A comparative study of the effects of phonic and nonphonic methods of teaching reading in remedial reading groups

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A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TEE EFFECTS OF PHONIC AND NONPHONIC METHODS OF TEACHING READING IN REMEDIAL READING GROUPS

A Thesis Presented to V the Faculty of the School of Speech The University of Southern California

In Partial Fulfillment 'i of the Requirements for the Degree j Master of Arts in Speech

by Marilyn Upham September 1942

' t

Degree not grsnted; course work incomplete

UMI Number: EP66014

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This thesis, w ritte n by

.......... MHILYN..UPHAM......... u n d e r the d i r e c t i o n o f h e x . F a c u l t y C o m m i t t e e , a n d a p p r o v e d by a l l its m e m b e r s , has been presented to a n d accepted by the C o u n c i l on G ra d u a t e S t u d y a n d Research in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l ­ m e n t o f the r e q u ire m e n ts f o r the degree o f

MASTER OF ARTS

Secretary D a te

O cto b e r.

7....X 9A 2

F acu lty C om m ittee

i f T C hairm at

TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER

PAGE

I. THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED v . • Introduction

. ........ . ...............

1

The prob l e m ...............

1

Statement of the p r o b l e m ........... . ♦ .

1

Importance of the s t u d y ..................

1

Definitions of terms used •• • • • • • • . .

2

Phonic m e t h o d ...................... •

2

P honics.........

2

Phonetics ...............................

3

Phonogram

3

.............................

Fixation point Visual field

................

3

..............

3

R e g r e s s i o n ........................... . Organization of II. III.

theremainder of the thesis

REVIEW OF THE L I T E R A T U R E ..........

. . * .

3 •

3 4

THE MATERIALS USED AND GROUPS STUDIED........ Groups studied

IV.

1

11

................

11

Progressive Achievement Tests ............

16

Gates Silent Reading Tests

IS

..............

TECHNIQUE AND RESULTS OF THE EXPERIMENTS

...

21

reading...............................

21

The progressive achievement test in

iii CHAPTER

PAGE Scoring...................

21

Results . . . . . . . . . . . .

V.

..........

21

Gates Silent Reading T e s t ................

31

Scoring...................

31

.

R e s u l t s .................................

35

Summary.......................

45

A SURVEY OF REMEDIAL READING CASES AND THEIR CAUSES

v i .........

4S

Survey of poor reading groups

..........

4#

............

50

Visual perception ........................

$0

Eye movements................* .........

51

V i s i o n .................................

51

H e a r i n g ..................

52

Causes of reading difficulties

.

Motor disturbances and glandular disfunction........................... Medical factors ..........................

53 53

Neurological deficiences, word blindness, hereditary and sex f a c t o r s ............

54

Laterality, mixed dominance, and reversals......................... * . . Methodological causes ....................

55 55

LIST OF TABLES TABLE I.

PAGE Distribution of Mental Ages, Grades and Test Grades for Group I ....................

II#

Distribution of Mental Ages, Grades and Test Grades for GroupI I ..................

III#

33

34

Distribution of Heading Ages and Grades as Compared to Actual Ages and Grades for Group I •

IV#

.......... .....................

42

Distribution of Reading Ages and Grades as Compared to Actual Ages and Grades for Group I I ...................

V.

47

Distribution of Remedial Reading Cases in Six Elementary S c h o o l s ....................

58

LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE

PAGE

1.

Comparison of Intelligence Quotients

.

2*

Comparison of Chronological A g e s .............

14

3.

Comparison of Mental A g e s ..................

15

4.

Word Form Test Results for Groups I and II • . . .

23

5.

Word Recognition Test Results for Group I andII'•

25

6*

Meaning of Opposites Test Results for Groups I and I I .........

7.

26

Meaning of Similarities Test Results for Groups I and II

8*

................. • • • .

29

Interpretations Test Results for Groups I and I I .........

10•

27

Following Directions Test Results for Groups I and I I ....................................

9.

12

30

Organizations Test Results for Groups I and II . .

32

11. Type

A Test Results for Groups I and II . . . . .

12. Type

B Test Results for GroupsII and II . . . .

.

38

13# Type

C Test Results for Groups I and II . . . .

.

40

14.

D Test Results for Groups I andI I ....

Type

37

41

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED Introduction*

Statistics show that remedial reading

classes are growing every year. subject.

Much has been written on the

Authors place the blame for this occurrence on

method, on manners of testing, new awareness of an old prob­ lem, or physical disabilities of the student. I.

THE PROBLEM

Statement of the problem.

t

It is the purpose of this

study to compare the effects of phonic and nonphonic teaching in remedial reading groups. Importance of the study.

The requests for remedial

reading teachers become greater in number every year.

A survey

of available statistics indicates an increase in remedial read­ ing classes.^

Still, in the educator’s mind is the question:

Shall we or shall we not teach phonics?

Is the lack of phonic

training one of the causes for poor reading? Within a school system selected for study were found several principals who argued bitterly for and against the use of phonetics in reading classes. n

D. M. Lee, Importance of Reading for Achieving in Grades Four. Five, and Six *\Teachers College Contributions to Education. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1933)> P* !•

One principal refused to have phonetics in any form in his school.

It was his conviction that phonic work was

confusing to the student, delayed necessary classwork, and defeated the purposes of reading by causing a vocabulary weakness* Another administrator firmly believed phonics was valuable.

The reading classes of his school were provided

with teachers well trained in phonetic work.

This principal

thought vocabulary weakness was due to the lack of such phonic training. Similar conflicting answers were given in response to further questions concerning phonics and its use in other slementary school reading classes.

The knowledge of a need

for remedial reading teachers and the discovery of the con­ flicting ideas on the subject of phonetics formed the basis for this experimental study* II.

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED

Phonic method*

A method of teaching reading and spell­

ing by resolving words into phonetic elements rather than individual letters. Phonics.

The science of sound; acoustics; phonetics;

now usually specifically the study and application of elemen­ tary phonetics as a method of teaching beginners to read*

3 Phonetics,

The science of speech sounds considered

as elements of language; especially, the study of their formation by the speech organs and apprehension by the ear. Phonogram,

A character, of symbol used to represent a

word syllable or single speech sound. Fixation point.

The point in the field of view fixated

by the two eyes in normal vision. Visual field.

The area visible at a given instant

without moving the eyes. Regression, back; withdrawal. III.

The act or privilege of going or coming Retrogression; retrogradation.

ORGANIZATION OF THE REMAINDER OF THE THESIS

Chapter II is a direct discussion of the literature to be found on the subject. Chapter III gives a survey of the groups selected for study and a discussion of tests used. Chapter IV contains the actual techniques of the tests. A general summary concludes the chapter, dealing with the results and tabulation of findings. Chapter V contains a discussion of the remedial reading situation, number of cases, and phonic background. Chapter VI is given to summary and conclusions.

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Until recently the children of all languages with an alphabet learned to read by a method involving the learning of the letters and the use of spelling as a means of learning words.

An intermediate step between the learning of the

letters and the word was the combination of letters into syl­ lables.

These syllables were then learned by the spelling

method.

The order of development was from letter to syllable,

syllable to word, word to sentence, and sentence to story. The material available on controversial reading methods is vast in its scope.

This chapter concerns itself only with

a few of the outstanding and pertinent authorities.

The

sources quoted are characteristic of the general type of ma­ terial found on each particular subject. The Alphabet Method of teaching reading— archaic as it may seem— has two distinct advantages over more modern methods. In the first place, a child learns to spell at the same time that he is learning to read; that is, he is mastering two subjects simultaneously.

The second advantage lies in the

training he receives in spoken English.

Through the constant

emphasis on oral reading he acquires a clear enunciation.'

