This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 69-15,971
TOM, Chow Loy, 1918- WHAT TEACHERS READ TO PUPILS IN THE MIDDLE GRADES.
The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1969 Education, general
University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
Copyright by
Chow Loy Tom
1969 WHAT TEACHERS HEAD TO PUPILS IN THE MIDDLE GRADES
DISSERTATION
Presented in Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
3y Chov/Loy Tom, Ed.B., 3.S., M.S.
******
The Ohio State University 1969
Approved by
Adviser College of Education VITA
September 9» 1918 B o m - Hilo, Hav/aii.
194-1* ... . Ed.B., University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii.
1941...... Five-Year Diploma, University of Hawaii.
1942-1943...... librarian: Honokaa High and Elementary School, Honokaa, Hav/aii.
1943...... B.S., with honors, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois.
1945-1946 ...... librarian: Reference and Young Adult Depart ments, Allentown Free library, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
1946-1947 ...... librarian: Robert L. Stevenson Intermediate School, Honolulu, Hawaii.
1947-1948...... librarian: Lanakila Elementary School, Honolulu, Hav/aii.
1948-1949. ... librarian: Benjamin Parker High and Elementary School, Kaneohe, Hav/aii.
1949-195 2...... librarian: Kaimuki High School, 1953-1956...... Honolulu, Hav/aii. 1957-1959...... 1953...... M.S., University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois.
1956-1957...... Acting librarian: University High School; Instructor: College of Education, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois.
1959-1961...... Supervisor & librarian: University High School; Instructor: College of Education, University of Hav/aii, Honolulu, Hav/aii.
iii 1961-1965...... Assistant Professor: Coordinator of and teacher in the Library Science Education Program, University of Hav/aii.
1965-1966 Sabbatical leave and 1966-1968 Professional Improvement Leave from the University of Hawaii to study at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
PUBLICATIONS
(1) "Library Science Education, Budget Bequest, 1962-65," June, 1961, pp. 1-9• (2) "Progress Report...by the Committee on the Expansion of Library Science Education," June 15, 1961, pp. 1-5.
The two reports listed above v/ere prepared by the writer as Chairman, Committee on the Expansion of Library Science Education, University of Hawaii, and submitted to the Dean, College of Education. They were later included as Attachments XI and XII in Library Report: Education for Librarian ship at the University of Hawaii. A Study of "the Present Status and Potential for Development. (Report prepared by Robert L. Gitler for the Center for Cultural and Technical Inter change 3etv/een East and T/est C The East-TTest Center ] University of Hav/aii, 1962.)
(3 ) "Evaluating University Extension." Chapter 9. Problems in Administering General University Extension. Columbus, Ohio: The Center for Adult Education, The Ohio State University, 1967.
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Elementary Education.
Studies in Children’s Literature: Professor Charlotte S. Huck.
Studies in Adult Education: Professor Andrew Hendrickson.
Studies in Audio-Visual Education: Professor Edgar Dale.
iv CONTENTS
Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... ii
VITA ...... iil
TABEES...... ix
ILLUSTRATIONS ...... xiii
CHAPTER
I. THE NATURE 0? THE PROBIEil...... 1
Background of the Problem Statement of the Problen Prose and poetry Situational factors Importance of the Problem Procedure of the Study Presentation of Data Scope and Limitations of the Study Definitions of Terms Used Organization of the Study Summary
II. REVIEW OP THE LITERATURE...... 18
General Reading Interests of Children Children's Interests in Poetry Factors Affecting Reading Interests Age and sex Mental ability The home-school environment Studies of Teacher Reading-Aloud Practices Summary
v CHAPTER Page
III. METHODS 0? PROCEDURE...... 63
The Sampling Procedure The Instrument Characteristics of the Sample Data Analysis Summary
IV. ANALYSIS OP DATA ON PROSE READ A L O U D ...... 82
Classroom Patterns of Prose Readings of Middle Grade Teachers Prose Selections Read Aloud Categories of Piction Traditional literature Realistic fiction Biography and historical fiction Fantasy Science fiction Humorous stories Categories of Nonfiction Natural science Physical science Social studies Other subjects Special Grouping of Titles Most popular titles The classics Newbery Award Books Findings in Prose Summary V. ANALYSIS OP DATA ON POETRY READ ALOUD...... 127
Classroom Patterns of Poetry Reading of Middle Grade Teachers The Content of Poetry Read Aloud According to Subject Categories Poems about family, friends and familiar experiences Poems about people, places, historical and patriotic events Holiday poems Poems of nature
