s of D a t a

Information fo r the study was obtained altogether f rom secondary

sources . Current books, periodicals, and bulletins were examined in

the sea rch for pert inent data on -various phases of a chi ld 's readiness

for reading.

The f i r s t s tep in developing the present problem was to do r ep re -

sentative r e sea r ch on the subject of reading readiness in the f i r s t

grade. Then the pert inent data were classif ied into broad categories .

This classif icat ion indicated that most authorit ies emphasised the follow-

ing three major a r eas : (1) evidences of the need for a f i r s t -g rade r ced -

ing" readiness program; {2) major fac tors involved in such a program;

and (3) desirable methods and mate r ia l s . These three broad a r e a s

then were analysed and broken down into smal le r headings. Data on

each ma jo r concept were collected and tables were formulated to indi-

cate the agreement or disagreement of representat ive authors. F i -

nally, the information was co-ordinated and organized into the following

arrangement :

Chapter I: Introduction.

Chapter II: Authors ' Philosophy Relative to Evidences of the Need

for a F i r s t -g rade Reading-readiness P rogram.

Chapter III: Authors ' Philosophy Relative to Fac tors Involved in

the Reading-readiness Program.

Chapter IV: Authors' Philosophy Relative to Desirable Type* of

Reading-readiness P rog rams .

Chapter V: Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations.

L i m i t a t i o n s of t h e P r o b l e m

Reading readiness in the f irst grade involves many areas. The

present problem is limited to a critical study of certain writers* phi-

losophy relative only to the following three phases: the need for read-

ing readiness; major factors involved in reading readiness; and desira-

ble types of reading-readiness programs.

S i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e S t u d y

Probably there i s no one best way to teach reading, but the effec-

tiveness of all method* depends primarily upon the child's readiness to

read . In turn, his readiness depends largely upon his pre-school

experiences. If they have been too l imited and inadequate, the c lass-

room teacher i s called upon to accept the responsibility of getting him

ready for reading. Generally, this conditioning* which i s commonly

referred to as reading readiness , i s based up©a principles obtained

f rom college courses in education, from books, periodicals , and

other literature on the subject.

Since the child's success in reading depends largely upon his

readiness, and since the teacher's role in the reading-readiness

program ia molded Almost wholly by the educational n a t e r i i l made

available, i t t e e m s highly important that all wr i t e r s produce l i te ra ture

which tends to provide the mos t effective methods and mate r ia l s . Too

much controversy and too many opposing opinions and philosophies

probably would result ia doubt, indecision, mid confusion in the minds

of teachers.

If leading educational wr i t e r s appear to agree, somewhat on the

needs, factors, and contents of the f irst-grade reading-readiness pro*

gram, it seems that classroom teachers are safe in accepting the

concepts set forth in current educational literature. If little ag ree -

ment i s evident, i t appears that the problem of reading readiness i s

still in the experimental stage among educators, and that the classroom

teacher has few or no sound principles upon which to build her program.

Since the purpose of the present problem i s to point out the apparent

agreement or disagreement of certain authors in regard to certain

phases of reading readiness, it appears to have significance.

R e l a t e d S t u d i e s

In 1950, Evans investigated the relationship of reading readiness

to the mental, physical, personal, and social factors of low first-grade

pupils in Piano, T e n s . * An analysis of results showed a fair amount

^Tommie Evans, "Reading Readiness as Related to the Mental, Physical, Personal, and Social Fac to r s of a Group of Low First-grade Pupils of Piano Elementary School, Piano, Texas, During the First Five Months of 1949-1950, M Unpublished Master's Thesis, depar tment of Edu-cation, North Texas State College, Denton, Texas, August, 1950.

of agreement as to factors that eater into the problem of reading readi-

2 ness, Almost perfect agreement was noted ia discussions of mental

2

age necessary for readiness, but slight disagreement arose over

physical factors. *

In I f41, Rollins made a survey of the reading-readiness program C

in Wichita Falls, Texas. "* la order to set up cr i ter ia , the writings of

forty-three authors were examined. From frequency of mention, a '

l ist of ten cri teria was compiled. An analysis of the -'list showed' a fa i r

amount of agreement among the wri ters . "

In 1946, Traxler and Townsend compiled trends in reading which

resulted from five years of research, in co-operation with the Educa-£

tional Records Bureau Staff. ' They'made' much use of summaries pub*

lished annually by William S. Gray, which helped locate and select '

the 527 studies reviewed. An analysis of this compilation showed that

' "most oi the trends indicated for the earlier period were continued

and extended ia the latter y e a r s . T h i s finding led to the conclusion 21M<L, p. 2. 3Ihid. , p. 23. *Xbid., p. 41.

Horma £dith Rollins, "A Descriptive Survey of the Reading-readiness Program of the F i r s t Grade in Wichita Falls , Texas, During 1946-1941," Unpublished Master 's Thesis, Department of Education,' ' North Texas State College, Denton, Texas, August, 1941, p. 18.

Arthur E. Traxler and Agatha Townsend, Another Five Years of Research in Reading, Educational Records Bulletin No. 46, pp. 1-10.

7 Ibid. , p. 2.

6

that the Authors under consideration agreed fundamentally on the prob-

lems involved in reading readiness.

C H A P T E R I I

T H E P H I L O S O P H Y O F C E R T A I N A U T H O R S

R E L A T I V E T O E V I D E N C E S O F T H E N E E D

F O E A F I R S T - G R A D E R E A D I N G -

R E A D I N E S S P R O G R A M

The need for successful achievement in ail phases of living is jus t

a s important for the f i r s t -g rade child a s i t i s for people of other a g e s -

i t i s fundamental in all of us if sa t isfactory personal and social adjust -

ments a r e to be acquired and maintained. Successful achievement

includes learning how to read for most people, because reading id e s -

sential in modern life for everyone who wishes to be most successful

in his work and recreat ion.

The tremendous quantity of printed and written mat te r available

in the-fosa® of newspapers, magazines, books,, bulletins, pamphlets,

and le t t e r s indicates that reading constitutes an indispensable avenue

of communication. To this l i s t might be added s tore advert isements ,

billboards, t imetables, s t ree t marke r s , highway signs, menus in r e s -

taurants, and pr ice tags on merchandise.

Tinker descr ibes the need for reading i s all walks of l i fe by

enumerating the following examples;

8

The houMwiie reads recipes, direction* fo r making • an apron, aad lo r defrosting a refrigerator a» wail aa in-structions lor the use of an increasing number of ap-pliances and products. The machinist reads specifications for any new operation, Even the f a r m e r , if he wish** to

- be effieieat and wall Informed oa agriculture, must read bis farm journals and pamphlets from bis state agricul-tural school. One might go oa through almost aay o ther occupation aad note ®imiiar needs.

In addition to the preceding needs for reading kt everyday Ufa, '•

others might be added; for instance* reading for recreation; reading

to, keep adequately informed about local* national, laid international

affairs: reading for developing attitudes or for making decisions; r e a d -

ing to succeed in subject-matter fields or professions; and reading for

accomplishments in various areas. In other words, most people do

very few things during their daily activities which do not require read-

ing of some type.

Two major evidences of Hie need for a reading-readiness p ro -

gram. in the f irst g rade a r e the reported effects of failure in. learning

to read and the incidence of failure. Certain authors' philosophies

relative to each of these problems are contained in the succeeding

discussions.

C e r t a i n E f f e c t s of F a i l u r e i n

l e a r n i n g Mow t o & e » d

If reading i s as necessary to living as i s commonly reported,

what happens if the child fails to learn how to read? The apparent

* Miles A. Tinker, Teaching Elementary Reading, p. I .

9

answer to this question is found in a review of l i terature. Table 1 con-

tain* descriptions of some reported effects of fai lure a s described by-

seven representative wr i te rs . The philosophy of each author and the

source ia which his philosophy was found a r e noted.

TABLE 1

THE PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO SOME EFFECTS OF FAILURE IN LEARNING TO REAP

Source

Gates, Arthur L ."Maladjust- . meats Due to Fai lure in Read-lag* " School Executive, LV (1933), 17^-SliI

Harrison, M. Lucile, Reading Readiness, p. 17.

McKee, Paul, The Teaching of Reading in the _ i a p. f f i .

Philosophy

Failure in reading may be a con-tributing factor in juvenile de-linquency as well as various other kinds of antisocial be-havior.

Chronological age has very little to d© with reading readiness. . . Until recently, however, it was almost the sole cr i ter ion of f i t -ness for entrance to f i r s t grade. . . . The resul t has been fai l-u re for too large a proportion of our f i r s t -g rade pupils and the attending disastrous effects upon social and emotional de-velopment of the failing children.

Careleas instruction in beginning reading can seriously handicap the young reader , . . . Can en* courage the child to build a dis-taste for reading and can give bir th to ser ious reading de-ficiencies which may easily cause his subsequent re ta rda-tion.

10

TABLE 1—Continued

S o w e e

Pennell, Mary E , , and . Cusack, Alice M . , Teaching Reading for Better hiving,

I ' m ' J i i m n n m J i i * u m n u i i i H W U H i i m i J . i i i » ' i i i i i i i K i i i < i » i i i i w r i i i l i >

pp, 4e» 124*

Tinker , Miles A. * Teaching . Elementary Reading, p. 5.

Philosophy

Reading has been found to he the most frequent cause of school fai lures*

The criminal of today i s only the difficult, unadjusted child of yesterday.

When there i s severe reading re ta rda t ion , personal i ty devel-opment i s l ikely to be dis-torted. . . . The child may compensate for' Ms feel ing of inferiority by becoming a problem child. ' Emotional d i s -turbances are likely to accom-pany reading disability'. . . . When the re i s s e v e r e reading retardation, personal i ty devel-opment i s l ikely to' he d i s -tor ted .

Washburne, Carieton, " R i p e n e s s , " Progress ive Education, XIII (19 J6). 123.

Witty, Pau l , and ICopei, David, Reading t a d the Educative Process , p. T&5.

When a child tries to read a book that i s too difficult, he soon be-comes discouraged, l o se s inter-est , 'dislikes that hook in par-t icular and reading in general, and his eyes become habituated to many f ixat ions and backward movements.