Ho

method of teaching reading silently has either of these ad­ vantages.

5 Clarence R. Stone says, The Alphabet Method is based upon the assumption that the letter is the unit of recognition, which we now knpw to be false. The syllable, however, is often the unit of analysis in recognizing a word of more than one syllable.1 He further states: The method has the advantage of building the habit of consistent forward movements of the eyes, but tends to produce slow, labored reading. The reader who develops . an adequate span of recognition does so in spite of the method. Those who become good readers under this method, and the use of the syllable method of a n a l y s i s . 2 Paul Elapper, another authority, advocated that ”read3 ing must always be looked upon as an end in itself.” He believes the reading process should be mechanical and the use of memory work in building word reservoirs should be stressed. According to him, reading is an arbitrary process and no motivation should be used.

He states:

Reading is a technical process and as such is concerned with giving the child a mastery of the tools, the symbols, by means of which we gain thought. Aside from this tech­ nical ability the teacher of reading need have no other care or concern. . . . Mastery of reading is an analytical process; the sentence must be mastered before the word and the word before the phonogram. 4

1 Clarence R. Stone, Better Primary Reading (St. Louis, Missouri: Webster Publishing Company, 193o), p. 172. 2 Loc. cit. 3 Paul Klapper, Teaching Children to Read (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1934), P* 32. ^ Loc. cit.

6 The Word Method, in its early form, had the serious weakness of not providing a means by which a child could de­ cipher a new word.

Consequently, the Alphabet Method per­

sisted and the Phonic Methods developed.

The outstanding

advantages of the Word Method are its foundation in a purely visual process and its disassociation from speech, while its weaknesses lie in the development of guessing and in the tendency of the child to attempt a memorization of all words from their appearance alone. Stone says, The Word approach to reading easily becomes a highly mechanical approach because attention is centered upon recognizing and saying words, phrases, and sentences with little or no regard for thought getting. In such a method of beginning reading the child naturally develops the wrong attitude toward the reading process. Until interest in content and understanding and experi­ encing the meaning becomes uppermost in the child’s mind his reading, rhythmical expression of the meaning in oral reading and effective silent reading cannot be ex­ pected to be the usual o u t c o m e s . 5 Harry G-rove Wheat states, "Unless there has been a development of the phonic approach to new words, the Word Method

breaks

d

o

w

n

.

Going on from this viewpoint, Wheat

claims that: Meeting the longer and more or. less unfamiliar word the child becomes aware of a mass of visual stimulation

5 Stone, op. cit., p. 174* z Harry Grove fsTheat, The Teaching of Reading (New York: Ginn and Company,' ,1934) , p. 44*

7 which he cannot make use of nor in any wise relate* He responds to this apparently complex mass of letters in one of three ways: (1) with the complete lack of independence and he turns to the teacher for help, (2) the pupil turns away from new and difficult words without making any effort to determine what they might be and, (3) he attempts an analysis of the unfamiliar and diffi­ cult words, which, in the majority of cases, leaves him floundering in a period of confusion.7 The theory underlying the Sentence Method, its plan of approach to beginning reading and the order of. the instruc­ tional steps are very well set forth as follows, by

George L.

Farnham: The first principle to be observed in the teaching of reading is that things are recognized as wholes. It being admitted that the thought is the unit of thinking, it necessarily follows that the sentence is the unit of expression. A second principle is: we acquire a know­ ledge of the parts of an object by first considering it as a whole. Repeated recognition reveals the character­ istics of the whole, so as to separate it from other things. The sentence, if properly taught, will in like manner be understood, as a whole, better than if presented in detail. The order indicated is, first the sentence, then the words and then the letters.8 Cole discusses the Sentence Method by saying: The main advantage of this method lies in the training it gives in recognizing phrases as meaningful units. The disadvantages, however, are numerous. In the first place, children tend to recognize a word only when it is embedded in the particular phrase in which it is first l e a r n e d . 9

7 Ibid., p. 46. ® George L. Farnham, The Sentence Method of Reading (Mew York: Macmillan Company, 1931) > P* 111. ^ Luella Cole, The Improvement of Reading (New York: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc.,1938)> P* 8.

a Children who are taught by the Phonetic Method learn to read essentially through pronouncing words.

The‘work

i

starts customarily with words of one syllable.

When a number

of these have been learned, or memorized, the. teacher intro­ duces phonograms.

By such work children learn the sound of

each letter and of common combinations of letter within a word.

A little later they begin to read longer words, break­

ing them up into syllables, pronouncing each syllable, and then saying the word as a whole.

The Phonetic Method usually

involves a good deal of oral reading, although this is not a necessary accompaniment; the drill in words is, of course, largely oral.

The words are not spelled as in the Alphabetical

Method, but are Tfsounded" phonetically. Cates writes that there is value in phonetic training if it is adequately and economically acquired.

He warns

teachers, however, that the phonetic attack alone is insuf­ ficient.

He tells us:

The great mistake in American teaching has been the assumption that phonetic skill was all important and sufficient, that the other types of training could be neglected and that the more phonetics the pupil got the better. These mistakes have resulted, not only in waste, but frequently in the production of a special type of reading difficulty. So excessive has phonetic drill been that pupils have often become not only "word form conscious” at the expense of interest in meanings, but even worse, they have also become word detail conscious. Every word is a puzzle of phonetic parts; pupils have become phonogram jugglers.10

10 a . I. Gates, The Improvement of Reading (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1927), pp. 125-12*5.

9 Mary E. Pennel and Alice M. Cusack, also outstanding authorities in the field of reading, agree somewhat with Gates when they say: Phonics when taught correctly have the following values: they help the child in the identification of new words. The ability to attack new words enables the child to get the thought more rapidly and makes him independent of the teacher’s help. Some children seem unconsciously to asso­ ciate certain sounds with the symbols that represent them. Others must be taught how to do this; that is— they must learn phonics.H Despite the quantity of experimental data, the wealth of ingenious teaching devices, the range of interesting chil­ dren’s reading material, and the large amount of school time available for teaching reading, a surprisingly large number of pupils still experience extreme difficulty in acquiring satisfactory reading skills.

In one study of this type,*1,2 it

was found that "reading is the most frequent cause of school failure."

Failures in the primary grades are almost wholly

due to deficiencies in reading.

According to the study re­

ferred to, in grade one, 99.15 per cent of the pupils failing of promotion were marked as "failures in reading"; in grade two, the percentage was -approximately 90.; in grade three, approxi­ mately 70.

Of the pupils failing of promotion in several

grades, the percentages failing in reading were approximately

H

Mary E. Pennel and Alice M. Cusack, How to Teach Reading (Hew York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1924) > P. 125. 12 ^axter P. Percival, "A Study of Reading Failures and School Failures,"(unpublished Doctor’s dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1926), p. 15.

10 as follows:

grade four, 56; grade five, 40; grade six, 33;

and grades seven and eight, 23. Gates again discusses reading difficulties when he says: Although by far the greatest progress in the diagnosis of two difficulties in reading has been made during the past two decades, intensive research on the subject ex­ tends back for nearly half a century. During this time, different points of view and various lines of approach have appeared. Of these, several have been more prominent than others. They may be characterized roughly as approaches, in which the causes of defect were sought primarily either in (1) defective bodily organs; (2) certain unusual or­ ganic characteristics; (3) deficient psychological pro­ cesses; (4 ) constitutional immaturity; (5) educational immaturity; (6) unfortunate forms of motivation; and (7) inadequate reading techniques caused by (a) ineffective teaching or (b) unfortunate accidents of trial-and-error learning or both.13

^

Gates, op. cit., p. 5-

CHAPTER III THE MATERIALS USED AND GROUPS STUDIED Groups studied*

Reading records of students were

selected from five schools.