vi CHAPTER Page
V. (cont'd.)
Fanciful poems Humorous poems Poems of wisdom Unclassified titles The Popular Poetry Selections Popular poems The most popular poems by grade level Poetry Selections Found in Reading and Language Arts Texts Findings on Poetry Summary
VI. ANALYSIS OF DATA AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ON THE SITUATIONAL FACTORS SURROUNDING THE READING BY TEACHERS TO THEIR PUPILS ...... 151 Situational Factors The background of teachers in the sample Library resources Read-aloud practices and procedures Planning and selection of materials Classroom activities and procedures Findings on Situational Factors Background of the teachers Library resources Teachers1 read-aloud practices Classroom activities and practices Summary
VII. SUULiARY AND CONCLUSIONS...... 186
Summary Purposes of the Study Prose and poetry Situational factors Methods of Procedure Sampling procedure The instrument Data analysis
vii CHAPTER
VII. (cont'd.)
Major Findings Prose and poetry Prose Poetry Situational factors
Conclusions Recommendations Suggestions for further research
APPENDIX A ......
APPENDIX B ......
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY TABLES
Table Page
1. Composition of the Sample of Teachers by Region, State, and Grade Level ...... 70
2. Composition of the Sample of Teachers by Grade and Sex ...... 72
3. Enrollment of the Schools Represented by Teachers in the Sample ...... 72
4. Number of Teachers Listing Prose and Poetry Selections by Grade Level and Sex ...... 84
5. Total Number of Teachers Who Listed Prose and Poetry Selections by Grade Level ...... 85
6. Forms of Prose Read Aloud 87
7. Quality Level of Prose Read A l o u d ...... 87
8. Types of Prose Read A l o u d ...... 90
9. Quality Level of Prose Read Aloud ...... 93
10. Traditional Literature ...... 93
11. Quality Level of Traditional Literature ..... 96
12. Realistic F i c t i o n ...... 98
13. Quality Level of Realistic Fiction...... 99
14. Biography and Historical Fiction...... 104
15. Quality Level of Biographyand Historical Fiction 104
16. Twenty-Three Host Popular Y/orks ...... 110
17. Subject Categories of the 23 Most Popular Works . Ill
ix Table Page
18. Classics (Fictional) Head Aloud ...«••••• 115
19* Nev/bery Award Books Head Aloud ...... 122
20. The Content of Poems Read Aloud According to Subject Categories...... 128
21. Subject Categories of the Most Popular Poems Head Aloud 133
22. Frequency of the Forty-one Most Popular Poems Read 144
25. Humber of Years of Experience of Teachers in the Sample...... 153
24. Recency of Undergraduate Children's Literature C o u r s e s ...... 154
25. Recency of In-Service Woxk in Children's literature 154
26. Teachers' Recall of the Frequency of Their Elementary School Teachers Reading to Them .... 157
27. Adequacy of Library Book Collections for Teaching Pu r p o s e s ...... 160
28. Reasons Teachers Give for Reading to Students . . 162
29. Reasons Teachers Give for not Reading to Students 166
30. Teacher Use of Yearly Plans for Read-Aloud Session 169
31. Sources Used for Obtaining Books and Poems for Read-Aloud S e s s i o n s ...... 170
32. Guides Used by Teachers in Selecting Book3 for Read-Aloud Sessions ...... 172
33. Publications Used by Teachers in Selecting Books for Read-Aloud S e s s i o n s ...... 173
34. Frequency of Reading Aloud to Children by Teachers 174
35. Average Length of Read-Aloud S e s s i o n s...... 176
x Table Page
36. The Time of Read-Aloud S e s s i o n s ...... 177
37. Ways of Grouping Students for Read-Aloud Sessions 178
38. Topics Discussed by Teachers After Reading to Students ...... 179
39. Other Curriculum Areas to Which Teachers Relate What is Read to Students ...... 181
