A handbook on the organization of remedial reading classrooms for teachers of elementary schools

63 Pages·02.539 MB·English

by  Cutler, Morris

A HANDBOOK ON THE ORGANIZATION OF REMEDIAL READING
CLASSROOMS FOR TEACHERS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
A Project
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Education
The University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Education
toy
Morris Cutler
August 1950
UMI Number: EP46261
All rights reserved
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This project report, written under the direction
of the candidate's adviser and approved by him,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science in Education.
Adviser
Dean
TABLE OP CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION..................................... 1
Purpose of the problem....................... 1
Importance of the s t u d y ..................... 1
Scope or limitations of the project........ 2
Organization of the remainder of the
project . . . . . .......................... 2
II. TYPES OP REMEDIAL READING CLASSES............. 4
Home-room plan ................. 4
Remedial class situation . .................. . 6
Clinical or laboratory type ................. 8
Criteria for choosing remedial p l a n .......... 10
III. ADMINISTRATION................................... 14
Arranging the teacherTs time................. 14
Selection of pupils . . . . . 15
Grouping for instruction.................... 17
Coordinating with the regular classrooms . . . 18
IV. MATERIALS....................................... 20
Reading books ................................ 20
Basic reading series....................... 20
Bibliographies of children*s books .......... 22
Reading t e s t s ................................ d
Intelligence tests ............................ 28
CHAPTER PAGE
Miscellaneous a i d s ..................... 30
Audio-visual equipment ....................... 32
Equipment...................................... 33
Mechanical devices . .......................... 34
V. PREPARATION FOR INSTRUCTION .............. 37
Keeping records...........; ................... 37
Planning for instruction . ................. 40
VI. EVALUATION.......... 45
Techniques.................................... 45
Evaluation.................................... 46
VII. SUMMARY.......... 52
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................... . 55
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
During recent years educators have become dissatis- .
fied with the present remedial reading situation. The
reading disability in elementary schools has increased
rather than diminished. As a result the remedial reading
programs are now in the process of reorganization, pro-
jected toward in-service training for the classroom teacher.
However, the problem of the poor reader must be confronted,
and administrators are using the remedial reading room to
help solve this problem. As a result many reading special­
ists, the remedial reading teachers, are being employed to
help combat this problem.
Purpose of this study. It is the purpose of this
study to answer the problems which remedial reading teachers
encounter while organizing remedial reading classrooms in
the elementary schools. This handbook was prepared to
serve as a guide for new teachers and as a checklist for
experienced teachers of remedial reading classes.
Importance of the study. Since there are few teacher
training institutions which have programs for the teaching
of retarded readers, there is a definite need for informa­
tion on the part of the personnel entering the field con-
2
eerning the organization of a remedial reading room in the
elementary sehool. Many teachers find themselves suddenly
confronted with the problem of conducting remedial reading
classes with no previous experience to help guide them.
Such was the case of your writer, who found himself
assigned to conduct a remedial reading class. While he had
had instruction in current remedial reading practices, he had
had no instruction nor guidance in any way as to the organ­
ization of his own remedial reading classroom. Supplement­
ing his problems with those of many teachers from different
schools, he has constructed an outline to meet the needs of
many teachers of remedial reading classes.
Scope or limitations of the project. While this
study will be concerned with the organization of a remedial
reading class in a non-departmental elementary school, it
is so organized as to be easily adapted by elementary
schools on a departmental basis.
Organization of the remainder of the project.
To facilitate the work of the teacher in organizing her
remedial class the subsequent chapters of this project will
be concerned with the following points: (1) the types of
remedial reading classrooms used and criteria for organ­
izing them, (2) the administration of the remedial reading
3
class, (3) materials which are basic for remedial reading
classrooms^ (4) a sequential program based upon the child’s
interests and experiences, (5) additional sources of in­
formation and aid for the teacher, (6) the summary.
CHAPTER II
TYPES OF REMEDIAL READING CLASSES
Many unique types of remedial reading classes have
been developed in different situations. There is no one
best program. Each is necessarily different as it is
adapted to the needs of the students, the facilities
available, and the type of person who must assume the
responsibility for it. A few are discussed below.
The home-room plan. Under the remedial home-room
plan, the teacher plans her class in two sections. Her
class includes the retarded readers from the lower grades
in the morning, and in the afternoon those from the upper
grades. It is best to give remedial instruction to the
children in the lower grades for several reasons.
First, the children are more receptive to learning
in the morning, and second, most schools have schedules which
allow the children from the lower grades to be dismissed
earlier than those from the upper grades. Hence, the lower
grades children are given instruction at a time more con­
ducive to learning and they receive it for a fair share of
the time without penalizing the children from the upper
grades. *
Children are grouped according to similar needs and
interests. To facilitate teaching, pupil-teachers are used,
and corrfectly handled, this can prove to he a helpful teach­
ing method. This classroom situation leads to a correlated
program in reading, spelling, and writing for the half day
spent with the remedial teacher. The remaining half of the
day is spent with the regular classroom teacher for instruc­
tion in non-reading activities such as art, arithmetic,
music, etc.
This arrangement proved satisfactory for Monroe in
schools enrolling about five hundred with no more than ten
per cent requiring special help.^
Materials and methods of instruction in all areas
are adapted to the needs and abilities of the children.
The remedial teacher must be skillful and versatile, for
she provides instruction over a wide area to children with
a great range of ability and achievement. Close cooperation
with the regular teacher is necessary to insure no stigma
being placed upon the child who is a member of the special
class.
To attain any fair measure of success, the classes
^ Marion Monroe, "Diagnostic and Remedial Procedures
in Reading." Supplement Number 2. Educational Record. XIX.
(1932), pp. 105-113.