Coon, George E

Palmer, Gerry M

English

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Michigan Reading Journal Volume 18 Issue 1 Article 4 October 1984 A Comprehensive Reading Program? What Children Are Telling Us Gerry M. Palmer Oakland University George E. Coon Oakland University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj Recommended Citation Palmer, Gerry M. and Coon, George E. (1984) "A Comprehensive Reading Program? What Children Are Telling Us," Michigan Reading Journal: Vol. 18 : Iss. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj/vol18/iss1/4 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Michigan Reading Journal by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact scholarworks@gvsu.edu. ~~❖~--=-.'::',❖.l»~x~-x-:-»>.,,w...,:i,.·.;❖,u,-x-~«~~«, ,;;x-x❖»»!«-X-:-.~Y:<o:<~~ .. W. .. ·❖x,c,:.:w» ❖ YN«,;..,,..~:,~:;::-.-.':'§,.,;,,;x-.~:,»;.:,-.;.:««-:««'«.-.~~❖":-"-.,......, -.x-.❖~"».---=».%»=«"~ ... ~, A Comprehensive Reading I Program? i What Children Are Telling Us I Gerry M. Palmer and Dr. George E. Coon .. l ••:::::x~' Lti:::• .. ,,,n .A. <. • :<<..->.-.:-.»:-:«-:❖.•.-.•:~:•❖•>•"·"<;.!.:. ··· •. :;-•· :,:«• -:❖:•:-:❖.-.❖:❖ :-:-:,.o· :•:•!"':•:•:•»X❖-~•"W} .. <•·-.. :-:_,S~Y ❖~':·;· .. :;·:.::.;> ;·:❖:•:•.❖:-:❖H ;0;;-:•.❖»:•>.-«•:❖.-::·.-:. ❖:•»:-:•X•:« •,: ,,_:_':.,';::; {_ t ..... ,W. )'.",;,;,;,;.:❖:❖:❖»;•:•.:«•:_;,,,, 'X ,-:&-,:1/"»! 'X d, .,:y<:.❖ Reading experts, linguists and cognitive psychologists are grappling with models that will explain the reading process. Although approximately eighty models have been identified, reading remains a complex process that defies easy definition or explanation. Perhaps that is good. Care should be taken not to oversimplify this multi-faceted skills that tends too frequently to be reduced to a group of hierarchically arranged sub-skills for children to master. The concept of skill mastery tends to pervade present reading practice. Given impetus by accountability notions, there has been a concerted thrust by school systems toward the identification of sequentially ordered behaviorial objectives. These objectives in reality constitute minutely detailed reading related skills that the developing readers are expected to master. Locally or commercially developed reading programs or systems are designated to present materials and activities coded to the objectives. Teachers can, by systematically utilizing pretests and post tests, monitor the developmental progress made by individual pupils within their classrooms by such programs. It is the intent of these approaches to encompass the totality of reading in these 3 programmatic representations. In other words, the whole of reading would be mastered by attention to the sum of the parts. But what the whole of reading is defies description. Certainly reading is more than skill development. It involves aesthetic elements which are difficult to identify and exceedingly difficult to measure. A taxonomy of reading comprehension developed by Barrett (1972) classifies four major categories essential to comprehension abilities: literal recognition or recall, where students are required to locate or identify or to call up from memory facts about a story; inference, which is demonstrated by a student using a synthesis of the story, his prior knowledge, his intuition and his imagination to conjecture or make hypotheses; evaluation, which is demonstrated by a student making judgments about reading content by applying external criteria, and appreciation, which is demonstrated by a student's awareness of the literary styles and techniques of an author. This is a workable definition of comprehension components. However, in Barrett's taxonomy, word meanings and the skills commonly described as word identification are not treated as elements of comprehension. For a more global view of getting meaning from textual material, the writers choose to endorse the categories devised by Cramer (1982) who also identified four major components of comprehension. Cramer's classifications follow: Comprehension of explicit meaning. This is the most basic of the comprehension components. It may be defined as the ability to understand, at a literal level, information clearly stated. Comprehension of implicit meaning. This is the most sophisticated and perhaps the most important reading comprehensio·n skill. It encompasses all those reading behaviors commonly labeled thinking or reasoning in reading. It may be defined as the ability to gain meaning through reasoning at levels beyond explicit meaning. Comprehension of word meanings. The mastery of word meanings is pre-requisite to every level of reading comprehension. It may be defined as the ability to understand both the connotative and denotative meanings of words and phrases. Comprehension of word meaning is prerequisite to success at all levels of comprehension. Comprehension of aesthetic-apprecia-tive meaning. This is the most difficult of the skills of comprehension to identify and document. It may be defined as the ability to derive personal enjoyment and meaning from materials and to understand and appreciate the literary devices associated with the interpretation of mood, tone, beauty, humor, and other affective elements associated with the written word. Note that both definitions encompass the affective realm. Where Barrett tends to focus on pupils' sensitivities to the artistry of an author, Cramer extends to include a personal element within the reader. Nonetheless, each highlights the primacy of affect. To investigate the extent to which young readers' perceptions of reading reflect a comprehensive view of the process, the writers have collected definitions of the term "reading" from students ranging from those in first grade through high school