40. Traditional Literature: Polk Tales, Pairy Tales, and Fables...... 202
41. Traditional Literature: Myths, Epics, Legends and Tall Tales ...... 204
42. Traditional Literature: Religious Stories . . . , 206
43. Realistic Fiction Adventure Stories ...... 207
44. Realistic Fiction Regional Stories (United States) 208
45. Realistic Fiction Regional Stories (Other Lands) 210
46. Realistic Fiction Family and Familiar Experience Stories .... 212
47. Realistic Fiction Dog Stories .... 214
48. Realistic Fiction Horse Stories . . . 216
49. Realistic Fiction Other Animal Stories 218
50. Realistic Fiction Sport Stories . . . 220
51. Realistic Fiction Mystery Stories . . 221
52. .Realistic Fiction Holiday Stories . • 224
53. Biographies ...... 226
54. Historical Fiction: United States 229
xi Table Page
55. Historical Fiction: Other lands ...... 232
36. Fantasy ...... 233
37. Science Fiction . • ...... 233
38. Humorous Stories ...... 236
59. Nonfiction Hooks: Natural Science 238
60. Nonfiction Books: Physical Science ...... 239
61. Nonfiction Books: Social S t u d i e s ...... 240
62. Nonfiction Books: Other Subjects ...... 242
63. Poems About Family and Friends...... 243
64. Poems About Familiar Experiences...... 244
63. Poems About People...... 247
66. Poems About Places .••.....••••••.. 249
67. Poems About Historical and Patriotic Events . . . 250
68. Holiday P o e m s ...... 252
69. Animal and Nature P o e m s ...... 254
70. Poems on the leather and Seasons ...... 259
71. ' Fanciful Poems R e a d ...... 262
72. Humorous P o e m s ...... 264
73* Poems of Wisdom ...... • • • ...... 268 74. Poems: Unclassified Titles ...... 271
xii ILLUSTRATION S
Figure Page
1. Diagram of four-stage sampling procedure...... 67
2. Number of prose selections read aloud by middle grade teachers...... 91
3. The content of poems read aloud according to subject categories...... 133
xiii CHAPTER I
THE NATURE OP THE PROBLEM
Background of the Problem
Elementary school teachers have had many different reasons for reading prose and poetry to pupils. Some teachers have read to promote the enjoyment of literature and to provide a background of readiness for learning to read. Others have read to cultivate in their pupils a desire to read as well as the habit of reading. Still others have used literature to develop the child's appreciation of his literary and cultural heritage or to meet the reading interests which are above his reading ability. Many teachers read to enrich the social studies pro gram. In most school systems, the study of literature as literature has been delayed until the secondary school years.
Bruner's book, The Process of Education, emphasizes the fact that each discipline has a structure and a particular mode of inquiry.^ He advocates a spiral curriculum that can introduce young children to the basic concepts and ideas of each discipline. A meaningful introduction to one's literary heritage may well begin with the reading of nursery rhymes, folk tales, and poetry in the early grades. Such a planned
^"Jerome S. Bruner. The Process of Education (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, I960).
1 program introduces children to the basic concepts of literature and may define for teachers additional goals to be reached in reading
aloud to pupils.
Research by Bloom also highlights the need to teach literature in
the elementary school. Bloom concludes in his book. Stability and
Change in Human Characteristics, that by the time a child is in grade
three, he has learned at least one-half of what he will learn in the 2 twelve years of his schooling and three-fourths of it by grade seven.
