Table Of ContentA SUPPLEMENTARY STORY BOOK FOR USE IN THE
KINDERGARTEN AND PRIMARY GRADES
A Project
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Education
The U niversity of Southern California
In P artial Fulfillm ent
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Education
by
Mildred Rita Pinchoff
June 1950
UMI Number: EP46523
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This project report, written under the direction
of the candidate’s adviser and approved by him,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science in Education.
1222
Date ^ .....^ ...../...? ...^ ........
dviser
Dean
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE PROBLEM............................................................... 1
In tro d u c tio n ....................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem • ..................... *+
Limits or Scope of Study ......................... 6
O rientation of the Problem ....................... 7
Lim itation of Media of Production• • . 11
II. SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURE . . 12
Procedure................................................................. 12
Standardized Word L ists................................. 12
Vocabulary Analysis.......................................... 13
Number of New Words . • • • • . . . 13
Word Forms..................................................... 17
Repetition. ................................. 17
D ifficulty ....................................................... 20
III. THE PROJECT............................................................. 22
Bunny White t a i l ............................................. 23
_ IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS................... 50
BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................... 52
APPENDIX................................................................................... 51*
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
I. Score Card for Evaluating Textbooks in
Reading: Reading Readiness Books........................ 3
II. Cumulative Word L ist of Vocabulary Used
in P roject........................................................................ lb
III. Words Used in the Story Which Were not
Used in the F irst Grade Reading Program
of the Scott, Foresman Series................................. 18
IV. Vocabulary Not on F irst 1500 Words on
Thorndike’s Word L ist.............................................. 19
V. Score Card for Evaluating Textbooks in
Reading for Grades One and Two.......................
VI. Table of Reading Expectancy - New York
City Schools 191+6-19^7 • ................................. 57
VII. Grade Placement of "Bunny W hitetail"
Using the Winnetka Grade Placement
Formula. • • • . • • • • • ................................. 53
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
Introduction. Administrators and teachers continuous
ly face the problem of selecting reading m aterials from the
mass of lite ra tu re that has been previously w ritten. Some
of i t is s t i l l in use, but much of i t has had to be discarded,
since the increased, importance of reading calls for new
methods of teaching reading as well as new m aterials for use
in the reading program.
The procedures and techniques in the modern progressive
school contribute to an acceptance of the concept of the
library as the heart of the modern school. The reading
program replaces the deadening repetition to 11 fin ish 11 the
grade reader. The reading program implies reading many
interesting books of widely varying content at the level
of reading a b ility the child possesses.
More and more school systems are coming to realize the
fundamental importance of reading; that i t is a basic corner
stone of the edifice of education. The trend is to lay a
concrete foundation from the minute the child enters school.
This does not mean that children are to learn how to read as
soon as they enter school; but i t means that the program of
readiness for reading should be started as soon as the child
1 Selection and D istribution of Supplementary and
Library Books in C alifornia Counties.E s ta te of C alifornia
Department of Education B ulletin No* 10, May 15,193*0, p.v.
2
enters school. It means that desirable attitudes towards
books and words should be developed early. It means that
concepts and background experiences should be part of the
program and may sta rt as early as the kindergarten. Ac
cording to Claes, kindergarten teachers should:
...provide rich and varied experiences for
children through.. .discussions, books, lite ra tu re ,
art and m usic...If they give children contact with
w ritten forms, then the children w ill be more ade
quately prepared to begin the process of learning
to read with success.2
In the kindergarten there should be books to be read
and looked a t, books to add to daily experiences, and books
to f i t special times and moods.^
The main factors involved in selecting reading readi
ness story books are choosing m aterials that are interesting;
are attractiv ely illu strate d ; provide background experiences;
develop an in terest in books; create a desire to learn how to
read, or to read b etter; and create the desire to read more
b o o k s ( S e e Table I)
2 Ethel Leppo Claes, ’’Kindergarten Experience as a
factor in Reading Readiness in the f irs t grades of the Los
Angeles County Schools,” (unpublished M aster’s thesis, the
University of Southern C alifornia, Los Angeles, 19^3). p. ^9,
3 Dorothy H. Sullivan, ’’Books for Kindergarten Story
Hour,” Childhood Education. 2±:l+221 ^32, A pril, 191+5*
h Score Card for Evaluating Textbooks in Reading:
Reading Readiness. California State Curriculum Commission.
