Manual for the Elson-Runkel primer

Front matter

MANUAL

FOR

THE ELSON-RUNKEL

Contents

Introduction page

The Elson-Runkel Method 151

A Distinguishing Feature 152

Part One (Practical Suggestions) Factors in Reading Ability 159

Aids to Comprehension 159

Eye Movement and Phrasing Abihty 162

Sentence, Phrase, Word, and Phonetic Development 163

Reading from the Book 163

The Personal Touch 164

Children's Limited Experience 164

Games for Drill 166

Supplementary Equipment 166

Part Three (Pre-Primer Work) Chart for Pre-Primer Work 184

Outline of Lesson Plans 185

The Family Friedrich Froebel 186

How the House Was Built Maud Lindsay 194

The Little Bird Mother Goose 203

Action Lesson 209

The Bird House Old Rime 213

One, Two, Three Old Rime 219

The Birds' Nest Evelyn Lincoln 225

The Little Red Hen Old Tale 236

Action Lesson 250

Silent Reading Lesson 252

The Good Rain 254

The Cat and the Mouse Folk Tale 265

The Three Rabbits Carolyn S. Bailey 274

General Review ' 282

Summary of Part Three . 282

Part Four (Primer Work) Chart for Primer Work 284

The Cat's Dinner Lillian M. Allen 287

150 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

Spot's Kittens Josephine Jarvis 293

Alice and Her Kitten Jane L. Hoxie. 297

What Was in the Nest? Boston Kindergarten Stories 302

The White Dove Harriet Warren 306

The Jay and the Dove. . L. Alma-Tadema 309

Bobbie and the Apples Kate Whiting Patch 312

AHce and Her Mother Old Tale. 317

Little Boy Blue Mother Goose 321

Little Bo-Peep Mother Goose 323

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep Mother Goose 324

The Pig's Dinner Maud Lindsay 325

Piggy Wig's House Folk Tale 328

The Little Pig Folk Tale 331

Little Rabbit L.E. Orth 335

Jack Rabbit's Visit Mary Dendy 337

Bobbie Squirrel's Tail Carolyn S. Bailey .' 340

Ned Visits Grandmother Marion Wathen 342

Little Owl Anne Schiltze 348

What Brown Pussy Saw Kate L. Brown 352

The Brook Laura E. Richards 354

The Windmill Kathlyn Libbey 356

Who Likes North Wind? Folk Tale 359

How Patty Gave Thanks Emilie Poulsson 362

The Little Christmas Tree Mary McDowell 366

Our Flag E. L. McCord 369

The Easter Rabbit Anne Schiltze 371

In the Barnyard Frances Weld Danielson 374

Alice and the Bird Emily Rose Burt 377

Dark Pony Folk Tale. 380

Summary of Part Four 383

General Summary of Phonetics 384

INTEODUCTION

In order to teach reading effectively, some systematic plan or method must be followed which will give beginners the ability to interpret the thought of the printed page, and at the same time equip them with independent control of the mechanical problems involved. Such a method, definite and detailed, is presented by the Manuals accompanying the Elson-Eunkel Primer and the Elson Headers, Books One and Two.

The Elson-Eunkel Method

The Elson-Eunkel Method is based on the belief that interesting content is the most important factor in learning to read; that the keynote of interest is the story -plot ; and that the child's delight in the oral story should be utilized in the very first steps of reading. In consequence, this method provides the child with stories of such nature as will grip his interest and constantly develop his power for connected thinking, by means of incident and plot-structure. Through the use of this vital content the method develops the various phonetic elements of our language, one by one, as they are encountered in the story. A content of simple but vivid stories, expressed in a typical child vocabulary, will inevitably contain these phonetic elements, and will bring them to the child in the course of his reading nee^5 quite as rapidly as he is capable of mastering them. Moreover, the type words selected from such material for drill purposes will come to him in interesting associations — as integral parts of real stories. Contrast the type words found "in many primers, doled out to the child in stiff, unnatural sentences, built up merely to develop certain word sounds. In the nature of things, reading material constructed on this artificial basis is cer^ tain to lack continuity of thought. Indeed, pages of such primers may be read almost as effectively by begimiing with the last sentence and reading up to the top of the page as by reading in the usual way from top to bottom.