Because they a r e not r e ady . . . many children frequently develop an attitude of indifference to reading or even a disl ike. . . . Easi ly fostered In this m a n n e r . . . are various unfortunate emo-tional concomitants, such as f ee l -ings of inadequacy, of inferiority, and of rebellion, which somet imes lead to serious behavior probl ems.

I I

All analysis of data la Table 1 indicates agreement among the

authors as to tine seriousness of the damaging effects of the child's

failure to learn how to D u c r i p t i o u of the type of ill effects

vary. They include such phrases as the following: "juvenile delin-

quency, " "other antisocial behavior* " ' 'disastrous effects upon the so-

cial aad emotional development* n "build a distaste for reading*" "give

birth to serious reading deficiencies* " "cause school f a i lu re , n "per-

sonality development . . . distorted* H "problem child* " "emotional

disturbance," "eyes become habituated to many fixations and back-

ward movements*" "develop attitude of indifference to reading* " and

"emotional concomitants* such as feeling of inadequacy* of inferiority*

and of rebellion which sometimes lead to serious behavior problems. "

From the preceding analysis it may be concluded that the seven

authors under consideration appear to agree that failure to learn to

read resul ts in serious personality problems. Their lack of agreement

on the types of problems l ies mostly in descriptions and in the degree

of severity attached to reading failure.

T h e I n c i d e n c e of F a i l u r e

If inability to read re tards the all-round development of the

child, which is the goal of modern education* it appears that the inci-

dence of fai lure in learning how to read is of major importance. Data

on this problem were found in educational l i te ra ture and representative

12

concepts a r e listed in Table 2. The philosophies of eight authors and

the literature sources from which the concepts were taken, are included

in the tabulation.

TABXJC 2

THE PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO THE INCIDENCE OF READING FAILURES

Source

Bella, Emmet t A . , P reven-tion mA Correct ion @f mead-lag S@cult ie8t p. 20. '

Broom, M. E,, and o thers , . Effective Reading Instruction. p. lOi . ' "" '

Gate*, Arthur I . , HRe«ea r c h . Problems in Reading in the Elementary- School ," Fourth Annual Research Balletln, The N a t i o m i C o j ^ r e n c e on Re sea rch in Elementary School English, F e b r u a r y - 1936, p. 36,

Philosophy

According to the statistics on the problem, approximately one-half to one-third &f f i r s t -grade entrants do not survive the rsadism ordeal.

In schools with midyear p romo-tions, 20 per cent of the individ-uals who are enrolled in the f irst s e m e s t e r -of'grade I a r e not promoted.

I think we have evidence that half or more of our pupils never really' read :~M 'the f irst Are® grades. . . » that serviceable habits—rhythmic progress ion along the -litter quick perception of words in thought units, lull comprehension with a reserve of attention for thinking with what i s comprehended— a r e often

_ not acquired; and that 18 per ' cent or more should fail to ac-quire even the most essential reading techniques i s not sur-prising.

13

TABLE 2—Continued

So«rc«

Har r i s , • Albert , Bow to Increase Reading Ability, p. I .

Monroe, Marion, Children Who Caoaot Read, p. i t

Tinker, Mile* A. < Teaching Elementary Reading,'

Witty* Paul, and Kopel, David, Reading and the Educative P r e e e s s , p.,*fK

• philosophy

About one in every live (in some schools a s many as two in every five) will not be promoted at the end of the te rm or year and will experience their f i r s t bi t-te r tas te of fa i lure .

We may assume that about 12 pe r cent of the general popula-tion have reading defects.

An alarming number of children fail to make sat isfactory prog* r e s t in learning to.read in.the f i r s t grade. . . . . In fact , Fallon . . . has shown that in some d i s -t r i c t s a s many as - 25 pe r cent . of the children a r e not ready to begin reading when they enter the f i r s t grade.

The incidence of poor r e ade r s i s often said to be highest in Grade I. . . . It i s somet imes reported, that 20 to 30 per cent of f i r s t -g rade children . . . fai l of promotion.

An analysis of data in Table 2 indicates that the authors agree on

one thing—that an indefensible number of children fail to learn to read.

Such es t imates a s "approximately one-half to one-third, " "half or

m o r e , " "about one in every f i ve , " "an alarming number, " "25 per cent, "

and "20 to 30 pe r cent" indicate a lack of agreement a s to exact

14

s t a t i s t i c s . This , however , i s to be expected, because the re i s no in-

fal l ible way in which to de te rmine how many chi ldren in the United

States w e r e not r eady to r e a d when reading was t h ru s t upon them, o r ,

because of some o ther f ac to r , h a r e fa i led to l e a r n how to r ead .

I m p l i c a t i o n s

The a l a rming incidence of f a i l u re to l e a r n to r e a d , coupled with

the r e p o r t e d s e r i o u s e f fec t s of f a i lu re , r ight ly g i r e r i s e to deep con-

c e r n in the minds of educa tors and c l a s s r o o m t e a c h e r s who a r e en-

t rus t ed with shaping the c u r r i c u l u m s of schools in Amer i ca . They a r e

inc reas ing ly recognis ing the gravi ty of the p rob lem, and today many

of them a r e devoting m o r e at tent ion to reading than eve r before .

Surely , t he re i s every r e a s o n to be opt imis t ic about the r e s u l t s that

a r e obtainable f r o m devoting specia l at tention and e f fo r t to the improve-

ment of goals , methods , and m a t e r i a l s .

C H A P T E R I I I

T H E P H I L O S O P H Y O F C E R T A I N A U T H O R S

R E L A T I V E TO F A C T O R S I N V O L V I B IN

• • i ' . T H J E I A D I - K G » a E A O I M E i S P R O G R A M

P r e v i e w .of M a j o r F a c t o r s

Much resea rch has been done, and many studies have been made,

lor the purpose of identifying factors which presumably influence read!*

ne t s 'for reading in the f i r s t grade. It seems that they a re of a com-

plex nature and a r e often so interwoven and interrelated that it i s diffi-

cult to distinguish any certain one as being most significant. However,

/

after-what was deemed as representative research , i t was found that

the general and inclusive factors contained in Table 1 comprise the

a reas most commonly associated with tike reading*readiness program.

An analysis of data in Table 3 shows that such factors as physical

readiness, mental readiness, emotional readiness, and social readi -

ness , along with home background and school adjustment, a r e agreed

upon by ten representative educational wri ters a s being major a reas

for consideration in reading readiness. These factors all a r e reason-

able assumptions and seemingly are* in general, supported by the

IS

u

TABLE 3

THE PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS US LAT I YE TO MAJOR FACTORS IN READING RJEAZMNESS*

Soureci

Factors

P h y s i c a l Readi-ness

Mental Readi-n e s s

Social tad Enot iott l Readiness

Home Back-ground

School Adjust-ment

Setts* Esaitteit Al~ • ber t , Foundation of Rest ding ., pp™ 1111 „

Bond, Guy I>., and Handlaa, Bertha, Adapting Instruction in Reading' to Individ •» ualDiif£erences t p> 26.

Doich, Edward Wil-liam, Psychology and Teaching of Reading, i T ¥ T o 8 .

Harris, Albert J. t Mow to Increase

X* tyf pp. 1 5 - 1 i t ' ' ' 1 . .

Harrison, Lucile, Reading, Readiness, mil Ittjiwwiiiwimmmiipiiiiii iigSi- nrjiwrmn i niiii irmnimiiWniii>;wxni>Mitfwmninwniwian

pp. 5 -2 t .

Hildreth, Gertrude, Readiness for School Beginners, pp. 2, 9 r f r : — . ~ . .

I ?

TABLE 3—Continued

Fac tors

Sources Physic*!

RaadU mmmm

Mental Retdi* m e s s

Social and Eriaotiojaal

Mmmm

Back-ground

School Adjust*

mmmt

Monroe, Marion, "Techniques of Evaluating Growth in and Through Reading in the P r i -m a r y Grade®," Co-operative Effort in . School to toprove Reading, pp. 273-274 X X X X X

Pennell, Mary IB., and CalusacJc, j&lice M», The Teaching of Read-ing for "Belter Xiving, p. lS^T " . ' ' . X X X X X

Tinker, Miles A., Teaching Elementary .Reading, pp. 22-36. X X X X X

Witty, Paul, and Kopel, David, Read-ing and the Educative Process , pp. 203, 2^S, 23* . X m X X X

*The symbol "x" denotes agreement that the given fac tors play a part in reading readiness.

IS

experience of teachers and clinicians, as well as by the philosophy of

outstanding educational wr i te rs . Justifiably, the a, they a r e used a s

general categories in the succeeding discussion of factor# which a r e r e -

lated to reading readiness.

F h y s i c a l F a c t o r s

Reading is primarily an intellectual process, hut certain physical

factors are necessary for carrying on the process. * Like other poten-

tial causes of difficulty ia learning to read, it is hard to discuss the

importance of physical readiness apart from other fac tors which may

be operating in a given case. However, a review of ten authors' phi-

losophy, as shows in Table 4, leads to the conclusion that certain ma-

jor areas of physical readiness are considered especially important.

An analysis of data in Table 4 shows that these representative

authors agree that the following areas of physical readiness are deemed

significant when a child i s getting ready to read: (1) general good

health, (2) good vision, (3) good hearing, and (4) normal speech.

The authors' agreement on general good health as being a major

factor in reading readiness holds several implications. The first one

is that a child with poor general health often i s l i s t less , easily fa-

tigued, i r r i table , possesses a short attention span, and has inadequate

retention ability. This means that poor bodily condition i s related

*M. Lucile Harrison, Reading Readiness, p. 17.

19

TABLE 4

THE- PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO MAJOR AREAS OF PHYSICAL READINESS

FOR LEARNING TO READ*

M&J#r Area#

Sources Good Gen*

eral Health Good -

Vision , Good Hearing

Normal Speech

Batts, EzDKDctt Albert, Foundations of Reading I » s t r S t i o » / p p ; H ' i -i 35 , . . . X f at X X

Bond, GuyL.» and Bond, • Eva, Teaching the Child to Read, pp. 27-30 , - . . X " K x x *

Dolch* Edward William, Teaching Pr imary Reading, pp. 23-25. • . m ' X X X ''

Gates, Arthur I,» Improvement of Reading, pp. ^41-142 . X x x •x

Harris , Albert J., How to Increase Reading Abil-ity* pp« f'^14 * X x X X

Harrison, Lucile M* #

Reading, RemdiuM**, ff». l i - t f * ' * X X X X

Hildreth, Gertrude, Learning the Three It 's , pji* 1 4 0 * 1 4 8 » % X X X

2 0

TABLE 4—Continued

Major Areas

Sources Good Gen-

e ra l Health Good

Vision Good

• Hearing Mormal Speech

MclEee, Paul , The Teaching of Reading in l i e Elementary School, pp. . X X X X

Tinker, Miles A . , ' Teaching Elementary JlesKag, yip.

