The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1921-03-03
Reading WITH Children
by Professor A. W. Burr
Berea College

| berea toiiege
Mothers read TO their children a,
often as they can. Children read .,
their teachers in school day in anc
day out for years. Yet children, az
ter they begin to read, go so slowl,
through their readers, First, Second
Third, etc. and make such hard worp
Of II, so long. Must learning to reat
easily. with pleasure, be task OF
years? Is there a better way?
A few years ago, Margaret, six
years old, was for some weeks at d
summer cottage with her grand
father. They read together the "Hol
low Tree lnn,' books by Albert Big.
Glow Paine, for Margaret had begun
TO read. Some of the experiences OF
Mr.. Crow and Mr.. Rabbit were read
over and over again. Before long
she was reading by herself and was
using words unusual for child
When she went home she found in
the library translation of Nergil's
Aeneid and began reading il and tell.
ing about il at the table.
The writer, a teacher Of Educa-
ton and Psychology for many years,
was puzzled by Margaret's rapid
progress in reading. 1t. was too
great for any unusual brightness TO
account for il. Months afterward
the solution came as flash. Mar
garet sat in her grandfathers lap
and insisted upon following the read
ing with her eye, which she could do
easily as the type was large.
SEEING AND HEARING
Margaret wanted to see what she
heard. She was right. Reading is but
transferring meaning from sounds,
ear-symbols, to letters, eye-symbols.
She had both at once with every
word and so knew both by sound and
by sight. She was getting her writ
ten language from the spoken.
In this method there were also
other conditions that helped her rapid
progress in reading: The printed
words came TO her eye with the usual
rapidity Of speech. a necessary condi-
ton for the fash Of thought through
words spoken or written. She was
adding all the time also to her spoken
language.
The natural tones Of the voice Of
the reader gave meaning to both
spoken and written words. Tones
mean more to children than to grown
ups.
Some scenes in the Hollow Tree
Inn were gone over again and again
The words became familiar.
The scenes and characters were
within her experience or imagination,
very necessary condition Of learn
ing to read, too often disregarded
Under these conditions and by the
words she knew, Margaret got the
meaning and use Of the words she
did not know, just as all Of us have
learned ninety-nine- hundredths Of the
words we speak and write. She was
getting her written language in the
same way that she had learned her
spoil on language, finding the unknown
by the known.
Nor is this solitary case or mere
theory. The writer has tried il on
with readers Of different grades and
the improvement was marked. Read
ing, ability to find the picture and
thought Of another, comes TO the
child by putting words together for
sense by the eye, not by hearing, nor
by the stumbling pronunciation Of
class exercise.
HOME AND SCHOOL READING
Mother, father, older brother or
sister and child, therefore, should
both read from the book, one read
ing and speaking, and the other
hearing and reading, il reading facil-
ity is TO be gained. The gain is
worth having two books, if there is
no other way.
In schools teacher and pupils can
have the same book and privilege of
reading with each other. That should
transform the usual reading exercise.
Let the teacher read aloud and well
the days lesson while the class fol
low with both ear and eye. Then
let both go over il again silently
Clear up the meaning of words new
TO the class. After the reading of
some paragraph silently, ask what
they saw, the picture the words gave
them. Now they are ready for the
oral reading and can do IL.
Sometimes use a whole period for
silent work, going over a half doz-
en- past lessons, or taking up new
not too difficult for silent
Time the turning Of pages