Widening Education Horizons

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s s o I The footuro article In "Widen-l Inn Educational Ilorinons" week from Mr. M. Msicxenxle. As- sistant to the Director of Educa-

lion.

Sesno Questions Parents At I

About the Teaching of Reading l

Parents have many questions s-l bout how the schools are teach-l lrig reading today. They tend to feel that reading is taught dif- ferently nowadays from when they 1 wont to school. and they wonder how their children are going to' tore under today's methods.

Toschsrrs and others connected with the administration of

is working on preparing him to succeed whonrvosiding isintroduc- ed. He will make fsster progress after this pregmrstnry period has boon ousoomrully uoumpllslwd than if ho started without the

he needs. You can be surohis tosehcisjustsseuar forlsimtosuoceod with iesdlngss you si-oi

What h meant by "a reading- roodInoosprogrunnis”1

'rhislsspmsro.mmsofpaep-

,srstlon for reading. It is planned ' to help ohiklreri develop and prac-

tice many of tho skills necessary in routing. For example. children learn how to handle a book. turn the pages. find and has tho place. look him left to right across ths pogo. Thw loarn how to study the details of pictures, both as to form and nuns. and how to think about and express in words the idea suggested by the pictures. Thdr attention is directed to things that an alike and things that are different in pictured ob- jects. Gradually they are taught to notice very small differences in detail. such habits of noticlrig details are very important in rec-

tklglogriiud woods. Ono little smoke, ,for example, makes all the differ-

ence between the words. cot and

When I went in School we had

to ho absolutely silent and pay

attention to our lo-oils. Why have things slssnged?

In the modol olsssmom today order and discipline are maintain- ed but the atmosphere is more infonnal than it used to be. Many of the activities of tho reading- readiness programme in Grade I are directed toward providing sil- uations in which the children want

9"” to talk because they have some-

ochools have reason to be proud of l Lh- , he mu , mm bout A in '”d"'3 '"”3"”” "d mtmm-I ' thlemehxlidrrsan Ell: expefienco irl

In use today. Many of them feel that if they could help psrenm

rasaing themselves before the others-whether in large or small

understand what the schools are up. may mum pow”. over don” Emu” '”m,m". "M wrm” gvrtii-ds. Througllout the elementary would be enthusiastic. too, and.g"du' Iamlnw mm" 0'"... mg

lnomoonifidentof the progrsssthoir children are going to make. Ac- oordingly an sttem-pt is made here to answer as briefly as pouible the questions parents most fre- quently ask about modern read- ing methods.

there may be local deviations from accepted practice. Not all of the teachers at work in our schools have had thorough training in bosching' msthods particularly in the teaching of roadiiig. It is hop- od. therefore, that this article may prove to be of some benefit to those teachers as well u to par- ents.

The WTll.0r is grateful to the lcntt-Foreman Co for permis- sion on use illustrations and other material from their reading manu- al: and texts.

lhould parents try to teach their child to read before he enters School?

In general this

idea. The child's teacher will de-

termine whether he is ready mu

undertake the difficult feat of learning to read. If a child is not ready to read, it would be unfor- tunate to force him to do so. In any case, he will enter upon his new tasks with much greater en- thusiasm if he starts with the other children and if his interest has not been dulled by premature efforts to force the issue.

llnvw can parents help when their Child enters School?

When a child's parents undrr- stan-d what the school is trying to do. and when they cooperate with the school for the child's best in- tenets. he has a better chance to be happy and relaxed about his new experiences and to meet thorn successfully, It helps if par- ents know the ingredients for

success in learning to read: what?

is meant by reading readiness and how readiness for reading is de- veloped. It helps if they know how ths schools go about teaching reed- lng those days, and if they accept the fact that today's approved

4 i i It is pointed out in parents thst1 l

formally before and after read- ing is lmiportarit in helping child- lren got the most out of what they 1 road.

leading hooks are different to- day. when I wont to school. I had only one reader per grade What is the purpose of all the pictures In today's readers?