Witty, Paul, and Kopel, David, Heading and the Educative Process , pp . 212 - 218 X X X X

The symbol °x" denotes agreement*

to the child's mental and emotional life* and therefore vitally affects

, 2

his teaming p rogress . ••••<--. -\.-i

The second application related to the factor of good general health

is that reading significantly involves the nervous system; therefore ,

good nutrition i s of utmost impor tance , because malnutrit ion causes

inefficiency. Many school p rograms provide a time for smal l children

to drink milk. The hot lunch program also i s designed for improving

general health. Teachers a r e urged to s t r e s s good eating habits, 2Edward William Dolch, Teaching P r i m a r y Reading, pp. 23-24.

•21

and to see that the children pract ice t hen la so f a r as the influence of

supervision can go.

The third implication relative to good general health i s that daily

health inspection i s of prime importance among f i r s t -g rade pupils.

If nurses or doctors are not available* the classroom teacher should

be able to detect any physical deviations which might need attention.

The concept of good general health also holds that crippled chil-

dren deserve consideration in the reading readiness prog*axn. If they

cannot participate in physical activities with the group, compensation

should he made by means of other types of work and play.

Another implication related to the factor of good general health

i s the concept that special attention should be given to cases in which

nervous exhaustion i s caused by worry and a feeling of insecurity on

the par t of the child. Since modern life i s filled with difficulties for

adults, children who live with them a r e in danger of severe emotional

upsets which often resul t in a condition of nervous debility. In such

cases , the teacher should give the child friendship and love and should

3

make the school a haven of security and a happy democracy.

The authors ' agreement on good vision a s « significant factor in

the reading-readiness program also holds various implications. The

f i r s t one i s that p rogress in learning to read depends largely upon the

5 Ibid . , pp. 26-27.

22

child'« ability to see words clearly.* Any marked departure from

normal vision results in haaty images when a pupil looks at words.

The second implication relates to defects of vision. Some chil-

dren a re far-sighted; some near*sighted; some cross-eyed; while others

a re victims of astigmatism and poor co-ordination, Even if the eyes

a re normal, a six-year-old child may have immature visual perception.

Prominent among perceptual tendencies of immature children is the

tendency to make "reversal e r rors , " such as confusing "M" with

§

"W. M For this reason, and for other similar ones, many schools de-

lay formal reading programs until visual maturity is assured.

The final implication reflated to good vision is that, regardless

of the type, any deficiency or defect, should he given immediate atten-

tion and should he corrected. In cases of severity, this should be done

in accordance with the advice and aid of an eye specialist, In the

meantime, classroom adjustment# should make provision for the child 6

with vision defects to have a seat where lighting is especially good.

Emphasis should be placed upon auditory methods of instruction, and

the child should be encouraged to accept his handicap sud learn to be

a good reader in spite of it.

* Miles A. Tinker, Teaching Elementary Heading, p. SO.

S

Albert J. Harris , How to Increase Reading Ability, pp. 52-51.

^Tinker, og. c i t . , pp. 59-60,

23

The authors' agreement on good hearing as a significant factor

la reading readiness also implies various concepts which are valuable

to the first-grade t eacher One of them is that the teacher should

seat the hard-of«heariag child near the speaker in all activities, so

that he will understand what is going on ami will he able to participate

effectively. In addition, attention should be given to the attitude of

the child's classmates. At no time should anyone make fun of the

handicapped or fall to include him in the games and other activities of

the school program. Opportunities for teaching and practicing social

responsibility and privileges are abundant in such cases.

Hearing is a significant factor in reading readiness, because the

child f i r s t learns to attach meaning to printed symbols through the

medium of the spoken word. For this reason he needs not only a high

degree of auditory acuity, but also he needs the ability to perceive and

reproduce sounds correctly, and the ability to fuse sounds into

7

words.

A fairly recent concept holds that if impairment of hearing is

great enough, a hearing aid may be worn. M so, the teacher should

explain the advantages of the instrument and satisfy the children's

curiosity, which likely will be noticeable. In addition, she should help

the hard-of-hearing pupil to enjoy wearing the instrument instead of

^Arthur L Gates, Improvement of Reading, p. 142.

24

being timid and fearful , because i t n a k e t him different and often an

object of r idicule on the pa r t of thoughtless c lassmates . Finally, it may

be said that every child, not only those with known hearing defects,

should he .given hearing tes t s periodically fo r the purpose of .detecting

beginning impairment . Often an ounce of prevention i s actually worth

a pound of cure .

The authors1 agreement with respect to normalcy of speech a s

a major factor in readiness for reading implies severa l cur ren t con-

cepts . F i r s t , facili ty in the use of oral language seems to be highly

significant in relat ion to a child 's reading-readiness p rogres s . Since

reading i s only one step removed f rom the use of auditory symbols,

i t i s easi ly seen that ability to talk plainly and correct ly ia a p r ime

&

prerequis i te to optimum reading p rogress .

The second implied concept is that many children enter school

with a very inadequate language background. Some of them have or*

ganic troubles; others use "baby talk"; st i l l o thers have a limited vo-

cabulary because Of i n a d e q u a t e experiences.

The defects which most commonly affect learning to read a r e

stuttering, lisping, s lurr ing, and generally indistinct speech. * In

most cases , t ime and patience, coupled with remedial exerc i ses , will

*£mmet t Albert Betts, Foundations of Reading Instruction, p. 128.

^Harr i s , eg. c i t . , p. 15.

25

cor rec t the difficulties, although, it sometimes becomes accessa ry to

seek clinical and professional aid in coping with some of these impair ~

mea t s in, speech.

Finally, whatever the language deficiency, remedial measu res

should be applied immediately* because the emotional concomitant ac-

companying defective speech may hinder learning to read by causing

self-conseiousness, shyness, embarrassment , and antagonism' toward

both reading and other uses of language. Careful diagnosis should pre*

cede remedial work. • Less serious defects may be t reated successfully

by the teacher , but the more ser ious ones should be handled by a spe-

cialist .

M e n t a l F a c t o r s

Since reading i s p r imar i ly an intellectual p rocess , f ac to r s of

intellectual development fostering reading readiness logically appear

II

to be of g rea te r importance than any other group of fac tors . A r e -

view of l i te ra ture indicates that three major problems in this area

are of great significance in the reading-readiness program: (1) the

role of the intelligence quotient; (2} variations in mental age; and

(3) the best mental age for learning to read.

Id

Tinker, ojt. c i t . , p. 32.

^Harrison, o£. c i t . , p. 6.

24

For the sake of clarity, differentiation of mental age and intelli-

gence quotient should be no tad. The i o m c r ia a measure of mental

maturity and iadicataa tiiat tin child can loam, The latter ia an index

of brightness or rate of mental growth.

R o l o of t h e i n t e l l i g e n c e q u o t i e n t . — Table S contains

data on the philosophy of eight authors relative to the role of the intelli-

gence quotient in relation to learning to road. Both their philosophy

and where it can be foucd are included in the tabulation.

TABLE 5

' THE PHULOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO THE ROLE OF THE INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT

IN LEARNING TO READ

Source Philosophy

Betts, Emmett Albert, Foundations of Reading Instruction, p. 124. . . A child of low nental ability i s not

likely to succeed with typical reading activities because ho has very little to take to the printed page.

Bond, Guy L . , and Hand- . Intelligence i s highly related to reading land. Bertha, Adapting In- ability and i s directly responsible for structios in Reading to In- much of the variation in children's dividual Differences, p. ~*26 . achievement in reading. Children of

high intelligence will generally be able r eade r s ; those of low intelligence will, as a rule, be poor readers. There are,however, many exceptions to this general trend.

2?

TABLE 5-—-Continued

Source

Gray, William S.« growth in Understanding of Read. Ing aa l ' l t s Develimmeiat' Among Yttttth, p. 12.

Harrison* M. Lncile, . Heading Readiness, i n r a r — — ~ ~

Philosophy

, . . p rogress in reading i s influenced by . . . the r e a d e r ' s capacity to learn.

Whta a child's intelligence i s of such a level that he cannot develop or use abstraction*, tlie problem of induct-ing Mm into a reading program where abstractions abound i s one which neither teacher nor pupil can sur -mount wife entire satisfaction.

Hildreth, Gertrude, Readiness for School

*227 nners , pp. 254.

McGullough, Constance M. , and Traxler , Arthur £ . , Problems in the Develop-ment of "Reading, p. 86.

Tinker, Miles A. * . ? « * ; ' • % Elementary Reading, p. 24.

Approximately 20 per cent of all s ix-year-old beginners in any typical community a r e found to have limited learning capacity. F rom this group comes the large bulk of reading dis-ability. . . .

Learning to read depends upon the child's intellectual capacities and his effective use of them.

Reading ability . . „ increases with . . . general ability.

Intellectual development . . . appears t© be an important determinant of reading success . It i s a general ob-servation that dullness resul ts in poor reading. Relatively dull children can make some progress in reading, but their p rogress i s slow and the level they eventually reach i s not high.

28

TABLE 5-—-Continued

Source Philosophy

Witty, Pawl, and Kopel, , . The relationship between intell i-David, Reading and the gence and reading ability i s pos t . Educative P m e w , '' tlve. pp. 223, 227.

The ave rage child (I. Q. 90-110) of s ix i s s t i l l u ^ r t p a t e d usual ly to engage meaningful ly in the reading t a sks of the f i r s t grade.