Prepared by the Elson-Eunkel Method, the child is eager to master the mechanical difficulties in order that he may read more of the delightful stories provided for him. The important words in the story, rich in meaning to him, he quickly learns to recognize at sight in print or script sentences — a different process from memorizing isolated words merely to drill on some phonetic element. Soon a working vocabulary of printed words is at the child's command, acquired not by painful drill on meaningless forms, but through interesting associations. Thus he is able to read the story he knows and loves. From this point forward, awakened interest and purposeful motive carry him over the formula — from the told story to the reading of the same story in simplified form — with a joy and a growing sense of power to get meaning from the printed page, unknown in a method that subordinates content to memory drill. Throughout, he is eager to master sentences, phrases, and words because they come to him as new forms of a content in which he already has abundant interest. This motive compels him to acquire control of all the problems involved in reading. An important feature of this method is that it economizes effort, not only by utilizing the spontaneous power of interest, but also by developing phonetic elements, as one hy one, they arise naturally in the child's reading. In this way the motive for mastering difficulties is constantly present, and knowledge acquired is immediately applied, without the painful drill necessary in less vital methods.

A Distinguishing Feature

The distinguishing feature of the Elson-Runkel Method is that by it the child is made thoroughly familiar with the plot of each story, before he attempts to read the text. To accomplish this end, the teacher tells the fuller story (printed in Parts Three and Four of the Manual), of which the text version is merely a simplified form. This "background of familiarity" provided by the oral story is the most important contribution of the Elson method to the pedagogy of reading. Such a point of departure possesses five distinct advantages:

(1) It enables the child to follow intelligently the thread of the narrative, when he comes to the reading of the Primer text. Without some foreknowledge of the plot action, the beginner is so engrossed in the effort to interpret individual words that he is unable to see clearly the movement of the story.

(2) It develops the power of connected thinking — the ability to grasp the relationship which each sentence bears to the storyincident.

(3) It makes the child thoroughly familiar with the sound and meaning of the words he will later find in reading the text. With this feature in mind, the authors have carefully adapted the oral stories in such a way as to use over and over again the Primer vocabulary. If the child has previously known (orally) a certain word used in the text, his memory of it is thus immediately refreshed; on the other hand, if he has never previously heard the word, he is now made familiar with it, as an integral part of an interesting incident.

(4) It enables the child to see the relationship of each printed word to the sentence-thought, instead of looking upon the word merely as an isolated symbol. This complete mastery of the word is insured by the fact that the sentence-thought has already been unfolded to him orally in substantially the same form.

(5) It enriches and illuminates the Primer narrative for the child, by adding a setting and interesting details which cannot be given in the text because of vocabulary limitations.

Pre-Primer Work

The customary preparation for the reading of the Primer selections, before the text is placed in the hands of the child, is fully treated in the Manual, under the heading "PEE-PEIMER WORK." This preliminary training, however, differs from the mechanical drill so prevalept, in that it is based on a group of stories, and the interesting "background of oral familiarity" with which they are associated. These stories, which are to be told by the teacher, are printed in PART THREE of the Manual. They are not the same as the Primer narratives, but are similar to them in theme, and contain the most important words of the early text material. Thus, through the use of the oral story, these fundamental words are thoroughly developed for the child, before he attempt* to read the Primer text.

A unique feature of distinct value provides these stories in simplified form as reading material during the Pre-Primer stage. By means of a Pupil's Hand Chart, or child's first book, these stories are presented to the pupil in a thirty-two page booklet, fully illustrated in colors ; they are also provided in a Wall Chart of the usual type. This Pupil's Hand Chart, which appeals to the pupil as a "baby brother" of the Primer, adds greatly to the child's interest by giving him a book early; it offers opportunity, with a small, inexpensive booklet, to train him in the handling of a book; in type, page-size, and color-scheme it is identical with the Primer, for which it prepares; and the material, which is the same as that of the Wall Chart, lends itself to socialized work. Finally, small groups of beginners can be equipped at a saving over the Wall Chart, owing to the low price of the Pupil's Hand Chart.