sophomores. The subjects represent a heterogeneous population within their age groupings. The comments in some cases were recorded by the writers. In other cases, classroom teachers collected written responses to the question: What is reading? In the cases of some first and second grade pupils, responses were written from dictation. All samples are from the greater Detroit metropolitan area. All students attended schools in which reading programs encompassed a skills management or a reading systems approach to teaching reading. All were collected during the academic years 1982-1984. All responses were collected within a maximum of ten (10) minutes response time. Responses for 172 4 pupils have been analyzed to ascertain students' perceptions of the reading process on three bases: (1) the extent to which segmented skill elements are described as being reading; (2) the extent to which reading was defined as a meaning gaining process; and (3) the extent to which elements of the affective domain were described. Segmented Skills as Reading Phonetic Skills Pupils responding with definitions of reading placed strong emphasis on the uttering of words or in unlocking word elements as constituting reading. The largest number of respondents, 107 or 62 per cent, identified some aspect of word recognition in their definitions. The responses varied in sophistication from Cheryl's dictated statement to her first grade teacher: ''It's saying m-m-m for Mister M, 11 and Andy, a fifth grader: "Reading is a skill that increases your learning of words, 11 to 9th grade Bill's definition: "Reading is the putting together of letters to make words ... Then pronounce the words one after the other using the right pronunciation. 11 Reliance upon the graphophonic clue system to explain reading appeared at all grade levels in the investigation, with youngsters in grades 1, 2 and 3 making references to it in nearly every case (92 per cent of the time). Spelling Skills Spelling was mentioned in connection with reading by eighteen of the students, or in 10.5 per cent of the cases. Such statements as Curtis', a fifth grader, were typical: "Reading is learn to spell and find out new words and spelling it better. 11 The fact that the references to spel Ii ng were usu a I ly accompanying statements regarding word analysis led the investigators to conclude that the student writers had internalized phonemic graphemic relationships that were being applied to both decoding and encoding. (In quoting individual remarks in each category, the unique spellings belong to the young authors.) Language-Writing Skills Twenty-three children mentioned some phase of spoken and written language in their responses. This constituted 16 per cent of the number in the study. Eric, a fourth grader, wrote: "Reading teaches you things like puncuwaytion." Dawn, from the perspective of a third grader, said: "reading is to learn you to speck and lern to wright." Only in the case of Tracy was the reading writing relationship mentioned in any clarifying manner. "Writing about something you've read helps you understand it better." In other cases, reading was considered to be contributory to a sub-skill in oral or written communication. Reading as a School Subiect Students from first grade through ninth grade relayed opinions that reading was something that was done in school. Fifty-two of the 172 responses mentioned reading as a school subject. This totaled 30 per cent of all responses. Often distinctions between reading as a school based subject or a wider based activity were difficult to make. Nathan's response, "You fill with yor eyes and you youse yor hands with it." (2nd grade) was not designated to encompass only reading in schools. Charlotte, on the other hand, who wrote, "Reading is something we lorn and it larns you how to read,'' was designated to be referring to reading classes in school. Following are some references to the subject of reading: Emily: "Reading is doing tests and working on Passports," (3rd grade); Jeremy: "Reading is the stuff the teacher puts on the board," (2nd grade); Greg: "One of the grades on your report card," (5th grade}; Todd: "Reading is a subject that is required throughout school. It is a subject that requires lots of skills. It can be hard and easy," (8th grade). Students in school quite naturally will tend to equate reading with the activities called reading in their schools for which they are graded. Perhaps the most surprising statistic in this category is how few students related reading directly to their classes. Reading As Meaning As the statements quoted above have revealed, pupil response often contained multiple statements about reading. The responses varied in length from single statements to eight separate statements by an eighth grader. A total of 311 statements were made. In only one case was the word meaning used! However, students did use such terms as "think about", "learn", "books teach you things", and "get information about" to express the concept of gaining meaning from written text. Responses directly related to deriving meaning from text were calculated. Statements directly pertaining to word analysis were not counted as statements involving meaning. Therefore, the statement: ''You can learn about the Different way other People live," was considered meaning related; ''you know how to pornunce words'', was not. Of the 172 pupils, 55 (or 32 per cent) identified meaning as an element of reading. That statistic is even more startling from a negative sense: two of every three pupils responding said nothing about meaning as the purpose for reading. Can it be that children really misconstrue the purpose for their reading to such a degree that they envision reading only as decoding? Are not pupils in elementary schools capable of