An ana lys i s of data in Table 6 shows that the au thors ag r ee that

the in te l l igence quotient i s vitally related to reading ability. Such de-

scriptive terms as "positive relationship, " "important determinant, "

and "highly related" indicate that the relationship has not been accu-

rately m e a s u r e d but that i t i s p r e sen t . The implication i s that the dull

child o f ^ n has difficulty in learning to read. He learns more slowly

and cannot p r o g r e s s a s far a s the no rmal child. Because of his slow

r a t e of menta l development, he i s ready to r ead at a later age than i s

the ave rage pupil. In general, i t s e e m s that t he re i s a tendency for

chi ldren with an ave rage or a high intelligence quotient to r e a d better

12

than those with a low intelligence quotient. These impl ica t ions , how-

eve r , have not r e su l t ed in the a u t h o r ' s ag reemen t on the exact ro l e of

the child's intelligence quotient in his learning to read.

11 M. E. Broom and others. Effective Heading Instruct ion,

pp. 104-106.

29

V a r i a t i o n * In m e n t a l a g e . — Tabic 6 contains the philos-

ophy of eight authors relative to the range la mental age of f i r s t -g rade

pupils, l a addition to the wri ters 4 concepts, the sourccs from which

they were adapted a r e included in the table.

TABLE 6

THE PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO VARIATIONS IN MENTAL AGE Of

FIRST-GRADE PUPILS

Source

Betts, Emmett Albert, Foundations of Reading Instruction, p! 12#. '

Bond, Guy L . , and Bond, Eva, Teaching the Child to Read . ——

Dolch, Edward William, P r i m a r y Reading.

Gray, William S . , "Growth in Understanding of Reading and Its Development Among Youth," Keeping Readiness

Philosophy

Children vary widely in their abil-ity to cope with abs t rac t learning situation*; heace teachers a t all grade levels can expect children to dif fer markedly in basic learn-ing abili t ies.

In a f i r s t -g rade c lass there i s likely to be a range in mental age of severa l years .

For a long time, f i r s t grade " teachers have known that some of their beginners were not yet ready to read. . . . Some of the little ones simply did not "catch on" as the others did.

. • . children mature at radically different rates . . .

reams Abreast of the 'niwuiMiHtmiTwH m jL,ijiii r u m miriwjinfc , n m», — M M

Times, p. 12.

30

TABXJE 6—»• C OBtinncd

Source

Hlldreth, Gertrude, Readiness lo r School

timers, pp, 6, 19.

Philosophy

la typical schools the extensive drill program l a reading, writ-ing, and ari thmetic , which i s largely seat work with printed symbols, has proved to be over the head* of 3® p e r cent or more of the pupils, . . . la a typical first-grade c lass with thirty-five pupils, mental age® will range from four years, s ix months to eight years, six months.

Maeomber, Freeman Glenn, Gliding Child Develogmeat in the Elementary Seltooi, "p.'"Ii7.

McKee, Paul, The Teaching of Reading in the Elementary School, p. f90. '

Monroe, Marion, "Techniques , of Evaluating Growth in and Through Heading in the Primary Grades, " .Co-operative Effort in School to Improve Reading, pp. 2737 275.

- . . children differ greatly in their mental . . . development, so that while many f i r s t g raders a r e capable of m&kmg rapid p rogress , many m o r e should not be expected to make such p rog re s s for some time after en* try—-some not even during the first year .

The observant f irst grade teacher knows that the pupils entering her beginners ' c lass vary great ly from one another » . . and con-, sequently a r e not equally ready for instruction in beginning read-ing. . . . A few pupils may be highly intelligent, many will be average* and a few may be slow.

Not all children are equally ready to read a t the age of six. . . . Chil-dren who a r e six yea r s of age but whose mental ages are five years or l e s s need a program of whole* some activities.

31

An analysis of Ike data in Table 6 indicates that the authors agree

that f i r s t -g rade children differ greatly in thair mental development.

This condition implies the importance of flexibility to meet individual

needs and teaching in t e r n s of each pupil 's level of development*

To expand this implication, it can he said that a program which

has as i t s goal the development of reading readiness probably i s the

best method of adjusting instruction to individual differences. At the

beginning of school, the f i r s t -g rade children a r e found to differ widely

in experiences, speaking vocabulary, command of English, interest in

reading, ability to listen, ability to follow directions, and adequacy in

knowing how to use books— beginning at the first page and reading f rom

left to right. Before he can learn to read successfully, he must have

13

some facility in these a reas . ~

T h e b e s t m e n t a l a g e f o r l e a r n i n g t o r e a d . ~»Much

has been written about when instruction in beginning reading should be

star ted. Table ? contains the philosophy of seventeen representat ive

authors relative to this problem.

An analysis of data in this table shows that the authors under con-

sideration a r e not in agreement a s to the best minimum mental age for

beginning instruction in reading. One of them repor ts reading by a

group of mentally four-year-old children; three suggest s ix years ;

l J G u y 1*. Bond and Bertha H&ndlan, Adapting Instruction in Read-ing to Individual Differences, pp. 57-5S.

32

TABLE 7

THE PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO THE BEST MENTAL AGE FOR BEGINNING

READING INSTRUCTION* •

Source

Beat Minimum Mental Age

Six Years

Oilier Concepts

Six' and One-half Years

Betts, Emmett Albert, Founda-tions of Reading I n d u c t i o n , p . Wt. -

Bigelow, E. B . , "School P r o g r e s s of Under-age . Children, ** Ele-mentary School Journal, XXXV (March, 1935),

Bond, Guy L . , and Bond, Eva, Teach-ing the Child to Read, p. Z&. ~~

The attainment of a given chronological or mental age (such a s six and erne-half years ) does not in-sure success with reading activi t ies.

To delay instruction until the child i s s ix years and six months of age mentally will not insure that he will not have trouble with reading. . . . If i t were t rue that this mental age was needed to learn to read, ap-proximately half of the children in the first grade would fail.

33

TABLE T—-Continued

Souree

Best Minimum Mental Age

Six Years Six and One-half Tears

Other Concept®

Cole, Juouella, Improving Read-ing, p* 2 t 2 . "

Dean, Charles, "Predicting First-grade Achieve-ment, w Elemen-tary School Jour -nal, XXXVII ^April, 1939), 609-616.

Dolch, Edward William. Teaching P r imary Reading, p7irr~ Gates* Arthur I . , "The Necessary Mental Age for Be-ginning Beading," Elementary School Journal, XXXVII (March, 1937), 5®?,

Harrison, M. Lucile Reading Readiness p. 6.

34

TABUS 7~.Continued

Source

Best Minimum Mental Age

Six Y « i « Six and One* half T t u r i

Other Concepts

Hildreth, Ger-trude, Readi-ness for Scfaool Beginner 8, p. Z $ ,

L & m o r e u a x , Lil-lian, - and i»ee, Dorris May,. " Learning to Head Through Experi- ' w e t ,

McKee, Paul, The Teaching of Read-lag in the Elemen-tary School, p. I l l

Monroe, Marion, "Techniques of Evaluating Growth in and Through Reading in the Pr imary Grades ," Co-operative Si-fort In School sTto Improve Reading, p. 272.

Instruction In beginning reading should be started . . . a s soon as he becomes ready' to read the selections with which that in-struction i s to begin.

35

TABLE 7—Continued

Source

Best Minimum Mental Age

Six Teat# Six and Oae-half Ycuri

Other Concepts

Marphet, Mabel Vogel, and Wash-burne, Carleton, " When Should Children Begin to Read?" Elemen-tary- School Jour-nal, XXXI (March, 1931), 502-503.

Rosebrook, ? f . , "Preventing Ready-ing Deficiency," Elementary School Journal, XXXVI (March, 19S5). 274-280.

Smith, Char les A . , and Jensen, Myrtle R . , "Educational, Psychological, and Physiological Fac-tor* in Reading Readiness , " Ele-mentary School Journal, XXXVI (Aprii'and May, • 1936), 383.

Reading readiness zaeaas the maturation oI a l l the mental , phys-ical , and emotional factors involved in the reading process. Re-gardless of the chrono-logical age of the child, the point a t which the child's growth and de-velopment have brought abotit proper maturation of these f ac to r s should be the point at which the reading process begins.

34

TABLE 7—Continued

Source

Best Minimum Mental Age'

S ix Tears Six u 4 One-half Tears

Other Concepts

Tinker, Miles A . , Teaching Elementary Reading., p, 27.

Witty# Paul, and Kopel, David, Reading and the tding

tcatii Educative P roces s , p. *69.

If Ma menial age i s a t least six years and if other fac tors . . . are favorable, the child can be taught to read, provided the f i r s t -grade teacher i s go-ing to be a l e r t in recognising and mak-ing adequate adjus t -ments to the individ-ual d i f ferences in ability which she will encounter.

Davidson . . . reported the reading attainments of mental ly four-year* old children.

The symbol "x" indicates agreement .

eight recommend six and one-half years ; and the remaining six offer

various concepts. These findings support the following two views:

f i r s t , probably there i s no one best mental age at which children should

begin to read; and, second, the mental age necessa ry for successful

37

beginning reading var ies with the efficiency mi teaching, the mate r ia l s

used, the amount of Individualised help, and the adequacy with which

special problems are handled. **

E m o t i o n a l a n d S o c i a l F a c t o r s

The relationship between learning to- read and emotional so*

eial development i s widely recognised by educational wr i t e r s . Table 8

contains the philosophy found in fifteen sources re la t ive to the ma jo r

fac tors in these a r e a s which are considered to be highly significant in

the first-grade reading-readiness program.

TABLE 8

THE PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO . MAJOR AREAS OF EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL

READINESS FOR LEARNING TO READ*

Sources

Aspects of Emotional and Social Factors Significant in

Reading Readiness

Sources

Emotional Stability for Personal Development

Social Adjustment and

• Participation

Baxter, Bernice, and Bradley, Ann M. , An Over-•view of Elementary Educa-tion, * p. 15.

X X

14 Gertrude Hildreth, Readiness for School Beginners, p. 2SS.

38

TABLE 8-—Continued

Sources

£notional Stability for P tr ioMl Development '

Aspects of Emotional audi Social Factors Significant in

Reading Readiness

Social Adjustment and

Participation

Betts, Emmett Albert* Foundations of Reading Instruction, p» X

Bond, Guy L. , and Bond, Eva, Teaching the Child to Read, p. 30.