In the Pre-Primer work, as well as in the Primer text, the stress is laid on complete mastery of the word through its relationship to the sentence-thought. In this connection, it will be noticed that the basis of the preliminary work is interest through oral familiarity. Thus, the Elson-Eunkel Method presents, from first to last, a definite and harmonious mode of procedure.

The Pre-Primer work, as outlined in the Manual, covers a period of seven weeks, but varying school conditions may make it desirable for the teacher to modify either the time devoted to this work, or the number of words developed. Teachers who prefer to postpone the introduction of phonetics until the Primer text is begun can readily do so, since all the words developed in the Pre-Primer work appear in the early pages of the Primer.

Preparatory Development of Each Primer Story

When the Primer is placed in the hands of the child, further preparatory work in word-control is given in connection with each story, before the reading of the text is attempted. In this treatment, the words which were not taught in the Pre-Primer work are thoroughly developed from sentences. It will be remembered that the teacher has already told the fuller version of the story, thereby making these words orally familiar to the child. The transition, therefore, from oral to visual interpretation is made natural and simple.

Provision for Silent Eeading

Special attention is given in the Elson-Eunkel Method to the development of skill in Silent Eeading. The following provisions insure a constant growth in comprehension and speed through practice in Silent Eeading:

(1) Silent Eeading lessons are distributed at intervals throughout the Pupil's Hand Chart and the Wall Chart. (See pages 200, 209, 252 of this Manual, and pages 5, 8, 23 in Chart.)

(2) Twenty seat work lessons (see cards of New Set YII-A) are provided, of such a nature as to bring into action the pupil's play instinct. The Manual suggests the appropriate places for the use of these cards and offers detailed plan of operation. (See Manual, pages 171, 218, etc.) Similar set of cards, New Set VII-B, is provided for Book I, thus affording continuous practice in Silent Eeading throughout the year.

(3) A large number of games (see page 175) are suggested, many of which afford practice in Silent Eeading.

(4) The Manual from time to time offers suggestions for additional Silent Eeading practice. (See pages 250, 308, etc.)

(5) Further supplementary practice in Seat Work Silent Eeading is furnished by the cards of New Set VI. (See page 171.)

Word-Control Through Phonetics

The manner in which the Elson-Eunkel Method enables the child to read the interesting content of the Primer has already been made clear. The ability to read a given book, however, is not an end in itself, but merely a foundation for the larger power of controlling new words as they are encountered in more general reading, where the "background of familiarity" is wanting. This larger power, it is universally recognized, comes most easily through mastery of the various phonetic elements of our language. The value of this training lies in the fact that it enables the child to control not only the particular type word chosen to illustrate a given phonetic element, but also all words of the same family wherever found in later reading. A detailed plan for establishing such mastery is carefully marked out by the Elson-Eunkel Method. This plan, however, differs from that of prevailing mechanical methods, in that the phonetic elements are taken up as, one by one, they appear in the printed story. Thus the child^s immediate reading needs, and not arbitrary, adult opinions, determine the order in which these elements are treated, and furnish the motive for their mastery.

Divisions of the Manual

For the sake of convenience, the Elson-Eunkel Method is treated in the Manual under the following heads :

Part Four — Primer Work (page 38-1)

Part One discusses certain fundamental points in the teaching of reading which should be given special attention.

Part Two consists of a series of games (for the most part in connection with card devices) for drill in silent reading and in sentence, phrase, and word mastery.

Part Three provides lessons preparatory to the use of the Primer text. It thoroughly develops from parallel oral stories and verse (see pages 186 and 225 for examples) some seventy -three of the most important words found in the early Primer pages, as well as the sounds of certain phonetic elements. Systematic drill upon these fundamental words and sounds is provided through blackboard work, card sets, charts, and games.