For purposes of the study it was

necessary to select .students from all schools, phonic and nonphonic alike. abilities.

Students were chosen for their reading

The first groups were to have a good, average

reading grade.

The second groups were chosen for their poor,

average reading grades.

No extreme cases were considered.

Out of three hundred students a group of sixty was picked for their reading averages. A careful analysis was made of each pupil to find his chronological age, mental age, intelligence quotient, and the condition of general home environment.

Identical groups were

necessary in or to prevent barriers in experimenting.

All

pupils were sixth graders. Two groups, I and II, were selected.

Group I repre­

sented the good reader and was composed of fifteen pupils. Group II represented the poor readers and was also composed of fifteen pupils. The results of this part of the study show that the mental age for Group I averaged 138.1 months.

Group II*s

average was 132.1 months and the average for both groups was 135.5 months.

This indicates a difference of 6.0 months, but

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-

i;i T r m x T IIIrtdLixnr pxti a ' i:... i_i ctjj. II I111 ffli 1 I "rr 150 ,140 150

10 ^ 11 o

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14 a. 15 S FIGURE I

Pupil Pairs for Groups I ani II S t TT rr i j i

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COMPARISON OF THE INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENTS

H+fc! i:ii

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in r n :

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13 according to Gates,

"such a small percentage in months is

little statistical consequence," The statistics of the chronological ages show Group I to have a total average of 121,9 months.

Group II has a total

average of 132.8 months, while the average for the two groups is 122.8, or ten years and nine months. It is interesting to note here that the mental age of Group I is 6.0 higher than that of Group II, hut that the chronological age of Group II is 1.0 higher than that of Group I. The chronological ages of the groups average eleven years and nine months.

Group I has a total of 11.8 and

Group II has a total of 12.08, or a nonsignificant difference of .28. The most important of all the averages of the two groups are the intelligence quotient statistics.

Group I

averages 117.2 and Group II averages 116.8, or a slight dif­ ference of .4.

The entire group average is 117.06.

The background or environment study shows all the pupils as white, native-born Americans. females and seven males.

Group I has eight

Group II has seven females and

eight males.

The parental occupations of the two groups cover

a wide range.

Group I fs occupational background is composed

^ A. I. Gates, The Improvement of Reading, p. 163.

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F Ie F E I I I 0 F T H K M UN A L — A C-E s

16 of a nurseryman, a manager of a service station, a truck driver, two oil workers, two grocers, two housewives, a teacher, a clerk, a theater owner, the manager of the gas company, an .electrician, and an auto salesman.

Group II is

composed of four oil men, two electricians, a tractor sales­ man, a laundress, three salesmen, a mechanic, two housewives, and a clerk. Progressive Achievement Tests.

This is a diagnostic-

survey group test in the fundamental skills of reading.

It

is standardized for pupils in grades four, five, and six, and contains materials of sufficient diversity, quality, range, and quantity to measure the achievement of pupils in these grades. There are two tests.

The first test deals with the

reading vocabulary, the second with reading comprehension. There are four subtests under the first head.

Section A, or

the first subtest under the reading vocabulary test, contains twenty-five pairs of words either identical or different.

It

includes lower-case printed words, capitals, and italics. Pupils are tested on their ability to recognize similarities and differences in word form of these different varieties. Inability to succeed in this test may indicate lack of famili­ arity with the different kinds of word form, or possibly, defective vision. Section B tests word recognition.

Twenty sets of four

17 words each in which the pupil identifies words which are pronounced to him are given in this test. case words, italics, and capitals.

It contains lower­

The material ranges from

gross differences in sound and word form to minor differences in pronunciation and included certain phonetic difficulties. This test is useful in revealing the inability of certain pupils to identify the word as it is heard with the word as it is seen. Section C is concerned with the meaning of opposites. This test contains twenty-three words which the pupil identi­ fies by matching words of opposite meaning.

These words range

from concrete terms to abstract ideas and provide a measure of a pupil’s vocabulary. Section D contains, the test on the meaning of similari­ ties.

In the same manner, the pupil identifies twenty-two

words by. matching words of similar meaning. Section S is the beginning of the second test. is the section given to the following of directions.

This Ten

reading situations, which require the following of specific directions, are included in this test.

Following specific

directions is probably the simplest type of silent reading comprehension and is an essential ability necessary for silent reading comprehension. Section F concerns the interpretation of meanings. The test situations included in this section provide for the

18 measurement of the pupil’s ability to comprehend directly stated facts, to select the best topics, to make inferences and deductions, and to understand the author’s idea as ex­ pressed in paragraphs# Section G, the last, deals with organization#

This

section tests the extent to which the pupil is familiar with the vocabulary and skills needed for reference work and library research# Gates Silent Reading Tests.

These tests are for

grades three to eight, inclusive, were designed and selected for use as a general survey. parts.

The tests are in four separate

The purpose is not only to provide accurate measure

of reading ability in general, but also to yield, in objective form, a diagnosis of particularly strengths and weaknesses to reading skills.

The set consists of four tests, whieh have

been designed as follows:

Type A, Reading to Appreciate

General Significance; time, six minutes.

Type B, Reading to

Predict the Outcome of Given Events; time, eight minutes. Type C, Reading to Understand Precise Directions; time, eight minutes, and Type D, Reading to Note Details; time, eight minutes.

The total working time for the four tests is thirty

minutes# Type A is designed to measure an individual’s skill in reading, merely to get an accurate general impression from the passage.

A person may grasp the general significance of

19 the material without full analysis or recall of all details* This test closely approximates a rather easy-going reading , of the sort commonly exercised by adults in reading news­ papers, fiction, and the like.

Type A is the best test in

the series for the purpose of measuring the rate of easy or casual reading.

Comprehension is measured by the simple de­

vice of underlining a word. Type B requires, like Tjrpe A, a grasp of the general significance of the passage, but it also requires a special type of analysis of the fact given in order to predict which of the several possible events will be most likely to happen next.

It is necessary here not only to interpret the passage

as a whole, but also to appraise certain special implications, to go beyond a mere grasp of events given.

Type B is more

like Type A than others in the series, but it requires subtle skills distinctive from those in Type A.

Type B is, for the

average pupil, somewhat harder than A;, the reading is likely to be done more slowly and carefully and the percentage of correct interpretations is typically lower than in Type A. Type C was selected to measure rigid, careful, exacting reading.

The type of reading adequate for Type A, that is,

the type adequate to yield a good general impression of the material would be quite inadequate for the purpose of Type C. The directions themselves are not especially difficult; aver­ age third-grade children, working with care, can understand

20 and execute them.

The difficulties arise from the exact

nature of the reading required.

The test measures ability

to read with exactness and precision, to select accurately relevant details while subordinating other facts however interesting and, finally, to retain without distortion the precise directions to be executed.

This type of rigid read­

ing requires very different techniques from those which are employed in Type A and in Type B. Type D, like Type C, requires recognition and analysis of many details in a passage, but it demands a less definitely organized or integrated grasp and recall of the elements of the paragraphs.

This test differs from A and B in that it

requires not a grasp of some one general characteristic or one subtle implication of the whole passage, but an independ­ ent treatment of three different details or aspects of the passage.

It measures ability to comprehend several points in

a paragraph at once.

Pupils who must reread the paragraphs

should be taught how to comprehend more points in a single reading.

CHAPTER IV -

TECHNIQUE AND.RESULTS .OF THE EXPERI1CSNTS

The progressive achievement Test in Reading.

As the

pupils were selected from different schools, it was necesary to give the tests twice. however, were the same.

The conditions for the test groups, A Monday morning was chosen for test­

ing in the belief that the pupils * minds would be free from other distractions, and they were assembled in a quiet room of the school building.