Bloom1 s research indicates clearly that the elementary school years
are the crucial years with respect to the learning patterns of chil
dren. This calls into question the practice of delaying the intro
duction of the study of literature until the secondary school years.
In the Project English Research Studies sponsored by the United
States Office of Education, the views of Bruner end Bloom were "field- tested." Two of these projects concerned the teaching of literature in the elementary grades. The Nebraska Curriculum Development Center
concentrated on teaching composition to children in grades 1 - 6 3 through exposure to and analysis of different literary types. The
Wisconsin English Curriculum Center has developed a statewide
^Benjamin S. Bloom, Stability and Change in Human Characteris tics (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1964), pp. 105, 110.
^Nebraska Curriculum Development Center. A Curriculum for ptnffliah. Grade 1: Units 1-12 (Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1966). 4 sequential literature program for grades K - 12. Related USOE Co operative Research included The Ohio State University Critical Reading
Project, which tested the feasibility of teaching critical reading of both fiction and nonfiction to elementary school children. Over half of the lesson plans developed for this Project stressed literary anal ysis as a means of increasing both the understanding and appreciation 5 of literature.
Recent research in the English language arts underscores the need to use literature to facilitate the learning process in environmental ly disadvantaged children. In a study with socially disadvantaged second graders in New York City, Cohen confirmed the belief that a re lationship exists between understanding what is heard to what is read.** It seems reasonable to assume that many underprivileged pupils do not possess the ability to understand what is heard and what is read. This may be a cumulative result of coming from families that do
4 Wisconsin. Department of Public Instruction. English Curric ulum Center. Teaching literature in Wisconsin. A Sequential Growth Curriculum in Experiences with Literature for the Kindergarten through Grade Twelve. . .Experimental edition (Madison, Wisconsin: Department of Public Instruction, 1965). 5 Willavene Wolf, Charlotte S. Ruck, and Martha L. King, Critical Reading Ability of Elementary School Children. U.S. Office of Edu cation Project No. 5-1040, Pinal Report (Columbus. Ohio: The Ohio State University, June, 1967), pp. 25-26, 136-158).
^Dorothy H. Cohen, "The Effect of Literature on Vocabulary and Reading Achievement." Elementary English. XLV (February, 1968), p. 217. not value, read, or even encounter boohs as well as from schools which have not made literature challenging or meaningful to the pupils.
Smiley emphasizes this latter point in this statement: "We do not do nearly enough reading aloud to children in elementary or secondary 7 schools." The report by the National Task Force of the National
Council of Teachers of English concerning the teaching of English to the environmentally disadvantaged also recommends the selection and presentation of appropriate imaginative literature at all levels of 0 instruction in the English curriculum. This National Task Eorce stresses the importance of both materials and methods of presentation, particularly reading aloud by teachers at the pre-school and primary levels.
The extensive support of the federal government to elementary edu cation began as a reaction to Sputnik and gained momentum with the
National Defense Education Act. While 1TDEA funding often led to an overemphasis of science and mathematics to the neglect of the humani ties in the school curriculum it also allocated funds for materials and the education of teachers and librarians. More recently, however, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and other legislation have
7 Marjorie B. Smiley, "Gateway English: Teaching English to Dis advantaged Students," English Journalt 1IV (April, 1965), p. 269» Q Richard Corbin and Muriel Crosby, eds., language Programs- for the Disadvantaged (Champaign, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1965)'. supported the humanities. The ESSA also provided for innovative pro grams, facilities and materials in addition to showing a concern for the interests and abilities of all groups of children.
The increased availability of materials for different interests and ability levels in schools hfl.q made possible the teaching of lit erature as literature. Federal funds have contributed to the rapid growth and development of elementary school libraries and made other educational materials available in schools. The increased production of children's books of high quality in both content and format has
augmented the supply of worthwhile materials for the teaching of lit erature. Literature is included in the skills to be tested in the national assessment program, therefore, the teaching of literature as literature in the elementary schools will undoubtedly be encouraged.