Part Four outlines the work in connection with the Primer text. It contains the fuller oral stories upon which the Primer versions are based, and a complete development of these selections, as well as the phonetic elements taught through them.

Part One Practical Suggestions

Factors in Beading Ability Good reading ability is made up of a number of factors, and the teacher should have a clear perspective of the relative values of these factors, as a daily guide in her class work. Obviously, the power to control words comes first. The teacher, however, should remember that word-mastery is merely a means to an end — the interpretation of the thought of the printed page. For reading is vastly more than mere word-getting. It is not sufficient that the child can recognize a given word at sight and call it correctly. He must also associate it with its appropriate meaning — it must suggest to him its full content. Finally, reading includes the ability to interpret thoughts in their organized relation to the story, that is, the power of following the plot.

Since thought-interpretation is the ultimate goal of all reading lessonSj the teacher should constantly test her pupils to mahe sure that they have a thorough appreciation of the story-unit.

Aids to Compeehension Recent studies in silent reading give new emphasis to the fact that comprehension of thought is the primary aim in all reading. This fundamental truth has guided the authors in the preparation of the Elson-Eunkel Method. Distinct provision is made for the following essential aids to comprehension:

I. Vital Story Content. Interesting stories constitute the most important factor in learning to read. Dr. Edwin B. Huey says, "The child loves a story, loves to get somewhither in what is said, wants an outcome to the discussion." Obviously the story-plot is the keynote of interest. The Elson-Rnnkel Primer makes constant use of the child's curiosity in "what is going to happen next"; it is rich in stories having a plot, a series of incidents, and an outcome. A book that ignores the child's interest — ^his only motive for learning — by failing to provide him with vital story content is extremely wasteful of energy. For interest is the most powerful, impelling force; when it is lacking, its place must be taken by external force. Thus, vital story content that appeals strongly to the child's interest in plot-action is a powerful aid to the development of thought.

II. The Told Story. The child's delight in the oral story should be made use of in the very first steps of reading. Thus the school, beginning its work where the home leaves off and utilizing the capacities which the child brings with him, iuilds upon his previous experience. The use of the told story is the natural point of departure in teaching the child to read, for he has acquired in the home the power to translate spoken words into meaning and to visualize situations described by them. The five distinct advantages gained by the use of the oral story, with its "background of familiarity," are noted on page 153.

III. Page Unity. Not only does the Elson-Eunkel Method make use of the oral story as an aid to comprehension, but the storyelement has been unfolded in such a way as to make each page of the Pupil's Hand Chart and the Primer a distinct unit. The Primer lessons presuppose that the teacher has first told the children the fuller stories, as given in Parts Three and Four of this Manual. The oral story should be told to the children until a "background of familiarity" for the story-plot is well established. In this oral presentation, the teacher should make each incident stand out clearly, having the pupils track the story with her by means of the pictures in the Pupil's Hand Chart and the Primer. A good plan for testing the children's mastery of the plot is to ask them to give back the incidents of the story in proper order, Children will be aided in this work by the fact that each important step in the story is accurately visualized in an illustration, each page of the text dealing with a distinct incident. The page unit forms a convenient basis for the retelling of a part of the narrative by individual pupils.

IV. The Illustrations. The illustrations in the Pupil's Hand Chart and the Primer are an important aid to comprehension. They are not mere decorations, but are so drawn as to present in visual form each step of the narrative. They give, as it were, a complete panorama of the story, unfolding the action pictorially as the text unfolds it through the printed word. So intimate is the connection between text and illustration that pupils may well be encouraged to study the pictures systematically before they begin to read. The teacher will share with the children the enjoyment that comes from this study, directing their attention to points in the pictures that make the story-action vivid. In this way the illustrations will serve their full purpose, enriching the text and aiding the children to gain the complete content of the story.