Culkin, Mable Louise, Teaching the Youngest, m . i i W T T —

Dolch, Edward William, Psychology and Teaching of Reading, pp. "WTTWT

Gates, Arthur 1., aad Bond, Guy L. , "Failure in Reading aad Social Malad-justment, " Journal of the National Education Associa-tion, XXV (October, 1936), 255-206.

Harrison, M. Lucile, Reading Readiness, pp. 27-28.

Hildreth, Gertrude, Readiness for School Beginners, pp. I s TX

39

TABLE S—Continued

Sources

Aspects of Emotional «sd Social fac tors Significant in

Heading Readiness '

£ .motional Stability for Personal

• Development • •

Social Adjustment and

Participation

McKec, Paul, The Teaching of Reading in the Elementary S c h o S I T W ^ 74- iT&T

Sherman* Mandel, "Emo-tional Disturbance and Read-ing Disability," Recent Trends in Reading! p» 12?.

Stevens, Marion Paine, The Activity Curricnlum in Primary Grades, p. "II.

Tinker, Miles A., Teaching Elementary Reading,' pp. J5-36. ~

Tulchin, S. H. , "Emotional Factors in Reading Disa-bilities in School Children," • Journal of Educational Psy-chology, XXVI (September, 19i5), 443- 454.

Wilfcins, Vincent, "Personal-ity Maladjustment as a Causa tive Factor in Reading Dis-ability, " Elementary School Journal, X1JI ^December, 194i), 268-277.

X

40

TABLE 8— Continued

i

Sources' -

- Aspects of Emotional and Social F a c t o r s Significant in

Reading Readiness i

Sources' -

Emotional Stability fo r Personal Development

Social Adjustment and

Par t ic ipa t ion

Witty, Paul, "Reading Success and Emotional Adjus tmen t , " E lementa ry English, XXVII (May,

281-296.

X X

'The symbol HxH indicate* agreement.

An analysis of data in Table 8 shows that the authors agree that

two pressing i s sues in the emotional-social area are of m a j o r s ignif i -

cance—.^) the development ol the child's emotional stabili ty, and

(2) Ms social adjus tment , along with i t s corol lary , social par t ic ipat ion.

In other words, social and personal growth are the key words in this

area of the reading-readiness program fo r the f i r s t - g r a d e child.

The implications in the preceding philosophies a r e many. F i r s t ,

psychologists who have studied the origin and development of the emo-

tions are of the opinion that they definitely influence the chi ld ' s

41

attention ipaa» Ms concentration, Ms perseverance, and Ms motiva-

tion. ^ *

The second implication Is that the child who i s not ready to read,

but who Is subjected to a formal reading program, may react with a

deep sense of failure, not only becausa ha cannot read, but also be-

cause ha reacts to the attitude of his parents who frequently a ra dis-

appointed because he has aot learned to read the f i r s t few weeks of

school. Also, h e m u s t deal with the attitude of his teachers, some of

whom do aot detect the lack of readiness.

• In addition, the pupil who has not learned to read must bear the

brunt of his classmates* criticism*— for often they say he i s "dumb. "

Thus, it i s not unnatural that frustrat ion and i ts consequences play an

important role in the reading-readiness program. To summarise, i t

may be said that generally the cause of emotional maladjustment i s

difficulty at home or unfortunate experiences in early school life,

and that the child who is emotionally maladjusted is unable to profit

satisfactorily f rom his opportunities at school. *

The social implications involved in the findings shown in Table 8

also a re many, but the terms "adjustment" and "participation" probably

include all of them. To begin with, when the f i rs t -grade child enters

* Mandel Sherman, "Emotional Disturbance and Reading Disa-bility, " Recent Trends in Reading, p. 129.

l 6 Ib id . , p. 130.

42

school* he i s required to make a tremendous number of new adjust-

meats . He must l e t n to get aloag with other children of many types

a s he establishes membership in his new social groups. He experiences

maay situations ia which the requirements are not altered by family

affection. If he i s of a differeat race or possesses some other pe-

culiarity of appearaace aot common to the group, he must l ea ra to ac -

cept his peculiarities whea they are recogaised aad poiated out by his

c lassmates . Moreover, he must l e a r a new group standards of be- .

havior, new games, aad aew skills if he i s to co-operate aad be ac-

17 cepted.

These social damaads naturally iaflueace the reading-readiness

program, because oae of its purposes i s to fit the child for social com-

peteace. Much of the initial program must necessarily emphasise

group membership and participation. Most teachers utilize informal

circles ia which the group l isteas to oae child talk as a medium for

socialisation. Other group activities include construction, games,

singing, aad dramatisation. All of them are for the purpose of provid-

ing opportuaities for each child to become adjusted to his aew eariroa-

18 meat and to feel needed aad wanted by the group.

If Daniel A. Frescott, Emotion aad the Educative Process ,

p. 231.

ta Gertrude Hildreth, Readiness for School Begiaaers , p. 52.

43

H o m e a n d S c h o o l F a c t o r s -

1st appraising fee reading-readiness programs, certain challenge

lag questions have been asked about the significance of the child's ad-

justment a t home and at school la relation to his learning to read. Ta-

ble 9 contains -the philosophy of eleven educational writers as to the ma.

jor contributions of the home and the areas of school life which are

highly significant.

I

TABLE 9

THE PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO HOME AND SCHOOL ADJUSTMENT IN

LEARNING TO READ*

Home's Major Contributions

School's Major En-vironmental Fac to r s

Sources Child's

Emotional Stability

Child's Learning Concept

The Social Group

The Teacher and Her

Techniques

Beits, Emraett Albert* Foundations of Read-ing Insfimetifim, pp. 117-138, 296.

X X X X

Bond, Guy L . , and Bond, Eva, Teaching the Child to Read, pp. S l - i l , t - I ' l .

X X X X

44

TABLE 9—Continued

Sources

Home's Major Contributions

Child's Emotional

Stability

Child's Learning Concept

School'• Major En-vironmental Fac tors

The ' Social Group

The Teacher and Her

Technique*

Broom, M. E . , and others, Effective Read-ins Instruction, ^ 109-111.

Dolch, Edward William, Teaching P r imary Reading, pp. 34-37, 108-118.

Harrison, M. Lucile, Reading Readiness, pp. 14-17.

Hildreth, Gertrude, Readiness for School Beginner's, pp. 18- 17,

Monroe, Marion, CML dren Who Cannot Read, i p T i d o n o T : '

McKee, Paul, The Teach-ing of Reading in the Ele-mentary SchoolT pp. 190-m . —

Russell, David H., Chil-dren Learn to Read, pp.*' 128-130»

45

TABLE 9—Continued

Home's Major Contributions

School's Major En-vironmental Fac tors

Sources Child's

Cmotional Stability

Child's Learning Concept

The Social Group

The Teacher and Her

•' Techniques

Tinker, Miles A . , Teaching Elementary. Reading, pp.

X ae X X

Witty, Paul, and Kopel, David, Reading and the Educative Process , "** pp. 184-185, 231-232.

X X X X

The symbol "x" indicates agreement.

Data la Table 9 show the authors to agree thai the heme's major

contributions a r e development of the child* s emotional stability a ad

provision lor extending his learning concepts. They also agree that

the major school environmental factors a re the social group in which

the child is placed, the teacher, and her techniques.

The E r s t implication relative to the role of the home in develop-

ing the child's emotional stability is that the f i r s t -g rade child is what

he is largely because of the home into which he was born. His basic

behavior patterns are laid down in his early life through his association

46

wi t t family members , especially pay eats . His good or poor emo-

tional adjustment i s largely the result ©I the way he i s controlled at

home. When he enters school, he brings whatever behavior problems

he has with Mm. ^

The second implication gathered f rom Table 9 i s that parents

mas t rea l i se that they may warp tteir child 's personality by thwarting

his emotional needs lor love, companionship, and security. This may

be done through unwise punishment, negative attitudes, impatience, and

rejection. It a lso may resul t f rom withholding opportunities tmr satis*

lying curiosity, developing his interests , and learning at his own tempo.

Lack of discipline, resulting in lack of parental respect , broken homes,

the birth of another child, working mothers , and physical or mental

handicaps, a r e o t t e r problems related to home background and the

child 's emotional stability. They, too, can be solved only through un-

derstanding* knowledge, and a deep desire for the child 's improvement

20

on the par t of both teacher and parents .

In Table 9, the authors ' agreement that the home contributes much

to the child's p rogress in learning implies that learning i s eas ier for

pupils who have knowledge of common objects gained through concrete

experiences and situations a t home. U the child has been different

places, met many people, had various types of cultural and social

1 9 l b id . , p. 231.

2 0 | b i d . , pp. 232-235.

4?

experiences, lie has already acquired a foundation for learning' to

read. 2 *

Another ha plication related to the home and the child's learning

to read i s that comprehension i s based upon the meanings associated

with the symbols on the printed page. In reading, the child reca l l s

these concepts'as he recognises words. Then he assoc iates them with

his own experiences, combines them, and'thereby understands what he

f t M f Thus it i s seen that an enriched home background i s necessary

. 2 2

lor optimum progress in learning to read.

Children who come from homes of low cultural leve ls do not have

normal opportunities lor developing an adequate language background.

The handicap i s more intense if a foreign language i s spoken in the

home.

Analysis of data in Table 9 relative to the authors' agreement on

social acceptance as being a major factor in the school's environment

implies that patterns mi social relationship within the group are dis -

cernible and significant, ft does not take long for the teacher and the

c la s s to find out which children are best liked by others, which ones

are the leaders, which ones are left out of group activit ies. At this

point, an effort should be made to help those who have a tendency to

2 l l b i d . , p. 16.

2*Grace Storm Recent Treads in Reading, p. S5

^ G r a c « Storm, "Developing Meaningful Concepts in Reading, "

48

withdraw and those who show inclinations to be too dominating. Both

types are socially unadjusted.

Another implication related to social acceptance i s the aeceasi ty

for encouraging children to he tolerant and considerate of people who

differ f rom themselves. Then, there is the problem of developing in

them a social consciousness that i s intolerant of injustice and wrong.

Also, they must learn the value* of sacrif icing personal gains for' group

advancement. All of these social goals a r e heat achieved by providing

meaningful experience* in a school environment which i s truly demo*

cratic.