These three interrelated developments — commitment of federal funds to education, educational research, and psychological theory — have contributed to an increase in the attention given to the teaching of literature in the elementary schools. Therefore, the actual con tent of the elementary school teacher's reading-aloud programs of grades four, five and six was the subject of this study.
Statement of the Problem
This study of what teachers read to pupils in the middle grades had three major purposes: (l) To ascertain, classify, and evaluate the quality of the titles of prose selections (fiction and nonfiction) teachers of grades four, five, and six read to their pupils. (2) To ascertain the content and to classify the titles or first lines of poems read by teachers according to the subject categories of the se lections. (3) To determine some of the situational factors that sur rounded this reading of prose and poetry by the teachers. Situational factors in four areas considered were: (a) the teacher's background in Children's literature courses, (b) the availability of school and public libraries, (c) teacher read-aloud practices, and (d) classroom activities and procedures used when reading aloud. More specifically,
/ the following factual questions were asked:
Prose and poetry
1. What are the specific titles of prose and poetry read by
teachers to their pupils in the middle grades?
2. How much prose and poetry are read aloud by teachers in the
middle grades?
3. To what extent do the men and women teachers differ in their
patterns of prose and poetry reading?
4. To what extent are the various literary types represented in
the prose selections read by teachers to their classes?
3« What are the estimated quality levels of the prose selections
read by teachers to pupils?
6. What are the subject categories of the content of the poems
teachers read to pupils? Situational factors
1* Teacher background.— To what extent have teachers had under
graduate courses in Children's Literature and in-service
courses or conferences?
2. Library resources.— To what extent have the teachers found
school and public library facilities available and useful?
3. Teachers' read-aloud practices.— (a) Y/hat are the reasons
teachers checked for reading or for not reading to pupils?
(b) What sources and guides do teachers use in obtaining and
selecting material for reading aloud?
4* Classroom activities and practices.— (a) How often do
teachers read aloud to their classes, during the day or the
week? (b) To what extent do teachers group their pupils for
read-aloud sessions? (c) To what extent do teachers discuss
what they read with their pupils? (d) To what extent do
teachers relate the material they read aloud with other cur
riculum areas?
Importance of the Problem
k thorough knowledge of the type and quality of literature that teachers are reading to their desses should be worthwhile in planning and revising literature programs in the elementary school. Standard works in children's literature and the English language arts, as well as teachers of such courses, have long advocated the reading of prose and poetry to children. Several pragmatic reasons given for reading to children are: (l) for the enjoyment of children, (2) for the de velopment and promotion of reading interests, end (3) for the develop ment of discriminating tastes in literature. McGuire stresses these points in the following:
Reading aloud at some time during the day is an ac cepted classroon activity, but each book shared must be selected carefully. It should have a strong appeal for the whole class but should never be mediocre in quality. Each book chosen should be worthy of the reading time allotted it. literature of various types should be se lected— sometimes fiction, sometimes biography, or per- ' haps poetry or folk literature.9
One is tempted to infer from the above quotation that the av erage classroom teacher reads to his class every day and that each selection is "worthy of the time allotted it." Research evidence, however, has not shown that teachers read to their classes as widely as one would hope. An early study by Smith in the late 1930's assessed
English instruction in the public schools of Hew York. Observations in 221 elementary grades in twenty-six representative school systems were used to evaluate classroom instruction. Literature lessons were observed in only 29 classes, in 6 of which the teachers did read aloud. None of the 46 courses of study which v/ere analyzed in this same survey even mentioned reading aloud by the teacher.In the
q Alice B. McGuire, "The librarian's Role in the literature Pro gram, " Elementary English, XLIV (May, 1967), p. 471*
^Dora V. Smith, Evaluating Instruction in English in the Ele mentary Schools of Hew York. A Report of the Regents' Inquiry into the Character and Cost of Public Education in New York State . . . Nation al Conference on Research in English. Eighth Research Bulletin (Chicago: Scott, Poresnan and Company, 1941), pp. 55, 59* mid-1940's, Pooley and Williams studied the teaching of English in
Wisconsin public schools. Of the 65 literature lessons which were analyzed, 36 were in rural schools and 29 in city schools. Poetry was read by teachers in roughly 15 per cent of the schools. Prose was read by teachers in only 4 per cent of the total time given to liter ature in city schools and not at all by teachers in rural schools.^
In the early 1950's, Parmer and Freeman studied the teaching of Eng- 12 lish in Georgia. Literature received a rank order of seven when teachers were asked to indicate the time they allotted to the teaching of eight aspects of the Language Arts. The light regard for the teaching of literature was further evidenced in the 528 classroom ob servations reported for grades one through seven, only twenty were literature ‘'activities."
