l ems pricedocument resume ed 083 575 cs 000 814 author nemeth, joseph s., ed. titl! the right to...

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 083 575 CS 000 814

AUTHOR Nemeth, Joseph S., Ed.TITL! The Right to Read Effort in Ohio.INSTITUTION Bowling Green State Univ., Ohio. Dept. of Education.;

International Reading Association. Ohio Council.PUB DATE 73NOTv. 29p.JOURNAL CIT Ohio Reading Teacher; v8 nl p1-27 F L 1973

EMS PRICE MF-S0.65 HC-$3.29DESCRIPTORS Beginning Reading; Content Reading; Developmental

Reading; Periodicals; Reading Diagnosis; *ReadingInstruction; nodding Programs; Remedial Reading;Self Evaluation

IDENTIFIERS *Right to Read

ABSTRACTThe federal Right to Read program is funding five

school-based reading programs for the third consecutive year in Ohio.In addition to money, Right to Read provides technical assistance andmaterials to each site. Ball State University coordinates Ohio'steam. Dr. Joseph Nemeth is the federally appointed technicalazsistant for Ohio's five school-based sites. Brief reports on eachof the five programs are presented. Other articles are on diagnosisand remediation, content reading, developmental reading, teacherself-evaluation, and beginning reading. (TO)

Dedicated tothe Improvement of Reading Instruction

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THEME: The Right to Read Effort in Ohio

CONTENTS

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Volume Sall Fc'1111973 Number 1

FILMED FROM BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Ohio Reading TeacherA journal of education whose objective is to improve

reading instruction in OhioVOL. VIII, NO. 1 FALL 1973

CONTENTSThe President Communicates

Herbert H. Sandberg 1

The Right to Read Effort-IntroductionJoseph S. Nemeth 2

Teachers Learn Thru Right to ReadStaff Development Project

Barbara Rich 3ReadmorAt Morgan Local

Pamela J. Workman 5Right to Read at Louis Pasteur

Dorothy MiddletonRuth B. Fore 6

Right to Read at Iowa -MapleL. Pearl ShieldsNorma Fleming 9

Effort at Haze !dellMary S. Taylor 10

ChildrenLet Them ReadSandy Hall 12

Earlier Than EarlyDiagnosis andRemediation

Marjorie MacDonald 14

EditorJoseph S. NemethThe Reading CenterBowling Green State UniversityBowling Green, Ohio 43403

The President CommunicatesHerbert H. SandbergThe Reading' CenterThe University of ToledoToledo, Ohio 43606

Developmental ReadingDean KellyAssistant SuperintendentBerea City SchoolsBerea, Ohio

Reading DiagnosisMargaret Griffin 16

The First Grade AuthorsLuvonne Pitts 18

Can Secondary Content TeachersTeach Reading?

Gaye Laurell Wolfe 20

"Where the Gri:!:le-Grass Grows"Jerry J. Mallet 22

Developmental ReadingDean Kelly 24

When Teachers View ThemselvesFred Pigge 26

Local Council NewsBarbara Auer 28

OCIRA Honor Grants 30

Come Fly With Us 32

EditorialJoseph S. Nemeth BC

EDITORIAL STAFF

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Reading ImprovementLuvonne PittsReading SupervisorMuskingum County SchoolsZanesville, Ohio 43701

Children's LiteratureJerry J. MalletsAssociate ProfessorFindlay CollegeFindlay, Ohio

Student EditorsJennifer AsadShriley BowmanPatricia Berman

Research GuidelinesFred PiggeProfessorBowling Green State UniversityBowling Green, Ohio 43403

Local Council NewsBarbara AuerRemedial Reading

TeacherCoshocton, Ohio

Secondary ReadingGaye Laurell WolfeMember, Lake County

Council

Published by Ohio Council of the International Reading Association and the Department of Edu-cation, Bowling Green State University, four times a year in Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.Second Class Postage Paid at Bowling Green, Ohio 43403.

Correspondence and Manuscripts for publication should be submitted tc Dr. Joseph S. Nemeth,Editor, The Reading Center, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403. Subscriptionrates $5.00 yearly; single copies E1.00.

The President Communicates

Herbert H. Sandberg'

Welcome to OCIRA! Our yeartogether should be an excitingone with the theme, Quest forSelf through Reading and theHumanities. I can't think of amore appropriate theme in asociety which is increasinglypresenting an image of com-puter and machine domination.It has been estimated that 80%of the jobs available in the nextgeneration will be with and forpeople." If this estimate is ac-curate, then must we not builda people-centered education?

We will not be prepared fora people-centered, culture-lovingsociety by accident. We muststart early by building an en-vironment that fosters caringpeople caring about peoplepeople wanting to serve people.

Who will man the museums,play in the symphonies, act andproduce in the theaters if webegrudge children their earlyexpression in school? I knowand you know first graders whoare so involved in the mechanicsof a reading system that little orno time is available to sing, todance, to paint, to linger overthe summer sill!' collection, toplay the roles of beloved charac-ters in books or in their imag-inations.

In the pressure, no matterhow well intended, to squeeze

the curriculum to the bare bonesof the three R's, we are ill pre-paring children for the kind ofsociety that will be viable, ex-citing, beautiful, comfortable.

I see our mandate as teachersas one that will preserve andextend the arts, to build life-long interest in the growingcultural opportunities, and tofoster the kind of sensitivitythat permits person to communi-cate to person a universe' qua-lity of caring.

Children care. We all do. Andwe could make the world amore comfortable place for liv-ing if we shared our caring.This takes strength and sensi-tivity combined, for the sensi-tivity to joy and love is thesame sensitivity to pain andhurt. Peaks must have valleys.We teachers and children shouldtravel them together.

I look forward to seeing allof you at the Fall Conferencein Columbus on November 2and 3. We will be dealing withthe critical issue of developingself - concept through readingand the arts.

From remarks of Mrs. JoanBowers, White House Confer-ence on Education, 1965.

President, Ohio Council International Reading Association

The Right to Read Program in Ohio is alive and well! Established in 1970,Right to Read is a coordinated effort to urge public, private, professional andnon-professional segments of society to work toward the goal of ensuring thatby 1980 ninety-nine percent of all people under 16 years of age and ninetypercent of all those over 16 will possess and use literacy skills. To implementthat objective, the federal Right to Read Program has funded 170 school-basedand 70 community-based reading programs and 31 programs at the state educa-tion agency level.

Presently, five school-based reading programs are being funded for thethird consecutive year in Ohio. In addition to money, Right to Read also pro-vides technical assistance and materials to each site. Forty-seven reading con-sultants, educational planners and community specialists working in four teamsare located throughout the country. Ball State University coordinates Ohio'steam and Dr. Joseph S. Nemeth is the federally appointed technical assistantwho assists Ohio's five school-based sites.

The following articles give a brief glimpse into Ohio's five school-basedsites. Future issues will report on Ohio's Right to Read Program at the StateDepartment of Education level.

2 OHIO READING TEACHER

Teachers Learn Thru Right to

Read Staff Development Project

Barbara Rich*

The Helen J. Nee ley ElementarySchool of Berea, Ohio, has beendesignated as a "Right to Read"Expansion Site. An Expansion Siteis one where promising readingpractices can be exnanded into ex-emplary programs. At the Nee leyElementary School, an On-Site Co-ordinator and members of a UnitTask Force share the responsibilityfor the planning and the directingof the Right to Read Program. TheUnit Task Force includes :teachers, parents, supervisors, co-ordinators and the principal.