Data in Table 9 related to the status of the teacher in the reading*

readiness program imply that a pleasing personality i s of utmost im-

portance. In fact, it i s a common belief that unstable instructors are

conducive to unstable pupils. When the teacher has a well-integrated

personality, she generally i s able to be calm, relaxed, fr iendly, co-

operative, sympathetic, and understanding. These charac te r i s t i cs

23

aid in building rapport with the child—and rapport is significant.

In addition to a pleasing personality, the successful f i r s t -g rade

teacher must be wel l -versed in child development. Again and again i t

has been said that she who teaches f i r s t -g rade pupils successful ly

must be a student of genetic development of children in o rde r that 2*Paul Lewis Boynton, Harriet Dugger. and Masai Turner, "Emo-

tional Stability of Teachers and Pupils,H Journal of Juvenile Research, XVIII (October, 1934), 223*232. '

49

she m a y guide the i r growth. Also, she m u s t develop a sensi t iv i ty to

social eoadltioB8 and an understanding of their significance in o r d e r

that she m a y help he r popilt to become social ly or iented . Finally, she

mus t fee thoroughly familiar with children ' s literature, old and new,

in o r d e r that t h e may surround he r pupils with developmental read ing

activities and direct them in accordance with children's basic needs'

24

and genuinely worth-whi le i n t e r e s t s .

The skillful first-grade teacher does not rely wholly on her

pe r sona l qualifications and h e r knowledge of subject m a t t e r and tech*

niques in teaching children to read. She provides a physical setting

which will s t imulate development. The environment contains a variety

of books, col lect ions, charts, l abe l s , d i rec t ions , bulletin boa rds ,

scrapbooks, tables, chairs, and other media described more fully in

Chapter IV of the present study.

In addit ion to the teacher and the school ' s physical environment ,

the second implicat ion i s that a ch i ld ' s learn ing to r e a d i s conditioned

largely by the techniques used in t e a c h i n g s and techniques are inter-

preted as including both methods and materials , because they are

practically inseparab le . Materials m u s t be understandable, i n t e r -

est ing, and of impor tance o r use . Dull and trivial activities a r e pa r*

ticularly deficient in genuinely significant content and are stumbling

**Faul Witty, "Children 's Interest and Reading Instruction," Recent Trends in Reading, p. 126. wiMiiiijWii.»iiii«pm»iiH''<i< in ,iilT! i H!IH»|J|||| IW»I iMWiimm ninhm.n. , III I rMW-'Wi "1IW " n MW wiggSwD,

50

Mocks in the reading-readiness program. F a u l t y methods of iastruc-

t i o a are a s indefeas ib le a* poor materials, aad often are at t he root

of many failures in beginning reading. Methods and materials should

he adapted to the specific s e e d s of each child. This naeaaa that the

25 program i s highly individualised. Other characteristics of both

methods and materials are discussed in Chapter IV of this study.

**Boad and Handlan. op. cit. , p. §8.

C H A P T E R IV

T H E P H I L O S O P H Y O F C E R T A I N A U T H O R S

R E L A T I V E TO D E S I R A B L E T T P 1 S O F

R E A D I N G - R E A D I N E S S P R O G R A M S

Readiness i s all of i ts roajor and minor aspects should be the

teacher's f i r s t consideration la working with beginners, To think of

readiness in relation to teaching methods and curriculum contents re*

suits in a limited interpretation. In i ts broader scope the teacher

must consider the terra* as it applies to the total adjustment and devel-

opment of the child—Ms physical, mental, social, and emotional

growth. However, the broader interpretation i s brought about la the

classroom largely through effective instructional techniques and de-

sirable curriculum contents. Table 10 contains data on the philosophy

of thirteen authors relative to the major aspects in these two a reas ,

effective methods of teaching and desirable types of programs.

T e a c h i n g M e t h o d s

An analysis of data in Table 10 shows that the authors agree that

effective teaching methods include both individual and group procedures

•—the fo rmer for personal growth aad the lat ter for social development.

52

§2

TABLE 10

THE PHILOSOPHY OF CERTAIN AUTHORS RELATIVE TO METHODS OF TEACHING AND CONTENT'S OF THE

READING- READINESS PROGRAM IN THE FIRST GRADE*

Effective Methods of Teaching

Desirahle Types of P r o g r a m s

Source Individualised for Personal

Growth

Group P r o -cedures for Social De-velopment

Experience Approach

Formal Book

Approach

Betts, Emmett Albert, Founda-tions of Reading Instruction, pp. 291-303, 3f0-3?4. X X *

Bond, Guy L . , and Bond, Eva, Teaching the Child to Read, pp. 59-70. X X X

Broom, M. E», and others , E f -fective Reading Instruction, pp. 114-1 $5. X X X

Dolch, Edward William, The Psy-chology of Read-ing, pp. 57-11. X X X

S3

TABLE 10—Continued

Source

Effective Methods of Teaching

Individualized for Personal

Growth

Group Pr©-' c t d s r t i lor Social De-velopment

Desirable Types ol P r o g r a m s

Experience Approach

•Formal Book

Approach

Gates, Arthur L , and Russell* David M., "The Effects of Delaying Begin-ning Reading a Ball Tear in the Case of Underprivileged Pu-pils with I. Q. "s 75-95 , " Journal of £du~ cational Research, XXXII {January, 1939), 321-328.

Harrison, M. Lucile, Reading Readiness, W T T i -58, 1^7-174.

Hildreth, Gertrude, Readiness for School Beginners, pp. 8-10, 15-17.

Johnston, £ula A . , "Techniques of Eval-uating Growth in and Through Reading in the Primary Grades,' Co-operative Effor t in Schools to Ieoj

Ti Reading, pp.

54

TABLE 10—Continued

Source

Effective Methods of Teaching

Individualized for Personal

Growth

Group P r o -cedures for Social De-v elopnsent

Desirable Types of P rog rams

Experience Approach

Formal Book,

Approach

McKee, Paul, • The Teaching of Reading in • Elementary School# '-pp. 142-HIT"

Monroe, Marion, Children Who Can-

fTF-not Read, TO.

pp.

Russell, David H. Children Learn to Read, pp. 12^-133

Tinker, Miles A . , Teaching Elenaea-tary Reading, ppT" 67-71.

Witty, Paul, and Kopel, David, Read lag and the Educa* tive P roces s , pp. 188-196.

The symbol "x" indicates approval on the pa r t of the writers.

§5

The first implication in these findings i s that the teacher must

know each child a s a person* not merely as a pupil. Data on individual

character is t ics and differences may he accumulated by means of intelli-

gence tests , readiness tes ts and handbooks* interes t questionnaires,

personality ratings, notes on special talents or difficulties, health ap-

pra isa ls , and an analysis of current behavior problems. After utilis-

ing these media, the best teacher begins the reading - r eadine s s program

t h e r e each child is— i n t e rms of capacities, abilities, in teres ts , and

needs—then endeavors to direct his development in appropriate chan-

nels. This means individual guidance for personal growth. * In each

step of individual instruction, the teacher should work toward the

achievement of the following goals related to learning to read: (I) d is-

covery and correction of physical difficulties; (2) provision of r ich and

varied experiences as a background for understanding symbols on the

printed page; ($} training in visual perception, especially in s imi lar i -

ties and differences of fo rms ; (4) development of an effective and ade-

quate speaking vocabulary; (5) provision for training in correc t Eng-

lish usage; and {6} development of an interes t in books and a des i re to

read. 2

la order to achieve the preceding goals most satisfactorily, in-

dividualised instruction should be based on the following four principles

*M. JLucile Harrison, Reading Readiness, pp. 2-3.

2 Ibid. , pp. 66-67.

§6

of learning: (1) the learning experience must be reasonably related to

some goal which the child consider# to be important in o rde r to be most

effective; (2) al l concepts a r e rooted in f i rs t -hand perceptual exper i -

ences; (3) learning involves the whole child; and (4) the mos t effective

3

learning experiences mee t the specific needs of the individual pupil. .

These principles emphasise two concepts upon which the authors agree ,

a s shown in Tables § and 6: f i r s t , that the intelligence quotient i s •jf

closely re la ted to learning to read; and second, that variat ions in men-

tal ages a r e significant in the reading-readiness p rogram.

The second finding in Table 18 shows that the autliors agree with

the thesis that group teaching procedures a r e valuable for providing

socialization experiences. Several implications follow. The f i r s t i s

that grouping generally should be made on an ability b a s i s . 4 Before a

child i s placed in any cer ta in group, all available information about

him should be collected and studied. Data may be obtained f rom

(1) mental tests ; (2) readiness tes ts ; (3) vision tests ; (4) hearing tes ts ;

(5) examination of speech organs; {6) observation of attention and m e m -

ory span, r eve r sa l tendencies, and ability to think abstract ly; (7) con-

fe rences with parents o r guardians relat ive to their education, in te res t

in school, intentions of co-operation with the school, books and story % Stephen M. Corey, "Basic Pr inciples of Learning Underlying the

Effective Use of Reading Ma te r i a l s , " Co-operative Effor t in Schools to Improve Reading, pp. 175-180. . . —

A * Arthur L Gates, Improvement of Reading, p. 172.

57

opportunities a t home, work and play life of the child, and language

spoken by the child's family; (8) observation of the child 's personal

l i fe relat ive to emotional stability* responsiveness, atti tudes, work

and play habits, and unusual personali ty t ra i ts ; and (9) observation of

his reading-readiness charac ter i s t ics which involve meaningful con-

cepts, problematic thinking, vocabulary, cor rec t English usage, ability

to keep a se r i e s of events in mind, ability to see l ikenesses and di f fer-

ences # ability to write* print , or typewrite some words, a knowledge

5

of le f t and right, and a des i re to read . The use of these media i s in

keeping with data in Table I , which show that the authors agree that

physical readiness , mental readiness , social*emotional readiness ,

home background, and school adjustment a r e the m a j o r fac tors r e -

lated to a child* s learning to read.

After the teacher has experimented with grouping procedures ,

a he soon sees the need for making sub-groups, because of the exist-

ing range of achievement levels and needs within a given group. This

means that group arrangements should be highly flexible and probably 6

changed often.

Another implication involved in group instruction i s that the goal

of this type of teaching i s each child 's social development. By reading

5

>lbid.