V. Dramatization. A further aid to comprehension is found in acting or playing the story. Practically all the stories of the Pupil's Hand Chart and the Primer lend themselves to dramatic treatment, thus providing an excellent type of project work. Dramatizing a story makes it real to the child and makes his impressions vivid. In this way the several incidents are made to stand out distinctly, and the child is enabled to reproduce them in their proper order. For, when the child becomes an actor in a drama he must hold in mind the run of events and do "team work" with others. The teacher should remember that entertainment and show are not the aims, but an accurate interpretation of the story — a better seeing and a keener appreciation. Some of the stories may well be dramatized several times, for this will call into action all the different children, offer opportunity for individual initiative, and strengthen the feeling of unity for the story-whole. If pupils are given a large part in planning and arranging the dramatic presentation, the value of the exercise will be the greater.

Eye Movement and Phrasing Ability

In reading, the eye moves along the line by leaps or jumps, making pauses by the way. Dr. Huey has pointed out that slow readers read a word at a time, while rapid readers visualize complete phrases, making only a few pauses per line. By scientific tests Dr. Gray has shown that the average number of eye pauses for eight elementary-school pupils rated as good readers was 6.1 per line, while that of nine pupils of like grades rated as poor readers was 10.8. Thus, the ability to take in longer groups of words — phrasing ability — is an important factor in reading efficiency. In oral reading the distance that the eye travels in advance of the voice is called the eye-voice span. Investigations show that good readers have a longer eye-voice span than poor readers. In the early grades, where oral reading predominates, the eye-voice span should steadily increase and the number of eye-pauses should decrease.

A simple experiment for showing the eye movement may be made by standing behind the reader and holding a hand-mirror in front of the reader's eyes in such position as will show the eye movement. Indeed, by this experiment one can roughly determine the number of pauses the eye makes per line. Since the eye span affects rate in reading, practice should be given to increase the eye span. Excessive drill on isolated words, so common in phonetic systems of beginning reading, tends to establish the habit of a short eye span, whereas drill on phrases and groups of words tends to develop the habit of a long eye span, so essential to speed and comprehension.

The Elson-Eunkel Method makes definite provision for establishing the habit of phrasing. Through the use of flash cards (New Set IV) phrasing practice is given on word-groups of varying length, as they appear in the reading lessons from day to day. This drill is supplemented by the use of phrase cards (New Set VI) for seat work, with which the pupil synthetically builds up his reading lesson, comparing it with the printed text. This practice is further supplemented by the use of drill cards (New Sets VII- A and B) for silent reading and crayoning. These cards provide tests for comprehension and at the same time supply seat work of an educative kind. These drills, supported by the free use of the blackboard and the Wall Chart, tend to decrease the number of eye-pauses, to increase the reading rate, and thus to aid in thought-getting.

Sentence, Phrase, Word, and Phonetic Development A complete system of phonetics is worked out in the Elson-Eunkel Method, based on the vocabularies of the Primer and the Elson Readers, Books One and Two. The fundamental phonetic elements are thoroughly developed. The Primer Manual treats the various sound elements which enable the child to master the important phonetic words found in the text. (See Parts Three and Four of this Manual.)

Systematic drill should be given on the sentences, phrases, and words listed for that purpose. Advantage should be taken of the phonetic cards and games to make this part of the work enjoyable to the children. The plan provides for two lessons in reading and one separate exercise in phonetics each day. In the Elson-Eunkel Method all phonetics are developed from hnown words. Opinions differ as to when phonetics may be profitably introduced and as to the amount of time that should be devoted to them, but there is common agreement that the phonetics taught should have immediate hearing on the reading in hand, and that this training may best be given in a separate lesson. (See The Twentieth Yearhoofc of the National Society for the Study of Education, page 12.)

Eeading from the Book The teacher should make sure that the pupil has the thought of a sentence before he attempts to read it aloud. Time should first be allowed for silent interpretation. This, in connection with the "background of familiarity" previously supplied by the told story, will enable the pupil to read aloud with understanding.

It is well not to allow children to point to the words as they read, for such a habit tends to weaken the feeling for phrase-unity. When they have acquired some power, they should read more than one sentence at a time — a group of sentences, a page, even an entire story. In this way they learn to tell "what it's all about."

The teacher should not fail to show children by example how to read difficult sentences. Indeed, from time to time, she should read entire pages for them. This presentation of a "model" by the teacher should not, however, precede the effort of the pupils to express the same passage.

