Lees

“ The wise father and mother will go with the children to the library, and there teach them to use books; while in school, the teacher of reading will aim beyond the simple mastery of the text-book. No longer can she content herself with guiding her pupils through the Fifth Reader from page 1 to page 256. With her larger conception of reading, she knows now that her pupils must be taught to unlock other books, and she sets herself to teach them how to do this. ”

“ Close your eyes and then call up the picture of this man. Do you see him as a real man? Now read this sentence aloud so that your classmates may get the same picture that you have.
These are the three things we have learned in our first lesson, and they are very, very important: We must get the thought; we must hold the thought; and we must give the thought. This is reading aloud.
Remember, I want you to be getting these pictures from everything you read; from your geography lesson, your history lesson, and even your arithmetic lesson. ”

“ There are seventeen rhymes and simple poems in the Primer. The vocabulary is based on the words found in these rhymes and poems. Have the children memorize each rhyme. Write it upon the blackboard and teach the elements as in previous exercises. (See page 43, Part II, Lesson XXVII.)
2. Continue the blackboard lessons along with the reading of the Primer. If necessary, precede a lesson in the book with one or more development lessons on the blackboard. (See page 39, Part II, Lesson XXI.)
3. The enjoyment of poetry must be recognized as a legitimate part of the child's development. ”

“ When the class comes together the vocabulary is to be taken up as a solid and distinct task, and after that is disposed of, the text may follow. It is generally impossible to give the time to the reading aloud of an entire novel; but I am inclined to believe that at least the opening chapters, the portion of the story which must be most deliberately considered if the young reader is to go on with the tale in full possession of the atmosphere and the characters as they are introduced, should always be thus taken up. ”

“ If occasionally there must be concert reading in the class room, it should always be preceded by individual mastery of the selection.
POEMS.-In the first lesson, a poem, like a picture, should be presented as a whole, and never dissected. The teacher should first read it through, not stopping for note or comment. He should then read it again, part by part, stopping, for question, explanation and discussion. Lastly, the whole poem, should be read with suitable emotion, so that the final impression may be made by the author's own words. ”

“ It is undoubtedly wise to make upon the teacher and the children the impression that reading is a tool, a key—perhaps we would better call it a gate through which one gets at many things—the joys and rewards of literature, to be sure, but also the images of history, the facts of nature, the details of handicraft. A reading-book, or any system of reading-lessons that contains nothing but literature is therefore a mistake. ”

“ A clear distinction should be made between reading and literature, especially in the primary grades. In the work of the reading course the pupil should take the lead, being guided by the teacher. If the pupil is to progress, he must master the mechanics of reading—he must learn to pronounce printed words and to get the meaning of printed sentences and paragraphs. ”

“ Let all the pupils look through one or more paragraphs, reading silently, to get the thought, before any one is called upon to read aloud. If a child comes to a word that he does not know, during the silent reading, the teacher helps him to get it—from the context if possible—if not, by the sounds of the letters which compose it. ”

“ If this expressive instinct can be utilized in the teaching of reading, we shall be able both to add greatly to the child's enjoyment and to improve the quality of his oral reading. In these days when so many books are hastily read in school, there is a tendency to sacrifice expression to the mechanics and interpretation of reading. Those acquainted with school work know too well the resulting monotonous, indistinct speech and the self-conscious, listless attitude which characterize so much of the reading of pupils in grades above the third. ”

“ A deep-rooted and strictly continuous habit of reading will, with certain classes of intellect, result in an instinctive and seemingly magnetic appreciation of a thing written; and now the student reads by pages just as other men by words. ”

“ I see no objection, however, to light reading, desultory reading, the reading of newspapers, or the reading of fiction, if you take enough ballast with it, so that these light kites, as the sailors call them, may not carry your ship over in some sudden gale. The principle of sound habits of reading, if reduced to a precise rule, comes out thus: That for each hour of light reading, of what we read for amusement, we ought to take another hour of reading for instruction. ”

“ The next 'reading at sight' lesson will begin with a hunt for the familiar words, and then--
"Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky," should be gone through in the same way. As spelling is simply the art of seeing, seeing the letters in a word as we see the features of a face--say to the child, 'Can you spell sky?'--or any of the shorter words. ”

“ Let your pupils hear eloquence from eloquent lips, and they will own its power. But let a drawling, unimpassioned reader, read a play of Shakespeare's, or an oration of Demosthenes, and if your pupil is not out of patience, he will never taste the charms of eloquence. If he feels a fine sentiment, or a sublime idea, pause, leave his mind full, leave his imagination elevated. ”

“ It should be impressed upon pupils from the outset that they are studying the thoughts and feelings of others that find expression in words upon the printed page. They must discover the thoughts behind the words and then express them; that is all there is to reading. ”

“ Ease and flexibility of articulation, quickness in catching the drift of ideas, and readiness in varying the tones of the voice in the utterance of words so as impressively to portray their latent sentiment,—all this is possible with those alone to whom difficult word-forms, complex sentence-structures, and the infinite variety and play of thought and emotion, are more or less familiar through such a wide range of reading as only the silent prosecution of it makes possible. ”

“ LISA. And shall I wear these beautiful things all the time?
EDITH. To-morrow they will play fairy again; after that, my cousins will go away, and you will have to begin to study. Do you like to study?
LISA. What is study?
EDITH. Do you not even know your alphabet? How funny it will be to see Miss Magin sitting up like a forsaken owl, calling out A, and A you will softly say; then B, and C, and so on. If you had learned to read, you would have to pore over books all the time. Nothing but books! I could learn more, rambling about three days, than I could in books in half a century. ”