generalizing that reading involves some form of meaning? Certainly, the question must be asked: Is what we are doing, in the way of breaking reading instruction into its component parts, conditioning youngsters to think of reading only as one of the parts? The Affective Domain Pupils at all levels tended to omit any reference to the aesthetic-appreciative elements of reading. Little positive mention was made concerning authors' literary styles. In only twenty-eight instances, or 16 per cent of the cases was any positive mention made of any personal enjoyment of reading. Occasionally, bitter-sweet remarks were made concerning a child's enjoyment of the act of reading while denouncing reading classes Some examples follow: 5 Jennifer (grade 4): My Definitior of Reading I like reading, but I hate the workbooks I don't think you should have to it. ITS STUPID!!! I have some books some are funny and Some are sad. My impression of reading is its great its great to know how to read but when it comes to workbooks ... yech!!! Brad (grade 6): I like to read magazines like car magazines but some storys in the reading book are really DULL!!! Jon {grade 8): Reading: Something I do when Special Announcement The Reading Triangle Parents CAJY Help Children Succeed in Reading by Dr. Linda M. Clinard will soon be published by PITMAN LEARNING Belmont, Calif. (Publishers of Learning Magazine) Final copies of the first printing are available until sold out, but no later than November 30, 1984 OVER 50% OFF! $2.88 each ( + 4% Tax to Michigan Residents) Write Or Call As Soon As Possible!! THE READING TRIANGLE Special Offer P.O. Box 2862 Farmington Hills, Michigan 48018 (313) 626-3452 (Make checks payable to " The Reading Triangle") 13 ( heart of the response, stick to the problem, write legibly, and reach a conclusion. In stage four, checking the response, they should check for sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, and content. Teachers may not subtract points for such things as spelling, but answers that make frequent mistakes in mechanical areas ore likely to be viewed with less leniency in subjective evaluations. Students who ore taught and helped to apply specific skills in SQRRR, varying rote, reading critically, and toking tests will be better equipped to handle school tasks as well as the opportunities and responsibilities that will come to them as adults. Bibliography Bergman, I.B. "Con Students Be Taught to Read and Toke Tests More Effectively?" Reading Improvement, 17(1980), 256-259. Diggs, Vero M. "The Relative Effectiveness of the SQ3R Method, a Mechanized Approach, and a Combination Method for T eoching Remedial Reading to College Freshmen," doctoral dissertation, West Virginia University, 1972. Donald, Sister Mory. "The SQRRR Method in Grode Seven,·· Journal of Reading, 11 (1967), 33-35, 43. Eakins, D.; Green, D.S.; and Bushell, D., Jr. "The Effects of on Instructional Test-toking Unit on Achievement Test Scores," The Journal of Educational Research, 70(1976), 67-71. Horris, Theodore L. "Reading Flexibility: A Neglected Aspect of Reading Instruction," New Horizons in Reading, Proceedings of the Fifth IRA World Congress on Reading, Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association, 1976, 27-35. Hyron, G.M. "Experiment in Developing Critical Thinking in Children," Journal of Experimental Education, 26(1957), 125-132. 12 Kotz, L. and Wicklund, D.A. "Word Scanning Rote for Good and Poor Readers,·· Journal of Educational Psychology, 62(1971), 138-140. Lloyd, Bruce A. and Lloyd, Rosalia C. "Paradigm and Reading Flexibility," Education, 92(1971 ), 57-65. Nardelli, R.R. "Some Aspects of Creative Reading," Journal of Educational Research, 50(1957), 495-508. Oakland, Thomas. · 'The Effects of Test-wiseness Materials on Children," Journal of School Psychology, 10(1972), 355-360. Thomas, Sylvia L. "An Analysis of a Reading Rote Improvement Program in Grades Two, Four, and Six," doctoral dissertation, Montono State University, 1972. Willmore, D.J. "A Comparison of Four Methods of Studying a College Textbook," doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota, 1966. Wolf, W.; Huck, C.; and King, M. Critical Reading Ability of Elementary School Children, Columbus: Ohio State University Foundation, 1967. Wooster, G.F. "Teaching the SQ3R Method of Study: An Investigation of the Instructional Approach," doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 1953. • What corrective therapy would you recommend for the Big Bad Wolf and why? • What might have happened if Beauty was as ugly as the Beast? • Have the student write a diary for a few days that Sneezy might have written in the story of "Snow White". • Have the students take an entire fairy tale and write a version as some of the characters would tell it. For example, Snow White might say, "/ don't know why my stepmother thinks I like health foods such as apples, I really like iunk food such as Twinkies. • Have the students convert the events of a fairy tale into a modern day rock song. _ • Ask students to write new story endings. • Have students write a newspaper article about the events of a fairy tale. • Have students look for other ways of solving various fairy tale problems such as: how could Pinocchio have avoided getting into the gang without making them turn against him or list the ways in which Hansel and Gretal broke all the rules of safety. • Ask the students to prepare a court defense for Rapunzel for letting a stranger into someone else's castle. Annena Z. McCleskey Area D Detroit ,Public Schools 8 

A Comprehensive Reading Program? What Children Are Telling Us

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A Comprehensive Reading Program? What Children Are Telling Us

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