CALIF'ORNIA STA'l'E UNIVERSITY 1 NORTHRIDGE

THE EFFECTS OF TWO METHODS OF SIGHT VOCABULARY

INSTRUCTION ON RElilliNG ACHIEVENENT

IN FIRST GRADE

A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Ar:ts in

Education

by Janice Marie Osborn

August, 1974 (l •

The project of Janice Marie Osborn is approved:

California State University, Northridge

August, 1974

ii To my loving nami!y

iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to express my deep appreciation to Dr. Fehl Shirley, committee chairman, for her intelligent counseling, expert advice, and her dedication and kindness in construc­ tive criticism in the execution of this thesis.

To Dr. Vicki Sharp, I express my sincere gratitude for her htman understanding, assurance and expert statistical advice and assistance. Thanks, also, to Dr. Raymond Jung, for his thoughtfulness, time and aid in ·the completion of this study. My sincere appreciation to Dr. Grayce Ransom, founder of the Ransom Reading Program, whose multi-media and multi­ modal reading program was the stimulus for this thesis. My heartfelt thanks goes to both the reading resource teachers--Edna Read, Violet Savoie, Dorothy Benson, Cheryl Elm, Lettie Page, and to the cooperating first grade teachers--Barbara Campbell, Alene Fortune, Sarita Boyd, Ardel Calvert and Diana Grier. To Peggy McDonald, Elementary Supervisor, my apprecia­ tion for her cooperation in getting this study where it is today. For the assurance and understanding of my family and friends during the preparation and completion of this thesis, my deepest gratitude.

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

DEDICATION • • • • ...... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS •• . •...... iv LIST OF TABLES • ...... vii

ABSTRACT • • • • • • . . . • • viii

Chapter

I. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM • ...... 1 Introduction...... 1 Rationale for the Study • ...... 2 Statement of the Problem. . . . 4 Limitation of the Study • . . 5 Research Hypotheses • ...... 6 Definition of Terms ...... 6 Summary ••• ...... 9 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...... 10 Introduction...... 10 Controversial Views Concerning Sight Words. • • • • • • • • ...... 10 Methodologies in Teaching Sight Vocabulary • • • • • • • • • ...... 19

Studies on Growth in Sight Vocabulary ~ 20

Studies on the Use of the Language Master • 22 Use of Games in Reading • ...... 24

v Page

The Combined Use of "Wordo" and the Language Master to Present Sight Vocabulary • • • • • • . . . 26 Summary • • • • ...... 27 III. RESEARCH DESIGN AND PROCEDURES • 28 Introduction. • • • ...... 28 Teaching Procedures Employed...... 28 The Experimental Group. • . . . . 29 The Contr9l Group • • • ...... 31 Design of the Investigation • • . . . 32 Characteristics of the Sample • . . . 36 Equating of Groups...... 41 Summary • ...... 45 IV. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA. 47 Introduction...... 47 Treatment of the Data ...... 47 Presentation of the Data...... 48 V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS • 53 Summary • • • • ...... 53 Conclusions • ...... 55 Recommendations • ...... 56 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... • • • ...... 58 APPENDIX A WORDS USED IN THIS STUDY • • • ...... 64 GAMES USED BY CONTROL GROUP...... 70

vi LIST OF TABLES

TABLE Page

1. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Ethnic Background. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 37 2. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Aid to Families with Dependent Children. • • • • 39

3. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Persons in Families Living Below Poverty IJevel • 40

4. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Mean IQ Scores • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 42

5. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Mean Raw Reading Scores. • • • • • • • • • • 43

6. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Pre·treatement Mean Scores on Word Recognition and Comprehension. • • • • • • • • • • • • • 44

7. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Posttreatment Mean Scores of the WRAT Reading Subtest. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 49

8. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Posttreatment Vocabulary !-·lean Scores of Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading Test •••••••• ~ 50

9. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Posttreatment Comprehension Mean Scores of Gates MacGinitie Reading Test. • • • • • • • • • 52

vii ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects

of two different teaching methodologies on the sight vocab­

ulary and reading comprehension of first grade children.

The subjects in the experimental group learned sight

vocabulary through the use of the Bell and Howell I.anguage

Master and a game, "Wordo." The instructors of the control

group taught sight vocabulary directly to the children

through the use of the chalkboard, chart stories, flash

cards, and games.

The groups were randomized and equated through pre­

testing. There were no significant t ratios attained on

the pretest when the experimental and control groups were

compared on the reading subtest of the Wide Range Achieve­

ment Test and both the word recognition and comprehension

sections of the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading Test.

The experimental and control groups experienced their

respective treatments for six months. The differences in

the posttest mean scores were analyzed through the use of

the t test. The criterion measures were the reading subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test and the Gates MacGinitie

Primary Reading Test.

viii Q '

When the experimental group and the control group were compared on the posttest. of the reading subtest of the Wide

Range Achievement Test, the experimental group significantly out performed the control group at the .05 levele

The comparison of the control group and the experi­ mental group on the posttest of the word recognition section of the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading Test revealed that the experimental group established signifi­ cant growth at the .05 level.

When the experimental group and the control group were compared on the posttest of the comprehension section of the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading Test, the experimental group gained significantly more growth at the .05 level.

It would appear from the results of this study that the Language Master and "Wordo" are valuable tools in the presentation and learning of sight vocabulary for first graders.

ix CHAPTER I

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Introduction

Although the importance of children learning to read has never been questioned, it is only in recent years that

teachers have been fqced with a multitude of theories, tech- niques and audiovisual aids by which the skill of reading is said to be acquired and developed. New reading schemes have appeared on the market, theories of whether reading is caught or taught have been expounded and a mass of audio- visual aids such as the Language Master, Talking Page, and the Audio Page have emerged. Schools and local education authorities are constantly faced with publicity concerning thes,e new methods for which the claims usually made are that they are the answer to all the teachers' problems. The schools and authorities, however, have to decide whether they should provide the money to purchase such equipment.

If purchased, they need to decide for which children it is

0 likely to be must suitable. Schools, therefore, need to evaluate the equipment from two standpoints: first, the . primary importance of the acquisition of reading skills by all children, and second the misuse of techniques or the use of the wrong techniques may not only fail to help the

1 children but may in fact harm them. In addition, the cost

of equipment is high and the scarcity of resources neces-

si·tates that optimum use be made of the available resources.

Ration~le for the Study

In an attempt to facilitate and direct the course

of learning a teacher utilizes various materials as teach-

ing aids. These teaching aids provide the physical stimuli

which indicate to a student that certain responses are

appropriate. But for learning to take place, a student has

to make the appropriate responses. The use of "Wordo" and the Language Master incorporates

learning theory in accordance with Lumsdaine's (1960:518)

three conditions of stimulus response nature which are

conducive to learning. 1. Active participation. Through the game "Wordo" the learner is actively interacting with the curriculum materials by responding and practic­ ing with the vocabulary words.

2. Prompt feedback. After little delay the learner finds out if his response was correct thus per­ mitting immediate correction of an error. This is also an opportunity for reinforcement.

3. Individualization of instruction. The learner can move ahead at his own rate. The advantages of teaching machines stem from the effective application of the principles of reinforcement.

When an organism behaves, it acts upon the environment.

This changes the environment in some way. In turn, changes brought about in the environment feedback to the organism

and affect its future behavior. h"hen environmental feedback

strengthens the behavior which brought it about, the

organism has been reinforced (Lumsdaine & Glaser, 1960:207).

The importance of this immediate feedback was formu-

lated years ago by Thorndike (1932) as the "law of effect."

According to this law of learning, an action which leads to

a satisfactory result tends to be repeated~ Also B. F.

Skinner (1968) suggests that immediate reinforcement is

important in the learning process and that mechanical

devices fulfill the need for this immediate reinforcement.

Continuing in the same line of thought, Bush and

Huebner (1970:56-57) suggest that "words may be reinforced

by games and tachistoscopic exercises or by other audio-

visual aidso The important point is to get meaning, sight,

and sound together so that the child is launched on the road

to reading; the sight word response becomes automatic--a direct stilu111us-response." _,.,...... -~.-....,..,_.... , The use of the game 11 Wordo" and the Language Haster

incorporates various aspects of learning theory. However,

it is still important that evaluation be made of the effec- tiveness of the use of mechanical equipment and this game as opposed to other audiovisual aids in the classroom. Statement of the Problem

The problem in this study was: "'l'he Effects of Two

Methods of Sight Vocabulary Instruction on Reading Achieve­ ment in First Grade."