They were then supplied with the

necessary tools for the test.

Several preliminary exercises

were done to make certain that the pupil understood the test requirements.

The time element involved was twelve minutes

for Test One, and twenty-three minutes for Test Two, or a total of thirty-five minutes for the entire test. Scoring. right or wrong. answers.

In scoring the tests each item was considered No partial credits were given for partial

The score for each section was the number correct.

The intelligence grade placement was determined to be 710. Should a pupils score fall below the median line of 7.0, he failed in that test; if it was above, he passed. Results.

In Group I, Test One, Section A, results

show approximately 94 per cent of the group above the median, or a failure of about 6 per cent.

Group II results *show that

22 53 per cent were passing and approximately 47 per cent were failing* A study of the graph in Figure 4, showing each testrs results should present a more objective picture of the group differences.

The results charted in red ink represent

Group I; the ones in green ink represent Group II.

The blue

line across the graph indicates the placement of the 7.0 median line. This section was concerned with word forms, and the failure of Group II, being little less than half, shows the remedial reading people to be weak in the analysis of printed words.

The print here was varied from very small to large

capitals, the small printed questions seemed to have been missed the most by this group, suggesting a possibility of some eye weakness. Section B, of Test One, was passed by Group I by 100 per cent.

Group II again registered a 53 per cent passing

and 47 per cent failing. Word recognition was the problem here.

The instructor

read a certain word; the pupil was to find it in the list of four before him and underline it.

On most of the lists the

words began with the same letter, making it more difficult. The repeated weakness of the Group II would suggest either a limited vocabulary knowledge, due to the use of the Word Method, the lack of training in the method of recognizing

Number of Correct Responses a b0 a c b, 1

3

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Pupil Pairs For Groups I and II

FIGURE IV WORD FORE TEST RESULTS

24 words, or lack of concentration. (Figure 5.) Test One, Section C, shows that Group I had a percent­ age of 87 above the 7.0 line, or a failure of 13 per cent. Group II results show 100 per cent below the median group line, or a complete failing of the group in this test. The problem here was the meaning of opposites.

A word

was given in darker print, four selection words followed; from the selection words the pupil was to find the word which meant the opposite of the first word.

This was, so far, the

largest percentage of failures for Group I as well as Group II. This failing would indicate that the pupils, even though they could read words quite well, were unable to tell what they were reading.

An inadequate vocabulary or lack of word recog­

nition would seem to be the most important diagnosis of this particular situation.

(Figure 6.)

In Test One, Section D, Group I has 53 per cent of its pupils with a passing grade and the remaining 47 per cent with a failing grade.

Group II fails very badly with 94 per cent

of its pupils below the median line which constitutes the norm for this grade and only 6 per cent with a passing grade. This test is much the same as the test in Section C. The meaning of similarities is stressed.

With such a large

percentage failing this substantiates the previous statement concerning the inadequate vocabulary knowledge. Test Two, Section E, results show Group I with a per­ centage of 100 of the students above the 7.0 line.

Group II

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28

shows results of 60 per cent passing and 40 per cent failing. The results for Group II seem to he highest in this section.

Following direction is the subject.

(Figure 8 .)

Short paragraphs, written in simple language, tell the pupil to write something on the line to the right.

This high per­

centage of passing grades would show a fundamental knowledge in common words and an ability to do as directed.

It is only

when the words are more difficult that the groups appear to falter. Test Two, Section F, shows Group I to have 73 per cent of the pupils above the median and 27 per cent failure. Group II fails badly with 100 per cent below the standard set. Interpretation is the problem to be dealt with here. (Figure 9.)

The complete failure of Group II follows a previ­

ous statement that the pupil reads only words.

This failure

shows that they do not have a vocabulary knowledge and so have no conception of the meaning of the words.

Notice the 27 per

cent failure of Group I; although they average high in simple direction paragraphs of five or six lines, they cannot carry over the material consumed in a thirteen-line story. ing to Gates, this may be one of two things:^

Accord­

lack of reading

vocabulary and difficulty in word perception or overemphasis on correct oral reading.

1 A. I. Gates, The Importance of Heading, p. 175-

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33 TABLE I DISTRIBUTION OF MENTAL AGES, GRADES AND TEST GRADES FOR GROUP I Mental ages

Mental grades

Actual grades

Progressive reading results A B C D E F G 19

8

21

8. 18

9

12

12

8

11

6

19

20

18

7

15

6

25

20

21

16

9

13

10

6.9

25

20

19

18

10

16

9

7.2

6.9

25

20

22

20

10

19

9

11.9

7.1

6.9

25

20

21

20

10

17

9

11.9

7.4

6.9

25

20

22

19

9

16

9

11.8

7.0

6.9

25

20

19

19

10

18

8

11.7

7.0

6.9

24

20

20

19

10

17

10

11.7

7.0

6.9

24

19

20

19

10

17

10

11.4

6.9

6.9

25

20

21

16

10

14

10

11.4

7.5

6.9

24

20

22

19

9

14

10

11.3

6.9

6.9

25

20

23

21

10

19

8

12.4

7.5

6.9

25

20

22

21

12.4

6.9

6.9

25

20 .23

12.3

7.3

6.9

25

19

12.2

6.9

6.9

25

12.2

7.2

6.9

11.10

7.2

11.9

10

34

TABLE II. DISTRIBUTION OF MENTAL AGES, GRADES AND TEST GRADES FOR GROUP II Mental ages

Mental grades

Actual grades

Progressive reading results A B C D E F G

13.0

7.2

6.9

23

18

16

17

8

11

9

12.9

7.0

6.9

24

18

19

17

8

12

7

12.5

6.7

6.9

20

19

16

6

7

12

8

12.2

6.4

6.9

22

15

14

15

7

15

8

12.0

6.2

6.9

25

19

20

18

8

15

9

12.0

6.2

6.9

23

18

16

19

8

12

6

12.0

6.2

6.9

25

18

19

15

5

9

8

12.0

6.2

6.9

24

18

19

18

8

13

7

11.11

6.1

6.9

25

18

16

11

10

11

8

11.10

6.0

6.9

23

19

18

13

7

13

6

11.10

6.0

6.9

23

20

17

17

9

11

9

11.9

6.0

6.9

25

19

17

17

9

9

9

11.6

5.7

6.9

23

16

18

17

6

9

7

11.3

5.4

6.9

22

20

22

19

9

11

8

11.1

5.2

6.9

22

19' 19

17

8

15

8

35 The score for each section was the number answered correctly. The number attempted was also noted in order to later deter­ mine the percentage of accuracy.

The intelligence grade

placement was determined to be 7.0.

Those pupils falling

below the median were considered as failing in the test and to have an especially marked weakness in that type of reading. Results.

The averages for both groups show that

Group I has an average of actual mental ages of 11-8 months, that the test shows an average reading age of 13-2 months. r

This indicates a very high reading rate for this group, as the pupil's reading age should equal his-mental age.

Group II

has an actual mental age average of 11-9 months, with a test reading age average of 11-5 months. The average actual grade of Group I is 6.9, its test reading grade is 7.6.

Group II's actual grade is also 6.9,

while the test reading grade is 6.4. Test results for Group I, in Type A, show 20 per cent below the median line, or a failing, and 80 per cent as passing. Group II has 73.3 per cent failing and 26.7 per cent passing. This test affords the easiest reading in the sense that the purpose of the test— that the pupil taking it shall detect correctly the general impression portrayed— is.fulfilled successfully with the least detailed analysis.

The percentages

would indicate that Group I were comparatively easy readers. Group II readers, having such a large percentage below the

36

median line, prove to lack a knowledge of words*

They find

it necessary to reread material and their lack of concentra­ tion power on material read would seem to indicate their compre­ hension rate is low*

(Figure 11.)