I 4.. . the teacher represents

the `key' for a successful read-ing improvement program. . ."

Utilizing Right to Read NeedsAssessment Procedures, Unit TaskForce Members identified the ma-jor reading needs of the Helen J.Neeley School. The needs wereclassified into three fundamentalcomponents. These components in-cluded : staff development or in-service education, student languageand reading skill development, andparent involvement.

Since the teacher represents the"key" for a successful reading im-provement program, Unit TaskForce Members classified staff de-velopment as the priority need.

At Neeley, it was felt that thesuccess of in-service training wouldbe enhanced if teachers had avoice in identifying their .indivi-

dual instructional reading needsand establishing priorities.

As a result,. teachers were pro-vided with a structured procedurefor identifying their instructionalreading needs. Each staff memberCompleted an Individualized StaffDevelopment Planning Form)This form consisted of diagnosticand prescriptive objectives fol-lowed by a self-assessment columnwhere each teacher checked hisability.

Next, each teacher identified onespecific area of staff developmentwhich he recommended for in-service. An analysis of the resultswas completed, and in-service acti-vities were organized according toeach teacher's designated priori-ties. Thus, each teacher was ableto work in an area of indivi-dualized need for self-impicive-ment. The next step was to pro-vide leadership and active partici-pation in the planning phases.

The in-service activities whichwere planned did not assume thatthe entire faculty had to worksimultaneously, in the same placeor on the same task. Some teachersworked individually, others workedin small groups, and in some casesthe entire staff worked together.

"Teachers have a voice inidentifying their individualinstructional reading needsand establishing priorities."

On-Situ Coordinator, Helen J. Neeley School, Berea City School District

FALL 1973 3

"The design for the readingperiod places the pupils in amulti-media setting."

The following in-service actionactivities, 2 presented in outlineform, provide an overview of theprogram:

Orientation sessions relating tothe Right to Read Project(Aims and Objectives) werescheduled for all teachers in K-6.Motor-perceptual in-service ac-tivities were scheduled as fol-lows:

a. Two hour participation in-service for K-3 teachers.

b. One hour in-service out-side cons ul t ant for K-6teachers.

Directed Reading Thinking Ac-tivities and Unipac Developmentin- service activities were imple-mented. (Fourteen . hours ofUnipac and DR T A in-servicetraining sessions followed by anaverage of forty hours perteacher in the development ofUnipacs and DRTA's for class-room use.) Neeley staff memberswere the instructors.Make-It Sessions designed f o rdeveloping reading games in-volving teachers, parents, coor-dinator and administrator wereimplemented.The staff attended seminarsbased upon their needs and theirinterests.Staff development activitiesthrough intra-school visitationsand inter - school visitations werescheduled and implemented.Continuous conferences betweenthe on-site coordinator and eachindividual teacher (informala n d formal conferences basedon needs indicated by teacherand/or coordinator) were sched-uled and evaluated.

Neeley "Right to Read" ReadingSkills Checklist was developed todetermine the reading status ofeach student.Ten hours of in-service trainingactivities were conducted by anoutside consultant on the use ofa diagnostic - prescriptive ap-proach to the teaching of read-ing. This included the develop=ment of short pre / post criterionreference test related to theNeeley "Right to Read" ReadingSkills Checklist.The total staff participated dailyin U.S.S.R. (Uninterrupted Sus-tained Silent Reading) to in-crease professional staff develop-ment through reading and toprovide an example for the stu-dents.

"Staff development, an es-sential element, has been con-tinuous."

The success of the Action Acti-vities at Neeley may be attributedin part to cooperative diagnosisand planning. The program hasprovided: first, an orientation tothe over-all Right to Read ProgramGoals and Objectives; second, anopportunity for individualized pro-fessional growth ; third, a meansof providing the key person theteacher professional informa-tion for improvement of the in-structional program in the class-room.

The Neeley Program illustratesan active commitment to the be-lief that staff development is andshould remain a major componentin a successful Right.to Read Pro-gram.

1Office of Educational Research and Service,College of Education, Bowling Green State (Inf.versify; Individualized Staff Development Plan-ning Form.

-"Action Activities" denotes continuous, ongoing in-service activities.


ReadmorEach student must work M

his own level in order to gainself-confidence and to experi-ence personal success andsatisfaction.

At Morgan LocalPamela J. Workman*

READMOR. the Morgan LocalSchool Dist rict Right to Readtransition site is located at MorganHigh School. McConnelsville, insoutheastern Ohio, The three yearreading program emphasizes twoaspects: Thrust I. staff develop-ment in the integration of theteaching of reading in content-related areas; and Thrust II, aconcentrated developmental read-ing program for ninth grade stu-dents. Almost the entire studentpopulation, grades 9-12, is involvedthrough these two thrusts.

The staff development aspect be-gan with a college course, "Teach-ing Reading in Content-RelatedAreas." presented on-site by Bowl-ing Green State University, Thelocal reading staff conducted elevenafter-school workshop sessions asa follow-up to this course to giveteachers additional time to designand prepare materials for class-room use. This first phase of theprogram focused on staff develop-ment with the intention that im-provement in teaching will cul-minate in improvement of studentachievement and student attitude.Baseline data was collected andstaff development activities p r o -gressed in accordance with theevaluation design. It remains for

'Reading Consultant. Morgan High School, McConnelsvilie

the staff as they gain confidenceand expertise in content - relatedreading techniques to move froman experimental basis to a morerefined program.

T h e developmental readingphase of the program began forfreshman students the second se-mester. Ninth grade students meetin a specially equipped readingLaboratory to receive individual-ized instruction based upon diag-nosed strengths and weaknesses inthe area of context, structuralanalysis, phonetic analysis, voca-bulary, comprehension, and read -i ng rate.

Based on the Nelson DennyReading Test results and class-room evaluation and performance,it was determined that the follow-ing three instructional levels pre-vailed throughout the freshmanclass: superior ability, applicationlevel ; average ability, interpretivelevel ; low ability, literal level.

Because reading is an individ-*ually based skill and must be ap-proached as such, the problem ofnon-homogeneous grouping had tobe overcome. It was imperativethat the program be set up in sucha way as to afford each student theopportunity to work at his ownlevel in order to gain self-confidence and to experience per-sonal success and satisfaction with

FALL 1973

"The problem of non-homo-geneous grouping had to beovercome."

his work. Therefore. all teacher-written materials such as voca-bulary reinforcers and studyguides. whether applicable to aca-dmics or enrichment. are abilityleveled. All students work fromthe same written materials but ondifferent questions. thereby elim-inating embarrassment and pro-moting the student's readiness byproviding for gaps in his experi-ence. In addition. on the basis ofteacher selection. all textbooks,workbooks. reading kits, and pro-grammed materials are leveled andspecifically chosen for each abilitygroup. At all times three differentlessons are in progress during agiven class, allowing for maximumefficiency and progress. When pos-sible, students evaluate their ownwork and keep their own recordsand progress charts under the su-pervision of the reading teachers.

Currently the eading staff isutilizing many new methods andapproaches in the attempt to de-termine the most efficient means ofattacking reading deficiencies andto offer students a variety oflearning experiences. Both thrustsof READMOR work together toimprove the reading competenciesof all Morgan High School stu-dents.

". . . improvement in teach-ing will culminate in improve-ment of student achievementand student attitude."

RIGHT TO

READ

AT

LOUIS

PASTEUR

Dorothy Middleton*

Ruth B. Fore*

"There is an air of excite-ment and change at this Rightto Read Impact Site."

