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A Special Paper by Florence Augusta Lawrence Was Written Under the Director of Dr. Robert C. Moon Professor of Education

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A Special Paper by Florence Augusta Lawrence Was Written Under the Director of Dr. Robert C. Moon Professor of Education FLORIDA STATE UKIVERSIm A Special Paper AN EXPERIMENT IX GROUPING FOR READING INSTBUCTIOF I1p GRADES ONE AND Two bY Florence Augusta Lawrence Was Written under the Director Of Dr. Robert C. Moon professor of Education AH EXPERIbfENT IN GROUPING FOB WING INSTRUCTION IN GRADES ONE AND '!?NO A Paper_. Presented to the Faculty of the School of Education Florida State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Master of Arts in Education by Florence Augusta Lawrence August 19k TABLE OF COFFXTS INTRODUCTION CBBFTER PAGE I . The Problem and Definition of Terms Used ........ 3 Statement of Froblem ................ 3 Importance of the Study .............. 3 Definition of Tgrms ................. 4 11 . Analysis of Instructional Materials Used ........ 5 Basal Books ..................... 5 Companion Books ................... 9 Library and Other Supplementary Books ........ 9 111. Procedure Used in Grouping ............... 10 Test Materials and Methods Used ...........10 The TestingProgram .................11 The Analysis of the Class ..............14. IT . The Experiment in Grouping ...............17 Historical Reasons for Grouping ...........17 Readiness Tests ...................19 Mental Tests .................... 19 Analysis of Class For Problems ........... 23 Records of Accomplishment6 of Each Group ...... 28 SLWYAED RECONKENDBTIONS ..................38 summary ....................... 38 Recommendations ...................39 ~IELIOGRUIY......................... '' APmNuIx ........................... 42 LIST OF TABLES TAaE PAGE I . Results of First Year Readiness Test ......... 21 I1. Results of Second Year Readiness Test ........ 22 I11 . Results of The Detroit Beginning First-Grade Intelligence Test ....................... 24. IV. Results of the New California Short Form Test of Mental Maturity. Grade Two ............ 25 INTRODUCTION . School had been in session for two weeks on a little island in southwest Florida. Then hurricane warnings came and all residents evacuated the island. After the hurricane had passed and school had been resumed, the first and second grade pupils were discussing the storm. One little girl told of her stay in a hotel in town. bother little girl, Diana, said, "I stayed at the hotel, too." "In which hotel did you stay, DianaPI' asked the teacher. "How can I tell, Teacher," answered Diana, "I can't read yet!" In the statement, "I can't read yet," we find all the hopes and aspirations of a child entering school for the first time. All pre- school children want to go to school to learn to read. Some have bad many stories read to them. Nearly all have had contacts with books, and realize that a whole new world awaits them. dll they need to do in order to discover that world is to learn to read. Yet now many children fail to enjoy this experience through frustration at the very beginning! Others become fluent readers, and go on to the pleasures that the ability to read will bring them. A child passes through certain definite stages in pwsical develop ment from infancy to maturity. He passes through equally definite Stages in learning to read in order that he may read to learn. In school, reading is the most important tool subject. To be considered a "Well- read person" is high praise for anyone. A child who is a "good reader" is a delight to his prents and teachers. !The pupil who reads Well in the primary grades starts his school life feeling that he is a 8UCcess* 2 This feeling helps him to develop personally and is the foundation for future success in other fields. The love of books and the love of reading are interwoven with the love of life. In this room where Diana was a pupil, the first and second grade pupils were all in one room under the same teacher. The school was located on Fort Myers Beach on Estero Island. Many winter visitors come to this beach every year. These residents place their children in the school for varying lengths of time-sometimes two weeks, sometimes four or five months. The enrollment is practically doubled during the winter season. In this primary rooxi, referred to previously, the enrollment of twenty- three pwpils at the beginning increased to thirty-five during the season, for about six weeks, and then gradually decreased. At the close of the seasm the number of pupils in the room was the same as at the beginning. Here was a room composed of pupils in two grades, a flexible enrollment, and children with widely different backgrounds. How was the teacher to instruct these boys and girls in reading? This experiment in grouping for reading instruction shows the efforts of the teacher to