The purpose of the investigation was to determine the

success of a. technique using the Bell and Howell Language

Master and a game, "Wordo, .. in the presentation of new vocabulary. Did the use of "Wordo" and the Language Master

produce any significant differences in the vocabulary achievement of first.graders when compared to the teacher

presentation of reading vocabulary?

Nila Banton Smith (1955:440) states that word recogni­ tion "is the most fundamental of the reading skills.

Without ability to recognize words, the reading process cannot proceed."

The stock of written or printed words which a reader recognizes at a glance constitutes a sort of "word bank"

(Hildreth, 1958). The larger a reader's word bank, the more mature he is in his reading. Building the word bank is a cumulative process. It begins with the first contact with words and continues throughout the school years and as long as a person continues to read at all. The rate at which the word bank grows depends on a number of factors,one of which is the nature of the program by which he is being taught.

This study dealt with two different methods of teaching sight vocabulary for development of such a word bank. 5

!!imitation of the Study

The sample for this study was drawn from four elemen­

tary schools in Burbank Unified School District in Los

Angeles County. There were twenty-eight to thirty students

in each of the six intact first grade classrooms used in

the study.

A substantial amount of the children in both the con­

trol and experimental groups had Spanish Surnames. In

describing the socioeconomic status of the groups involved,

the AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) counts

were used. These statistics revealed that the control

schools had a lower percentage of families receiving finan­

cial aid than the experimental schools. Information concern­ ing persons in families living below poverty level showed

that all of the schools were comparable except for one of

the schools in the control group as shown in Table 3.

The independent variables were the two procedures employed to teach reading sight vocabulary during a six month period of the academic year 1973-74. The procedure

for the experimental group was a method for learning sight vocabulary using the game "Wordo" and the Language Master audiovisual equipment. The control group was introduced to the same new words by the teacher and use of chalkboard, chart stories and games. An attempt was made to control the following independent variables: teachers used in the study, amount of time spent in sight vocabulary instruction, age and sex. The covariates of intelligence quotient and 6

reading ability were used to match the experimental and control groups. The dependent variable in this study was the sight vocabulary and reading achievement of both groups as meas-

ured by the students' raw scores on the reading subtest of

the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) and the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading Test.

Research Hypotheses The intent of the study was to test and analyze the following null hypotheses: Hypothesis 1. There will be no significant difference between the control group and the experimental group on the sight vocabulary reading achievement posttest mean scores as measured by the reading subtest of the WRAT and the word recognition section of the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading Test. Hypothesis 2. There will be no significant difference between the control group and the experimental group on the comprehension reading achievement posttest mean scores as measured by the compre­ hension section of the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading Test.

Definition of Terms The following definitions were selected for this study: Achievement. Accomplishment or proficiency of per- forrnance in a given skill or body of knowledge (Good, 1959:7). 7

Sight Vocabular~> The words that the child immediately recognizes as he reads without resort to word analysis tech- niques (Good, 1959:602).

Language Master. A dual track recorder and speaker unit manufactured by Bell and Hmvell. The unit is activated by placing a specially designed card in a slot at the top of the machine. It is small enough to be used on a pupil's desk and can be equipped with head sets for one or more individuals. Toward the lower edge of the card is a strip of dual-track magnetic tape with a prerecorded word, phrase or sentence on one track. This prerecording relates to a word, or words printed on the top of the card. By pressing the bar labeled "Instructor, 11 the operator can hear the pre- recorded voice while he sees the visual stimuli on the card.

The operator can then press the bar labeled 11 Student" and can record his own voice response to the auditory visual stimuli presented. By reinserting the card, the learner can play back his response to check for accuracy or listen for reinforcement.

"Wordo." A game essentially the same as Bingo but is played with words. It consists of one large card, a pack of sixteen word cards for each child and a corresponding set of

Language Master vocabulary cards. To play this game each child has to use his three senses: visual, auditory and manipulative. The Language Master vocabulary card with words is partially inserted into the machine. The child sees the word as he hears it pronounced by the machine. 8

Each child then finds the matching word from his word cards which are displayed before him and then places it on the corresponding word on the large "Wordo" card. As he does this he repeats the word aloud. Then the button on the machine is pressed causing it to pronounce the word again.

The child knows immediately if he has said the word cor­ rectly and the learning of the word is reinforced. This game is played until the card is completely covered.

Approximately four or five children play this game at a time but it may be piayed individually.

Teacher Introduction Method.

1. Teacher introduces new words in phrases or

sentences on chalkboard or overhead projector.

2. Rereading.

3. Comprehension clues.

4. Striking characteristics of words.

5. Word-form clues.

6. Word-recognition check with g~~es.

7. Flash-card exercise.

8. Chalkboard exercise. Recognition of Words as Sight Words. A sight word is any word that a reader immediately recognizes when he encounters it in or out of context. This recognition is achieved without analyzing the word and usually without depending on the context in which it appears. The sight vocabulary in this sense refers to all words a reader recog-· nizes, regardless of the method by which he first identified 9

them (Tinker & McCullough, 1968)e

t Test. As stated by Elzey (1967:49), the t test is

"appropriate for comparing means of small samples when it is assumed the samples have been randomly selected and the scores come from normally distributed populations."

Summary

There is a need to evaluate the use of audiovisual aids first because of the acquisition of reading skills by children and because_the expense of equipment is high. With the added factor of the scarcity of funds, wise use must be made of finances that are available. This study was a comparison of the sight vocabulary achievement and reading comprehension of the experimental group that learned sight words through the use of the Language Master and "Wordo," and the control group which experienced the teacher intro­ duction method.

Chapter II presents a review of the literature. CHAl?TEH II

REVIEW O:E' 'l'HE LI'J'ERA'I'iJIU<;

Introduction In this chapter the controversial views concarn1Dg sight: words are ev.ident. Some autJ1o1:·i ties r.mggt:c.w:: the

irrrpor.i.:ance and special advantages of sight. ',;iOrds 1-Jhilc-; others reject this premise. There are various poiuts of v:L;;vl as to when. sight: t¥ords should be l.s9.rned by cl:dld:cenfi

in·;:; of sight vocabula.ry is also included. growth in sight vocabulary and on the use of the Language

I>1ast.er are reviewed. SincE-~ part uf the indept.mdent v;;.u:-iable in thf~ study ·Nas t.he g-ame, "h'o.rdo," discunsi>Jn of thB Vi:3.1uc~ of ga.rnes in learning is presr2.:11t.cd.

The fact that a high percentage of all beginnirg re&d-

well proven and demonstrated. the Loyo 1 ::1

Reading Clinic (Fry, 1960:38), samples of readjng material

10 11

up an average of 63 percent of the sample. These are

referred to as "Instant Words 11 because they must be recog- nized instantly before the child can gain real reading

facility. This means that more than half of all the words

a child encounters in reading texts during the first three years of his reading experience come from a list of only three hundred words. The same three hundred common words also comprise nearly one half of most adult reading materi;'il

--the front page of the daily newspaper, the magazines and popular books we read. It seldom dips below 40 percent, even in technical circles.

More so today than ever before, children begin to learn to read long before they enter the first grade. Television has contributed much to the program of children, and this is reflected in better reading among school children~ The child's first stage of a formal learning-to-read program is the acquisition of a basic sight vocabulary. Even in the programs that purport to teach first either the names of the letters or their sounds, it is nevertheless likely the child has begun reading by means of a sight vocabulary, if only his first name. He makes no attempt to analyze the word or recognize elements within it, but learns its configuration.

To this he usually adds the names of friends and today, the names of products advertised on television (Barbe, 1965). There are certain other wor~~at the child learns in much the same way. Many of these are among the two hundred and twenty words referred to as the Dolch words (Dolch, ...1 ?