'Principal, Louis Pasteur School, ClevelandRight to Read Consultant, Louis Pasteur School,

Cleveland

6 C.);110 READING TEACHER

Spin and Read... ReadingMakes the Mind Grow . . . Readingis in Your Future . . . Read a GoodBook . . . Reading is a Lifesaver.

These are just a few of the les-son titles and bulletin board cap-tions that hell) to express theRight To Read Effort at Louis Pas-teur School. There is an air of ex-citement and change at this RightTo Read Impact Site.

The Right To Read Effort atLouis Pasteur was directed by theprincipal as coordinator of the pro-gram at this site. Implementationof program activities required ateam approach involving a RightTo Read consultant, Unit. TaskForce classroom teachers and edu-cational aides. Consistent inputcame from staff members as ma-terials were screened and selectedto support instructional plans andspecial school projects. The UnitTask Force moved readily into the

processes of assessment, monitor-ing, and decision-making with theprogram's administrative staff.

Louis Pasteur used a diagnostic,prescriptive approach to reading,stress-individualized reading as it,related to the core basal textbook.

Critical areas of readingzmeedsfor pupils at the site were baSedupon an assessment of city-widetesting results. Pupils scoring inthe lower quartile were specifical-ly profiled. Teachers, consultant,and principal met at various inter-vals during the school year to dis-cuss interim test .results and pre-scribe specific processes and edu-cational materials that might helpto strengthen pupil competency inreading. Examination of test re-sults also revealed common areasof weakness peculiar to grade sone through six. Thus, the RightTo Read Effort was channeled int w o directions : individual a n d

FALL 1973

Parent Volunteer and Tutees Louis Pasteur School

7

small skill grouping; areas of com-monality and/or concentration forgrades one thru six.

VocabularyThe first area of concentration

-.vas vocabulary. Teachers met ac-cording to grade level groups anddecided upon the skill strands tobe emphasized at their specificgrade level as related to the areaof concentration in vocabulary.For example, the teachers at gradelevel four decided to emphasizeskill strands stressing synonyms,antonyms, and homonyms. An ap-proximate period of about :threeweeks was designated for eachstrand. Teacher-made pre-testsand post-tests were administeredfor each skill strand. A variety ofcommercial and teacher-qnade ma-terials were used to supplement

Cross-Age Tutoring focuseson children who do not relatewell to adults as an authoritysymbol.

classroom instruction. The area ofconcentration in vocabulary wascontinued for approximately tenweeks. Grade level meetings wereheld to determine additional skillstrands to be emphasized. Pre-tests and post-tests were adminis-tered for each. new skill to be de-veloped.

"The Pride Programstrengthened self-esteem andincreased self-respect."

ComprehensionThe second general area of con-

centration was comprehension .

Teachers at each grade level se-

lected 'related skill strands in theaforementioned manner.

Many helping hands augmentedthe effectiveness of the Right ToRead Effort at Louis PasteurSchool, Valuable as:iistancevascontributed by Parent Voilunteers,Educational A] ides, ReSidvut 'Tu-tors. ,(college student )., 'Work-Study Students (JuniorTiligh Pro-gram forPotential 1)ropouts) andTechnical .Assistants-.

IncentivesLouis Pasteur School points

with pride to speciiil projects andmotivation incentives that helpedto intensify the Right To Read Ef-fort. Teacher initiated and directedprojects included Cross-Age Tutor-ing-, a program focusing- on chil-dren who do not relate well toa duits as an authority .synibol.Teachers saw growt h in thesepupils as they readily accepted as-sistance from their jpeers. ThePride Program strengthened self-esteem: and increased self- respect.ExpresSion Through Poetry pro-vided an additional means of self-expression.

The strength of the Right ToRead Effort can be directly attri-buted to strong encouragement ofparental involvement, total staff in-service, release time for teachersfor parent conferences, explora-tion of resource materials, shar-ing of ideas and educational learn-ing and involvement of all suppor-tive personnel within building or-ganization,

Right To Read at Louis PasteurSchool has been a spirit that hasgradually permeated throughoutthe learning climate of the entirebuilding. Walk through the hall-ways, and you will fed a definitecommitment to utilize every min-ute of the day, so that, all pupilswill have a RIGHT TO READ.

a OHIO READING TEACHER

Right to Readat

Iowa-Maple

The Right to Read program atIowa-Maple is a dramatic exampleof focus on pupil growth in read-ing. Concentration o f effort i n -volves every staff person in a con-tinuous assessment of critical areasof reading needs, determination ofworkable techniques, screening ofinstructional plans and shared im-plementation. The pace of imple-mentation moves rapidly asteachers screen materials, shareplans, and demonstrate teachingmodes designed to provide everychild an opportunity to have someavenue for successful reading ex-periences.

The scope of involvement in theRight to Read program is evidentthroughout the school and itscommunity. The Unit Task Forcecontinues its role in the planningand assistance to the project's ad-ministrative staff. Parents visitclasses and confer with teachers.Parent meetings, regularly sched-uled by grade levels, afford parentsthe chance to ask questions, viewmaterials, and share with otherparents ways in which they aresupporting their children in read-ing at home. The combined effortsof the Unit Task Force and parentgroups are directed toward theReading Is Fundamental aspect ofthe Right to Read program.

Pupil interest is high, evidencedby the number of special reading

L. Pearl Shields*Norma Fleming**

projects in operation involvingpupils, teachers, and the site'sRight to Read consultant.

The consultant role adds astrong dimension. Introducingnew ideas as well as additionaltechniques of instruction, demon-strating effective use of materials,and cooperative planning are buta few of the strategies noted. Out-put in terms of pupil and teachermotivation is observable as pupilsapply an "interest-selling" ap-proach to encourage their peers to"read this book". Model class-rooms, in-service meetings, cross-age tutoring, and teaching confer-ences are on-going consultantfunctions.

Technical assistance to Iow a-Maple's Right to Read program isa valuable component. (This year'stechnical assistants were Dr.Peggy Ransom, Ball State Univer-sity and Dr. Joseph Nemeth, Bowl-ing Green State University.)

Total involvement of school andcommunity, dedication, and faithare the; key ingredients that arepromoting attitudinal changes andpupil progress in reading forpupils at Iowa-Maple school.

'Principal, Iowa -Maple School, Cleveland*Right to Read Consultant, Iowa -Maple School, Cleveland

FALL 1973 9

Effort

at

Hazeldell

Mary S. Taylor*

Assessment of needs and organi-zation of a program that befitshas resulted in the implementa-tion of a "tailor-made" plan thatmeets the needs of the pupils andwhich embraces the major goal ofthe Right to Read Effort: To in-crease "the reading skills of theparticipants in a demonstrablemanner".

Eclectic ApproachUtilizing the eclectic approach,

the design for the reading periodplaces the pupils in a multi-mediasetting. Three critical areas ofreading are considered: skills,comprehension, reinforcement.

Positive learning is establishedwhen groups rotate at specific timeintervals during the reading ses-sion. (Groups are flexible based ondiagnostic data.) Each child, then,is insured independent and/orgroup performance as well asguided instruction, so necessary in

*Principal, Hazeidell School, Cleveland

the teaching and successfulachievement of elementary schoolchildren.

Individualized InstructionIndividualized instruction occurs

when prescribed skills are taughtby the teacher and reinforced bythe use of specific media. TheS.R.A. Reading Lab enhances com-prehension. It also lessens competi-tive pressure and embarrassmentby affording the opportunity foreach child to read on his own leveland at his own rate of speed. (Tu-tors and aides lend much support.)