The Personal Touch

In the use of oral stories, it is desirable to establish a vital connection between the pupils and the selection, for it is the personal touch of interest that counts with children. Recognizing this fact, the authors have chosen for the Elson-Runkel Primer, stories that largely center around characters and incidents that are significant to the normal child through his own experience. The teacher will utilize this basis of personal knowledge by reviving the experiences of the children. This gives a sense of reality to the stoTj and enables pupils to realize in imagination the events they read about.

Children's Limited Experience

It goes without saying, however, that no body of material can be chosen that is wholly based upon experiences common to all children. When the teacher finds a story, or an incident in a story, that deals with experiences foreign to some of the children, it must be made meaningful to them. There are many ways of giving such a passage significance and, therefore, vividness. The teacher recounts experiences of her own that are similar to those described in the story. She has seen what the characters in the narrative saw, or something quite like it; so she tells about it. She may directly, by means of objects, or indirectly, by means of pictures, supply the necessary concrete experience. Whatever method she employs, it is important that she should avoid the common mistake of assuming that the printed name of an object calls up to the children its appropriate mental picture, when in fact the word has no significance whatever. A safe maxim for the teacher, here, is "Be sure that the pupils have mental images corresponding to the words they read." City children are particularly limited in their sense training of objects in Nature, and the teacher is in danger of taking it for granted that such children have had experience which in reality is totally lacking.

In Parts Three and Four of this Manual, supplementary stories, verses, songs, games, projects, occupational work, etc., are suggested for use in connection with individual stories or story-groups. For convenience, these suggestions have been placed immediately following the Manual treatment of the basic story which they are intended to supplement. This additional material gives variety and enrichment to the work and offers enlarged exercise-ground for establishing the child in the mechanics of reading. At the same time it increases interest through new treatment of a theme that is already familiar.

Before taking up a new story, the teacher should consult the Manual treatment of both the basic and the supplementary stories. She will then be in a position to make her program in the light of all the data offered, drawing upon the supplementary material in the most advantageous way. It is not expected that the teacher will find time to use all the supplementary material suggested, but rather that selection may be made according to her needs and available time.

Games for Drill

Part Two of this Manual consists of games, suggested as a means of practice in silent reading and of making interesting the necessary drill upon the mechanics of reading. In Parts Three and Four reference is made by number to games in this list that are suited to the particular kind of drill required. These suggestions, however, are merely tentative. The teacher should feel free to draw upon any game in Part Two, whenever it seems suited to her needs.

Supplementary Equipment for Primer

The Elson-Eunkel Method is provided with a series of carefully prepared charts and sets of cards that add interest to the work and afford abundant opportunity for practice work in silent reading, and in mastery of sentences, phrases, words, and phonetics. This supplementary equipment consists of the following units :

PRICE

New Set I — Outline Pictures (9 cards, 18 pictures) $0. 35

New Set II — Letter and Phonogram Cards (69 cards — print and

script) 75

New Set III— Word Cards (295 words, 75 print and script) 3.50

New Set IV — Phrase Cards (phrases and group words) 2.00

New Set V — Seat Work Letter Cards (word builders), per doz. . . .60 New Set VI— Seat Work Sentence, Phrase, and Word Cards (12) .25 New Set VII-A— Seat Work— Silent Reading and Crayoning (10) .25 Pupil's Hand Chart — Pre-Primer Booklet (32 pages, illustrated

in colors) 12

New Wall Chart— 38 pp., illustrated 5.00

Phonetic Chart, A — (30 strips). For use with Book One also 2.00

New Teachers' Edition (Primer)— Complete, detailed manual ... 1.00

16'

A detailed description of each unit in this list, together with suggestions for its use, follows:

NEW SET I

This set consists of 18 large picture cards similar to the small reproduction here given. The cards furnish valuable drill in associating the visible object with its word sj^mbol. Various games (see page 175) are based upon the use of these cards. They also provide excellent models for free-hand cutting. The following list shows the subjects in the order of their use: