Mildred Agnes Dawson, Chair Walter Thomas Petty

81 Pages·2015·2.56 MB·English

WORD RECOGNITION SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES
FOR PRIMARY READING
Majel Grace Bliss
A. B., Seattle Pacific College, 1931
THESIS
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
AT THE
SACRAMENTO STATE COLLEGE
Approved:
Mildred Agnes Dawson, Chair
Walter Thomas Petty
Date ~I - r.--;· u - ~L. ~ 1-7
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED 1
Statement of the Problem 1
Deliminations of Problem 2
Hypothesis . 2
Sources of Data 4
Procedures in Collecting and Organization of Data 5
Terminology 7
II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE . 11
III. TECHNIQUES AND SKILLS IN WORD RECOGNITION 24
Level I or Reading Readiness. 25
Level II or Pre-Primer 26
Level III or Primer . 28
Level IV or First Reader 32
Level V or Second Reader, Level I. 37
Level VI or Second Reader, Level II 43
Level VII or Third Reader, Level I 47
Level VIII or Third Reader, Level II 53
IV. FUN IN PHONICS, RHYMES, AND GAMES 59
Rhymes 61
Games 66
V. SUMMARY OF THE STUDY 70
BIBLIOGRAPHY . 76
CHART . 80
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED
In the past decade theory and practice have combined to strengthen
and encourage word recognition techniques and skills in primary reading.
Authorities in the field of education are more and more convinced that
independent reading can be achieved largely through many and varied
learning experiences that help a child to figure out unfamiliar words for
himself.
I. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It is the purpose of this study to make a survey of analytical word
recognition skills and techniques used in primary reading grades. The
survey covers the following phases of word analysis: auditory perception
and visual discrimination - separately and in co-ordination - phonetic
and structural analysis, and the methods of using these various tech
niques. It is hoped that this study will be of assistance to all primary
teachers in the Rohla School District of Sacramento County in that it
presents a program of word analysis that will be simple, useful, concise,
and yet comprehensive for the use of these teachers. During thirty
years of special interest in this field and much practice in private teach
ing, this investigator is convinced that there is a great need among
teachers for help in conducting lessons dealing with word analysis.
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II. DELIMITATIONS OF PROBLEM
There are scores of sources from which materials in word anal-
ysis may be derived. Ina:smuch as the Rohla District uses, for the
most part, the Ginn Series of readers and the Ginn Phonetic Chart
(see chart), it has seemed advisable to base much of the survey on
manuals accompanying the Ginn readers. For purposes of comparison
and possible supplementation, the Reading for Living Series, Develop
mental Readers, and Learning to Read manuals were also surveyed for
each of the eight levels. The latter sources yielded relatively few
additions to the notations from the Ginn manuals and teaching aids.
Chapter Two in a thesis is typically a summary of related research.
However, this present project consists of a survey of instructional ma
terials and does not include any experimental research. In this report,
therefore, the second chapter summarizes seven books and two publica
tions that include a systematic program of word analysis and/ or a state
ment of underlying principles in such instruction. There seemed to be
no point in reviewing research as such for the following reasons: ( 1)
this study is concerned with a survey, not an experiment; and (2) the
authors of the various teacher's guides which the survey has utilized had
based their word recognition program on the findings of related research.
III. HYPOTHESES
Ginn Company furnishes a summary chart for the word-analysis
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techniques that are included in its complete program of reading instruc
tion. Because a considerable amount of analysis of supplementary
series of manuals has yielded few additional exercises in word analysis,
it is assumed that the coverage of the Ginn Chart is sufficiently complete
and that its content and organization can be used as a basis in this study.
According to the Ginn program, there are five main techniques for
studying word analysis: (1) listening or auditory perception; (2) seeing
or visual discrimination; (3) phonetic analysisi (4) structural analysis;
and (.5) methods of using word analysis.
Skills that are emphasized in general through the eight levels of
reading are:
a. Listening to, identifying, and perceiving the location of sounds
b. Recognizing likenesses and differences of objects; identifying
reversals; observing configuration of objects and words; kin
esthetic activities of drawing, cutting, or tracing
c. Learning to identify and to sound the consonants and vowels in
different positions and combinations
d. Using structural analysis in compound and hyphenated words,
plural forms, variant endings and beginnings
e. Utilizing context clues; recognizing words alike except for
initial or final endings; identifying words commonly confused,
rhyming endings, and digraphs; recognizing little words in large
ones.