I.R.A. and S.S.R.Two components of the Hazel-

deli plan : I. R. A. (IndependentReading Activity) and S. S. R.(Sustained Silent Reading) are inconcurrence with the theme of arecent article by Martha McSwain,"Reading Is Improved by Read-ing".2 Pupils are "encouraged to

`Lunch with the Bunch' isa technique to invite parentparticipation,"

select books and to read uninhi-bited" to help "develop proficiencyat their level".3 Apparently thesame, there is a distinct differencein the time provision and partici-pants of the two activities: S. S. R.provides recreational reading forthe entire class including theteacher (and any other adult whois present) at a given time duringeach school day, while I.R.A. maytake place any time during the day,whenever a pupil possesses the de-


"Reaching Out" at Hazeldell

sire to read. One hundred-plusbooks (mostly paperbacks) as wellas other reading materials havebeen placed in each classroom toallow for the freedom and practiceof reading.

Language ExperienceMany children bring to school

valuable, first-hand experiences.Language Experie..ice taps thiswell-spring and enables childrenwho are beginning readers to makean easy transition to the printedpage, while for others it extendsand strengthens communicationskills.

In-Service WorkshopsStaff development, an essential

element, has been continuous. Al-though in-depth training in Lan-guage Experience has been pro-vided for by a "live-in" consultant(Dr. J. T. Becker, John CarrollUniversity) , two to three in-service workshops per month, pro-

viding staff training in other pro-gram areas, have been held. Orien-tation Week prior to the openingof school prepared the staff, pro-fessional and paraprofessional, forimplementation.

Parent Participation"Lunch with the Bunch" is a

technique to invite parent partici-pation. The Parent Conference-Clinic seeks the involvement ofboth parents and the private sec-tor. A Principals' DisseminationMeeting has also been an aid toconveying the message that Rightto Read is a pleasant and gratify-ing experience at liazeldell School.Bibliography-1. The Right to Read General Plan of Action for

School-Based Right to Read Centers, "Pro-gram Content", p. 14

2. Mc Swain, Martha B., "Reading Is Iniprovedby Reading", Ohio Reading Teacher, Vol.

VIII, Spring, 1973, No. 3, p. 2

3. Ibid., p. 3.

FALL 1973 11

CHILDREN

LET THEM READ

Sandy Hall*

Emphasis on the importance ofreading is in the foreground be-cause of the government Right toRead theory. Schools are seekingto implement the goals of theprogram so each student will beable to read as well as he is able.However, this task should not liesolely with the school. Parents havea unique opportunity to help theirchildren attain more proficientreading skills. Besides the obviousassistance of helping with home-work, parents probably do aid, un-knowingly, in helping childrenlearn to read. The key to this aidis in letting the children read, notmaking them read. Information ofvarious types will be acquiredthrough reading if the child wantsto read. The unique opportunitiesparents have are that they arewith the children when they wantto obtain certain bits of informa-tion.

"The interest is high, thesuccess is immediate, and theskills are practical."

Despite the degree of IT Klingachievement the child possesses,there are reading materials in thehome which nearly all children cantackle. For the beginning reader,large-type ads in magazines andnewspapers are usable. The addedfeature of picture clues with theads can assist the child in figuringout new words. Practice in locat-ing words with similar beginningor final sounds can be utilized asthe parent directs the child in whatto look for. The child could alsolook up the prices of certain itemsin grocery ads for Mom's shoppinglist. Comparison of prices on cer-tain items in ads can stimulate in-terest in math besides giving prac-tice in reading.

While newspapers are handy,the child can be encouraged to readaloud a short news article eachday to the parent, who can ques-tion the child on the facts he read.Any school news or items of thechild's interest could be pdintedout for him to read.

Children who enjoy helpingMorn in the kitchen will find a

Graduate Student in Reading, Bowling Green State University


wealth of reading materials. Re-cipes can be reviewed,. while theyoungster also learns to interpretabbreviations used in cooking. Di-rections on packaged mixes providestep by step reading stimulationwhile the child is allowed to helpin preparation. Reading labels anddirections on frequently used ob-jects such as furniture polish,shampoo, and aerosol sprays canbe instructional. Knowing wordsfound most often on directions aswell as \on's on significant signscan provide "survival" type read-ing skills.

eg

"Parents have a unique op-portunity to help their childrenattain more proficient readingskills."

Record albums children enjoycan be an interesting source ofreading material. If lyrics are in-cluded on the record jacket, thechild can sing along while follow-ing the words, and thus reinforcefamiliar words or learn new ones.

While inexpensive children'sbooks can be acquired for a per-sonal library, frequent visits tothe library should be a part of theyoung reader's routine. With booksavailable which the child can read,he will find joy in the success ofcompleting a book.

When eating at a restaurant ordrive-in, the child has the oppor-tunity to read menus as well assigns in the establishment. Whileeating breakfast at home, the childmight enjoy looking at the cerealbox, with its array of nutritionalinformation and facts about spe-cial enclosed objects.

Shopping expeditions to the gro-cery store can provide numerous

FALL 1973

"There is no limit to thereading materials available inhomes."

reading opportunities for the child.Signs depicting food areas are evi-dent throughout the store. The mo-ther can commission her helper tofind a certain brand of vegetable,cereal, cracker, or other item whichrequires some reading.

Games which the child wishesto play may contain directionswhich can be read and interpretedby the child and parent jointly.The youngster's hobby or craft kitsmay include directions which thechild can be allowed to figure out.

There is no limit to the readingmaterials available in homes.When children wish to knowsomething, we can help themachieve self-satisfaction by lettingthem help themselves to the vari-ous readable items within theirgrasp. The interest is high, thesuccess is immediate, and the skillsare practical.

13

Earlier than EarlyDiagnosis and Remediation

Below are some startling state-ments being made in the earlyseventies :

The best learning years of achild's life are between the agesof two and five.Kindergarten is too late to in-fluence our programs.We can never make up for thelack of interaction betweenparents and children in the firstfive years of the child's life.

With the above ringing in ourears, two kindergarten teachers,the school psychologist, nurse,speech therapist, gym teacher,reading specialist and special edu-cation teacher attempted to de-velop a program that would helpthis group of children and theirparents.

In May, 1972 seventy-eight chil-dren and their parents were sched-uled in for one hour each. Approxi-mately twenty-five children an dtheir parents could be seen in oneday. The following tests were givento the children:

1. Draw-A-Man and perceptualtests.

2. Motor Ski]] tests.3. Hearing and Auditory tests.4. Acuity and vision tests.5. Ability to play and com-

municate with others.

"The best learning years ofa child's life are between theages of two and five."

*Reading Supervisor, Boardman, Ohio

Marjorie MacDonald

Parents were given the followingopportunities to :

1. Talk with kindergartenteachers.

2. Observe the child's ability toplay with others.

3. View a film showing how toget children interested i nschool.

4. Give a medical history of thechild.

If a problem was noted in anyof the areas, a conference was heldwith parents before they left thebuilding that very day. In this con-ference the problem was explained,and ways of working with thechild during the summer were sug-gested. If the problem was moresevere, the parents were scheduledfor a conference within the nexttwo or three weeks. A very

"We can never make up forth e la ck of interaction be-tween parents add- children inthe first five years o f thechild's life."

thorough discussion of the problemand methods of dealing with itwould be given then.

At the beginning of this schoolyear (November 1972) a follow-upwas made. Seventeen families withwhom the psychologist had met-inMay, 1972 were asked to returnfor a conference. All seventeenfamilies responded. Some of theirstatements follow:


"Kindergarten is too late toinfluence our programs."