accomplish this task. In the following pages will be seen: (1) a study of the problem; (2) an analysis of the materials Used in the experiment; (3) procedures used in grouping; t!k) an account of the experiment in the classroom: (5) a summary of the investigation, and recommendations based upon the findings. With such a flexible enrollment as this primary room had, it was impossible to keep detailed records on all of the pupils. me references. in this study, will be to the permanent enrollment of the class. TIIE PROBLEM AXII DEFINITION OF TERMS USED Teaching reading to girls and boys with different levels of ability and various backgrounds is a challenging task for any teacher to face. This task becomes even more difficult when the class is composed of pupils in two grades under the same teacher. Statemeat of the problem. The purpose of this experiment is to show the need for. snd the benefits derived from, group instruction in teaching reading to a first and second grade, in the same room, under the same teacher. Imaortaace of studv. Usually the best method of meeting individud differences is through work with small groups in the regular classroom. For grouping, levels of ability must be clearly defined. Opinions differ considerably about the basis on which grouping within the classroom should be made. This is a desirable situation since no two classes are alike in the distribution of reading ability. A type of grouping that may be amropriate for one class may not adequately meet the needs of another class. A class may be subdivided for instruction on the basis of the evident abilities and needs of the pupils. In a room with two grades, there is a wider range of reading abilities than would be found in a room with only one grade. Too many groups 3.n a room cannot be handled effectively, as each group requires a specid PreP aration of the lesson. Therefore in a room with two grades, levels of 4 ability within the class as a whole must be considered when reading instruction is undertaken. Guidance, which will insure continued growth in reading, necessitates grouping. 11. DlD’IXITION OF TERMS Grouping within a school refers to the grades in which the pupils are placed. There are two views of grade grouping: (1) grouping the pupils according to age: (2) grouping the pupils according to ability and achievement. Grouping within a room refers to the division of the class kt0 small units for inatruction. This grouping should be flexible enow to insure the changing of the personuel of the group when necess-. BNdLYSIS OB INST;1OCTION!& MA!TERuLzS USED In conducting this experiment on grouping the teacher selected books which would be within the scope of the ability of her class. Basal Books. As a basis for her work the Alice and Jerry Series was used bg the teacher in the Beach School. This series contains mwny adaptations of stories of high literary quality. One interest-holdlag quality of these books is the story element--plot, surprise. frustration, suspense, climax, quick movement, and a satisfactory ending. m. Jerry, in the pre-primer, Here and There, is badly in need of a new,cap. Father lmows it. Mother knows it. Father buys one cap. Mother buys another. Jerry has two caps. He decides to give one to Alice. The result--two happg children--two new caps. A simple plot, to be sure, in keeping with the vocabulary limitations of a pre-primer, but still plot. Surprise. Alice, in the primer, Day In and Day Out, walks around with her new doll, Betv Lee. How she wishes that Betsy Lee could talk! Xight comes, and Alice gives her doll a big hug. Surprise! Betsy Lee can talk--%-ma! Ma-ma! Frustration. Jack in the readiness second reader. the River -Road, is bursting with curiosity to find out what there can possib- be at Mr. Wood's farm, that will be more fun than climbing trees. At last he sees what it is--a little donkey called Mr. Bones. In a minute Jack has jumped. the fence and is off across the field for a ride, OdY to find that YOU don't ride donkeys the minute you see them. YOU have to 6 friends with them first. Frustration, but justifiable frustration. Jack must work for his ride. Susuense. The famous goat of the second reader, Friendlx Villa-, appears first in one place and then in another, upsetting things and making mischief wherever he goes. Every time he amears, he disappears. Where in the world has he come from and where has he gone? Will they ever find him? One wonders! Climax. Little Frog, in the first reader. Round About, is deter- mined to find out what winter is. He bothers everyone in the pond with his questioning. "Stey avake and you will find out," is all anyone can tell him. One by one. everyone else goes to sleep at the bottom of the pond. Climax. There sits little Brog all done, waiting for winter. And then comes the drop in the story. He vi11 take a nap--just a little nap-- and of course he never finds out what winter is.
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