Type B results show Group I with 66.6 per cent failing and 33*4 per cent passing. the median line.

Group II has 100 per cent below

(Figure 12.)

This test correlates fairly high with Test A, and it measures a perceptibly different complex of reading techniques. It requires a somewhat more intimate grasp of the data, a more complete analysis, a more subtle interpretation of the whole situation than does Test A.

Group I fails with the

highest percentage of any of its test results.

Group II, of

course, shows its weakness with a complete failure.

This

would indicate inability of both groups to analyze situations. The weakness lies possibly in the lack of interpretive powers, knowledge of words, or extent of the limited vocabulary of the group. Type C results show Group I as having a rating of 100 per cent above the median line and Group II with a 20 per cent failure and the remaining 80 per cent of the pupils passing. This test places the difficulty in the nature of the reading required.

The reason for the group having such a

high passing grade in this test, as over a 66.7 per cent fail­ ure in the previous test, may be allotted to the fact that

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39 this type of test is given more often.

This is the highest

passing percentage for Group II, which would substantiate the idea of the commonness of the test.

The 20 per cent that did

fail in Group II were deficient in their ability to read care­ fully and follow the instruction given.

Often a skimming or

merely glancing-over of the material will not give the pupil a clear picture, thus causing him to fail. (Figure 13.) Type D results show Group I with 26.7 per eent failing and 73.3 per cent passing.

Group II fails with 67 per cent

and passing 33 per cent. (Figure 14.) This test, unlike A or B, requires reading to recall significant details given in a passage.

While the directions

test demands the recall of certain significant details, it requires the recollection of items more definitely integrated, more exactly brought to the point, and is, therefore, a harder analysis to make accurately than the one required for this test. Here, again, is found the weakness of concentration power on the part of the poor reader.

During the test it was

found that the poor reader relied on pictures and guessable conclusions, but when the answer depended on the absolute reading knowledge, or comprehension of the subject matter, he was unable to obtain a high rating.

Possession of a working

vocabulary and the inability to analyze new words plays an important part in this phase of the diagnosis*

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TABLE III DISTRIBUTION OF READING AGES AND GRADES AS COMPARED TO ACTUAL AGES AND GRADES FOR GROUP I Actual ages 11.9

12*6 11.5 12.1 12.0 12.4 11.11 12.4 12.0 12.1 11.9

11.10 11.6 12.6 11.9

Actual grades

12.4 12.4 12.3 12.2 12.2 11.10 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.B 11.7 11.4 11.4 11.4 11.7

__________ Gates Silent ReadingT e s t __________ Type A Type B Type C Type D R.A. R.G. R.A. R.G. R.A. R.G. R.A. R.G.

14.5 13.4 13.4 14.0 12.10 12.10 12.10 13.4 12.10 11.11 13.4 11.11 14.5 11.11 14.0

a .7 7.6 7.6 a .2 7.1 7.1 7.1 7.6 7.1 6.1 7.6 6.1 a.7 6.1 8.2

13.3 12.9 12.9 13.3 12.9 13.3 12.9 11.10 11.10 12.3 13.3 13.3 11.10 11.10 12.3

7.5 7.0 7.0 7.5 7.0 7.5 7.0 6.0 6.0 6.5 7.5 7.5 6.0 6.0 6.5

16.0 15.6 15.6 16.0 13.9 13.9 15.6 14.10 14* 4 14.4

10.2 9.7 9.7 10.2 a.o a.o 9.7 9.1

8.6 8.6 15.6 9.7 15.6 9.7 13.3 7.5 13.9 a.o 14.10 9.1

15.0 14.7 13.9 14.1 14.1 13.9 12.10 13.4 12.10 13.4 12.1 12.5 12.5 12.1 12.10

9.2 8.8 8.0 8.4 8.4 8.0 7.1 7.6 7.1 7.6 6.3 6.7 6.7 6.3 7.1

43 It was necessary to refer to original selection list to secure the names of each student and to ascertain his school and classification.

At the time of their selection

each was given a number which was the only means of identifi­ cation during the testing.

After doing this it was then

possible to place the children in their proper classes, phonic or nonphonic. Group I had fifteen children; of these, twelve were from the phonic school and three were from the nonphonic school. Group II also had fifteen children; of these, five were from the phonic school and ten were from the nonphonic school. This made a total of seventeen phonic and thirteen nonphonic children in the group of thirty. The names, records, and classification of the eight children (five poor readers from the phonic school and three good readers from the nonphonic school) were found and in­ dividual case studies were made. Case one. reader.

lane H . , a girl, nonphonic training, a good

I.Q. of 120, mental age of 11.4 months, actual age

of 11.10 months, mental grade of 6.9, reading age of 12.4, and a reading grade of 7.0.

Her father is a. theater owner.

She

is known to be an outstanding student, already planning for college.

She is one of the members of a book club and reads

44 a great deal. Case two,

Geraldine E . , a girl, nonphonic training,

and a good reader.

I.Q; of 136, mental age of 12.3 months,

actual age of 11.5 months, mental grade of 7.3, reading age of 13.7, and a reading grade of 7.0.

Her father is a clerk.

Has one of the highest I.Q. 1s in the school. tionally good student.

Is an excep­

She is a quiet type, reserved, with

few friends for she seems to read most of her spare time. Case three. good reader.

John W . , a boy, nonphonic training, a

I.Q,. of 109, mental age of il.7 months, actual

age of 11.9 months, mental grade of 7.0, reading age of 12.3 and a reading grade of 7.5.

His father is a school teacher

and has given him a great deal of extra work at home.

He is

a good student and well liked by his teachers. These three students have

average I.Q.*s, but are

outstanding students in their school.

The fact that they are

good readers and compare with the other readers in the phonic group might indicate that due to their.high mentality and interest in school they are able to overcome the inadequacies of the nonphonic training. Case four. Jimmy C . , a boy, phonic training, poorreader.

I.Q.

of 96, mental

but a

age of 12.0, actual age of

12.1, mental grade of 6.2, reading age of 11.5, and a reading grade of 6.2.

His father is a car salesman and he comes from

an average type family.

He was recommended to the clinic for

45 remedial reading because of his truancy record. Case five. Russell L., a boy, I.Q,. of 91, mental age of 11.11, actual age of 12.1, mental grade of 6.1, reading age of 11.3, and reading grade of 5.9. cer; his home is an average one.

His father is a gro­

His teacher tells that his

main trouble is lack of concentration and that he is to go to the remedial reading clinic the coming year for special work. Case six. Robert F., a boy, I.Q. at 112, mental age of 12.9, actual age of 11.10, mental grade of 7-0, reading age of 12.0, and a reading grade of 7*0. oil man and his family is quite poor.

His father is an

He is a clinic case,

referred to them by his teacher for destructiveness. Case seven. Roy A., a boy, an I.Q. of 102, mental age of 11.10, actual age of 12.0, mental grade of 6.0, reading age of 10.8, and a reading grade of 6.0. clerk; his mother is not living.

His father is a

He is known to the entire

faculty as a problem child. Case eight. Martha G., a girl, an I.Q. of 111, mental age of 11.10, actual age of 11.6, mental grade of 6.0, reading age of 10.8, and a reading grade of 6.0.

Her mother is a

divorcee and is thinking of marrying again very soon.

This

seems to have had a definite effect on the child, for she is now quite a neurological problem to the clinic. These students have the lowest I.Q.fs of any of the second group.

The boys have reputations for being troublesome

and the one girl in this supplementary study is definitely a problem child. Summary.

The analysis of these eight children pointed

out that those who had had no phonic training but were good in reading, were also exceptional students.

