Individual instruction in the beginning reading program

97 Pages·03.302 MB·English

by  Bell, Norma June

INDIVIDUALIZING INSTRUCTION IN THE BEGINNING
READING PROGRAM
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
by
Norma June Bell
August 1951
UMI Number: EP69614
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This project report, written under the direction
of the candidatefs adviser and approved by him,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Education in partial fulfillme?it of
the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science in Education.
Adviser
Dean
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BART I.
CHAPTER
I. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.................. .
The problem . . . . . . . .
Definition of terms .......................
Individual instruction ..................
Small g r o u p ...................... . . . .
Instruction in beginning reading . . . .
Delimitation ................................
Justification in terms of educational
objectives .............. ................
II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ................
The nature and extent of individual
differences.................. .. . • . .
Ways of adapting to individual
differences ..............................
Reports of successful plans for
individualizing reading instruction . .
Summary of advantages claimed ...........
Summary of various methods of
teaching reading . .
Problems of reading readiness ...........
Philosophy of reading instruction • . . .
What makes a good reading program? . . . .
iii
CHAPTER PAGE
Summary..................................... 24
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................. 26
PART II.
III. PREPARATION FOR THE PROGRAM............... 39
IV. PROBLEMS IN INSTRUCTION................... 42
V. DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING ................... 57
VI. FITTING THE BOOK TO THE CHILD.............. 74
VII. CONCLUSION . ................. 85
BIBLIOGRAPHY................................... 87
PART I.
CHAPTER I
j STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
I
To say that in a democracy all children are entitled
i
to equal opportunities for education to develop their sev-
I
!eral abilities, insofar as they are able, is axiomatic.
| However, the lock-stepping of even eight or twelve
ichildren in a treading group, as is the custom in primary
classrooms, soon becomes most unsatisfactory for meeting
|the widely divergent and highly individual needs of the
|children within that group and for making provision for
1
itheir growing and variant abilities. It is expedient,
i
therefore, to discover some plan for initiating children
i
into the art of reading that will allow more opportunity j
for each child to follow his own pattern of development. 1
The logical answer is to individualize reading instruction, j
i
I
I. THE PROBLEM I
I
! Since children grow at varying rates, their needs
j are highly specific and personal. It is obvious that in­
struction must be of a specific and personal nature to be i
i ... _... . « I
effective. This is true under the customary three-group |
j
plan. The problem is to organize instruction in such a
way that the rest of the members of the reading group will
not have to waste time waiting while the teacher helps the
one child whose progress she is directing,
i
! It is, therefore, the purpose of this project to
present materials and methods of class organization which
| may be used by the classroom teacher to implement a pro-
. gram of personal, individual instruction in beginning
i
| reading.
i
i
i II. DEFINITION OP TERMS
i
i
1 Individual instruction. This shall mean that in­
struction which is given to a child either individually or
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In a small group to answer a specific need.
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Small group. This is interpreted to mean not more !
than three or four children. In view of the wide differ- 1
ences among children of any given age level in interests,
capabilities, and needs, it follows that the bulk of the ■
j reading time for most children in an individualized pro-
! gram will be spent in individual and (as far as possible) ’
i
' independent activities. j
i i
1 Instruction in beginning reading. This, as used by I
; some writers, includes guidance given during the prepara-
i
' tory or reading readiness period. However, fort he pur-
j pose of this paper, instruction in beginning reading shall j
mean that guidance given at first grade level to aid the
child in the interpretation of the printed page.
I
III. DELIMITATION
I
The materials included in the project are aimed at
j
the child who is six or seven years old, or those who are
jcommonly included in the first and second grades of the
I elementary school. It is usually sometime during these
years that the child becomes ready for reading instruction.
IV. JUSTIFICATION IN TEKMS OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
The National Education Association has stated the
four-fold aim of education thus:1
The purpose of education is help each person
1) to make the best use of his abilities
2) to adjust to and cooperate with others
3) to earn a living
4) to be a good citizen
Reading disability lowers the effectiveness of the |
i individual. In order to help each child to make the best
use of his abilities, the teacher must seek to prevent any j
I
i
i
William G. Carr, ”The Purposes of Education in
American Democracy,” Policies for Education in American
Democracy (Washington, D. C.: National Education Ass ocTa-
tlon, 1946), pp. 185-191.
1 deficiency in reading achievement. To this end, the teach-j
er will provide for each child those experiences that will
i
i meet his individual needs. i
i
The ability to adjust to and cooperate with others
; - i
depends to a great extent on the individuals feeling of j
| personal adequacy. For this reason, the child must be
i
helped to develop self-confidence and assurance. Instruc- 1
tion tailored to his needs will help him attain these atti-l
tudes.
i i
! It is the teachers responsibility to help the child,
prepare to earn a living. One way to dot his is to help
him achieve in reading and the other tool subjects to his |
! i
highest capacity.
Since democracy is dependent on a literate populace
that must be able to read critically and make sound judg­
ments, the child»s highest reading potential must be re­
alized to make of him the best possible citizen.
I
. .
j Thus, the task of making provision for meeting the
I
individual needs and of challenging the differing abilities
of each child in the classroom becomes of prime importance.!
| Yet, in most classrooms, the individuality of the child is !
j consistently violated by the type of reading instruction j
i i
; offered. j
\
Hence, an attempt has been made in this project to