Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-03-07
Methods in Primary Reading,
A Paper Read by Miss Goodrich of the
High Street Primary School at the
Teachers Institute, Friday, Feb. 81,
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What is reading If we include in our
definition oral reading, it is finding and
giving the thought which is expressed by
words arranged in sentences. The child
has gained ideas bv means of his senses
and has associated them with spoken words
In the home, when any object has pleased
him, he has asked the name and often re
peated it, Whenever afterward he has
seen the same object, the name and object
have been connected in his mind Just as
the child has learned to talk, by assocat
ing ideas with spoken words, in the same
way should he learn TO read, by associat-
ing ideas with written or printed words.
1t is waste Of time TO try TO have the
child read until he will talk readily, and in
order TO accomplish this We take objects,
as a dog, cat or horse, that are familiar to
all, and in which they will be interested.
We present a toy horse, asking, What do
you see n and make the child give the an
swer in complete sentence. Next we let
him take the object and tell what he has.
Before long he will talk freely of the horse,
telling us 1t is large or white. as the case
may be- what it can do, what it eats, of
what use it is, aud that it has head, body,
tail and 80 on We take it as a whole first,
then take the parts.
After spending ten days or two weeks in
this way, we are ready to have the pupil
read from the board some of the stories he
has told us. The same objects which have
been used will now he used II objects
cannot be obtained, pictures are the best
substitute. II the teacher can draw, how
ever roughly, the sketches will lie great
aid We give the child the dog and ask,
"What have You Z" He will reply, II have
the dog aud we say, Now the chalk is
going TO say just what you did. Watch it. ."
After writing the story, we ask, What
does the chalk say ~ and the child reads
the sentence from the board. As he reads,
let him take the pointer running through
the whole sentence and have him read it
as If he were talking TO his playmates.
NJw ask again, What kind Of horse
have you = writing the answer and hav
ing it read Put the same word IN a num-
Der of stories of your own beginning them
with, If see, '"l have, ""You have, Can
YOU" Have YOU" 1T is" This is
That is" or see" Require the children
to find the word III the different stories,
aud afterward let some one take the eraser
and send away the word. Have the sto
ries true as much as possible, for that mak es
them more interesting You will see that
tence, and we prefer this to the word
method because 1t gives the whole thought.
Particular words are made prominent by
being repeated frequently, so that they are
learned as well in "a sentence a. when taken
separately, aud more words are learned in
the same length Of time.
Do not try 10 teach too many words at
once Two new ones IN one lesson are suf-
fcient Action words-run, jump, hop,
skip. play and the like-are taught by hav-
ing the action performed Personal pro
nouns are developed by use in connection
with the object For instance, We ask,
Whose dog have you - and the reply is,
"lt is my dog, " or 1t is your dog" The
articles, a, an and the, should be read as
part Of the following word, unless that
word begins with vowel. All names of
objects are taught for the first three or four
months by association with objects. The
words must be thoroughly learned, and in
order to do this we have the children trace
them III the air, or upon the board and
prick the teachers neatly written copy up
on card board As soon as a word is learned,
write it upon the board or chart for drill.
Refer TO this chart often, asking the pupils
10 make sentences with the words, or let
them point out and tell as many possible.
We must guard against letting the child
attempt to read before getting the thought,
neither must we give the thought ourselves,
but bring it out by questioning the pupil.
The great point Is to have him get the
thought and express It naturally.
After teaching one hundred words Or
more in script, from the board, we are
ready for print. We use script rather than
print at first, because we wish the child to
express the thought also by writing. Since
the change from script TO print can be made
IN few days, 1t does not seem wise to at
tempt 70 teach both at the same time.
When We make the change, we put both
forms upon the board, saying TO the chill
dreu that we have a new way of telling the
story, and they will find no difficulty in
reading either. When the same one hun
dred words have been learned in print, we
take the chart or book but must have all
the new words taught thoroughly upon the
board before lesson is taken. This is a
very important point, for the children will
hesitate unless the words are perfectly fa-
miiar Put the new words in sentences
not exactly like those in the lesson, but
conveying the same idea. Let the children
describe the picture at the beginning Of the
lesson, for this is good language work, and
greatly assists the reading. They will be
pleased to notice the difference between
their stories and those in the book Tell
them u look carefully at the first sentence,
and if the words have been learned it will
be but moment before the hands will be
up thus saying, "We are ready" If even
one mistake is made in pronouncing, or if
there is any hesitating or repeating, have
the child sit down at once so impressing
upon him that we will have no carelessness.
II possible have the substance of the les
son given after the reading.
The children take the books only in class,
so it is strictly sight reading, thus keeping
the reading matter fresh and giving it in
terest Do not have the lesson read more
than twice in succession, or they will read
it from memory instead of at sight. How
ever, if there is any hestancy the first
time, it is well to try again in few days.
IL is a good plan 10 have set of books
which the children NAV use at their seats
for reading to themselves, or seeing how
many times they can find specified words.
As one first reader is not sufficient TO fix
the words in the mind, there should be five
or six sets and as many second readers,
thus having the words of one grade thor
Oughly learned before taking those of an
other Those who cannot be supplied with
additional sets of readers can obtain sup
Elementary reading by using story books
or papers, by making charts, or by writing
on slips of paper or cardboard the sen
tences made from the words learned. The
busy may be made an aid to reading.
We take little strips of cardboard placing
the word in script upon one side, and in
print upon the other, using them to make
some sentence which was in the lesson.
In the beginning of the second year we
give the children printed letters to make
the words upon the desks and find it an
aid to both reading and spelling We have
the pupil write the words several times and
also put them in sentences both oral and
written. We should be sure each word
taught has meaning for the child so that
he can put it in a story. We teach phonics,
but not at first, since it would divert the
child's attention and prevent him from as
sOciating the word with the object. We
commence by pronounciug the word very
slowly ourselves, thus giving the appropri-
ate sound TO each letter, and then let the
child initiate. 70 see if he is familiar with
the sounds of the letters, we spell word
by sound and let the child give it then we
give a word and have him spell it by sound.
Reading, when taught as we have at
tempted to describe it, secures excellent re-
suits. It awakens interest, cultivates ex-
preston, develops taste and gives self-reli-
ance.
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Phonograph closets are very common
now in the offices of New York business
men A man goes in and talks to his ma
chine and after a while the type writer