In a more recent survey, Pooley came to the conclusion that pri mary grade children had been exposed to oral readings, creative dra- matics, and choral speaking by their teachers but that "no time what-
soever" was devoted to the study of literature in the middle grades.13
Robert C. Pooley and Robert D. Williams, The Teaching of Eng lish in Wisconsin. A Survey of the Methods and Materials of Instruction and of Teaching Personnel in the Elementary and Secondary Schools. 1944-45 (kadison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1948), p. 84.
12Paul Parmer and Bernice Freeman, The Teaching of English in Georgia. A Report of the Georgia English Commission (Atlanta, Georgia: The Georgia Council of Teachers of English, 1952), pp. 10-11. 13 Robert C. Pooley, cited by James Squire, Source Book on Eng lish Institutes for Elementary’ Teachers (Champaign, Illinois: Nation al Council of Teachers of English, 1965), p« 9« 1 0 The writer wished to validate Pooley's conclusions following the fed eral government's massive support of new materials, libraries, and teacher education through Project English and numerous 1IDEA summer in stitutes.
Studies of the efforts of teachers to stimulate interest in reading show that children are influenced by the attitudes of their teachers. Coast‘d and Wightman^ reported that children tend to like stories and poems about which their teachers were enthusiastic. These studies gave further importance to the choices of prose and poetry teachers read to their classes. Cohen found that children whose teachers used a planned program of daily reading aloud from a selected list, coupled with related oral and creative experiences, made sig nificantly greater gains in both vocabulary and reading comprehension than children whose teachers did not.^ Evidence from all these re search studies show both the importance of what teachers do read to their classes and the apparent neglect of this practice.
Thus, this investigation appeared significant to the writer for the following reasons: (l) the need for a current study of the con tent and quality of literature which teachers are reading to their pupils, (2) the need to determine the extent to which classroom
14 See Chapter II, Review of the Literature, p. 3 9 .
^ H . J. Wightnan, "A Study of Reading Appreciation," American School Board Journal. L (June, 1915)» p» 42. ^Cohen, "The Effect of Literature on Vocabulary and Reading Achievement." 11 teachers are reading to their pupils, and (3) the writer's interest in what teachers read to their classes. This interest evolves from past
experiences as a school librarian and as a faculty member of both
teacher education and school library education programs.
Procedure of the Study
A mail questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain information on what teachers read to pupils in public elementary schools in the
United States. Procedures of the study are described briefly in this
section.
A four-stage sampling procedure was used to select a representa tive study sample by states, school districts, schools, and grade levels. A total of 1, 0 2 0 questionnaires were mailed to teachers of grades four, five, and six in these five states— Arizona, Delaware,
Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. A total of 582 useable returns
(a 57 per cent return) were analyzed for the study.
