3.
3.
METHODS OF TEACHING READING.
Methods of learning to read are the result of bringing the different thought, symbol, and phonic elements into combination and active co-operation. The process is organic and all these features must be kept in mind. There are two kinds of reading, silent and oral.
Silent Reading.Silent reading is the personal, individual way of getting thought from the printed page. The teacher must lead the pupil to see that the sentences have meaning. From the very first the teacher should never lose sight of this fundamental principle and should train the child into the habit of interpreting the printed page into mental pictures. A good method of conducting the reading lesson is the following:
Let each child read the entire lesson silently to get the thought (whole to parts). When the child does not recognize a word and cannot get it from the context or the sound elements, tell him what it is, in as simple a way as he would be told about a new object in the home. When he has finished reading the child may show that he is ready to give the thought. The teacher requests a pupil to give in his own language what he has just read. It will then be seen how vivid his images are of what he has read and how fully it has appealed to him. At the same time, his expressing it in his own words will exercise his self-activity. It is not wise in the beginning to correct imperfect language to any great extent, for the reason that the child's attention is liable to be diverted from the main thought to some detail of the medium of expression. This is disastrous and will tend to make him unnatural in both his thinking andfeeling. It destroys his appreciation for the whole, blurs his images, and takes away the chief motive for reading.
In learning to read the child begins with the image of some story, which he particularizes and clarifies by the thoughts in the sentences and the ideas in the words. He masters the word elements in this way, as a unity of meaning and symbol, which gives significance to the sentence and to the story as a whole. Thus the power of getting thought from the printed page develops.
Oral Reading.Oral reading is the process of interpreting thought from the printed page and imparting it to another by means of the voice. Silent reading should always precede oral reading, so that the child may get the thought before he attempts to give it. Silent reading is the power to translate the words into thoughts or emotions. Oral reading goes a step further and gives these thoughts and emotions audible expression and awakens them in another. Silent reading is a necessity; oral reading is an accomplishment. Oral reading is another way of telling a story. It implies the ability to awaken one's thoughts in another's mind. It lacks the freedom of expression usual in story-telling, for it demands power to interpret and transmit thought almost simultaneously.
There are many ways of conducting an oral reading lesson. Two methods are given for illustration:
These methods differ only in the breadth and scope of the image of the whole that the child is to think through at one time.
Freedom of expression usually accompanies the reading of interesting thought. The child will usually use natural, clear tones in reading, as he does in talking, if he understands what he reads. Many children read poorly because they neither understand nor feel any meaning in the words. Both gesture and language will be spontaneous if prompted by right thinking and right feeling. The dramatic presentation of a story, however crude, becomes a great aid.
Word Repetition.Many repetitions of words, phrases, and sentences are necessary in mastering the symbol. It is quite possible to have a repetition of words with an ever-changing variety in valuable thought. This variety holds the interest of the children and at the same time accustoms the eye to the repeated symbol. The symbol elements in the action sentences, observation lessons, nursery rhymes, and stories must be repeated many times, but, to preserve interest in them and to increase their meaning, the greatest care must be taken in the selection and the presentation of the thought element. If the teacher of elementary reading can master this part of her work, her success is well-nigh assured.
SPELLING.
Notion and Purpose.Spelling is a finer analysis of the process of learning to read and hence involves all the elements of learningto read. The problem in learning to spell is to associate permanently the smallest symbols of the word, the letters, oral and written, with their appropriate meanings. In oral spelling the impression is received through the ear; the expression is by means of the voice. In written spelling the impression is received through the eye; the expression is by means of the hand. Because written spelling occupies a much larger place in life through the need of communicating ideas by means of writing, it should receive more attention in language teaching than oral spelling. The training of the eye and the hand is, therefore, more important in learning to spell than the training of the ear and the voice, although oral spelling sometimes helps by bringing in the auditory and the vocal memory to assist the visual and the manual. In the beginning children should learn to spell bywriting, not as a drill in penmanship, but for the purpose of calling attention to the form of the word.
Elements.Spelling is a complex and difficult art and requires (a) training in elementary sounds and their symbols, or phonic drill; (b) training of eye and hand in forming the letters of a word, or written spelling; (c) training of ear and voice in naming the letters of a word, or oral spelling. Sound, form, and name of letters must be inseparably associated, so that they will become necessary elements in the vital combination of symbol and meaning in the word.
Method.In the method pursued the teacher writesSing., for instance, upon the blackboard, with capital letter and period to indicate that it is the expression of a complete thought. The teacher then erases the word and requests the children to write it. Review this word at the next lesson and add a new one. Next the teacher writesI can sing. Can you sing?, and similar sentences, upon the blackboard, and proceeds in the same manner. As the work progresses the children should image a new sentence at each lesson, andin addition should be able to write from dictation several review sentences. In the early lessons the children should write at the blackboard, or use unruled paper and soft lead pencils with dull points. A clear image of the symbol will aid the child in writing it. This makes it essential that the teacher write a legible hand.
Word Drill.Drill upon the words learned is necessary to mechanize ear, voice, eye, and hand in the reading process so that the child may be left free to attend to the subject-matter. Have the children pronounce, write, and spell the unfamiliar words found in the reading lesson. Insist upon exact pronunciation and a natural, pleasing modulation of the voice. Later the children should use these same words in spoken and written sentences. After children have learned the names of the letters, both oral and written spelling should be used, since they are correlative processes. Oral spelling often deepens the impression and makes the image more permanent.
THE ALPHABET.
The alphabet should be taught in serial order, because of its use in reading card catalogs, dictionaries, etc. The alphabet characters have been learned in the phonic drill by associating the sounds with the letters as the children require them to master words, but not consecutively. The A B C's, however, in their old-fashioned significance, should be a part of the child's knowledge when he enters the second grade.
SUMMARY.
In the process of learning to read, certain elements are brought together and associated in vital organic unity in accordance with broad general principles. These the teacher must keep constantlyin mind if she is to succeed. Reading, like all language, is a combination of thought and symbol. The thought gives the meaning and is thereasonfor reading, while the symbol is only the tool and instrument of the thought. Care must be taken to see (a) that the child forms clear images of what he is reading; and (b) that he obeys the fundamental law of mind of proceeding from wholes to parts. By holding these principles in full view and giving the thought element the leading place, the symbol and phonic elements will fall into their proper place in accomplishing the purpose of elementary reading, namely, the association of the symbol and its meaning in a vital unity.