The phonic

people, who were poor readers, were all clinical cases. Ninety-four per cent of Group I passed all their tests 23 per cent of Group II passed.

Eight per cent of Group I

were phonic people; 66 2/3 per cent of Group II were non­ phonic people.

47

TABLE IV DISTRIBUTION OF READING AGES AND GRADES AS COMPARED TO ACTUAL AGES AND GRADES FOR GROUP II ___________Gates Silent Reading Test____ l?ype A 'type B Type C Type I) R.A., R.G. R.A. R .G. R .A. R.G. R.A. R.G.

Actual ages

Actual grades

13.2

13.0

13.4

7.6

12.3

6.5

13.3

7.5. 12.10

7.1

11.10

12.9

12.10 7.1

12.3

6.5

13.3

7.5

12.10

7.1

:i3 .o

12.5

12.10 7.1

11.10

6.0

13.3

7.5

12.10

7.1

12.4

12.2

12.10 7.1

11.10

6.0

13.3

7.5

12.10

7.1

12.1

12.0

12.4

6.6

11.10

6.0

13.3

7.5

12.5

6.7

12.2

12.0

12.4

6.6

11.10

6.0

13.3

7.5

12.10

7.1

12.1

12.0

11.11 6.1

11.4

5.5

13.3

7.5

12.5

6.7

12.5

12.0

11.11 6.1

10.10

5.0

13*3

7.5

12.1

6.3

12.1

11.11

11.5

5.6

10.10

5.0

12.9

7.0

12.1

6.3

12.0

11.10

11.11 6.1

10.10

5.0

12.9

7.0

12.1

6.3

11.6

11.10

11.11 6.1

10.10

5.0

12.9

7.0

12.1

6.3

13.7

11.9

11.11 6.1

10.10

5.0

12.9

7.0

12.1

6.3

11.8

11.6

11.5

5.6

10.10

5.0

12.3

6.5

11.8

5.9

12.6

11.3

11.5

5.6

10.3

4.5

12.3

6.5

11.7

5.8

11.3

11.1

11.11 6.1

9.11

4.2

12.3

6.5

11.7

5.8

CHAPTER V A SURVEY OF REMEDIAL READING- CASES AND THEIR CAUSES The atypical children who do not learn to read as well as would be expected from their other intellectual abilities, present various educational problems.

In order

to differentiate them from the general defectives, in whom the entire pattern of intellectual traits is more or less uniformly retarded, they may be regarded as having a special defect.

Such a defect, if persistent, usually prevents the

child from making progress at school and ultimately blocJss the possibility of his preparation for an economic position in keeping with his other capacities. Survey of poor reading groups.

A total of 105 sixth-

grade school children having special reading defects, varying from mild retardation in reading to extreme disabilities, were found in a survey of six elementary schools.

In order to com­

pare the type of reading defects of each group with the type of training given the survey, was made and recorded for each school separately.

The method of teaching reading for each

school was known, making such a comparison very simple. The reading-defect cases were divided into three groups on the basis of the method of their being referred.

The first

49 group was obtained from the routine examination of a child clinic held in the schools.

The children were brought there

for many problems as well as for poor reading.

This group

of children, in which there is a variety of behavior and 4

environmental problems, will be called the Clinic Reading Cases. The children of the second group were referred by parents, teachers, and school psychologists only for a study of their reading difficulties.

Some of them were found to

present other problems as well, but the reading defect was the primary reason for the referring and the cases were rela­ tively free from other complicating social and environmental problems.

This group of children will be called the Special

Reading Cases. The third group of children was referred for a study of their reading by the psychologists and teachers of special schools and rooms for borderline and mentally defective children.

They were, for this reason, limited in their in­

telligence range.

Many of these children presented the

usual complication of problems of the defective child in school adjustment and many of them were behavior problems as well.

They were referred, however, for further study of

their reading in order that the school might be able to apply satisfactory remedial methods.

This group of children will

be called Defective Reading Cases.

50 There was some overlapping in the sort of cases found in the three groups*

Some of the clinic cases were defective

in intelligence as were the subnormal-room groups; some of the special cases presented a variety of problems as did the clinic cases, but on the whole, the differentiations of the groups are fairly clear cut. I.

CAUSES OF HEADING DIFFICULTIES

Causes of ineffective silent reading are legion* Certain factors, formerly thought important, have proved . irrelevant; many other items at one time believed to be causes have come to be regarded merely as symptoms; and others have been found to be correlates of poor reading. The following are considered the most important in those six schools having remedial reading cases. Visual perception*

The perceptual act, an important

individuation in meaningful reading, has been variously designated and studied.

Reports cite, among others, the

following hypothesized perceptual functions: perceptual span, visual span, memory span, association time, and extent of visual fields or of peripheral vision.1

In these simple,

isolated aspects of the total visual-perceptual act many

1 Paul Witty and David Kopel, Reading and the Educative Process (Boston: Ginn and Company, 1939), P« 2Q7.

51 workers have sought explanations of failure in reading. Thus differences in the ability of poor readers to recall nonsense or meaningful material that is exposed for a short period of time are designated "perceptual differences.” Eye movements.

The motor process most readily ob­

served in reading is eye movement.

Photography and direct

observation reveal that the efficient readerTs eyes glide swiftly across part of a line of print, pause momentarily, or fixate, continue their periodic lateral movements and fixations several times (the number depends on the length of line and the difficulty of the material), and from the end of the line sweep rapidly backward to the beginning of the next line.

Short backward (right-to-left), or regressive,

movements occur occasionally as the individual finds need for re-examination of some portion of the line.

Marked dif­

ferences between the habitual eye movements of good and poor readers have been noted by many investigators.

Their studies

show that the poor reader typically makes many and long fixa­ tion pauses, several regressive movements, and slow, irregular return sweeps. Vision.

Attention has frequently been directed to

the relationship of ocular defects to personal adjustment and academic achievement.

Most common of these visual aberra­

tions are simple errors in refraction: faulty acuity

52 (farsightedness and nearsightedness) and astigmatism (dis­ tortion of vision at certain angles).

Stieh irregularities

are sometimes alleged to be causes of reading difficulties. 2 A representative study is that of Monroe, who, after com­ paring groups of poor and of good readers, reported similar proportions of visual defects in both groups. Hearing.

That the importance of auditory factors in

the reading process is frequently overlooked will be denied by few. Peter Spencer states, A broad conception of reading treats discriminative behavior with sound stimuli with comparable consideration to that given to light stimuli. . . . School people are beginning to recognize that quality of illumination, i.e., the quality of intensity, and the diffusion of light, is an important fact in visual discrimination and in the typical school comfort and efficiency of the see­ ing person. Little has been done with sound* The sound patterns in the typical school contain poor sound quality, improper intensities and bad distributions of sounds. This applies to the sounds generated within the school. Sounds frop the outside such as traffic noises, playground noises, or those arising from industry are even less con­ trolled.^ Such conditions obviously interfere with learning; they distract pupils and teaeher and they impair the effectiveness of the teacherTs oral instruction.

The effect of these inter­

ferences will vary in terms of children’s relative hearing 2

Marion Monroe, Children Who Cannot, Read (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1932T, p* l&l 3 Peter Spencer, Syllabus for Course in Heading* (Claremont, California: Claremont College, 1937)» P* 11• •

53 abilities, their distance from the teacher, their suscep­ tibility to extraneous stimulation, and their interest in the immediate task. Motor disturbances and glandular disfunction.

Learn­

ing to read involves speech and language as well as vision and visual perception.

The child must be able to understand

and use the speech symbols which are to be associated with the printed symbols.

The factors which affect speech may

therefore also affect reading.