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IV. SOURCES OF DATA
The main source of this survey was the Ginn Readers according
to levels as follows:
Level I: Fun with Tom and Betty; Games to Play
Level II: Ride with Us; My Little Red Story Book; My Little
Green Story Book; My Little Blue Story Book
Level III: The Little White House; Under the Apple Tree
Level IV: On Cherry Street; Open the Gate
Level V: Down Our Way; We Are Neighbors
Level VI: Around the Corneri New Friendly Village
Level VII: Finding New Neighbors; New If I Were Going;
New Through the Green Gate
Level VIII: Friends Far and Near; Along Friendly Roads;
Over Hill and Plain
Other supplementary sources were manuals from the following
companies:
Learning to Read Series published by the Silver Burdett Company
Level II: Bill and Susan
Level III: Through the Gate
Level IV: Down the Road
Level VI: In New Places
Level VII: From Sea to Sea
Developmental Series published by the California State Department
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of Education
Level II: Three of Us; Play with Us; Fun with Us
Level III: Many Surprises
Level IV: Happy Times
Level V: Down Our Way
Level VI: Just for Fun
Level VII: Stories from Everywhere
Level VIII: Once Upon a Story Time
Reading for Living Series published by California State Department
of Education
Level III: Days of Fun
Level IV: Our Happy Ways
Level VIII: Our Good Neighbors
The suggestions for pictures that are included in Chapter III were
taken from Eye and Ear Fun Books, work books related to the Ginn Series,
Highlights (The Monthly Book for Children), spellers, and a few work
books from other series. (See bibliography!~
V. PROCEDURES IN COLLECTION AND ORGANIZATION OF DATA
From the Sacramento County Schools Primary Reading Record,
the investigator checked readers by publishers, then inquired from
teachers at each level which books were most used in the Rohla District
according to the eight levels of reading. As each manual, reader, or
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work book was surveyed, a card was made for each technique or skill
and labeled as either visual, auditory, phonetic, textual, or word anal-:-
ysis. The following is a sample of a card indicating an auditory skill.
Note that the left corner was cut off so as to enable easy and swift class-
LEVEL III
B in birthday, book, big, ball, bunny, box
I
l The Little White House Story - A Ride for Pony
I
I
Ginn and Company San Francisco 1948
l_ _·- --·-·-·- - -----------·----·-···-.. --..
-·---·-----·"·'»-·- -·--,-·J.
For identification of visual discrimination cards the upper right corner
wars -c-ut off:
-···-·-·····----~--------·"---~---"\
LEVEL VII "'"'
Suffix: ly added to slow-slowly
J
ed added to climb-climbed
(
ing added to bring-bringing
) er added to farm-farmer
t
Stories from Everywhere
De._yel_<?._-~~~~-!~~J-~!..i 1
)_ ____ _e_ s Calif. State Dept. of Education
To identify cards for phonics a capital ~ was placed in the center
of card at the top, for textual identification a capital T was used at the
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top, and for word analysis the card was left plain. A different corner
was cut off for each classification so that sorting all the cards might be
facilitated.
The final organization was made according to the Ginn Phonetic
Chart. (See chart;.) Chapter III is an expansive and detailed discussion
organized on the basis of rhymes, or whatever objectifying way a sugges-
tion might be made.
VI. TERMINOLOGY
In the professional literature that has been reviewed and in the
following chapter there are a few special terms used that are related to
word recognition. (Two sources of definitions were consulted: ( 1) pro-
fessional book by Bettsl and (2) Webster1s Collegiate Dictionary. 2)
Those especially associated with word recognition in the primary grades
are described as follows:
1. Phonetics or phonics (interchangeable) is a science of speech
sounds and the use of special symbols to represent these sounds.
It deals not only with sounds of spoken words but with the letters
of our conventional alphabet. (Betts: 621)
1Emmett Albert Betts, Foundations of Reading Instructions,
San Francisco: American Book Company, 1950.
2Noah Webster, Collegiate Dictionary, Fifth Edition,
Springfield: I. E. McLaren and G. & C. Merriam Co., 1943.
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2. A vowel is a speech sound uttered with voice or whisper and
characterized by the resonance form of the vocal cavities; also,
a letter representing such a sound. The vowel letters are a, e,
i, o, u, and sometimes~ and y_. Often they are spoken of as the
"open" sounds or free from obstruction with the tone passage
open. (Webster: 1127)
3. A consonant is a speech sound characterized in enunciation by
constriction in the breath channel as distinguished from a vowel;
also, a letter representing such a sound. The consonants are b,
These letters are voiced as b, v, w, d, th (hard), z, zh, j, g (hard);
or voiceless (breathed) as p, f, wh, t, th (soft}, s, sh, ch (soft),
and k. (Betts: 634)
4. A blend is two or more sounds, blended rapidly together without
loss of identify of the sounds. Examples of initial blends are bl, dr,
stri of terminal blends, nd and rt. Blends can be either initial or
final. (Betts: 623)
5. A digraph is a group of two vowels or two consonants represent-
ing a single speech sound. Neither one needs the special attention
of the other. Examples of digraphs are ch, sh, th, wh; ai, ay, ea,
oa, ie, ow, ue, and ew. (Webster: 282)
6. A diphthong is a speech sound changing continuously from one vowel
to another in the same syllable. Words with diphthongs are: out,
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