Your ohild's first little reading

gprimer of the reading programme, ilooks and is different from the iflrst reader you had as a six-year old. Notice how colorful. how rea- ilistic, how appealing the pictures are, But there is more to these pictiirca than glamour. Look care-

fully and you will see that this.

ifirst little pre-primer is made up lot a number of stories. Something happens in each one. Often it is .amuslng; always it holds a child's interest. Note that the very lim- ited vocabulary is not sufficient to tell a. story in itself. The plot of

;tures, and the words which the children read tell what the char- acters in the pictures are saying.

The children enjoy looking at,

thinking about. and talking about.

the pictures together in the class- room. Then it's s. natural thing to ;turn to the printed words and trend what Dick Jana or Baby is saying. By the and of Grade '1, the words A child reads are telling all or almost all of the story. However, pictures continue to be important lin all readers for the elementary grades as they are planned as vis- usl aids to good reading.

How do children ever learn to read without looming letters first?

Learning to read today is plan- ned as an interesting. stimulating, and satisfying experience. The akillod toacher tries to make read- ing full of meaning for the child- . ren right from the start. The child-

ren's interest is stimulated because

there is always something to think p about. Amusing stories about children like themselves amuse

familiar to them. But it isn't just a combination of lsttors; it is a

symbol that really means some- thing to them. In each reading losswi the

teacher will present othr words, s. few at a time. the way she pre- sented Jump. The chlldron will meet these words again and again in stories. chalkboard drills and workbook exercises. In his first year of reading a child will learn to recognize around no words at aight. By the end of tho third grade, his stock of sight words will have grown to around noon. These sight words will be his working capital in learning to get new words himself.

How do children learn to get now words for themselves!

The foundations for independ- ence in getting new words are laid in Grade I. and training in speci- fic skills continue all through the elementary grades. Our pro- gramme includeo training in five approaches to get new words. as follows: ill children are taught to use meaning clues. to get new words. and to check on the ap- propriateness nf words they have worked out by using other clues. For example. if a child were read- ing: 'It began to rain. The little girl put up her---." he would expect the next word to be uls- i,lir:-lla whether or not he had ever iseen the printed form of the word Lliefore, Generally, however. the . meaning clue alone is not enough iio identify the new word. I!) 'Chlld-ren are taught to use word-

form clues - that is. to look at zwordx with care. noticing their distinguishing characteristics and nava that new words are alike or different from words they already know, (3) They are taught to notice the pattern or structure of words - for example, that bad- time is made up of two words they already know: that jumping is made up of the familiar word jump with the ending in; on it. (41 They are taught in associate soiinds with letter symbols and to work out the sound of new words for themselves through phonetic cluss. This means that we do teach phonics as part of the read- ing programme. though we go a- bout it sonv-what differently from the methods used in the "old anys." iii As children go into the middle grade: they are taught how to use in dictionary to get the pronunciation and meaning out of words they Can't figure out through using any of the other rluea.

book. Wo Look and See. the pre- I

What do children learn In phonics as it is taught today?

Children learn to use "phonics" ("phonetic analysis" is the more

Wxnct term) to make for them- selves the (lamp between the ,sounrl of a word which may be :i;-miliar to them and its printed form which is new.

In the first year. ear-tralnlmz tor auditory perception is the first -step. Children are encouraged to ,listen for words that begin alike. They catch on quickly to the fact

is not s goodieach story is carried in the pic- , that hill. Ibnby and bump begin

'with the same sound and they 'sonn learn to identify this sound rt lhp beginning of other words. 1Nexi, they loam to associate an appropriate sound with a given printed symbol - the sound of Ii with tho letter h. the sound of (I .with the lntti-r d. etc. They are gtaiight in recognize consonants at iihe beginning and at the end of 'v:oi'ds in This way.

From this point the child goes or in the substitution of one sound for another in words. For example. if the child knows the printed ;word. lump. he may be able to recognize for himself such words ins, hump. lump. dump. pump. ,Spacificnlly, to racognlrc the word idump. he may merely note that it looks like jump except for the fiiat letter. Then he substitutes ,the sound of ii for the sound of I in the word and the meaning of dump with the sentence. If it lmaks-s senan, he knows that he has 'f.gin'i-d out the right word.

1 In the second grade the work inf the first grade is reviewed and 'a great ds-nl of time is spent an vowel sounds In one-syllable words. Gradually there is built up s iknovrledge of vowel principles

iIietl'inds are different. because ex- ' their desire to push on and find i which Wm M1,, the chm decide

poi-fence has shown that they are better.

Will my Child start to read on - his first day in School?

l..Dori't expect your child to road In firot day of sohool. In fact. it E betta- not to worry at all about when he begins to road. Don't put mdsuro on the teacher t.o speed

ngs up. If the teacher does not shrt your child on reading los-

out what happens next. It has been i discovered that this method of , reading for meaning is much sup- I erlor to the old way of putting all ' the emphasis. in the first days, on the mechanics of reading.

When children have begun to get the feeling of what it means to read-as one child put it. that reading is just "talk written down" &l.h9lT attention is directed to the letters in the words with which

i they have become familiar. We

which vnwnl sound to try first when sounding out a new word The child is taught: that. when he- has sounded out a word. he must check tn see if it makes sense. If it d0Psll't fit the sentence, he must try again.

In Grade III the work of the two proceeding grades la revlewnd land children are taught to apply what they have learned about con- sonants and vowels in short words to words of more than one syll-

IUII 70? D0010 W09 HWY I10 OMB?! l osll the letters by name and build , able. 'l"l-iis involves teaching them

Use first grade. it is because she ...m...m.:m.?.1..

For Quality Milclneu Value

up on awareness of their sounds. Litter we make sure that each child knows the entire alphabet in or- ider. But he is not weighted down k with those thing before he even gets into the swim of reading.

; If the children don't "sound out" the words at first. how do they know what they are?

The teacher introduces th- chlldr-n to each new word in I meaningful way, For example. when she is introducing the word jump. which appears on a page below an attractive, plctairn of a kitten j1imping.tho teacher will say. "When lsby wants her kitten Puff to play with s string. she holds the string high and says. '.Iump. Puff."' While the children are thinking of the word jump. and what the kitten is doing, the teacher will show them a word card on which the word jnwip is rintod. a she will print It on 'the rd and have the children read

It. They will find the some word in their books. and will see it many times in later storm, in games and in their Think-and-Do nor;

cxoielses. until the form of the was I-Io beamios thoroughly

l

the principles of ayllabloatlon so that they can divide s word into syllables, sound out the syllables. and blend them into word wholes l In Grades IV-VIII we review the phonetic skills taught previ- I ouflly. applying them to more com- lpli-X words. Major emphasis in word perception in those grodos is .on developing skill in the use of lthe dictionary - ability to locate words efficiently in the dictionary. ability to work out the pronun- ciation of words from the aids the dictionary gives. ability to select the meaning that flisthesontenee.

What should I Ila If Iy ollll seems slow in loaning to roodf

Psronts have learned not to worry unduly when their shlld devious from the average in learn- ing to walk or talk or in cutting teeth. But they find it less easy to accept s child's deviation from the expectation that he will learn to read at age six. Yet it is just true that children do differ in reading readiness and in the speed on can with which they lesm to read.

If in child is a little slow at

ants asoopt this esusolly and neither worry about it themselves or worry the child about it. Talk the situation over with his teach- or. if you like. she will ask to talk with you if she feels that there on special obstacles in his path. such as health problems or emotional inssourity. But at home don't make an issue of slowness in reading. lucours" the child. give praise for what is accomplish- ed. and be confident that with good toachi . real progress. how- ovor gradual, being made.

llioold psi-onto has: their ohlId's reading Iouons at home! If not. what can we do to help?

In general parents do not need to supplement the classroom work unless the toscher asks them to and .,rovldes specific suggestions. Usually teachers like to have the reader the children are using for roadlng lessons stay at school until the work in it is finished - so that tho storios will be fresh for'each dsy's lesson.

when your child does bring s book home. make a pleasant oc- casion of it. Let him read one of the stories to himself and than tell you about it in his own words. Encourage him also to read some of tho stories aloud to you. giving him help freely if he gets stuck on. or misses. some of the words. Remember it takes many. many repetitions of words to establish them permanently in the child's

to be gained from books.

one

Where Are They Now?

against the door. mals outdoors. ed. .

winter sleep."

spring." "But what about

asked Betty.

wolves, r..ca. and heavier fur coats to keep warm.