Speech is influenced by age,

intelligence, environment, and a number of specific constitu­ tional factors, such as ability to discriminate the sound of words, and to make the necessary motor coordinations of lips, tongue, palate, larynx, breathing apparatus, which are in­ volved in smooth, accurate articulation. Medical factors.

Children handicapped by defective

vision or hearing, glandular disturbances, low vitality, al­ lergies, mildly but chronically diseased tonsils or teeth, slight or serious cardiac disturbance, convalescence from exhausting fevers, protracted illness, excessive procilivity to fatigue, and similar difficulties require a curriculum re­ adjusted to their special needs. Children vary greatly in the amount of time they should be required to spend in any task.

They vary because of in­

equalities in physical strength, mental ability, and background

54 of experiences, and especially because of differences in special interest and sensed relationship of the task to personal problems and needs.

Fatigue is frequently a symp­

tom of lack of interest or of inappropriate technique of study rather than a reflection of inability to continue mental work.

Tendencies toward mental fatigue are seldom

the cause of subject disability; the teacher should seek the causes of failure in other sources.

Similarly, absence

from school as a result of poor physical condition sometimes results in failure, but it need not do so. Neurological deficiences, word blindness, hereditary and sex factors.

Physiological insufficiency of the visual

centers in the cerebrum has been considered a cause of fail­ ure to perceive words. Acquired word blindness is a pathological condition . . . in which an individual with normal vision and therefore with ability to see the letters and words distinctly is no longer able to interpret written or printed language because of a lesion (caused by disease or^injury) in part of the visual center of the brain. All the visual memories of words and letters have been swept away. Re-education of such cases is a slow and laborious task, and with elderly people nearly impossible. Because persons who have normal vision, audition, and intelligence,- but who show extreme difficulty in learning to recognize printed and written language have symptoms analogous to disabilities caused by known cerebral lesions in acquired word blindness, they have been said to be suffering from "congenital word-blindness."4

^ M. A. Tinker, "Diagnostic and Remedial Reading,” Elementary School Journal 33:292, 1932.

55 Laterality, mixed dominance, and reversals*

Frequently

encountered in the literature of leading disability, and associated with the names of Orton, Dearborn, and others, is the notion that language disabilities result from lefthandedness, left-eyedness, mixed cerebral dominance or lack of dominance, and similar conditions.

Reversals, a charac­

teristic error pattern of the poor reader, are said to reflect allegedly undesirable laterality. Laterality is a generic term; it refers to bodily behavior characterized by the unilaterial (one-sided) prefer­ ence of the external paired organs.

Most persons have been

observed popularly and experimentally to be right-handed, some left-handed, a few ambidextrous.

Investigations reveal

that left-handedness and left-eyedness, as well as other conditions of laterality, occur with practically equal inci­ dence in groups of poor and of good readers. Methodological causes.

Since reading difficulties

are usually amenable to remedial instruction, many believe that disability cases are caused frequently by ineffectual instruction and by the accidental acquisition of inappropriate habits.

Children exposed to the typical first-grade reading

class do not merely waste much of their time, but, as dynamic organisms in a monotonously sterile, abstract, and largely unintelligible situation, they frequently react with the development (learning) of attitudes of indifference to or

56 dislike for reading*

Doubtless some children’s general

dislike for school has its origin in the curricular aridityfirst experienced in the primary grades.

This attitude is

perpetuated in the upper grades, in which materials and methods often are similarly irrelevant and uninteresting. Children’s ineffectiveness in reading is sometimes traceable to so-called mechanical difficulties, specific error patterns, faulty habit tendencies, and lack of skill in word recognition.

Tests of oral reading and of word

recognition, such as the Gray Oral Reading Paragraphs and the Gates Pronunciation Test, therefore may be utilized for ascertaining typical errors in oral reading. Particularly regrettable in the usual teaching routine is the failure to conceive reading ”as a thinking enterprise, demanding the use of creative intelligence in situations inextricably associated with the total complex development of the growing child. Inasmuch as the clinical cases were referred because of behavior or environmental problems, it was interesting to analyze each case.

It must be remembered that each child

was first considered a reading problem.

That he would have

been in this group if his environment had been more desirable or his behavior problems had been curbed by a different kind 5

Witty and Kopel,

o jd .

oit., p. 234.

57 of parent is difficult to know.

He was, however, in the

clinic with both problems— reading and environment or read­ ing and behavior.

A diagnosis of the twenty cases revealed

six cases of broken homes, resulting in a nervous, unstable child, unable to concentrate or learn as a result of a sudden change in his home life.

There w r e four cases of truancy.

These were all transient Mexican boys.

Mexicans traveling

with the fruit crops have little chance to learn discipline or educational principles, inasmuch as they attend from four to six schools annually. There were four cases of stealing.

The case histories

show one boy had stolen such necessary school articles as pencils, notebooks, and paper on various occasions.

Further

investigations revealed that he had taken only such items as were necessary for his work and that his parents were unable to buy the things for him. from very bad homes.

The other three cases were boys

Their older brothers had reputations

for petty crimes. Three cases were cited for lying.

There was a psycho­

logical problem involved in each of these. In the diagnosis of the special cases it was difficult to clearly place the children in one category or another, for so often they were guilty of several kinds of reading diffi­ culties.

For instance, a child with reversals in his reading

would usually use either substitutions or repetitions.

It

58 is only possible to enumerate the outstanding kinds of reading problems such as: insertions, repetitions, reversals, poor memory, omissions, substitutions, lack of concentra­ tion, articulatory weaknesses (stammering and stuttering), visual acuity, auditory weakness, and poor sound blending* There were fifty-four cases in this special class* In the defective case group most of the children were mentally deficient*

Several cases were outstanding because

their mental slowness was the result of a birth injury, an operation, and to head injuries sustained in automobile acci­ dents*

These children were found to have many weaknesses

similar to the special cases: reversals, repetitions, lack of concentration, visual acuity and several cases of failure to adjust*

There was a total of thirty-one cases in this group. In order to compare the phonic schools with the non­

phonic schools, it was necessary to chart the schools sepasrately. Schools A, B, C, and D were nonphonic in their teaching. Schools E and E were strongly phonic*

In studying the case

histories the students in these reading cases, with the ex­ ceptions of the Mexican boys, had been in their particular school most of their school life.

Thus the picture of a sixth

grade child having had phonics for the past five or six years as compared with the child having had no phonics at all for the same length of time should be indicative of the kind of

59

TABLE Y DISTRIBUTION OF REMEDIAL READING GASES IN SIX ELEMENTARY SCHOOLSa Type of Cases

jSchool jSchool A B

School C

School D

School E

1

1

1

School F

Clinical: Truancy Stealing Nervousness Lying Destructiveness

1 1

2 1 1

1

2 1

1

1 2

2

1

1

1

1 1

2

3

Special: Articulatory Insertions Lack of Concent. Omissions Poor memory Repetitions Reversals Substitutions Visual acuity

1 1 3 1 1 5 1

2 1 3 1 -

4 1

2

1 2 2

4 2 1

3 2 1

Defective: Auditory Birth injuries Failure to adjust Lack of Concent. Poor sounds Repetitions Reversals Operations Accidents Visual acuity

1 1

1 1 1 3 1

1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1

1

2

1 1 '**‘1 1 2

1 2 1

a These students are not to be confused with those in the control groups I and II.

60 teaching method needed. The nonphonic schools have the greatest number of cases showing omissions, insertions, poor memory, and re­ versals as the leading technical faults for this group. The fact that the phonic schools had the least num­ ber of cases and that the greatest trouble seems to lie in such difficulties as nervousness, articulatory weaknesses, visual acuity, operations and head injuries and not in the reading technicalities such as insertions, omissions, et cetera, would indicate the strength of the Phonic Method of teaching reading.