Harr ison, op. c i t . , pp. 10S-104.

6,

m

together, playing together, planning together, building together, eating

together, and carrying on other natural daily functions together, the : •

children develop social consciousness. • They soon learn thai they rttust

contribute to the group's welfare if they a r e to he accepted, They a l so

learn that shar ing brings mutual happiness, and that group participa-

tion i s the democratic ' way of living.

D e s i r a b l e T y p e # o f R e a d i n g *

E e a i i s e t s P r o g r a x a s

According to the ear ly h is tory of reading instruct ion, pupils

went t© school in o rde r to learn to r ead . Today, the concept i s r e -

versed—they go to school and read in o rde r to l ea rn . This r e v e r s a l

in the purpose of reading has brought about a change in the f i r s t - g r a d e

curriculum* The ea*ly concept of the school's purpose required only

books fo r i ts achievement. The modern concept requires much more.

The philosophy of thirteen representative authors relative to the

most des i rab le type of reading - r eadines s p rogram i s contained in

Table 10, pages 52-54. An analys is of these data shows that the au-

thors agree on the experience curriculum as being superior to the for-

mal book approach. This concept emphasizes four m a j o r implicat ions

which may be c lass i f ied under the following headings: (1) psychological

foundation of the experience approach; (2) suitable c l ass room environ**

ment for l i fe experiences; (3) types of experiences and their purposes;

and (4) media for incidental reading, which i s the outcome of the chil-

dren' s exper iences .

m

The first implication i s that . . the child's background of ex-

pa rience . . . f o r m a the bas i s for much of hi® menta l unders tand-

7 l ags . " Words on the p r in ted o r wr i t ten pages a r e usefu l only a s they

t

s t imula te the reca l l ing and construct ing oi: these exper iences . Perhaps

the g r ea t e s t contribution of the reading-readiness program i s the en-

riching of the child's l i fe so that he may approach f o r m a l reading with

a store of vivid concepts and a multitude of meaningful associations.

Then, the reading process becomes l e s s difficult, more meaningful, g

and hence more pleasurable. It follows, then, that the most desira-

ble type of r ead ing - r ead ines s p r o g r a m i s made up of s low-growing,

cumulat ive bodies of exper iences which contr ibute to the a l l - round d e -

velopment of the child and which a r e designed to br ing him to a s tage

where he want® to r e a d because he can see the use of reading in eve ry -

day living. This concept emphas izes the reason for the authors* d i s -

a g r e e m e n t a s to the m o s t des i rab le menta l age f o r beginning read ing ,

a s has been shown i s Table 7.

The second implicat ion re la ted to the exper ience cu r r i cu lum i s

that the re is an obvious need in the first-grade c l a s s r o o m f o r a f r iendly ,

cheer fu l a tmosphe re conducive to having exper iences of working and

playing together happily and harmoniously . This suggest® an a t t r a c -

tive teacher , appropr ia te space, and p rope r equipment. These th ree 7 Paul Witty and David Kopel, Reading and the Educative Proces s ,

p. I IS .

®Grace E. S torm, "Developing Meaningful Concepts in Reading, " Recent T r e a d s in Reading, p. 56.

60

factors contribute toward providing a stimulating, intriguing, question*

provoking environment wMcl invites happiness, thinking, manipulation,

invest igat ion, and experimentation. By means of these ac t iv i t ies , the

f irst -grade child learns to read. Data previously p resen ted i a Table 9

have shown that the authors agree that the school's major environmental

factor* play a significant role in the reading-readiness program.

The well-equipped c l a s s r o o m r e s e m b l e s a good home, with

flexible furniture, a t t r ac t ive p i c tu re s , d r a p e r i e s , bookshelves , p lants ,

and, maybe , a goldfish bowl or aquarium. In addition, i t contains

workbenches, tools, e a se l s , bulletin boards , boxes, a sandbox, pos -

t e r s , c h a r t s , maps , a globe, f i lm s t r i p s , a phonograph, a piano,

and various specific interest centers. Upon entrance, the children

immediately sense the warmth of their new "home" and soon find that

i t i s a p lace where they can have fun and do many in te res t ing things.

This kind of c l a s s room environment p romotes des i r ab le menta l heal th

and a foundation f o r learning to read .

Indoors, there should be sufficient room for play and other small*

group ac t iv i t ies , such as dramatizations, building, playing g a m e s ,

drawing, painting, clay modeling, group "reading, " browsing in the l i -

brary c o r n e r , putting up exhibits , housing col lect ions, and enjoying

toys. Space and equipment for these ac t iv i t ies a r e n e c e s s a r y , because

chi ldren acqu i re r ead iness l a rge ly through physical ac t iv i t ies in the

61

beginning period. Outdoors, they need space and equipment for play-

ing with toy vehicles, sand and water activities* climbing* coasting,

a

gymnastics, running, jumping, and other types of active play.

The third implication relative to the experience curriculum i s

that the most desirable experiences for a child a r e life-like* satisfy-

ing, purposeful, and appropriate for his level of development* In order

to meet these cri ter ia , they naturally center around home life* the nat-

ural world* the local community* food* transportation, communication*

and certain social projects.

Both real and vicarious experiences in each of these a reas a re

abundant* and all of them contribute to the child's readiness to read.

The social studies provide opportunities for increasing his knowledge

of essential subject matter* widening his range of concepts* and in-

creasing vocabulary skills and abilities. Science i s meaningful* be-

cause i t concerns the natural world in which tike child has a keen in-

terest—animal life, plants* weather, and various seasonal projects

and activities. Music offers opportunities for the expression of emo-

tions that a re satisfying, and a r t provides experiences in f r ee and

creative expression. Story telling gives enjoyment. At the same time*

the telling of stories provides opportunities for the children to asso-

ciate meaning with new words, while listening develops the ability to

^Gertrude Hildreth* Readiness for School Beginners, pp. 114-115.

^Cal i forn ia Curriculum Commission* Teachers1 Guide to Child Development, pp. vii-ix. ' ' '

62

keep a series of events in miad—a trait which i s essential even in the

earliest steps of reading.

Personal and social experiences in each of the preceding a reas

a r e designed to provide children with opportunities for developing se lf-

confidence and for promoting social integration. They include such

activities a s (1) playing games with other children; (2) taking pa r t in

dramatic plays, singing, rhythmic excursions, drawing, and painting;

(3) giving a par ty a t school; (4) celebrating certain holidays and chil-

d ren ' s birthdays; (5) taking excursions; (6) sharing mater ia l s and

possessions; (7) engaging in single housekeeping activit ies in the c lass -

room; (8) participating in group planning and discussions; {9} listening | |

while others talk; and (10) taking turns in work and play. The basic

purpose of all experiences in each of these a r e a s i s to promote the

physical, mental, social, and emotional growth of the child. The f i -

nal goal i s the development of a balanced and stable personality, which

i s basic to learning to read. Table 8 has shown that the authors agree

that emotional stability and social adjustment are significant aspects

in the .reading-readiness program.

The fourth implication relative to the experience curriculum is

concerned with media for incidental reading—because reading in the

1 *M. E. Broom and others , Effective Heading Instruction, p. 117. •

63

experience program i s truly incidental, It Is comprised largely of la-

bels, directions, name*, po*ttr«, announcements, suggestions, plans,

and experience charts. In some schools, readiness booklets a re used.

The work in these booklets is so simple that the slowest child can real-

ize accomplishment. It provides practice in visual discrimination,

handling books, finding pages, moving the eyes left*to-right, and other

skills that facilitate actual reading, spelling, and number work. These

booklets give the child and the parents the satisfaction of knowing that

tike pupils are using books at school. At the same time, they are a

good substitute for the formal reading lessons which are too difficult

and tedious for most six-year-old children.

All media used for incidental reading in the readiness program

are simple, clear, attractive, and useful. They help the child to as*

sociate meaning with symbols on the printed page, and thereby provide

a foundation for formal instruction in reading.

C H A P T E R V

F I N D I N G S , C O N C L U S I O N S , AN D

R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S

F i n d i n g s

Research designed for the development of the present problem

centered around the following three b r w d a r e a s of reading readiness

fo r f i r s t -g rade children; ( I ) evidences of the need for euch a program;

(2) ma jo r fac tors involved in readiness to read; and (3) desi rable types

of activit ies for promoting reading readiness . An analysis of pertinent

data resul ted in the following findings upon which representat ive an*

thors agree .

1. The two m a j o r evidences of the need for a reading-readiness

p rogram in the f i r s t grade include the repor ted ser ious personali ty

damages resulting f rom the child's fa i lure to read and the high inci-

dence of fa i lure . Effects of fai lure in learning to read a r e l is ted a s

juvenile delinquency, d isas t rous emotional and social maladjustments ,

and a dis tas te for reading, with subsequent retardation. The incidence

of fai lure i s high and alarming, but no accurate s tat is t ical proportion

o r number of fa i lures i s available.

64

65

2, The following ma jo r fac tors a r e involved in a child 's learning

to reads physical readiness , mental readiness, emotional and social

readiness* home background, and school adjustment.

3. The most desirable types ©f activities a r e l i fe- l ike, sa t i s fy-

ing, purposeful, and appropriate for the child 's par t icular level of de-

velopment. The experience approach to learning to read excels the

formal , hook approach, because meaning comes by associating the

symbols on the printed page with experiences which the child has pos-

sessed. Only a s he reca l l s and reconst ructs those experiences can he

comprehend.

C o n c l u a i o n s

An analysis of the preceding findings obtained f rom the philos-

ophy of certain authors relat ive to reading readiness in the f i r s t grade

led to the following conclusions:

1. An abundance of educational l i te ra ture dealing with reading

readiness i s available fo r teachers .

2. The authors consider reading readiness t© be an imperative

pa r t of the first-grade curriculum.

S. The authors agree on major issues re lated to evidences of

need for the reading-readiness p rogram, the fac tors involved, and

desirable types of programs.

66

4. The major disagreement is on the best mental age lo r beginning

reading. A majority of the writers, however, ag ree that the child

should wot be subjected to formal instruction until be i s ready physic-

ally, mentally, socially, and emotionally.