1948). There is also a more recent study by Kucera and

Francis which is based on an analysis of Current American English (Johnson, 1971). They are words that are frequently used but do not necessarily follow any phonetic principle, nor can they be represented by a picture. Formal instruc- tion does not await the acquisition of these basic sight words~ Other methods of learning to read will be used con- currently, but some words are best learned by a sight method.

Persisting into the 1970's are controversial viewpoints concerning the idea that children learning to read should be taught, first of all, to recognize whole words or "sight" words. A survey of textbooks on the methodology of reading published since 1970 makes this clear. In a textbook on reading procedures, Durkin (1972:248) explains that "whole-word 11 identification "will enable a child to look at a word and say (think) it without going through any types of analyses." In reading sight words,

Harris and Smith (1972:158-59) profess the child "goes through no evident analytic process as his eye sweeps across each word." Karlin (1971:143-45) agrees that sight words

"are words which readers learn to recognize without having to analyze them."

In books published in the 1970's, exceptions to this idea of the impoxtance of sight words are rare. However,

Wilson and Hallss (1972:124) text for teachers and the text by Walcutt, Lamport and McCracken (1974) are among those who take exception. The text by Wilson and Hall designates 13 Q '

"sight vocabulary" only as those words developed after a

"prereading 11 period, a level at which the child learns to discriminate and name letters, match words, and "to identify words which are different only in the initial medial or final letters."

Walcutt, Lamport and McCracken (1974:143-44) suggest two major criticisms concerning sight words in beginning reading. First, the sight words that are introduced are quite likely to be irregularly spelled since the most common words in the language happen to be the ones that have the largest proportion of irregular spellings. This does not allow a first grader, who is just beginning to read, to make any simple inferences about the relations between letters and sounds. This may cause confusions in a begin- ning reader's mind. A second criticism is the confusion that sterns from the idea that a printed word stands for a meaning rather than for a sound.

The proper understanding--awareness--of the read­ ing act must begin with the knowledge that the printed word stands for a sound. If a child of six begins by learning a sentence in a way that makes the words stand for objects and actions~ he has as his first step learned something that he must totally unlearn before he can achieve awareness. The special advantages or values of sight words gener- ally are thought to be self-evident. Few modern writers take space in their books on reading methods to go beyond the basic defense made for sight words.

L--·············-······ --·---·---- .•.. ------·-···------··--···-- ·- 14

According to Bush and Huebner (1970:56) the beginning

reader "has to know them in order to begin analyzing words

and using other word-attack approaches to meaning and recog-

nition." Hafner and Jolly (1972:66,91) suggest that sight words are 11 Useful" since they form the "basis for studying phonetic and structural elements of words." Sight words

are needed, Daisy Jones (1971:31) argues, when the "phonetic principles involved are not yet within the child's grasp and he needs the word for immediate use."

Supposedly, it is also as easy for the beginning reader to learn to read sight words as it is to learn to identify letters (Zintz, 1970). Then, the learning of sight words is said to "minimize the time the child spends on word recog- nition," and thus acts "to get children reading immediately"

(Wallen, 1972:21). Sight words "keep meaning in the lime- light," and help "lead to immediate success in interpreta- tion of meaning" says Dechant (1970:215). Daisy Jones

(1971:63) states that it "lengthens the eye span, increases speed at the outset (and) gives the beginner early satis- faction ...

It is the opinion of Bond and Tinker (1967:311) that

• • • the importance of forming the habit of rapidly recognizing known words, rather than studying each word encountered as though it had never been seen before, cannot be empha­ sized too strongly. The child who fails to build a large sight vocabulary and who does not have the habit of recognizing these at a glance cannot hope to become an able reader. 15

According to Spache (1969:432)

• .. • intensive emphasis at primary grade levels pay dividends in increased sight and meaning vocabularies and improved comprehension. In fact at these early stages of development such training may appear to produce quite dramatic gains, insofar as these are measured by common vocabulary and reading tests.

Gray (1960:17) suggests that

••• for at least two reasons much of a child's early success in reading depends on his mastery of an initial stock of sight words: ability to identify these sight words enables him to read his pre-primers and primer fluently; he will also use his ever growing stock of sight words as a basis for understanding phonetic analysis and structural analysis.

The writer looked for research evidence to substantiate

the statements made in defense of sight words. Very few

authors venture to point out research to defend their state-

ments about sight words. However, DeBoer and Dallman

(1970:116) suggest that "confirmation of the value of a

whole-word method came from early eye-movement studies in

reading by Dearborn, Judd, Buswell and others." These

investigations indicated that "in a single fixation the

reader recognizes whole words and even phrases that have

become familiar to him through frequent exposure to them."

In departing from the prevailing opinion, Chall {1967)

voiced the first well-publicized rejection of the estab-

lished notion among most experts that in beginning reading

children first read words by sight. She pointed out that

.the acceptance of this assumption was seldom questioned

through the period covered by her study of reading practices. 16

In a study by Diack (1960:140) it was found that children \vho were learning to read words, gave ngreater attention" to the first letter or two; the middle letters were given less attention than any other part of the word.

This finding corroborated those of earlier research by

Gates and Boeker (1923) , Wiley (1928) , and Mary Hill (1936). Similar results were also found by Shankweiler and

Liberman (1972:314). Their evidence explains

• • • that children in the early stages of learn­ ing to read tend to get the initial segment correct and faii on subsequent ones because they do not have the conscious awareness of phonemic segmentation needed specifically in reading but not in speaking and listening.

One of the most useful studies for determining whether children read sight words was by Marchbanks and Levin

(1965). In their intricately designed study, kindergarten and first grade children matched a given pseudoword (for example, VEJAT) to one of five other pseudowords. Each of these five other words contained only one cue from the first word. They each were the same as the first word in only one way. For example, VEJAT was shown to the child. Now the child looked at the following five words. Beyond the first letter of these five words are the same as VEJAT only in the indicated way: VOPUF (shape); VETEP (second letter); VHJUO

(third letter) ; VUMAG {fourth letter) ; and VISHT (fifth letter). The child matched one word out of the five he thought was the same as VEJAT. It was found that the least- used cue in reading these pseudowords, and other three-letter 17 pseudowords, was shape. Shape was significantly less important than the next weakest cue, the fourth letter.

It is thus evident that there are controversial views concerning sight words.

The following studies to be discussed are concerned with two methods of teaching vocabulary: the systematic phonetic method and the look-say or sight word method.

This paper was not concerned about the effectiveness of one method over the other. These studies are cited only to point out that sight.words were found to be of importance in vocabulary achievement especially in beginning reading.

Harry Tate (1940) found that the look-say group scored higher on vocabulary and comprehension than the intrinsic phonics group.

Winch (1925) found that at the end of first grade the systematic phonics group scored higher on oral word recog­ nition and connected oral reading. On rate the look-say group scored higher.

Currier (1923) found that at the end of first grade the group with systematic phonics did better on oral words recognition and the look-say group achieved higher on comprehension, rate and fluency.

Henry Tate (1937) found that at the end of first grade the systematic phonics group scored higher on vocabulary but the look-say group scored higher on comprehension. 18

Other similar studies were conducted by Valentine

(1913), Gill (1912), Gates and Russell (1938} and Sexton and Herron (1928).

The previous studies comparing the look-say and sys- tematic phonics method all occurred before 1930. After the 1930's, people asked how much and what kind of phonics, rather than whether to teach phonics. Jean Chall analyzed twenty-five studies that compared systematic programs which taught phonics early and systematically, and intrinsic phonics programs which stressed sight or thought reading, introduced phonics later, and taught a more moderate amount of it. Jean Chall (1967:109-115) summarized the studies as follows:

Few investigators tested oral reading, but of those who did, all but one found the systematic­ phonics group superior to the intrinsic-phonics group. Gates (1927) differed; he found both groups approximately equal. Most studies reported that children who were exposed to systematic phonics did better on standardized silent vocabulary tests at the end of grades 1, 2 and 3 than children who were learn­ ing from an intrinsic-phonics program. Starting with grade 4, the evidence is more limited and also less clear-cut.

