Gregory Learns to Read

[Music] today's children like School the bright clean building planned for their use chairs and tables that fit them attractive books pictures working materials a pleasant well qualified teacher this is Miss Brent first grade teacher a good teacher who has learned how how to teach and who enjoys working with [Music] children Gregory and his classmates are beginning to learn many things in Miss bren's class here he will be introduced to the complicated process of reading Miss Brent and the other teachers will demonstrate how children develop skill in one important aspect of reading word recognition fluent reading with understanding is the goal the child must be able to read on his own to be an independent reader this demands accurate word recognition we will see how a good teacher helps children to recognize understand and pronounce words when children first come to school they already use and understand spoken words to read they must recognize these words in written form in these early years Gregory and the others will develop skills and interests which will encourage them to read in this large class Miss Brent works with the children in groups a skilled teacher presents words in ways that stress meaning Miss Brent is always on the alert to arouse interest today she starts a conversation about something the children know and like how many of you have a dog what did your dog do today Gregory he followed me to [Music] school here I have a picture what do you see a puy going to school why does a puppy want to go to school Christina he likes the boy Miss Brent is developing an experience story The Children's introduction to written symbols is thus based on their own earlier experiences what do we know about puppies what can a puppy do Richard five fine [Applause] a puppy can bark as she writes she says each word the children see their own words changed to written symbols can a puppy do miss Brent wants them to think of written symbols as having meaning Karen puppies bite ah they're only playing a puppy does many things with his mouth that we do with our hand hands he can the children see that one written word stands for one spoken word they see that the words are written and read from left to right all right what else can a puppy do Jerry he can run good he can run Helen as Miss Brent write sentences which the children dictate the word forms begin to take on meaning from the words the children offer she uses those which they will learn as a basic site vocabulary [Music] now who can read our story Sean the words are used in meaningful context jump play puppy run all words from the basic word list for beginners written words in the children's Own Story Gregory has begun to learn the meaning of written symbols all through the grades Gregory and his classmates will continue building word recognition techniques in the third grade for example the teacher will help them figure out more difficult words in context practice activities continue in higher grades as children show need of them in their regular activities [Music] what can a puppy do several weeks have past since Gregory and the other children dictated their first story they have shared many interesting experiences and enjoy talking about them they like to reread the stories they have composed what did we say here Greg he can play will you read the next line Joan he can run now read it as if you were talking to someone he can run and now the next line [Music] Autumn days pass by quickly busily and pleasantly varied learning experiences help build background for reading [Music] today Miss Brent has introduced a preprimer story she has already presented each new word with care the children are now ready to read can you find a dog story like ours in your book a picture clue Gregory knows that this will be a story about a boy and his dog how many have found this story pictures give Clues to new words and their meanings pict Clues will be important for Gregory when he is older too the picture can tell much but words are needed to amplify the meaning a tree logs a log Jam what is it what does the book say about it log J Jam A New Concept for two simple words the picture Clues as well as the text will help him Miss Brent feels that by this time Gregory and the other children have a beginner's site vocabulary but she doesn't depend on her observations alone she gives a test on these words any child who has not mastered the words gets extra help [Music] all through the school year Miss Brent provides many opportunities for learning the children carry out activities which she has planned with [Music] them gradually the children begin to discover other ways of recognizing words they are past the stage of depending only on sight recognition and picture Clues sight recognition is less useful as a child's vocabulary increases so many words look alike came come house houses was saw Miss Brent knows many ways to help children identify words the sounds of letters the first letter for example today Gregory will learn to identify the initial sound in certain words beginning with b we have met them many times in our stories now these are words we all know who will read them for us RAB baby ball Bobby B Big Bite bin that's fine how are all these words alike Helen they sound alike where at the beginning ever since kindergarten these children have had training in listening they are able to hear sounds in words yes now listen carefully while I read them to you baby ball Bobby what bark Big Bite Greg they all start with be you you can hear it yes they all start with the same sound it is the sound of the now here's a word you all [Applause] know who can read it for us John J what is it now B jump bump Fox box Gregory and the others have had a lesson in phonic now miss Brandt asked the children to suggest other words that begin with the same sound as bump and box bed butter bird and new words are added to the list children's pleasure in outdoor activities finds expression in poetry in music in art and all along training in basic skills reinforces reading these Lively children have encountered suffixes and cabic divisions even in the first grade Miss Brent now helps them systematize their knowledge this type of word attack in which the child sees the pattern of the word is known as structural analysis at first structural analysis is simple Le in the second grade Gregory will apply it to more complex words he will continue to use structural analysis all through life he will use it in identifying words composed of roots prefixes and suffixes the problems of word recognition are complex no one approach will ensure accurate recognition children need a whole array of techniques picture Clues meaning Clues general form of the word structural analysis and phonetics children develop Independence rapidly as they become versatile in using these techniques the other group of children working at their tables see how many words they can write write that are like a given word except for the first letter ball for instance before long the second graders begin to discover simple phonetic rules the effect of adding final e it takes time to become expert in recognizing words just as it takes years to become an expert violinist or bridge player the many word recognition techniques introduced in the early grades are refined and made more effective in the later grades they are applied to more difficult words in the fourth grade than in the [Music] second cocation 2 is taught over several years Gregory will start using this skill in the primary grades but will extend its use all the way through the elementary school dividing words into syllables isn't done just for the sake of practice actually it is an aid to reading with understanding [Music] as early as first grade the children have used picture dictionaries and have seen their teachers look up words in big dictionaries before introducing dictionary practice teachers encourage children to use the glossies in their readers they find the pronunciation and meaning of words in the stories they [Music] read dictionary training is then given pupils are taught cocation the use of diacritical marks the use of the key at the bottom of the page and the choice of the appropriate meaning for a word in a given passage in later grades Gregory will use the techniques learned earlier as he reads widely on such interesting topics as pioneer life word recognition will be applied in a broad setting in gaining new Concepts in obtaining more accurate understanding in enjoying and appreciating literature the doors will be open to A Whole New World but Gregory is only setting out on the long road of learning words are the keys to learning in Reading in writing in thinking yes words are even the keys to thinking with site vocabulary picture Clues word form Clues Gregory is making a start structural analysis phonetic analysis and dictionary skills all all will help him in word recognition and Miss Brent for him the first of a long succession of well educated and purposeful teachers knows how to encourage and help him to become independent in learning new words we have seen how today's teachers help children acquire word recognition techniques no single method is adequate a child must learn several methods of unlocking the meaning of words new to him we must remember too that word recognition though important is not all of reading it is only one aspect that Gregory and millions of other children must Master if they are to become fluent intelligent readers