"But storms make it very hard for animals. In a blizzard, even their coats cannot always keep them warm. The deer go deep into the thick woods, where they w.ll not feel the wind so much. The mice snuggle into their holes in the haystack. The rabbits burrow into the snow, letting it cover them like a. blanket. Birds. like the prairie chicken, do this too. On a day like this, few animals will be about. They will have found sheltered places and will take naps till the storm is over.

"The worst of the storm is that it makes it hard for animals and birds to find food. Seeds, berries. and grasses are iicon covered by

by putting out (mad that they will like. in places where they can find it easily.

Things to do

1. Make a list of animals that hibernate. Make a list of those that stay out all winter.

bits near our trees in winter?

3. Draw some pictures of ani- mals in a storm.

4. Put pictures of animals that hlbemate, and those that do not. in your scrap-book.

Commandments for School Teacher.

1. Thou shalt have other inter- ests beside thy classroom.

2. Thou shalt not try to make of thy children little images: for they are a live little bunch, visit- ing the wriggling of their captiv- ity upon their teacher unto the weary minute of the fllly. showing interest and co-operation unto those who give them ri reasonable freedom in working.

3. Thou shalt not scream the names of thy children in irrita- tion for they will not hold thee in respect if thou screamost their names in vain.

4. Remember the inn day of the week to keep it happy.

5. Honor the feelings of thy children that their goodwill may speak for thee in the little domain over which thou rulest.

0. Thou shalt not kill one breath of stirring endeavor in the heart of a little child. .

7. Thou shalt not suffer any unklndneas of speech or action to enter the door of thy room.

8. Thou shalt not steal for the drudgery of many papers the proc- ious hours that ahould be given to recreation: that thy strength and happiness may appear unto all that coins within thy pres- ence.

0. Thou shalt not bear witness to too many precious schemes of busy work. for much scattered of- forts is s wesrlnou to the soul and a stumbling block to was fingers.

l0. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor": room-not her children. nor anything that is thy neigh- bors'. Work out thine own asl- vstlon with fear and trembling. only dont let anyone know about the fear and trembling.

ll. Thou shalt laugh: when it rains and the we: ones muddy the floor; when it blows and the

door slams" when Tommy spills

first. it will help greatly if nor- tho ink antl Mary drops a nswly

Mason living a. little too loudly. Harvey's voice -and another that he know be- longed to Oliver Kimball.

Lightning

7 Helen Topping Mills!

an-pub G Toll-so. will "'0- Ioilz engiooor Alanna.

In a dlloh slid the llssons nuroo him book to built. no falls is love with Hell's dssgkler uslslds tot. unwill- ing to peopsss until he has a Cary plsiis

CHAPISXII

Gary had hosrdxvolces in the mom-voices raised

He went back. intending not to

vocabulary. Don't critielu or nag him about the words he misses for this will only make him, feel tonso about reading both st homo and at school. The important thing is to enjoy the stories with him and to sharo with him the pleasure

It was a cold stormy day. The North wind was piling the snow

Betty was anxious about the ani- "How will they keep safe and warm?" she ask-

"Many animals are having their said her teacher. "The bears uid squirrels are curled up in their winter homes. The gophers and chipmunks are safe in their holes. The frogs are buried deep in the mud a tthe bottom of the pond. They do not come out till

the animals that stay out in cold weather"?

"These animals are dressed for the cold." said the teacher. "Deer. rabbits have them

intrude unless he should be suin- monod. but in the back lis.ll Mons Lee caught at his sleeve and drew him aside. "You go in. 0111." she whispered, pole with s duperate kind of excltesnant. "It's ollvar. He came out and brought some big oil man with him. They're ar- guing ln there. and l-Iorve.V's begin- ning to get mad. I listened sp- stalrs. I couldn't. help hearing be- cause Harvey talks so lotui. though I oouldnt get all that other man was saying. something about not being able to sell our oil if we get it. I want you to go in. Gary. I'm going to speak in Harvey."