The few studies that tested rate do not indi­ cate any clear-cut trends. A systematic-phonics emphasis seems to have produced slower rates in grades 1 and 2, but not to have affected rate negatively in qrades 3 and 4. 19

Methodologies in Teachin~ ~i9ht Vocabulary

The teaching of reading has seen the championing of various methods as the most effective for the teaching of word-recognition skillso Robert Mills (1956) conducted a study to determine the teaching method most effective in teaching word recognition to various types of individuals.

The four basic methods used in this study were: the visual, the phonic, the kinesthetic, and a combination of the three.

The subjects were thirty-nine boys and nineteen girls in grades t\-10 and four. Standard teaching procedures were used so that each subject had the same variety of activities for each method and in the same order as every other subject. All of the conclusions reached by Mills were based on the 5 percent level of confidence. The study showed con- elusively that different children learn to recognize words more efficiently by different teaching methods and that no one method is best for all children.

Using the same methods, JoAnn Dauzat (ERIC: 055 745) conducted a study very similar to that of Mills but was concerned with the best method of teaching word recognition to disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged children. She con- eluded that nondisadvantaged students performed better than disadvantaged students on all four methods. No one best method for teaching word recognition to disadvantaged stu- dents was found. 20

The 1964-65 United States Office of Education coopera- tive first grade studies (Dykstra, 1968) failed to establish any one method of beginning reading instruction as being superior to all other approaches. In general, there was more variability in achievement among pupils taught by teachers using a given method than there was between groups of pupils taught by different methods. This assists in verifying the data which attests to the fact that the teacher is the most important variable in any learning situation.

In part of Nila Banton Smith•s (1955:445) summary on

"What Research Tells Us About Word Recognition 11 she stated:

It cannot be assumed that all children need phonics. It would be well to give more attention to both visual and auditory discrimination in teaching all types of word recognition.

Studies on Growth in S1ght Vocabulary

Following a readiness program in which the names and sounds of letters have been learned, a child in the first grade acquires a sight vocabulary. Growth in this vocabulary is dependent upon many factors including the rate at which new words are introduced, the difficulty of the words, the methods of presentation and the provision for adequate practice.

Gardella (1946), Maiorano (1945), Smith (1941), and

Sullivan (1946) provided systematic review of primer and first reader vocabularies, using context clues given orally 21

by t.he teacher, as the words were flashed in a t.achistoscope.

Prario (1945) used a similar procedure for introducing new

vocabulary at the primer level. Each word was presented

three timese The first time the context gave an obvious clue, the second a partial clue and the third no clue at all.. The practice was continued for twenty days in all of the studies. The comparison of the reading scores of the children in the control group who were following standard basal reader procedure with those in the experimental group showed differences favoring the experimental groups in all of the studies, those of Gardella, Smith and Sullivan being statistically significant. The difference in the Maiorano study was substantial, but not statistically significant.

In the Prario study, the children taught by the standard basal reader procedure had fewer errors than those taught by the experimental method. The quick perception method showed no value for initial teaching. Ash (1950) and others, Betcher and Tupper (1955), Day

(1961) and others and Cox (1956) and others provided sys­ tematic review for the vocabulary of first grade basal series through meaningful word practice. The children read from flash cards silently and showed their answers using cards. The words were then said orally. Some exercises used single words, some phrases, and some asked questions.

All were planned to be fun. The Betcher material had only an informal try-out, the others were tried experimentally.

The exercises in each case were taught for five minutes a 22 day for thirty consecutive days. Achievement was measured on the Detroit Word Recognition Test for Grade One. The mean gain for the experimental group in the Cox study, which included three hundred and thirty~three children in twelve classrooms" was 11.25 words compared with 5.45 words for the control group. In the Ash study the mean gain for the experimental group was 6.39 words compared with 4.65 words for the control group. There were no differences between the achievement of the boys and girls in any of the studies.

Studies on the Use of the Language Master

A study (Berkin:l970) of the use of the Bell and Howell

Language Master Audio-Visual Instructional System over a five month period in teaching English as a second language to school children showed that they learned English faster than did a comparison group who were taught without this system. The study also revealed that when tested four months later, the first group was still ahead of the com- parison group.

The study incorporated a test given at three intervals and a series of classroom observations. The experimental and control groups of students of one hundred and thirty- eight and eighty respectively were drawn from the second, fourth and sixth grades and from the general high school level. The most dramatic gains were registered by the experimental group between the pretest and the posttest in the fourth and sixth grades. On the scale employed in this 23

study, this group gained more than one full level, in con­

trast to the control students who made an average improve­ ment of less than one-half a scale level. In the second grade, the improvement of more than one full level was

identical in both groups. In the high schools, neither group gained more than one-half a scale level. The.classroom observations included in this study indicate that the children appeared to be stimulated by the Language Master System; even after five months, when the novelty has typically worn off, the students were still actively using it.

In another study two first grade teachers identified thirteen pupils in their classroom who were having serious difficulty with reading. The children selected by the teachers were tested by the school psychologist using the

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Auditory Sequenc­ ing subtest of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abili­ ties. ·The Spache Diagnostic Reading Scales were given to each child in the experimental group by the special reading teacher. After all testing was completed the instructional pro­ gram was inaugurated. Children were grouped in pairs and each pair was assigned to a Language Master. A Kansas State

University student teacher was also assigned to each Language

Master as a monitor, facilitator, and selector of materials.

Each child was given two periods per week consisting of forty-five minutes each on the machine. Cards available to 24 be selected for use were nouns, phrases and simple sentences, sen·tences based on the Ginn Reading Series, and verbs.

After eight weeks of instruction the program was ter- minated and the group was again tested using the same personnel and tests. The results showed that a significant difference at the .05 level was made in the word recognition ability of the group as measured by the Spache Diagnostic

Reading Scales, Word List 1. A significant difference at the .OS level was made in the group's receptive language and auditory sequencing ability as measured by the Peabody

Picture Vocabulary Test and the Illinois Test of Psycho- linguistic Abilities respectively. A positive change was made in the group's attention to reading instruction as observed by the regular classroom teacher.

Use of Games in Reading

It was suggested by Shankman (1968:262} that

• • • games can be used to reinforce many dif­ ferent reading skills. They are an incentive for learning vocabulary, phonics, word structure and sight words. Most of the professional texts on the teaching of reading recommend using games to reinforce the reading skills in an interesting way.

Strang (1957:177) found games

• • • especially valuable in providing practice for individuals deficient in certain specific word recognition, vocabulary, paragraph reading and other skills.

According to Harris (1961:290}, "many kinds of drill can be disguised as games, becoming play rather than dis- tasteful work. " 25

Smith {1963:176) stated that

• • • interest is a strong factor in acquiring new words in a reading vocabulary, and variety in game-playing keeps interest high. Focusing pleas­ urable attention on word forms through the use of games in which the words are repeated orally is a method widely used by primary teachers in fixing sight words. Of course, such games are used more extensively in beginning reading classes than elsewhere because children at this stage have not yet developed ability to attack words independently are are largely dependent upon memory. Interest is a touchstone to reading achievement, read- ing enjoyment, and reading usefulness. Psychologists have long recognized interest as a basic factor in the learning process. Using games to learn words or reinforce words previously learned stimulates more interest in reading.

Thorndike (1932) placed strong emphasis upon interest and suggested that interest is being in a state of readiness to undertake a learning experience. W. F. Hill (1956) suggests that motivation can be found in the activity itself. This is related to intrinsic motives, that is motives that reside in the task itself rather than external to it. This motive is important in school learning. Thus by using the game

"Wordo" and the Language Master it is hoped that a child's interest, which is so important to learning, can be captured and that the child would be motivated enough by the activity of the task to learn reading words.

Linda Jones (1971:41-46) states that

• • • if the motivation and attitude of the learner is an important factor in learning, if what is learned in pleasure is remembered, and because students of all ages seem to enjoy games and game- type activities, it behooves reading teachers to 26

incorporate a game approach to the teaching of reading, especially in remedial reading.

In a suburban school district of Denver, Colorado, the

teachers assembled a useful collection of commercial and

teacher-constructed games in a Title I Reading Program.

The teachers used the games for (1) reinforcement of skills, (2) optional activities for students who finish assignments

early, and (3) as rewards in reading contracts. They found

there was added interest and enthusiasm in the reading pro-

gram. By means of games and game-type activities, reading

and enjoyment became associated, with a concomitant increase

in reading ability and interest in reading. The games them-

selves may not produce significant differences in learning,

but they do generate enthusiasm and a positive attitude,

which are essential to growth in reading.