January, 19^5•
3
TABLE I
CALIFORNIA STATE CURRICULUM COMMISSION
January, 19^5
SCORE CARD FOR EVALUATING TEXTBOOKS IN READING
READING READINESS BOOKS
Items of C riteria
for Evaluating Books
I. Adequate amount of m aterial 200
to develop school and interests
II. Appropriateness to grade level 200
A. Concepts w ithin p u p il!s
unde r s t a nd ing
B. Reading d ifficu lty
1. Vocabulary
2. Sentence structure
3 . Paragraph organization
I II. Type of m aterial 150
A, Wide variety
B. 1. Vocabulary development
2. Vocabulary enrichment
IV. Interestingness 150
V. Illu stratio n s 125
A. Form
B. Color
C. Relation to story
D. Stimulation
VI. Organization and style 75
VII. Format 50
A. General appearance
B. Type
C. Margins and arrangement
D. Cover design
V III. Teacher*s manual 50
Totals
However, when selecting primary reading m aterial,
the basis of choice is enlarged to the extent th at, "the
choice of reading m aterial should be based on considerations
of content, style and in terest appeal, as well as on d if fi
culty,” j (See Appendix, Table V.)
This project has attempted to keep to the principles
of reading m aterial selection developed above.
Statement of the problem. The objective of this
project is to create a story book suitable for children
in the kindergarten and primary grades.
The following are the specific uses for which the
project was designed as well as the objectives and con
siderations taken into account in the preparation of the
text:
1. This project is prim arily designed for
children who have reached an approximate
grade reading a b ility of lA , and have
completed reading at least one series of
basal readers, preferably Scott, Foresman
Curriculum Foundation Basal Readers, through the
5 Albert J. H arris, How to Increase Reading A bility
(New York: Longmans, Green and Company, 19^1), p. 213.
f ir s t grade.£
2. The project could be used for supplementary
reading purposes; providing extensive reading
m aterial for those children who need repetition
of words encountered previously in their reading.
3. The objective is to create a story using vocabulary
that has been checked against various scien tific
word lis ts and is suitable for the reading grade
level for which th is project is intended.
1+. The project may be used by the teacher for reading
to the class, either in the kindergarten or the
f irs t grade where the children have not yet ac
quired approximately 1.*+ reading a b ility or have
not read extensively in a well planned basic
reading program.g
5. The project may be successfully used as remedial ■■■■**
reading m aterial for retarded readers in the
second and th ird grades.^
6 William S. Gray and May H ill Arbuthnot. We Look and
Bee (New Yorks Scott, Foresman and Company, IS?1*-©) pp. ^8 ;
Gray and Arbuthnot, We Work and Play (New York:
Scott, Foresman and Company, 19^+6), ppT ;
Gray and Arbuthnot, We Come and Go (New Yorks Scott,
Foresman and Company, 19^6), pp. 72;
Gray and Arbuthnot, Fun With Dick and Jane (New Yorks
Scott, Foresman and Company, 19*fS), pp. 15*9;
Gray and Arbuthnot, Our New Friends (New York: Scott,
Foresman and Company, 19*+0), pp.191*
7 Infra Chapter 2, page 1 for enumeration of the various
scien tific word lis ts used in the preparation of the tex t.
8 Use of Readers in the Elementary Schools 191+8-19lt9
(Curriculum Division Los Angeles City Schools EC-103)•
9 Retarded readers are here used to refer to children
who are approximately one year behind th eir reading expectancy,
based upon grade norms and I. Q. See Appendix, Table VI.