1. Time spent with children onsuggested activities d u r i n g thesummer ranged from 5 minutesper day to 30 minutes per day.

2. Parents ti.at had been re-ferred to the Diagnostic and Evalu-ation Center for family counselingwere very positive in their com-ments.

Kindergarten teacher's observa-tion of the seventeen students sofar this school year- are as fol-lows:

Improvements in pert ept ua Itasks 15No improvement shown 1Some improvement shown 1

Acuity and Vision TestsSixteen children were scheduled

back for a second screening testin May, 1972. It was suggestedthat six of these see an eye doctor.The results i n November, 19 7 2are:

Given glasses 3Told he had an astigmatismbut not to get glasses foranother year 1A slight ambliopia wears apa tch 2 0 minutes each eve-ning 1Could not get a reliable test.... 1

Gross Motor Skills _

In May parents of ten childrenwere given consultation and sug-gested activities to do duringsummer. In November the follow-ing results were noted:

Improvement noted 10Channeled into special m o to r

skills class 6

Speech DifficultiesThirty-four parents were either

counseled concerning their child'sdifficulties or given papers withsuggestions for helping their childduring the summer. Results in No-vember :

Improvement noted 22Problem corrected 5Slight improvement 3No improvement noted 4

In some cases private therapyhad been suggested or the use of"Talking Time".

Auditory TestSeven children were found to

have problems ranging from slightimpairment to more serious lossof hearing. Suggestions for pur-suing the problem were given. Re-sults seen in November:

No improvement noted 1(Under doctor's care)Problem corrected 1(surgery during summer)Currently under treatment 2Slightly improved 3

Conclusions1. The tests that were not sub-

jective, (speech, hearing, eyes)proved conclusively that the earlydetection a n d implementation ofhelp had aided immensely.

2. Tests that (by their nature)had to be based on subjective judg-ment, also appeared to be of valuebecause of the improvement ob-seved by parents, kindergarten,speech and gym teachers.

Suggestions For The Future1. If possible, testing, consul-

tations, and suggestions should begiven earlier than in the springjust before children are to enterkindergarten.

2. Perhaps instead of "Head-Start" programs that are usuallyfound separated from the schools,these programs should be right inour school buildings with all the"know-how" of our specialists andteachers available to their parentslong before kindergarten,

3. A training class for parents,who have children exhibiting someareas of difficulty, would be help-ful.

4. If the outcome of such a pro-gram is to be successful, it mustbe properly staffed and planned.

FALL 1973 15

Reading DiagnosisMargaret Griffin*

So often the tendency is to takea student and to begin the con-tinuous diagnostic process of try-ing to find out "what is wrongwith him/her". And the labelsbegin to accumulate through theyears perceptual motor dysfunc-tion, brain damaged, emotionallydisturbed, etc. The thought of diag-nosis of the curriculum is usuallythe last thing to be considered.And to analyze a student's readingperformance within the context ofhis total environment for his func-tional reading needs has been aprocess which is skirted for thepursuit of causal factors whichmay or may not have any re-lationship to reading perform-ance except from non-progress in"regular" school reading instruc-tional programs. Even if a rela-tionship is found, causation can-not be implied. Utilization of cer-tain techniques of diagnosis aswell as confusion over what diag-nosis is may be some of the mainreasons for the development of"turned off" readers.

Farr (2) in discussing trendsand issues in reading diagnosisviews diagnosis as an opportunityto learn more about the natureof a child's reading behaviors inorder to plan instruction. He seesan analysis including knowledgeof what a student is expected toread, how a student handles theseexpectations, and how the studentcan be helped more effectively.Labels such as "brain damage"would have no place in the read-ing curriculum under this thesis.Implementing this viewpointwould require analysis of the cur-

riculum which places emphasis onwhat is wrong with the programrather than what is wrong withthe child. Reading diagnosis wouldrelate very closely to the readingdemands in a student's life. Anda child in need of assistance maybe the one who demonstrates thegreatest discrepancy between whathe needs and wants to read andwhat he is able to read. Farrstates that a reading disabilitycase cannot be defined by relatingto his school progress because achange in the curriculum often pro-duces a change in progress. Weneed to be concerned with whatis taught and why it is taught.

An interactional view of diag-nosis is presented by Adelman (1).He views student success or failurein school as a function of the in-teraction between a student'sstrengths and limitations and thespecific classroom situational fac-tors in which he is required toperform (e.g. individual differ-ences among teachers, varied in-structional procedures, etc.). Chil-dren who are labeled "learningdisabilities" are so labeled on thebasis of assessment data whichreflect little more than the effectsof school curriculum failure. Hestates that whenever a child'sproblem can be attributed to theinstructional process, the childshould not be categorized as"learning disabled". The interac-tion of the child and the Programcharacteristics is seen as the ma-jor determinant of school successor failure. The more congruity be-tween child and curriculum, themore successful will be the experi-ence and then there would be noreason for a pursuit of labels.

*Co-Director, The Reading Practicum Center, Indiana University


Frost (3) has developed aStructure-Process theory of in-struction including ideas fromBruner, Gagne, etc. He feels thateducation is failing to base in-struction on antecedent conditions.The Structure-Process theory re-jects use of grade level equiva-lents, J.Q. scores and other nor-mative considerations for instruc-tional diagnosis and assessment.The conditions for application ofinstruction must be individualisticand ordinal in nature, according toFrost. He presents three majorerrors that occur in instructionalprograms: 1) using normativescores for instruction (teachersattempting to match instruction toa student would have no use fornormative data) ; 2) placinggroups of children into an instruc-tional sequence with expectatiOnsfor standard progress (no personfollows an identical time line nordo they achieve similar proficiencyfor identical content) ; and 3) fo-cusing on goals not amenable toinstructional strategies.

With the above positions inmind, what can teachers do to be-come better reading diagnosticiansin the classroom? Little is pre-sented though it is certainly acritical issue. Niensted (4) is con-cerned that teachers have spent toomuch time on the "what" of read-ing rather than the "how" of read-ing. She sights examples of ob-serving children's reading underdifferent conditions, and statesthat teachers who subscribe to thistheory will be. constantly examin-ing the child's performance in re-lation to the teaching demands andquestioning whether the child un-derstands the process, needs moreinformation, or is ready to performindependently through functionalreading. Knowledge of how a childgoes about particular reading tasksunder particular conditions maygive insight into difficulties of

FALL 1973

tasks and, therefore, modificationsmay occur. Weule (5) emphasizedthe need for classroom teachers tobe trained in diagnostic teaching.In a review of the literature ondiagnosis and a survey of 150 pri-mary teachers, he found teachersinadequate in knowledge and useof tests and limited in the develop-ment of the power of observation.Suggestions were given for pre-service and inservice training, anda plea made to upgrade teachertraining programs.

The position of taking a hardlook at the instructional readingprograms has been presented inthe articles just cited. Though fewin number they still raise vital is-sues that must be faced daily byeducational agents involved withplanning, implementing, and evalu-ating instructional reading pro-grams. Awareness of what to ex-pect and require of children mustbe faced. If we take a hard lookat individual students performingin the school environment imposedupon them, dramatic changes mayoccur and fewer labels attached tochildren who basically want tolearn and to read.Adelman, Howard S. The Not-So-Specific Learn-

ing Disability Population: I. An InteractionalView of the Causes of Learning Problems.II. Identification and Correction through Se.

quential and Hierarchial Teaching Strategies",California University, Los Angeles, 1970, 14pp.

Farr, Roger. "Reading Diagnosis: Trends andIssues", Paper presented at the meeting of theNassau Reading Council, Uniondale, New York,March 9, 1971, IOpp.

Frost, Joe L. "Application of Structure ProcessTheory to the Teaching of Reading", Paperpresented at the National Conference ofTeachers of English, St. Louis, Missouri, March7, 1970, 13pp,

Niensted, Serena. "Miracles of Learning", 9East Memorial Rd., Bensenville, Illinois 60106,18pp.

Weule, Graham G. "Special Programmes ofTeacher Education", Paper presented at theInternational Reading Association Third WorldCongress on Reading, Sydney, Australia,August 7.9, 1970, 16pp.

17

_4.11 "ffitgAgiP

Many first graders are turnedoff by their very nrst experiencewith school ; they arrive eager andenthusiastic and thoroughiy con-vinced that they are going to learnto READ today, the first day ofschool. An incident reported byDr. Walter Barbe at a recent Bowl-ing Green Reading Conferencedescribes the feeling perfectly. Dr.Barbe told of the child who camehome after that all-important firstday with the announcement thathe would not be returning to schoolthe next day. When quizzed by hismother as to why he had madethis decision, he replied, "I can'tread and I can't write and shewon't let me talk !" How aptly thisreveals the restrictions we uncon-sciously place on young childrenby inhibiting them in the onlymedium of communication inwhich they are proficient.

"I can't read and I can't writeand she won't let me talk!"

Admittedly, it would also be adisaster to permit that first ex-perience to be a day of total con-fusion by allowing the children totalk constantly. So why not planan activity that will permit thechild to learn to 'read" on hisfirst day in your classroom and

'Reading Supervisor, Muskingum County Schools

Luvonne Pitts'

that will also give him somethingto take home to his parents asproof that he can "read"? Thiscan be done with a minimum ofeffort and planning on your partand the dividends are unmeasure-able.

"Plan an activity that willpermit the child to learn to`read' on his first day in yourclassroom."

For many teachers, the first dayof school is a bit hectic anyway.We hesitate to impose too muchformality on the children and yetwe don't want the day to be onewithout any structure at all. Hav-ing the children make their ownbook to take home is a meaningfulactivity that will result in an elatedchild and certainly pleased parents.The book need not be a complicatednor a sophisticated product butrather a single sheet folded in halfand placed inside a cover of thechild's own making. The two sheetscan then be stapled together toform the book.

All children are fascinated bythe letters that make up their own


name. What better way to intro-duce them to these funny squigglycharacters than to show them therelationship between the lettersand something more concrete tothem, their name? One of the firstconcepts we want children to de-velop is that the printed word isjust speech written down. To seetheir name in print is exciting tochildren but to be able to see theirname on the title page of a bookas the "author" is doubly excit-ing.

There is a wide range of sub-ject matter which you and thechildren may choose from. It mightbe a good idea to have everyonewrite about the same subject forthis first activity ; there will beless chance that they might forgetthe words chosen and will alsogive them a good feeling abouthaving produced something co-operatively. After you have de-cided what your topic will be, thenyou must decide on an illustration;this is where the child's creativitywill be most evident. All childrencan draw something. What mat-ter if it doesn't slightly resembleour concept of a school building ora playmate?

The illustration with its accom-panying one sentence descriptionwill make up the book. With thechild's name as author on the firstsection of the folded page, andwith the illustration and descrip-tive sentence on the opened outsection, you have a complete pro-duct that the children will cherish.

To expedite matters and to pre-vent struggles over printingwords, you may wish to transferyour descriptive sentence from the

"Many first g r a d e r s areturned off by their very firstexperience with school."

board or chart paper (or evenmore exciting, from an overheadprojector!) to a mimeo stencil andhave each child make his illustra-tion on the mimeographed page.

Some topics might be: a self-portrait, the school building, theschool bus, teacher, or playgroundactivities. The illustration and asimple sentence such as "This isme.", "This is our school.", etc.,will satisfy the children. They willbe able to remember the wordsof a short sentence. The enchant-ment of a book for the child willbe in his name at the front as anauthor and in taking the bookhome to show his parents. It's ahorrible feeling to go home empty-handed a n d with nothing to"show" for your day's work, es-pecially if you're a six-year oldwho has been looking forward togoing to school for quite sometime.

Book covers can be as wild asyour imagination, resources, orenergy will allow or may be acolorful construction paper. sheetfolded in half and with the child'sillustration on the front.

A culminating activity might bea sharing of the books with eachother or with another class in thebuilding. This indication of yourpride in their achievement will setthe stage for a learning at-mosphere that will reap dividendsthroughout the school year.

This activity is appropriate forall Primary children and may beused as an incentive to older chil-dren to write books to present tothe Kindergarten or first level stu-dents. Imagine the excitement ofbeing able to take home a bookthat the "big kids" made especiallyfor you!

FALL 1973 19

Can Secondary

Content Teachers

Teach

Reading?

Gaye Laurell Wolfe*

YES, this is the trend that sec-ondary reading is taking; that con-tent teachers teach reading skillswhile presenting their subject ma-terial. This DOES NOT MEANthat the content teacher uses spe-cial reading materials as remedial

"By working through thecontent teachers who contactevery student, the goal ofreaching every student is pos-sible."

'Member, Lake County Council

reading teachers do to work withvowels, syllables, and prefixes. Forexample, using their text book andfollowing t h e i r course of study,content teachers could :

Start the semester or unit byproviding a list of terms whichwill be used. Discuss the wordsand the students will read a lotbetter when they recognize thewords in the assigned reading.Show the students how to usethe table of contents, footnotes,glossary, author's organization,study questions, and index.Remind students that it takesa different kindi. of reading toget through a science or mathchapter, where every wordcounts, from what it takes toread a humorous story. Theyneed to be taught when to readslowly and carefully, when toreread, when to pause and re-flect, and when to read rapidly.In the 1960's if a secondary

school had a reading program, itwas most likely one of the follow-ing:1. Remedial Reading Instruc-tion provided to students retardedin reading, who need highly spe-cialized diagnosis and intensivetreatment. The students are us-ually taught individually, or insmall groups having the same typesof difficulties, in -a reading clinicor in .-a..spectal reading ..room inschool.2. Developmental Read in gReading as normally taught to


groups of children in terms oftheir development from grade tograde as they pass through theschool system. For the secondarystudents this means instruction toreinforce skills mastered at theelementary level and to broadenthe application of these skills.3. Power Balling A course for

"The content area teacheris the best-qualified person inthe school for teaching read-ing in his subject."

excellent readers already exceed-ing norms in speed and comprehen-sion. In order to do the vastamount of heavy reading requiredin college, this course helps thestudents to read still faster and todelve into the critical analysis ofthe printed page.

Experience has shown that evenwith one of the above reading pro-grams, a junior or senior highschool does not reach the readingneeds of all the students. However,working through the contentteachers who contact every stu-dent, this goal of reaching all thestudents is possible.

Pupils entering secondaryschools have a wide range of read-ing abilities. Some eighth grade stu-dents will be reading four ye,- rsahead of their grade level, somefour years below. By the time stu-dents are in the eleventh .gradethere will be a ten year differentialbetween the best and the poorestreaders.

The content area teacher is thebest-qualified person in the schoolfor teaching reading in his sub -ject.. He is the one who is, 1) mostcapable in teaching the new voca-bulary in his subject, 2) mostknowledgeable in setting purposesfor reading, 3) most able in de-veloping and motivating student

interest, 4) most adept in iden-tifying important concepts to bearrived at, 5) most conversantwith multi-resources, their use andvalue in developing backgroundexperiences, and 6) familiarenough with the text to know howbest to read and study it.

(2)Colleges are now offering spe-

cial courses to prepare teachers toteach reading in their subjectfields. This type of training is al-ready receiving added emphasis.

In some secondary schools, spe-cial reading teachers are workingwith classroom teachers to developreading programs for specific sub-ject areas. Other schools are focus-ing on inservice training designedto stress the teaching of readingin the content areas. What is yourschool doing?

References:( 1 ) E r w i n e, Robert M. "Secondary Reading

Focuses on Content Areas." Area III Rightto Read Newsletter, No. 2 (Feb. 1973) p. 5.

(2) Sargent,. Eileen E. "Integrating Reading Skillsin the Content Areas." Fusing ReadingSkills and Content, Ed. H. Alan Reilinsonand Ellen Lamar Thomas. Newark, Dela-vare:International Reading Association, 1969, p.17.

(3) Smith, Nila Banton. "An Up-to-Date Glossaryof Common Terms Used by Reading Instruc-tors and Informed Librarians."Wilson Library Bulletin; Vol. 45 (Nov. 1970)pp. 246-253.

(4) Teaching Reading in the Secondary Schoola Seminar Report. Ed. Carol O'Connell,NDEA Title III, State of Ohio, Departmentof Education, (Nov. 1968) pp. 4-6.

"Easy Reader" Poster is a mustfor secondary, reading teachers,junior or senior high school librar-ies, or public libraries. Only $1.50from:

VNLW Library Materials.Box 280Highland Springs, Va. 23075

For a sneak preview see the coverof January 1972 Library Journal.

FALL 1973 21

Jerry J. Mallett*

"Where the

trickle -Grass

Grows"

"At the far end of townwhere the ,Grickle-grass growsand the wind smells slow and sourwhen it blowsand no birds ever sing excepting,old crows . .

is the Street of the Lifted Lorax."Ugh!! What an awful place . . .

I surely wouldn't want to livethere . . . You couldn't have anyfun . . . It looks like everything isdead . . . It's all GLUNCKY!! It'scalled pol-lu-tion, I think.'So' the -responses come forth

from elementary school childrenupon beginning Seuss' book, TheLorax. How did they so rapidly

Professor, Findlay College

come to the conclusion that it mustbe pol-lu-tion that caused the ter-rible condition of the Street of theLifted Lorax? The answer is verysimple as a nation we are pollu-tion conscious. As a people webecome alarmed. but in actualitydo very little about it. However,we really do a lot of taikinti aboutit! Television, newspapers, bill-boards and magazines, all shoutour doom to us, the adults: but doyou realize that the same trends,such as ecology, women's libera-tion and minority causes, are alsosaturated among our young? Ofcourse, television and the children'snews magazines propagandize mes-sages to the young, but a muchmore interesting barometer to thesocial trends of the day may betraced through the books writtenfor children.

`... a much more interestingbarometer to the social trendsof the day may be tracedthrough the books written forchildren."

The LoraxThe ecological movement is a

particularly interesting trend tofollow through children's books.Recall the sad condition of theStreet of the Lifted Lorax, in theSuess book, The Lorax. Suess, him-self, admits that very few of hisbooks for children were everstarted with a "lesson" in mind.But as he sat in his home on topof a mountain near the West Coast,watching t h e bulldozers rippingout mile after mile of the mightyredwoods, he decided...tp write awarning to the young people. TheLOMr is just that! While the town,at the beginning of the book, is


uninhabited due to the vast pollu-tion problem . . . the young readersoon discovers that it was not al-ways this bleak no "way backin the clays when the grass wasstill green and the pond was stillwet and the clouds were still clean"the town was a lovely place tolive. Ah . . but man's greed formoney and goods (made out oftruftula trees, about which thearea abounds) soon turns the towninto a virtual wasteland, pollutedbeyond hope ... or is it? Of course,this is what Suess wants his youngreadr)rs to ponder. Certainly thelast few lines leave the youngreader with a sense of urgency ..."But now," says the Once-ler "Nowthat you're here, the word of theLorax seems perfectly clear, UN-LESS someone like you cares awhole awful lot, nothing is goingto get better. It's not."

The MountainPeter Parnall, in his book The

Mountain, has also decried theNvaste we humans do to our natur-al resources. Primarily through il-lustrations, he depicts a beautiful"mountain that stood in the West."In fact, it was so beautiful thatthe people wanted to keep it justthe way it was. "So, Congresspassed a law making the mountaina National Park." Of course, thisis when the trouble begins! We seethe once beautiful mountain deter-iorate as more and more humanscome to enjoy its beauty but onlysucceed in desecrating it. But Par-nall, as Suess, ends with an ever-so-slight positive message. Theflower "trying to grow on themountain that stood in the West,"among all the pop eari;''plifidr andtrash, seems to be calling out forhelp and indicate that it is not toolate . . . only if someone will dosomething!

FALL 1973

"A skyscraper buildingscrapes air pollution out of thesky I think!"

Wilson's WorldWilson does just that! He does

something about the pollution!Edith and Clement Hurd havewritten a story about a young boy,Wilson, who paints the world inwhich he would like to live. Ashe draws the earth, sun, plants,and animals, he adds people, citiesand pollution. Deciding that thisis not the kind of a world he de-sires, he starts over and paints aclean world. Surely the youngreader may identify with Wilsonand decide that he too must "paint"his world clean. Wilson's IVorld,like the other books, leaves thedestiny of the world to our youngreader. You can almost hear theLorax saying "Unless someone likeyou, cares a whole awful lot, no-thing is going to get better. It'snot !"

You may ask if this ecologicaltrend in children's books and mediais having an impact on our chil-dren. Well . . . Brad (age 5) an-swered this question for us rathernicely when he drew the followingillustration and asked his teacherto write the subsequent cap-tion . . . .

"A skyscraper building scrapes airpollution out of the sky - I think!"

My books are my friends that neverfail me.

Thomas Carlyle

23

Developmental ReadingDean Kelly*

The obvious success a scnool ex-periences in teaching children toread is not a chance happening.S c h o01 s which ;lave developedsuccessful reading programs usu-ally exhibit certain success factors.As a result, the inevitable ques-tions arise: How do they do it?What are the secrets to success? Itis not easy to be sure of theanswers because schools are verycomplex institutions and teachingreading represents a very compli-cated process. However, the merefact that a successful school isdoing something different fromunsuccessful schools does not nec-essarily mean that t h e differentpractice is the cause of success.The matter is made more compli-cated because successful schools al-ways seem to do many things dif-ferently. The question becomes,which of these different practicesare responsible for high pupilachievement in reading or im-proved attitudes toward reading?It is, of course, impossible to becertain; but, it seems reasonableto assume that when successfulschools are following practices notfound in unsuccessful schools, thatthese practices have something todo with success in teaching read-i ng.

Success FactorsA recent research study (2)

suggests that there seems to be atleast eight factors that are com-mon to successful schools that areu s u ally not present in schoolswhich have unsuccessful readingprograms. They are not, of course,in any priority order high ex-pectations by the teachers, a goodatmosphere for learning, a strongemphasis on reading, the effectiveutilization of personnel strengthsand interests, the use of a sys-tematic word-attack program, in-dividualization of instruction,careful evaluation of pupil prog-ress and strong leadership. Strongleadership is not surprising. But,it is striking that almost all of thesuccessful schools have clearlyidentifiable individuals who wouldbe identified as outstanding leadersby most people who are know-ledgeable about public schools andthe effective teaching of reading.All of these possible success fac-tors need to be examined in depthsince the "real keys to success"may be discovered ; however, onlythe leadership factor The Prin-cipal's Responsibilities for Read-ing Improvement -- will be dis-cussed briefly at this time.

School-Wide ProgramThe more observations one

makes of the classroom situationin reading, the more evident it

"As the principal goes, so becomes that a school-wide readinggoes a school's reading pro- program exists only when thegram." principal has a very special con-

cern for reading. Without suffi-

*Assistant Superintendent of schools, Berea City School District, Berea


cient concerns, his time and energyare too easily diverted to othermatters, many of which have littleto do with education.

But even with the special con-cern for reading, a successful pro-gram is not guaranteed. Other fac-tors are important, too. For in-stance, in those schools in whichevery child is given a maximumopportunity to achieve in reading,it is quite apparent that theteachers, not only value reading,but also have a clear mental pic-ture of the goals and the purposesof the school's reading program.In this mental picture, there is suf-ficient content to challenge t h ebrightest of all of the children.Also, there is flexibility in expec-tations based on the recognition ofdifferent needs of children. As onewould expect, recognition and pro-vision for these needs require ahigh-leveI of sensitive decision-making ability on the parts of theteachers and the principal.

"It becomes more evidentthat a school-wide r ea dingprogram exists only when theprincipal has a very specialconcern for reading."

Although there is no question,the key to a successful readingprogram is the classroom teacher.The key to effective supervision ofthe reading program is cooperativeplanning on the part of the teach-ers, reading specialists, supervi-sors and principal. The aim of thereading program is the improVe-ment of pupil performance.

Key PositionThe elementary school principal

is in the key position to assumeleadership for such a program bydeveloping rapport through co-

operative leadership. He may pro-vide leadership in : (1)

assessing the needs of thereading program.determining attainable goalsand objectives which are con-gruent with long-range pur-poses for all pupils in theschool.

promoting reading instructionand extended practice in allschool subjects in which chil-dren read.facilitating commu nicationamong teachers, resource andsupervisory personnel.providing appropriate readingmaterials and equipment tochildren under conditions whichare suitable for reading growth.helping to individualize andgroup pupils for effective in-struction.evaluating continually the suc-cess which children demon-strate in the reading program.

Also, the principal may help todefine organizational patterns ofreading instruction which releasesthe full potential of teachers andpupils. All teachers within a build-ing must be included because read-ing is an integral part of the learn-ing process in every subject field.

Thus, the principal sets the toneof a school. The establishment ofan effective learning climate forthe teaching of reading is largelydependent upon his interest, histalent and his active efforts. Asthe principal goes, so goes aschool's reading program,References:

1, Thorsten R. Carlson, editor, Administiatorsand Reading. New York: Harcourt-Brace-Jovanovich, lnc., 1972.2. George Weber, InterCity Children Can BeTaught 'to Read: Four Successful Schools, Oc-casional Paper Number Eighteen, Council forBasic Education, Washington, D.C., October, 1971.

FALL 1973 25

The primary function of thisarticle is to present the purpose,a brief overview of the procedures,and the major findings of a pro-ject' designed to determine the ef-fect of video-taping teachers' be-havior and the later analysis ofsuch behavior on pupil achieve-ment, on pupil perception of teach-ers, and on teachers' self-evalua-tion.

The Problem

The specific questions this pro-ject attempted to answer were:

Would students whose teacherswere in the experimental group(video-taped) achieve morethan students whose teacherswere not video-taped?Would students in the experi-mental group perceive more ofa positive change in theirteachers' behaviors than wouldstudents in the non-experi-mental group?Would the experimentalteachers' self-appraisal scoresdiffer significantly from thoseof the non-experimentalgroup?

The SampleThe sample included 17 sixth,

seventh, and eighth grade teachersfrom Gateway Middle School, Mau-mee, Ohio. The 6 sixth grade in-structors (3 experimental and 3control) taught in self-containedclassrooms and the 11 seventh andeighth grade teachers consisted oftwo math teachers, English teach-ers, and social studies teachersfrom each grade level. These uppergrade instructors met with theirstudents for a 42-minute periodeach clay of the week.

'Professor, Bowling Green State University

When

Teachers

View

Themselves

Fred 1 Pigge*

The ProceduresThe participating teachers vol-

unteered for the project after itsgoals and procedures were ex-plained to the entire faculty. Thus,it cannot be assumed that the par-ticipating teachers are a typicalgroup since it required strong self-confidence to join the study. Afterthe sample was obtained, theteachers were randomly assigned


to experimental and control groupswithin their grade level and/orsubject area. In the case of theseventh and eighth grade instruc-tors, the two seventh grade mathparticipants were assigned toeither the experimental or controlgroup by the flip of a coin and thisprocedure was employed with theremaining teachers.

Stanford Achievement Testswere given to all students in a pre-post fashion. The teachers (experi-mental as well as control) wereasked to rate themselves on theTeacher Self-Appraisal Inventorynear October 1 and again in May.In addition to these data gatheringinstruments, all students com-pleted in October and again in Maythe instrument, "About My Teach-er".

The experimental teachers werevideo-taped at three intervals (atotal of three hours), These tap-ings occurred between the fourthweek of school and February 15.The video-taping with split-screencapability was done by techniciansfrom WBGU-TV, Bowling Green.Each tape was analyzed prior toteacher view ing by observerstrained in analyzing verbal andnon-verbal behavior (consultantsfrom Ohio State University). Af-ter this was done, the concernedteacher viewed the tape. Thetrained observers and the teacherjointly analyzed the behaviors ex-hibited on the tape.

The control teachers were alsobeing observed, except by their im-mediate supervisors (or princi-pals). The principal arranged forvarious evaluation interviews us-ing a form similar to the one usedby the experimental teachers in theevaluation of their behavior.

Analysis of covariance with pre-test scores held constant was themain statistical technique em-ployed.

The FindingsThe analysis of the control and

experimental pupils' achievementtest scores revealed that video-taping teachers' behavior and thelater systematic analysis of thatbehavior had little, if any, posi-tive effect on student achievement.In other words, the control stu-dents gained as much accordinglyas did the experimental students.

The experimental teachers' ad-justed post-test mean from "AboutMy Teacher" instrument was sig-nificantly higher (.10 level) thanwas the control teachers' post-testmean. This implied that the experi-mental students "liked" theirteachers more than did the controlstudents.

From an analysis of the pre-postteachers' Self-Evaluations, it wasfound that the experimental teach-ers thought somewhat less of them-selves on the post-test than on thepretest but that the control teach-ers thought "better" of themselveson the post than on the pretest.

Could it be that the experimentaltreatment caused the experimentalteachers to react differently?Possible Implications and Benefits

The stated educational implica-tions and benefits of the findingsof a project such as this are very.susceptible to differing human in-terpretations. N e ve rthel es s, itwould seem certain that it wouldbe agreed that staff members grewin their knowledge and skill ofteaching from having participated,a feeling of "experimentation"existed with its concommitant po-sitive effects, and that further in-vestigation is needed especially inthe area of teachers thinking lessof their teaching abilities afterviewing themselves on video-tape.

1E.S.E.A. Title III Project awarded to MaumeeCity Schools, Maumee, Ohio, William Moritz, di-rector, 1971.73, "A Synthesis Approach toTeacher SelfEvaluation." For further information,please contact Mr. Moritz.

FALL 1973 27

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