The Combined Use of "Wordo 11 and the Language Haster to Present S1ght Vocabulary

Dr. Grayce Ransom initiated the method of using "Wordo '' and the Language Master to present vocabulary. Since this

is rather new, there has not been any studies done to reveal

statistical evidence concerning its affects. In an inter- view with Dr. Ransom on July 9, 1973, she stated that she and many teachers in her research school believe that this method combining the aural, visual and manipulative is the key to reading improvement in their schools. General evi­ dence, which is revealed in higher scores on reading tests, indicates that the program has been effective. Dr. Ransom Q •

f:.::n: .r:t:rst g1:aders. After mast,ering the vocabulary t.hrough

n~•Io.rdo ,. ~~ children are capable of reading their t~ext with

ease. This provides a successful experience for a child,

provides encouragement and s·timulation, and enhances inter~ est. in reading.

The controversy concerning the teaching of sight words has been demonstr<:tted. Commentaries and evidence indicated the importance of sigh·t \'lOrds in the early grades. Because diffex:ent. children l(~arn to recognize words· most efficiently by dif:ferent. teaGhing methods, the classroom teadv~:c must

group inst:ruct:ioniil techniq~.xes 9 ~rhe us~.~ of the Languzv;;e

!-1ast.f!r \vas :t.:)und to be helpful for first graders havin.g

Langu.o.gc) stu.dents. 'rhe value of games in the learning process was supported by authorities. The combined utiliza- ti.on of the Language H<1Ster and "Hordo 11 in t.each1.ng word recognit.ion has indicated effect.ive rc~sults. 'I'!:u:~ research dosit;:;n and procE·du.reE are found in Chapter III. CHAPTER III

RESEARCH DESIGN AND PROCEDURES

Introduction

The basic purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Bell and Howell Language Master and

"Wcrdo" for presenting sight words. It dealt with the effects of two differing methodologies on first grade chil­ dren's sight vocabulary achievement and reading comprehen­ sion as measured by the reading subtest of the Wide Range

Achievement Test (WRAT) and the Gates MacGinitie Primary

Reading Test. The mean differences in the raw scores of the pretest and posttest were analyzed through the use of the t test. The present chapter will describe the two teaching methodologies employed in the study, the instruments and procedures that were developed and the identification of data sources and population.

Teaching Procedures Employed

In this study two differing techniques of teaching reading vocabulary were employed. The word list may be found in Appendix A. The subjects in the experimental group learned their reading vocabulary with the use of a mechan­ ical device and a game. The teachers of the control group taught vocabulary words directly to the children through the

28 29

use of the chalkboard, chart stories, flash cards, games,

and. so forth. After the pretesting both groups experienced

their respective treatments for the next six months.

Sometime during the reading period each child in the

study spent approximately ten minutes per day studying or

learning new reading vocabulary--sometimes a little more but

the time did not exceed more than one hour total during the

week. Since the teachers were using the Harper and Rowe

Reading Series as the basic text, each student was exposed

to the same basic sight words in the order presented in the

texts. The difference was the manner in which the students

in the classrooms learned the new words.

Six teachers were utilized in the study in an attempt

to control the teacher variable. All of the teachers volun­

teered to participate in the project, were tenured and had

at least three years experience. The teachers used the same methodology that they had been using. The equipment and

game had been previously used in the experimental classrooms

so there was little chance of the novelty effect being present.

The Experimental GrouE

The experimental group used the Language Master and

0 Wordo 11 to learn new reading vocabulary and practice their words. The materials needed for this were a Language Master, a large vocabulary card for each subject with sixteen words printed on it, a pack of sixteen small word cards for each 30 child and one corresponding set of language master vocabu­ lary cards. The Language Master is about the size of a small typewriter and it is placed on the table8 Each child puts his individual word cards around the edge of his big "Wordo" card. The game is played essentially the same as

Bingo. To play this game the subjects had to use their three senses: visual, auditory and manipulative. 'I'he

Language Master vocabulary card is a flash card w·ith a ":.. 'lord printed on the front and a strip of magnetic recording tape along the bottom. The card is placed into the machine, a button is pressed and it moves across the machine reproduc­ ing orally the word printed on the vocabulary card. The subject sees the word as he hears it pronounced by the machine. Each child then finds the matching word from his word cards which are displayed before him and then places it on the corresponding word on the large "Wordo" card. As he does this he repeats the word aloud. Then the button on the machine is pressed causing it to pronounce the word a second time. The child knows immediately if he has said the word correctly and the learning of the word is reinforced.

The subject may also press a button which allows him to record the printed matter, play back his answer and then compare it to the machine's. This game is played until the card is completely covered. Approximately four students play this game at a time, but it may be played individually. 31

The Contr?l Group

The teachers utilized various methods of establishing a sight vocabulary with the control group. The teacher did not always use each of the steps to be described but varied the method according to the needs of the children and tried to keep the students motivated by variation. The researcher noted that the teacher also used contextual analysis in establishing a sight vocabulary.

Introduction. New words used in phrases or sentences were introduced by the teacher on the chalkboard or overhead projector. Group discussion followed in which the new word was used informally with the same meaning it had in the story the pupils were about to read.

Rereading. The children read the sentences aloud as the teacher emphasized the new words.

Comprehension clues. Meaning was attached to form after the teacher asked questions concering the sentences or phrases. She might ask if a pupil could find, frame and read the line that tells where someone lives. The child had to think the meaning of the word to identify it from the clue the teacher gave. Word-recognition check. This was done by the playing of simple games (Appendix B). The teacher might point to a new word and the children would stand if they could read the word. The teacher spot checked by having different children say the word aloud. 32

Flash-card exercisee The teacher flashed cards of different words in the sight vocabulary of the children and added to them the new words she had just introduced& The students were given the opportunity to build a story with the flash cards in the pocket chart. The children then practiced reading the stories.

Chalkboard exercise. This is similar to the pocket chart exercise. Instead of a story, however, it may be a set of statements to be approved, disapproved and changed orally.

Striking characteristics of words. While acquiring a sight vocabulary, a child might learn a word by noting a striking characteristic such as the "tail" at the end of the word monkey.

Word clues. Many words have distinctive shapes or configurations which may become important clues to recog­ nition such as the word apple.

Design of the Investigation

All of the classrooms were administered the reading subtest of the WRAT and the Gates MacGinitie Reading Test

Primary A as a pretest in the fall of 1973 and then again as a posttest during the spring of 1974. The students were tested during their normal reading time. Since the schools used in this study were on divided opening, there were only half of the children present during the testing period. 3.3

The tests were administered by the investigator and the

reading resource teachers who were assigned to the schools

in the study. In administering the tests they followed

instructions exactly as given in the Testing Manual accom­

panying the tests.

The Gates MacGinitie Reading Test Primary A was given

to all six classrooms. Form 1 was given during the last two weeks of October, 1973 and Form 2 was given as a post­

test during the last week of March and the first week of

April, 1974.

The test had two sections, vocabulary and comprehension.

The first section, word recognition, measured the degree to which pupils could identify with reasonable accuracy repre­ sentative primary words. The test consisted of forty-eight items, each of which included a picture and four words. The task was to identify and encircle the word that tells most about the picture. The first exercises were composed of the easy and most commonly used words, but gradually became more difficult. Fifteen minutes was allowed for this section.

The second section, comprehension, measured the stu­ dents' ability to read and understand whole sentences and paragraphs composed of words most commonly used in the primary grades. The test consisted of thirty-four passages and comprehension was measured by the pupils' ability to identify and mark one of several pictures which accurately illustrated the meaning of a given passage. The passages were so arranged that they gradually increased in difficulty,

as determined by the decreasing frequency and importance of the words used and by the length of the sentences. This section had to be completed in twenty-five minutes.

In Buros' (1965) The Sixth Mental Measurements Yearbook,

William Eller reviewed the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading

Tests. He suggested that the Gates MacGinitie Primary

Reading Test would continue to be regarded favorably by teachers and administrators for certain practical reasons:

{1) all three tests can be administered in a total of forty minutes plus explanation time; (2) the items require ex- aminee activities that teachers consider to be valid measure of primary reading skill; (3) information concerning norms is plent~iful and easy to interpret.