CHAPTER VI SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The statement that the number of remedial reading classes is increasing was made in the introduction to this study*

The fact that phonic training is given only in a

small percentage of our schools has been noted.

The problem

concerning the value of phonic training as compared to the prevalent nonphonic training was the basis for this study. Methods.

The two outstanding advantages of the Alpha­

bet Method are

the ability of the child to learn to read

while spelling

and the oral work or the speech training he

receives.

In direct contrast to this is the Word Method,

which some claim is best because of its use of memorization work.

Some authors proclaim the Sentence Method for its

training in recognizing phrases as meaningful units.

Lastly,

the Phonetic Method with its phonograms and units of sound is extolled by still other authorities.

Although the advantages

of each method are found to be numerous, the disadvantages have caused instructors to throw out each method in turn and use an incongruous or integrated program. In the modern integrated program is found remnants of the alphabet, word phonic method.

and sentence methods, but little of the

Of the six schools, used as experimental

groups for this study, only two were using any phonics.

62 Testing results.

Tests were then ehosen, administered

and the results for the Progressive Achievement Test and Gates Silent Reading Test were tabulated.

It was found that

Group II missed, or skipped, questions written in small print,

a repeated weakness,and found in vocabulary knowledge

or word recognition, especially in the tests on meaning of opposites, meaning of similarities, interpretation and re­ call of significant details.

There were indications that

this group relied mostly on guessing or memorization, and that its capacity was not equal to the assigned amount.

It

is possible the method of teaching was not at fault as much as the time element involved.

Proof that they were capable

of learning fundamentals was seen in the simple following directions tests in both Gates and Progressive tests.

Simple,

common words were used and the high number of passing grades should be indicative of the need for a thorough basic train­ ing and less speed. This marked weakness in word recognition or a seemingly limited vocabulary may be attributed to the fact that they have been taught a surprisingly large number of unusual words, many unsuitable for elementary grades.

The knowledge of such

words, as stressed in the integrated program, is of little use in every day work*

Test such as Gates and Progressive

are compiled to test normal usage type of words.

A failure

in the test would indicate a faulty teaching method.

No

6$ matter what words a pupil may know, if he cannot read such words as those in these lists, he will be handicapped in his efforts to read the more representative and important chil­ dr e n s material. Children of all levels of intelligence despite abun­ dant drill and serious application, sometimes fail to acquire the essential techniques of attacking new word forms.

These

failures may be due to various factors— overemphasis or underemphasis of a different types of training, usually. However apt a pupil may be he cannot acquire a reading vocab­ ulary without study.

When it is due only to lack of training,

the deficiency may be remedied in obvious methods.

When it

is due to lack of application the difficulty may be less easy to relieve.

It all reverts back to the method taught,

not to the pupil being taught. The weakness in the test on recalling significant details by the second group may be due to a lack of training in thought units.

Difficulty in utilizing the context is

often accompanied by inability to appreciate properly the grouping of thought units in a paragraph.

The pupil names

the familiar word forms and struggles with the unfamiliar forms in isolation from their context.

He will show little

regard for the various cluster of words which belong together as parts of a thought unit. It is not easy to tell which of these difficulties— difficulty in utilizing the context or difficulty in

apprehending thought units— was the cause of the other. They often, but not invariably, go together.

A pupil is

sometimes found who understands quite well what he reads although he reads without indicating by emphasis or pauses the natural thought divisions and relations.

He apparently

gets the thought despite poor recognition of thought group­ ings and divisions.

He should, however, be able to read

with greater comprehension, ease, and speed were he more sensitive to such thought units.

His handicap may be re­

sponsible for some degree of slowness in reading. The low results in the

interpretation test indicated

an absorption of attention in word recognition thus causing inaccuracy in reading and thought getting. Inaccuracy in reading often accompanies slowness, and the difficulties which cause the one also cause the other. Thus it is found that a poor span of reading apprehension, uncertain word-by-word reading, small reading vocabulary, poor methods of word attack, and the like, result in slow, stumbling reading which is accompanied by erroneous and in­ complete grasp of the thought.

When the pupil is subject to

such mechanical difficulties, he is often mainly absorbed in the work of word recognition.

The result is a more or less

complete neglect of the thought.

By failing to secure the

thought adequately, one of the most fruitful aids in recog­ nition of words, the use of the context, is lost and thus a

66 vicious circle of difficulties, each increasing the others, is formed. In summarizing the scores for Group II in these tests it was found that they failed completely in three tests and 60 per cent with a passing grade was the highest they were able to attain. Ninety-four per cent of Group I passed all of the tests.

They did show a weakness in the meaning of opposites

and similarities tests, however slight. The mental age for Group I was 132.1 months, Group II1s was 132.1 months.

The average chronological age was 121.8

months for Group I and 123-S months for Group II.

The actual

ages were 11.8 for the first group and 12.8 for the second group.

Group I led the intelligence quotient averages with

a slight differences of 117.2 as over 117.06 for Group II. Eighty per cent of Group I was phonic people; 66 2/3 per cent of Group II was nonphonic. It was found that five poor readers were from the phonic schools and three good readers were from the nonphonic schools.

The analysis of the eight children pointed out that

those who had had no phonic training, but were good readers, were also exceptional students.

The phonic people, who were

poor readers, were all clinical cases. Nonphonic people showed greatest weakness in vocabulary and word recognition.

Phonic people were generally strong

throughout the entire test. thorough type, of training.

They showed a slower, more The Phonic Method of teaching

reading would seem then to be more beneficial.

It might b

well to put more phonic work into the reading classes as a means of a solution of this problem.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY Buswell, G. T., Fundamental Reading Habits: A Study of Their Development. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1922. 115 pp. Cole, Luella, The Improvement of Reading. New York: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., 193&* ”""500 pp. Crofoot, Bess L., "Remedial Reading,” School and Society, XXV, 1927. 207 PP. Farnham, George L., The Sentence Method of Reading. New York: Macmillan Company, 1931*1 365" pp. Gates, A. I., The Improvement of Reading. New York: Macmillan Company, 1927. 376 pp* Klapper, Paul, Teaching Children to Read. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1934. 4lQ pp. Lee, D. M. , Importance of Reading for Achieving in Grades Four, Five and Six. Teachers College Contributions to Education. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1933. 376 pp. Meriam, I. L., "Difficulties in Learning to Read,” Childhood Education, VIII, 1931. 141 pp. Monroe, Marion, Children Who Cannot Read. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1932. 101 pp. Otto, Henry J., "Remedial Instruction in Reading,” Elementary School Journal, XXVII, 35 pp. Pennel, Mary E., and Alice M. Cusack, How to Teach Reading. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1924. 524 pp. Percival, Walter P., ”A Study of the Causes and Subjects of Failure in School.” Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Teacher's College, Columbia University, New York, 1926. 250 pp. Selzer, C. A., Lateral Dominance and Visual Fusion. Harvard Monographs In Education, No. 12. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1933. 34 pp.

Spencer, Paul, Syllabus for Course in Reading, Claremont, California: Claremont College, 193TI 2?6 pp. Stone, Clarence R., Better Primary Reading, St. Louis, Missouri: Webster Publishing Company, 1936, 502 pp. t

..

Sutherland, A. H., "Correcting School Disabilities in Reading, Elementary School Journal, XII, 1922. 201 pp. Tinker, M. A*, "Diagnostic and Remedial Reading," Elementary School Journal, XXXIII, 1932. 273 pp. Wheat, Harry Grove, The Teaching of Reading. New York: Ginn and Company, 1934* 416 pp. Witty, Paul, and David Kopel, Reading and the Educative Process. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1939* 207 pp.

U n iversity o f S o u th e rn C alifo rn ia Llbreiri'