§. Classroom teachers can follow the readiness program sug-

gested by representat ive authors with confidence and an assurance of

seme degree of success—the degree depends upon the pupils taught,

the type of program ca r r i ed on, and the t eacher ' s personali ty and

teaching techniques.

R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s

The problem of reading readiness in the first grade has many

potentialities which have not been exhausted. Their development,

through his torical research and through classroom experimentation,

should prove valuable. This suggestion, along with the resu l t s of the

present study, prompted the following recommendations:

JU The significance of physical, mental , social, and emotional

fac to rs related to reading readiness should be measured through di-

r ec t c lassroom experimentation and by means of scientific instruments

such a s tes ts .

2. Reading-readiness activities suggested in current educational

l i te ra ture should be incorporated in the f i r s t -g rade curr iculum, and

their apparent effectiveness measured scientifically.

67

3. A survey of the prevalence and types of reading-readiness

programs la f irst grade# of a representative territory should be made

for the purpose of evaluating the status of reading instruction in our

schools. The results might well be the answer to the question of why

so many children and even adults cannot read satisfactorily.

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

B o o k s

Baxter* Bernice,and Bradley, Ann M. , An Overview of Elementary , Education, Boston, 3D, C. Heath and Company, T945." '

Belts, Emmett Albert , Foundations of Reading Instruction, Hew York, American Book Company, I ' H C ''

Betts, Emmett Albert , Prevention and Correct ion of Reading Difficul-t ies , Hew York, American Book Company, 1946. '

Bond, Guy JL., awl Bond, Eva, Teaching the Child to Read, Hew York, Macmillan Company, 1943.

Broom, M. E . , and others , Effective Reading Instruction, Hew York, -McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1951. "*

California Curriculum Commission, Teachers1 Guide to Child Develop-ment, Sacramento, California, California State Printing Office, I93S.

Cole, jLouella, The Improvement of Reading, Hew York, F a r r a r and Rinehart, '

Calkin, Mabel JLouise, Teaching the Youngest, Hew York, Macmillan Company, 1949.

JDolch, Edward William, Teaching P r i m a r y Reading, Springfield, Illinois, Gar ra rd P r e s s , 1941.

Gates, Arthur 1., Improvement of Reading, Hew York, Macmillan Com-pany, 1947. "*

Gates, Arthur I . , Bend, Guy JL., and Russel l , David H . , Methods of Determining Reading Readiness, Hew York, Bureau of PubHcal tions, Teachers College,*1 Columbia University, 1959.

$3

69

Glover, Katherine, and Dewey, Evelyn, Children of the New Day, New York, Century Company, 1931. - - —

Gray, William S. , Monroe, Marion, and Gray, Lillie, Guidebook for the Pre -pr lmer Program of the Basie Readers, Chicago, Scott, Foresman and Company, 19417

Harris , Albert J . , How to Increase Reading Ability, Mew York, Loag-mans, Green and*Company, 1946. ""

Harrison, M. Lueile, Reading Readiness, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1939.

Hildreth, Gertrude, Child Growth Through Education, New York, Ronald Press , 1948. , * :

Hildreth, Gertrude, Learning the Three R's , - Philadelphia, educational Publishers, 1936.

Hildreth, Gertrude, Readiness for Reading, Washington, Association for Childhood Education, 1941. '

Lamoreaux, Lillian, and Lee, Doris May# Learning to Read Through Experience, New York, Appleton- Century, 1943.

Lee, J. Murray, and Lee, Doris May, The Child and His Curriculum, New York, Appleton-Century-CroftsT 1950.

Ma comber, Freeman Glenn, Guiding Child Development in the Clemen-tary School, New York, American Book Company, T941.

McCullough, Constance M., Steong, Ruth, and Traxler, Arthur £ . , Problems in the Improvement of Reading, New York, MeGraw-Hi'lfBook" Coropaay, 194&1

McKee, Paul, The Teaching of Reading in the Elementary School, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1948. — ~ ~

Monroe, Marion, Children Who Cannot Read. Chicago, University of Chicago Frees , 141'#. '

Otto, Henry J . , Elementary School Organisation and Administration, New York, Appleton-Century, 1940. "

70

Pennell, Mary E . , and Cusack, Alice M. , The Teaching ol Reading for Better Living, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1*35.

Pennell, Mary E. , and Cusack, Alice M . , How to Teach,, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1923.

Presco t t , Daniel A . , Emotion and the Educative P m t M , Washington, American Council on' Education,

Russel l , David H.» Children Jbearn to Read, New York, Ginn and C&m» pany, 1949.

Stevens, Marion Paine, The Activity Curriculum i s the P r i m a r y Grades, New York, D. C. Heath and Company, 1931.

Tinker, Miles A . , Teaching Elementary Reading, Mew York, Apple* tsm~ Century- Crof ts , 19^2. "

Witty, Paul, and Skinner, Charles, Mental Hygiene in Modern Educa-tion, Mew York, F a r r a r and MneSart , 1939.

Witty, Paul, and Kopel, JDavid, Reading and the Educative P roces s , New York, Gian and Company, 1939. ' • 'r "":M

A r t i c l e s

Boynton, Paul JLewis, Dugger, Har r ie t , and Turner , Masai, "Emo-tional Stability of Teachers and Pupils, *' Journal of Juvenile Resea rch , XVm (October, 1934), 223-25ZT"

Dean, Charles D. , "Predicting F i r s t Grade Achievement," Elementary School Journal , XXVII (April, 1939), 609-616.

Gates, Arthur I . , "Maladjustments Due to Fai lure in Reading, " School Executive, LV (1933), 379-380.

Gates, Arthur L , "The Necessary Mental Age for Beginning Reading, " Elementary School Journal, XXXVII (March. 1937), 507.

Hildreth, Gertrude, "Reading Readiness for the F i r s t Grade, " National Paren t s Magazine, XX (March, 1946), 7.

Harr ison, M. JLucile, "Readiness for the Thinking Side of Reading, " Childhood Education, XV (January, 1939), 214.

71

Morphet, M. ¥ . , and Washburne, Carleton, "When Should Children Begin to Read?" Elementary School Journal, XXXI {March, 1911). 496-503.

Washburne, Carleton, "Ripeness, h Progressive Education, XH1 (1936), 125-130. '

Witty, Paul, and Kopel, David, "Preventing Reading Diaability, " Educational Administration and Supervision, XXII (September, 1936), 401-4T£T • ; " -•

B u l l e t i n s , R e p o r t s , a n d M o n o g r a p h s

Betta, Emmett Albert, "The Initial Stages of Reading Readiness, " Pr imary Reading Monograph, Number 13, Research Department, New York, Row-Peterson Company.

Corey, Stephen M., "Basic Principles of Learning Underlying the Effective Use of Reading Mater ia ls ," Co-operative Effort in Schools to Improve Reading, Number 56, September, 1942, compiled"and edited by William S. Gray, Chicago, University of Chicago P r e s s .

Gates, Arthur I , , and Crampton, Gertrude, "F i r s t Days at School, " Teachers ' Service Bulletin in ReacUng, Number 1, New York, M&cmillan Company, September, 1939.

Gates, Arthur 1,, "Readiness for Beginning Reading, " Readiness for Learning, Bulletin, Washington, Association for Childhood Edu-cation.

Gates, Arthur 1., "Research Problem in Reading in the Elementary School, " f o u r t h Annual Research Bulletin, National Conference on Research in Elementary School English, February, 1936.

Gray, William S . , editor, Co-operative Effort in Schools to Improve Reading, IV, Nun ~ — September, 1942. Reading, IV, Number 56, Chicago, University of Chicago Press ,

saber,

Gray, William S . , editor, Implications of Research for the Classroom Teacher, Joint Yearbook of the American Educational Research Assocation and the Department of Classroom Teachers, Washing* ton, National Education Association, 1939.

72

Gray, William S. > editor . Keeping Reading Programs Abreast of the Times, Number 72, Chicago, University of Chicago P re s s l October, 1950,

Gray, William S.» Promoting Personal an# Social Growth Through Reading, Chicago, University of Chicago Press , 1947,

Gray, William S . , and others . The Twenty-fourth Yearbook, National Society for the Study of Education, P a r t I, Chicago, University of Chicago P r e s s , 1924.

Hardy, Marjor ie , "Reading. " Chlldcraft, IX, Chicago, W. F . Quarr ie and Company, 1939.

Monroe, Marion, "A Program to Develop Readiness in Grade I, " The Kleinentary Principal , Seventeenth Yearbook of the Department* of Elementary Principals , Washington, National Education Asso-ciation, 1938.

Pennell, Mary E . , "Early Reading as a Thought*getting P roces s , " Teaching of Reading, a Second Report, Thirty-sixth Year-

book, NiHonai Society for the Study of Education, P a r t I, Bloomington, Illinois, Public School Publishing Company, 1937.

Sherman, Mandel, "Emotional Disturbance and Reading Disability, " Recent Trends in Reading, compiled and edited by William S. Gray, Chicago, University of Chicago P r e s s , November, 1939.

S t 0 r m L G ** d * E*_* , , D * v e l o P 4 n « Meaningful Concepts in Reading, " Recant Trends in Reading, compiled and edited by William S. Gray, Chicago, University of Chicago P r e s s , November, 1939.

Traxler , Arthur E . , and Towaaend, Agatha, Another Five Years of Research in Reading, Educational Records BulletisTNo. 46, ' New York, Educational Records Bureau, October, 1946.

Witty, Paul, "Children 's In t e re s t s and Reading Instruction, »• Recent Treads in Reading, compiled and edited by William S. Gray", ' • • Chicago. University of Chicago P r e s s . November, 1939.

73

U n p u b l i s h e d M a t e r i a l s

Rollins. Norma Edith., "A Descriptive Survey of the Reading-readiness Program of the F i r s t Grade in Wichita Fa l l s , Texas, During 1940-1941," Unpublished Mas te r ' s Thesis , Department of Educa-tion, North Texas State College, August, 1941.

Evans, Toznoaie, "Reading Readiness a s Related to the Mental, Phys-ical , Personal , and Social Fac to r s of a Group of Law F i r s t -grade Pupils of Piano Elementary School, Piano, Texas, During the F i r s t F ive Months of 1949-1950, " U n p u b l i s h e d Mas te r ' s Thesis , Department of Education, North Texas State College, August, 1950.