“ As a stimulus to, or a test of, study, it may be well to omit the oral reading occasionally, substituting for it an exercise in silent reading, whose thoroughness is tested by questions. After the usual study of the lesson the books are closed and the teacher calls upon the pupils to tell her what they have read. Older pupils may respond by giving the substance of the lesson. Younger children may be tested by more frequent and detailed questions after the reading of short paragraphs. ”

“ Such attempts at sight reading, with too difficult matter, will result in the habit of stumbling. Children should have an opportunity to overcome by study the difficulties which would otherwise make them hesitate in reading. All sight reading, so called, should be easy enough to be read fluently at sight.
The old-fashioned custom of setting apart Friday afternoons for reading, recitation, and declamation should be revived. The exercise was admirable, giving the children confidence in reading and speaking which resulted in ease and fluency. ”

“ Phonic drill and reading are distinct processes and should be taught at different periods of the day during the first two years of school. The purpose of the elementary reading lesson is to associate permanently the thought and the symbols which represent it, so that the thought can be gained from the written or printed language. The purpose of the elementary phonic lesson is to associate permanently sounds and the characters which represent them, so that new words can be readily recognized. ”

“ In addition to giving the pupil practice in reading and forming a basis for oral and written composition work, these selections will raise his ideas of right living, will quicken his imagination, will give him his first knowledge of many things, stimulate his powers of observation, enlarge his vocabulary, and correct and refine his mode of expression. A wholesome reading habit, so important to-day, will thus be easily, pleasantly and unconsciously formed. ”

“ After reading a piece of poetry, boys must be made to analyze and scan it, to point out peculiarities of language and rhythm, to enumerate the different meanings of words, to name and explain the various figures of speech. ”

“ This close dependence of reading proper, in earlier years, upon the oral treatment of stories as a preliminary, is based fundamentally upon the idea that suitable and interesting thought matter is the true basis of progress in reading, and that the strengthening of the taste for good books is a much greater thing than the mere acquisition of the art of reading. The motive with which children read or try to learn to read is, after all, of the greatest consequence. ”

“ For instance, teach the pupil to identify the characters a, o, n, d, g, r, and th, in Lesson I, as the representatives of certain elementary sounds; then teach him to form the words at the head of the lesson, then other words, as nag, on, and, etc. Pursue a similar course in teaching the succeeding lessons. Having read a few lessons in this manner, begin to teach the names of the letters and the spelling of words, and require the groups, "a man," "the man," "a pen," to be read as a good reader would pronounce single words. ”

“ But books, however eloquent and heart-searching they may be, cannot produce an effect comparable to that of seeing and hearing—to the sight and sound of emotion in men's faces and voices and in their words. ”

“ Among the many school-room exercises which yield present profit, none other continues its dividends so far into the future as does the intelligent reading and memorizing of a good poem. It has been urged elsewhere that the teacher should frequently read good poetry to the children, often without comment, but sometimes repeating the reading again and again, until the children become familiar with the rhythm, question the meaning, and are ready to memorize the poem. ”

“ Added to such study, is the general training which gives us power to picture the unknown, interpreting a new scene through its relation to our old experience. The ready and trained imagination easily pictures the scene which the words conjure before the mind—makes real the homestead, snowbound and comfortfilled. Reading may be so taught as to develop this power, which takes hold on things unseen. No careful teacher omits such training.
Here, then, are different phases of teaching reading: mastery of the words as to form and sound ”

“ Choice of Reading To carry out effectively the plan for the correlation of the reading and composition work, and to provide a well graded course of reading adapted to the maturity and ability of the pupils, the greatest care must be exercised in the selection of masterpieces of literature to be read and studied in class. ”

“ The initial stock of about one hundred “sight words,” which the reading of the Primer has furnished, is increased gradually. At first most of the new words are easily acquired, as were those of the Primer, through the memorizing of simple and interesting rhymes. viSuch rhymes occur on pages 3, 6, 11, 15, 17, 25, 28, 33, 37, 47, 55, 75. But for the development of the power and the habit of independent mastery of new words by the child reliance is placed on the exercises in phonics, which should be systematic and constant throughout the book. ”

“ Eventually several stories may be collected and sewed together, so as to form a little reading-book which is the result of the constructive work of teacher and pupils.
The reading lessons just described are entirely separate from the oral treatment and reproduction of the stories; yet the thought and interest awakened in the oral work are helpful in keeping up a lively effort in the reading class. The thought material in a good story is itself a mental stimulus, and produces a wakefulness which is favorable to imprinting the forms as well as the content of thought. ”

“ It seems well, therefore, to have in primary schools two kinds of work in connection with story and reading, the oral work in story-telling, reproduction, expression, etc., and the drill exercises in learning to read. The former will keep up a wide-awake interest in the best thought materials suitable for children, the latter will gradually acquaint them with the necessary forms of written and printed language. ”

“ In the class study phonics finds its proper time and place. In the seat work children make some application of the knowledge just acquired. When the reading exercise takes place, the time should be given to reading, the attention being held to the thought in the lesson. ”

“ The reader, who is thinking as he [Pg 11] reads, will group together words that express one idea, or symbolize one picture, presenting these ideas and pictures to himself and to the listener one by one, and separating by a pause, of greater or less length, those not closely connected. ”