In the same review Eller stated that teachers and supervisors who have used the Gates MacGinitie Primary Read- ing Tests for several years

• • • report that they are easy to administer because the directions in the manual are clear and complete and because the examiner does not have to possess much sophistication about meas­ urement. Test users in the field also comment that the tests correlate well with other measures of reading ability, including overall appraisals by classroom teachers. (p. 1064)

The Test Manual (1965) of the Gates MacGinitie Reading

Tests provides information on both the alternate-form and the split-half reliabilities. Both types of reliabilities are based on the separate testing of five communities which were tested in January, 1965. The testing was done under 35 typical classroom conditions by an examiner designated by the school--usually the classroom teacher. Using the alter­ nate form, the reliability coefficients for the Gates

MacGinitie Reading Test Primary A are e86 for vocabulary and .83 for comprehension. The split-half reliability coef­ ficients are .91 for vocabulary and .04 for comprehension.

The WRAT was also given in the fall of 1973 and then again as a posttest in the spring of 1974. This test pro­ vides scores in: reading, "recognizing and naming letters and pronouncing words"; spelling and arithmetic. Only the reading subtest of the WRAT was used in this study. The reading subtest consists of the following parts:

At the prereading level--

1. Naming two letters in previously written or

printed name.

2. Identifying ten letters by form.

3. Naming thirteen letters of the alphabet.

At the reading level--

4. Pronouncing seventy-five words. Level I for ages five to eleven was used as both a pretest and a posttest. All parts of the reading subtests were administered individually. In the section on pronounc­ ing words the examiner points to a word and the subject says it aloud. The first time an error is made, the student is asked to say the word again. His response is scored right if he corrects himself on the second trial. From then on, the first response is scored as either right or wrong, 36

unless the student spontaneously corrects the error he has

made. In the word pronouncing test the task is stopped

after twelve consecutive failures.

According to the Test Manual, the reliability coef­

ficient for the reading subtest of the WRAT is .986 for six­ year-olds. The standard error of measurement is 1.36. At

the seven year age level the standard error of measurement

is 1.05 and the reliability coefficient is .993.

During the fourth week of October, 1973, the investi­ gator administered the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test Form

J to both groups. The Otis-Lennon tests are designed for use with classroom groups and may easily be administered by the classroom teacher. This test was used to determine the mean intelligence quotient for both groups.

Characteris·tics of the Sample.

Six first grade classrooms from the Burbank Unified

School District in California were used in this study. The four schools involved in the study were: William McKinley, Joaquin Miller, Bret Harte and Providencia. The experimental group was made up of two classrooms from McKinley School and one from Miller School. The control group consisted of two classrooms from Bret Harte and one from Providencia. Table

1 helps to describe the ethnic background of the schools

~sed in the study. It can be seen by Table 1 that both the control and experimental schools had comparable ethnic backgrounds. 37

Table 1 Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Ethnic Background

Percent School Span1.sh Surname Total M1.nor1.ty Experimental Group

Miller 26.0 27.7

McKinley 32.9 35.7

Control Group

Bret Harte 10.3 10.9 Providencia 11.7 11.7 38

The subjects in this study were from six intact first

grade classrooms of twenty-eight to thirty students. The

students were in the normal first grade range of six to

seven years of age. The enrollment varied because of tran­

siency. During the study a total of one hundred and ninety­ two students were tested but only the subjects that were

present for both the pretest and the posttest are included

in the study. Absenteeism and transiency was a variable

that could not be controlled. The control group had thirty­

three boys and forty~two girls. The experimental group

consisted of thirty-eight boys and thirty girls.

Tables 2 and 3 assist in describing the neighborhood

and class of homes of the children involved in the study.

However, the specific numbers and percentages given in the tables are the total for each school and do not necessarily

reflect the exact percentage for the classrooms studied.

Although all schools had families receiving financial assistance, the statistics in Table 2 reveal that the con­ trol schools had a lower percehtage of families receiving financial aid than did the experimental schools. Information concerning persons in families living below poverty level in each of the schools' district, as seen in

Table 3, show that all of the schools were comparable except for Bret Harte. 39

Table 2

Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Aid to Families with Dependent Children

AFDC School Counts Percent

Experimental Group

Miller 79 12.5

McKinley 105 16.0

Control Group

Bret Harte 26 4.1

Providencia 13 4.2 40

Table 3

Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Persons in Families Living Below Poverty Level

School Persons Percent

Experimental Group

Miller 384 60.7

McKinley 516 78.4

Control Group

Bret Harte 151 23.9

Providencia 191 62.4 41

~auating of Groups

The experimental group had a mean intelligence quotient score of 101.34 while the mean intelligence quotient score of the control group was 102.57.

Table 4 shows that there was no significant level of difference in intelligence quotient scores between the experimental and control groups. The scores are based upon the administration of the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test

Form J.

The control and-experimental groups were found to be comparable in reading ability. Table 5 shows the mean raw scores for the first graders at the schools being studied.

It is concerned with the comparison of the mean reading scores for both the experimental and control groups. Using the California Cooperative Primary Reading Test (First Grade

Form 12-A) as a measure, there is no significant difference between the subjects of the experimental and control groups as to reading ability.

It was also necesary to determine whether the children in both groups were comparable in sight vocabulary achieve­ ment and reading comprehension at the outset of the study.

The reading subtest of the WRAT and the Gates MacGinitie

Primary Reading Test were used as measure of comparability.

Table 6 shows the results of the t values for the comparison of the pretreatment mean scores for both the' control and experimental groups. 42

Table 4

Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Mean IQ Scores

Group Mean S.D.

Experimental 101.34 9.12 .353* Control 102.57 8.38

*Nonsignificant at .05 level. 43

Table 5

Comparison of.Experimental and Control Groups: Mean Raw Reading Scores

Group Mean S.D. t

Experimental 25.1 5.46 .156 Control 25.33 5.69 44

Table 6

Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Pretreatment Mean Scores on Word Recognition and Comprehension

Group Mean S.D. t

WRAT Reading Subtest

Experimental 23.40 8.10 .283* Control 23.76 6.70

Gates MacGinitie Word Recognition

Experimental 14.99 7.52 .141* Control 15.16 6.64

Gates MacGinitie Comprehension

Experimental 6.79 3.96 .225* Control 7.00 6.70

*Nonsignificant at the .05 level. 45

Using the reading subtest of the WRAT and the word

recognition section of the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading

Test as a measure, the results of the analysis in Table 6

reveal that there were no significant differences in the

sight vocabulary achievement between the experimental and

controi groups at the beginning of the study.

The results of the analysis in Table 6 also show that

there were no significant differences in the comprehension

achievement between the control and experimental groups at

the beginning of the study as measured by the comprehension

section of the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading Test.

Since the control and experimental groups were found to

be comparable by statistical analysis on the pretreatment

mean scores, the difference in the findings on the post­

treatment mean scores should reflect the experimental factor.

Summary

This chapter discussed the design of the study. The

procedures employed for the control and experimental groups

were discussed and the tools of measurement were described.

The comparability of the two groups involved, the control

and the experimental, regard to size, intelligence, reading

ability, ethnic background and socioeconomic status were

shown. It also showed that the students of both groups had insignificant differences in sight vocabulary achieve­ ment and comprehension at the beginning of the study. It 46 was felt that since the two groups were comparable, the results would reflect the experimental factor. Chapter IV will discuss the results obtained. CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE DATA

Introduction

The research design and the procedures for gathering and analyzing the data have been described. In the present chapter the results are presented; there is discussion of the statistical techniques used; and the data were analyzed and sum..."na.rized. The results of the hypotheses are given in this chapter.

Treatment of the Data

In order to test the hypotheses, it was necessary to make certain that the randomization procedures had succeeded in equating the experimental and control groups involved in the study~ As was shown by Tables 4 and 5, the experimental and control groups had no significant differences in their intelligence quotients and reading ability. Table 6 re­ vealed that at the outset of the study the t'Vto groups had no significant difference in sight vocabulary achievement and comprehension. The results of these analyses indicate that the two groups were equivalent; thus, Tables 7, 8 and

9 will reflect the experimental factor.

The t test for uncorrelated data was used to compare the posttreatment mean scores for the control and

47 48

experimental groups. The level of significance necessary

to reject the null hypotheses was set at the .05 level.

Each hypothesis was treated independently. When the t

ratio was found to be significant for a given hypothesis,

the null hypothesis was rejected.

Presentation of the Data

!!XPOthesis 1. The null hypothesis stated that there would be no significant difference between the control group and the experimental.group on the sight vocabulary reading achievement posttest mean scores. The teacher introduced new sight words to the control group using chart stories, flashcards, games, and so forth. The experimental group became acquainted with new sight vocabulary through the use of the Language Master and "Wordoo" The statistical data in Table 7 and 8 show the results of the t tests.

The posttreatment mean scores for the control and experimental groups were compared by a t test. Tables 7 and 8 show that the results of this comparison was signifi­ cant at the .OS level of significance. It becomes evident from an examination of the t values in the previous two tables that the experimental group had established signifi­ cant growth in sight vocabulary achievement at the .05 level of significance over the control group. Therefore, Hypothe­ sis 1 was rejected beyond the .OS level of significance.

The experimental group made higher gains in sight vocabulary as measured by the reading subtest of the WRAT and the word Table 7

Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Posttreatment Mean Scores of the WRAT Reading Subtest

Group Mean S.D. t

WRAT Reading Subtest

Experimental 37.92 8.78 2.77* Control 34.19 6.77

*p < .OS. 50

Table 8

Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Posttreatment Vocabulary Mean Scores of Gates MacCinitie Primary Reading Test

Group Mean S.D. t

Gates MacGinitie Primarx: Reading

Experimental 34.55 10.74 3.46* Control 28.45 10.20

*p < .05. 51

recognition section of the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading Test.

!!Y.f~::_t~}}~S ~0 The null hypothesis stated t.hat there would be r;o significant difference between the control group

a.nd t.he experimental group on comprehension reading achieve-· ment post test mean scores. The follmving table shm·m the

results of the t tests.

Again t.he posttreatmen·t mean scores for the control

and experimental group •,vere cornpared by a t test~ The statistical data in Table 9 reveals that the resul t.:s of t;h:i.s

cotnpar:·ist)n ~,1ere significarrt: at: tl1e . 05 level. of signif:i.. can.c<~ $

Aft.er examination of the :!:_ value, it is evident that the experim<:n1t.al group gained significan·t grO'Vlth in reading compJ:::'(:!hensi.on achievement at the • 05 level of signif:icanc:c.; over tJH~ control group. As measmred by the comprehenElion section of th(~ Gates MacGini tie Primary Reading Test, thE.~ experime.nt.a.l qroup ma.de more significant gains in compre- hension t:hr.:':t t:he control group. Thus, Hypothesis 2 was

~ ~ .t: f1 reject.ed beyond the • 05 level of s 1.gn 1. :r :tc a nee* 52

Table 9.

Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups: Posttreatment Comprehension Mean Scores of Gates ·MacGinitie Reading Test

Group Mean S.D. t

Gates MacGinitie Cornerehension

Experimental 19.19 6.82 4.88* Control 13.65 6.43

*p < . 05. CHAPTER V

SU~U\RY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

This study investigated the effects of two different procedures of sight vocabulary presentation on the sight vocabulary and reading comprehension achievement of first graders. The significance of the present study was based on the assumptions that (1} first grade students receiving instruc­ tion in sight vocabulary with the use of the Language Master, a mechanical device, and "Wordo," a game, would signifi­ cantly improve their sight vocabulary mean scores on reading subtest of the WRAT and the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading

Test when compared with the control group; and (2) would also result in significantly higher comprehension mean scores when compared to the control group.

The subjects were one hundred and forty-three first grade students from the Burbank Unified School District.

The sample was randomly divided with seventy-seven in the control group and sixty-six in the experimental group. The two groups were equated by means of intelligence quotient scores and reading ability as achieved on the Otis-Lennon

Mental Ability Test and the California Cooperative Primary

53 54

Reading Test. A pretest-posttest design was chosen with the use of a t test to compare the two samples.

The reading subtest of the WRAT and both sections, word recognition and comprehension, of the Gates MacGinitie

Primary Reading Test were used for the pretest and posttest.

Tv1o alternate forms of the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading

Test were used for the pretest and posttest.

Following the pretests both classrooms experienced their respective treatments for the next six months. The subjects in the experimental group learned their sight read­ ing vocabulary by playing the game, "Wordo," and using the

Language Master mechanical device. The teachers of the control group taught sight words directly to the subjects through the use of the chalkboard, chart stories, flash cards, games, and so forth.

The t test was applied to test the hypotheses. In each instance the level of significance necessary to reject the null hypothesis was set at the .05 level. Each hypothesis was treated independently.

Null Hypothesis 1 was rejected. There was a signifi­ cant difference between the control group and the experi­ mental group on the sight vocabulary posttest mean scores.

The experimental group established significant growth in sight vocabulary achievement in comparison to the control group.

Null Hypothesis 2 was rejected. There was a signifi­ cant difference between the control group and the 55

experimental group on comprehension achievement posttes·t

mean scores. 'l'he experimental group gained significantly

more growth in reading comprehension achievement than the

control group.

Conclusions

The findings of the present study indicate that both

the experimental and control groups made mean score gains

in sight vocabulary and comprehension reading achievement.

However, when the experimental and control groups were com­

pared the experimental group made significantly greater

growth at the .05 level of significance than the control

group in both sight vocabulary and reading comprehension.

There were no significant t ratios attained on the

pretest when the experimental and control groups were com­

pared on the reading subtest of the WRAT and both the word

recognition and comprehension sections of the Gates

MacGinitie Primary Reading Test$

When the experimental group and control group were compared on the posttest of the reading subtest of the WRAT, the experimental group significantly out performed the control group.

The comparison of the control group and the experimen­ tal group on the posttest of the word recognition section of the Gates MacGinitie Primary Reading Test revealed that the experimental group significantly out performed the control group. 56 Q •

w~en the experimental group and the control group were compared on the posttest of the comprehension section of the Ga·tes MacGinitie Primary Reading Test, the experi­ mental group significantly out performed the control group. It would appear from the results of this study that the Language 1-.iaster and 11 Wordo 11 are valuable tools in the presentation of sight vocabulary to first graders. In addition to the Language Master being beneficial to the students, tb.e potential usefulness of this media as a means to ~conomize teacher time cannot be ignored.

Recommendations The following recommendations could be used for further study: 1. Differ-ent reading achievement tests could be used

other thap the Gates ~mcGinitie Primary Reading Test and the reading subtest of the WRAT. The Spache Diagnostic Reading Scales, the Gilmore Oral Reading Test, and other tests, might have measured sight vocabulary achievement more accurately. 2. Other grade levels should be studied to discover whether the use of the Language Master and "Wordo" would be as useful in teaching sight reading vocabulary. 57

3. This technique might be used wi·th students of

various achievement levels to determine whether

it is more beneficial with any certain group of

children. 4. Varying groups of socioeconomic levels should be

studied to determine the effects of this technique.

5. The present study could be replicated to verify

the results found in this investigation. BIBLIOGRAPHY

58 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Barbe, Walter B. (ed.). Teaching Readings: Selected Hat.erials. New York: Oxford University Press, 1965. Berkinv Ruth. A ,study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Bell and Howell·Language Master Audio-Visual Instruc­ tional System. New York: '.rhe Center for Urban Educa­ tion, 1970.

Betcher, Florence and Tupper, Clara L. A review of first grade vocabulary using silent reading. Unpublished Master's thesis, University of Boston, 1959. Bond, Guy and Tinker, Miles. Reading Difficulties: Their Diagnosis and Correction.-- Ne\>l York: ~1eredi t.h Pubiish~ng Company, 1967~ Buras, Oscar K. (ed.). The Sixth Mental Measurements Yearbook. Highland Park, New Jersey!~he Gryphon Press, 1965.

Bush, Clifford and Huebner, Mildred. Strategies for Readin~ in the Elementary School. New York: t1acmillan, Inc., 1970.

California Reading Association. Fresh teaching ideas for teaching reading, 1970. Chall, Jeanne S. Learning to Read: The Great Debate. New York: McGraw-H~ll, Inc., 1967. Chambers, J. Richard and Indrisano, Roselmina. Boston University research in elementary school reading 1963-1969. Journal of Education, 1972, pp. 9-11.

Cox, Barbara and others. The development and evaluation of exercises in meaningful word practice in grade one. Unpublished Master's thesis, Boston University, 1959.

59 60

Currier, Lillian. Phonics and no phonics. Elementarx_ School Journal, 1923, 23, 448-452o

Dauzat, JoAnn. The effectiveness of four methods of teach­ ing word recognition skills to children from disad­ vantaged and non-disadvantaged families. ERIC 055 745, May, 1970. Day, Katherine T. and others. The development and evalua­ tion of exercises for group response to word meaning for increasing word recognition in grade one. Unpublished Master 1 s Thesis, Boston University, 1961. DeBoer, John and Dallmann, Martha. The Teaching of Reading. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970o Dechant, Emerald v. Improving the Teaching of Reading. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970. Diack, Hunter. Reading and the Psychology of a Perception. New York: Philosophical Library, 1960.

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Durkin, Doloresft Teaching Young Children to Read. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1972.

Durrell, Donald D. and Murphy, Helen A. Boston University research in elementary school reading. Journal of Education, 1963, 136, 11-23.

Dykstra, Robert. Summary of second-grade phase of the co­ operative research program in primary reading instruc­ tion. Reading Researoh Quarterly, Fall, 1968, pp. 49-70. Elzey, Freeman. A First Reader in Statistics. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publ1sh1ng Company, 1967.

Fry, Edward. Teaching a basic reading vocabulary. Elemen­ tary English, 1960, 37, 38. Gardella, Dora R. A systematic review of pre-primer and primer vocabulary through words flashed in context. Unpublished Master's Thesis, Boston University, 1946.

Gates, Arthur I. and Boeker, Eloise. A study of initial states in reading by pre-school children. Teachers College Record, 1923, 23, 469-477. Gates 1 Arthur and Russell, David. Types of materials, voca.bulary burden, word analysis, and other factors in beginning reading. Elementary Schgol_~"Jo~trnal, 19 38, 1_~, 27-35, 119-·128.

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Wiley, Will E. Difficult words and the beginner. Journal of Educational Research, 1928, 17, 278-289.

Wilson, Robert M. and Hall, Mary Anne. Reading and the Elementary School Child. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1972. Winch, w. H. Teaching beginners to read in England: Its methods, results, and Psychological bases. Journal of Educational Research, Monographs, No. 8, 1925. Zintz, Miles V. The Reading Process. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. c. Brown, 1970. APPENDIX A

WORDS INTRODUCED IN THIS STUDY

64 DOLCH BASIC WORD LIST

Pre-Primer

a green make the and have me this big help my to blue here not up can I play want come in red we

down is ride with t for it run work funny jump said you get little saw go look see

Primer

all laugh stop yes am like thank your are new that at no then away now they black on three but one too came out two did please was do put went eat ran what fast say where find she white g_?Od so will he some yellow

65 66

---First

about give our this a.fter going over town again had pretty someone an has round Janet around her show Mark as him sing Ann ask his sleep David ate how soon socks be if take tell before into them Mary brown just there miss by know think call let us cold long very could made walk can't many were every may when far much who first must why five never wish fly of something found old Mother four once morning from open Daddy gave or home 67

Common Nouns

airplane children hand rain apple coat head ring baby corn hen road back cow hill school· ball dog horse sheep barn doll house shoe basket door kitten snow bear duck log squirrel beg eggs letter stick bell elephant man store bird eve men street birthday farm milk sun book farmer money table boat father monkey tail box feet mother top boy fire ear toys bread fish nose train bus floor paper tree cake flower party wagon cap garden picture watch car girl pig water, cat grandfather puppy wood chicken grass rabbit shadow all game snake hair catch different stay best be T-shirt bad sweater hamburger earrings dime surprise ice cream skates nickel oh pigeon night Mr. pickle cross skips tick football show pond sky hop climb swim enough lamb leg calf off colt someday happy frog sat right feel yourself pull ting-a-ling puppet talk rest quarters word

Words We Should Know

word hard itself calf hear park dark bark sing lark shark spark flew wise owl far start any could moon pajamas hat;>pened called slow next much suit time rocket space another own years think know same nonsense corner sea bargain Uncle zoo laughed animals talking about gate hand well read day no else sold trade things himself pocket shouted write spell riddle ready smart everyone end left answer not cover page before tumbling talked speller stories story knew ribbon people backward light front job cars shut compass lady keen after went mad way street trip Saturday seeing over room cry paints paper better than young mud feeling woods nest safe bold warm wind those branch asleep 69

Q '

~-Rho eye inside afraid fox peeped from again once running told ground scampered started tease an catbird until tired poked acorn edge nose were chase under quack slowpokes followed water listen hill landed turtle wet dry hole beautiful wonder farm spring pony barn born master shut patted blue-eyed grow friends learn softly apple our idea write spell riddle ready smart everyone end left answer hot head black cap cover page before tumbling talked speller stories story knew ribbon people backward light front job cars Q •

APPENDIX B

GAMES USED BY CONTROL GROUP

70 GAMES USED BY CONTROL GROUP

~pping Stones (California Reading Association, 1970:28)

Purpose: Review basic sight words.

Materials: Cut tagboard into large stepping stone shapes. Write a basic sight word on each.

Procedure: Lay the stepping stones on the floor so

that the walker may "walk across the pond." The

walker must say the word before he steps onto the

next stone.

Talking Clown (California Reading Association, 1970:28)

Purpose: Review sight words~

Materials: Prepare a large tagboard picture of a

clown. Cut a slit in top and bottom of mouth.

Put words on long strip and thread through slits.

Procedure: Teacher pulls strip through and child makes

clown "talk 11 by saying the words.

The Popper Clock (California Reading Association, 1970:30)

Purpose: Instant recall of the two hundred and twenty

Dolch Word List.

Materials: Dolch Popper Word Cards, Sets I, II.

Individual paper clock faces.

71 72

Procedure: Punch a hole in each word card in the

upper left side and place cards on a metal ring.

The child selects the set he wishes to work with

and is timed as he goes through each of the one

hundred and ten words. If he makes a mistake he

has to go back to that word and correct it. When

he has completed the set, the time is noted and

placed on a construction paper colored clock. The

clock shows how long it took him to complete the

set and which set he did. He then puts his name on

the clock. The child competes next time against

his own previous time, trying to say the entire

list in fewer minutes and seconds. These words

really do become instant recognition or 11 popper

words."

Pairs (Fry, 1960:41)

This is a rummy-type of card game for from two to five players. First a deck of fifty cards is made by the teacher or by an able child. The fifty-card deck contains ~;:wenty­ five pairs of identical cards, thus using exactly one group of twenty-five Instant Words. Each player is dealt five cards. The first player asks one other player if he has a specific card (the asking player must hold the mate in his hand). If the asking player gets the card, he has a 11 pair" and may lay it down. If not, he draws a card from the deck.

The object is to get as many pairs as possible. For most 73

efficient reading instruction, the players should know some but not all of the words used in a given deck. If the asking player does not know how to read a card, he may show it and any player or the teacher may read it for him~ Like­ wise, the player being asked may request to see the card asked for, so that he may compare it with the cards in his hand.

Fish-A-Word (King, 1971:7)

Purpose: To develop and reinforce sight vocabulary. Materials: Prepare a large tagboard with a picture of

a child fishing from a boat. Connect the fishing

line to forty to fifty small colored "bubbles"

(circles) in a variety of colors. The bubbles are

to be placed in the underwater section of the

picture. Playing Directions: Fish are placed face down around

the board. The first player draws a fish. Fish-A­ Word requires that the player spell or say the word,

then move the same number of spaces as letters in

the word. The first person to reach the end of the

bubble bath is the winner. If a player lands on

the same circle as another player, the first player

on the circle must go back one space. If there is already a player on that circle, he must go back

to start.