The 30-item questionnaire developed by the investigator contained
both multiple choice or objective,and open-ended items. Objective items concerned teacher background, the teacher's library facilities,
classroom read-aloud practices and procedures. The OSQA (Ohio State
Questionnaire Analysis) Computer Program v/as used to analyze these ob
jective items. Prequencies and percentages were reported as well as two statistical measures between groups for each item— the Kolmogorov-
Smiraov two-sample test and the Chi-square approximation and signif
icance level. 12
Open-ended questions requested listings of titles of prose and poems teachers had read to their pupils since the beginning of the school year, from September (1967) through January (1968). Prose se lections were classified and evaluated by form (fiction and nonfiction) and by literary types (traditional literature, realistic fiction, fantasy, and so forth). The quality of prose selections was analyzed in three ways— by quality level, means and modes. The quality level of the readings was determined by checking each title against the listings in current standard bibliographies. The study determined how many of these recommended titles appeared in the list of titles read by the teachers. Titles or first lines of poems were classified by content according to subject categories (historical and patriotic events, nature poems, poems of wisdom and so forth).
Presentation of Data
Data on prose and poetry selections teachers reported reading and the situational factors that surrounded this reading by teachers were presented in tabular form. Tables presenting the quantity and quality of prose selections included the title, the author, and the number of times of the reading of each title by grade level. Popular prose titles (those read at least 10 times) were listed in order of frequency and by subject categories adopted for the study. "Classics," Newbery
Award titles and the five or six most popular prose selections in each of the middle grades were identified. 15 Tables presenting the content of poems according to subject
categories give the title, the author, and the number of times of the reading of each title by grade level. Popular poems were presented
according to their order of frequency (those read at least 10 times)
and by subject categories adopted for the study.
Scope and Limitations of the Study
Pour general areas— scope, methodology, sample, and procedure— were subject to some limitation because of the time and resources available. This study was limited to grades four, five, and six in public elementary schools. limitations inherent in the nature of any mail questionnaire survey are characteristic of this study. These limitations include: (l) The-extensive rather than intensive nature of information obtained; thus, this is a "survey" with attendant limi
tations, rather than a "case-study." (2) The uni-dimensional nature of a questionnaire survey of this design precludes interviews with either respondents and nonrespondents. (3 ) The lack of systematic field observation is also a factor in the limitation of this study.
(4) Since permission was obtained by the investigator from school dis trict administrators to write teachers about participating in the
study, it is probable that those administrators who saw their litera ture programs as "good" were the more likely to grant permission for a
study of this nature and thus, the findings may be weighted toward the
better read-aloud programs of the country. (5) This study presents
the prose and prose readings of only four to five months of the school year. u Definitions of Terns Used
literary definitions as they v/ere used in the study are defined as follows
adventure stories: Fiction in which overconing hazards or meeting challenge is the major theme.
animal stories: Fiction in which an animal is a main character or a human and an animal share significant experiences. The animal, may show persistence, per ceptiveness, courage, or devotion— yet be consistent in his behavior according to his species.
biography: Both authentic and fictionalized accounts of an individual's life are in this category. The first is a well-documented and researched account of a person's life. The second, while based on research, may em phasise or dramatize certain events to create interest.
classics: Titles which have "weathered" at least one generation and are still accepted and read. For this study, an arbitrary period of forty years was selected as the minimum period for a book to be judged as a "classic". A first publication date of the year 1928 was the cut-off date for such titles. I?o other attempt was made to evaluate titles which met this criterion. (The titles in this special * also listed in their respective categories.
epics: Prose versions of long narrative poems that ex press the moral values of the people of the time through the action of a single hero.
fables: Brief didactic or moralistic tales in which an fmiinfli or inanimate object usually speaks as a human.
fairy tales (modem): Fanciful stories written by a known writer. Some fairy tales, as those by Hans Christian Andersen,originated in written rather than oral form.
family and familiar experience stories: Realistic fiction with themes of adjustment to various family situations (with and without parents and siblings) and everyday experiences with peers and people in school, in the neighborhood, or society. (See also realistic fiction.) fantasy: ilodern stories longer than fairy tales which contain sone imaginary or supernatural elements that although contrary to reality as known, are believeable; for example, they may: (l) personify animals or toys, (2) give humans unusual pov/ers, (3 ) change the size of human beings, (4 ) create new worlds, or (5 ) manipulate time patterns.
folk tales: Narrative forms, whether oral or written, which have been handed down from generation to gen eration.
historical fiction: Stories that seek to reconstruct the life and thought of an age or period of time other than that of the present. Real personages, places, and events are frequently introduced into the novel with fictional characters and plot. Historical fiction of the United States is broadly defined to include Indians of America and any but the present period of United States history.
humorous stories: Stories of strange and absurd char acters or fun in familiar happenings which children themselves usually refer to as "funny books".
legends: Stories of local heroes emphasizing extra ordinary qualities or characteristics that became ac cepted over a period of time. mysteries: Stories in which an unknown person or agency presents a problem. Por this study, titles with the words "mystery" or "secret" that children themselves usually refer to as "mystery books" have been so classified. myths: Stories that deal with (l) relationships among men and gods, (2) man dealing with fate, and (3) man's struggle v/ith good and evil.
quality level: A rating arbitrarily assigned each title of a book after consulting the two standard biblio graphies regularly used by children's librarians: The Children's Catalog and The Elementary School Library Col lection. These book selection aids establish three priorities (most highly recommended, highly recommended, and recommended; or first, second, and third choices) in listing titles for library purchases. Quality level 4: The most highly recommended titles or first choices were given a numerical value of four points. Quality level I* Those highly recommended titles or second choices were given a numerical value of three points. Quality 16 level 2: Title3 also recommended were given a numerical value of two points. Quality level 1 : This rating was assigned to any title that the teachers read that was not listed in either of the two bibliographies. Titles are usually not included in these standard bibliographies for such reasons as very recent or out-dated publication, considered not appropriate for children, or of doubtful literary quality. Titles assigned to this level were given a numerical value of one point.
realistic fiction: Prose that presents universal prob lems of human beings principally in the twentieth century. For example, finding a place for one's self in the family, in the peer group, end in society. The characters in the story become universal figures as they meet human prob lems of cultural change, physical handicaps, loneliness, death, the social evils of war and poverty, the problems of growing toward creativeness and responsible adulthood.
regional stories: Fiction in which a universal theme unfolds within a broadly defined geographical setting .(large or small, city or countryside) which influences the characters. The stories are grouped as "United States," and "other lands" or countries outside the political bounds of the United States.
science fiction: Imaginative stories based on scien tific facts or possibilities that have not yet been proven. tall tales: Humorous and inventive modem forms of folk tales indigenous to the North American culture, often based on accounts of local life situations which have been greatly exaggerated and embellished.
traditional literature: Prose that has its origins in primitive ritual, drama, poetry, and story telling of human society. Parables, fables, proverbs, sacred writings, classical myths and folklore are included.
Organization of the Study
A review of related literature and children's reading interests in prose, and of children's interest in poetry are presented and sum marized in Chapter II. Methods and techniques used in developing the questionnaire, selecting the sample, and analyzing the data are 17 presented in Chapter III. Information gathered on the titles of prose end poems read by teachers to pupils are reported and analyzed in
Chapters IV and V, respectively. Data on situational factors are treated in Chapter VI. The final chapter contains the summary, find ings, and conclusions of the study.
Summary
Research findings show both the importance of what teachers read to pupils and the apparent neglect of this practice. The actual con tent of the elementary school teacher's read-aloud program in grades four, five, and six was the subject of this study. The present study had three purposes: (l) to ascertain, classify, and evaluate prose
(fiction and nonfiction) selections read, (2) to ascertain the titles of poems read and to classify them by contents, (3) to determine some of the underlying situational factors involved.
The responses of 382 teachers to a mailed questionnaire form the basis of this study. The questionnaire, developed by the investigator, contained both objective and open-ended items. The OSQA (Ohio State
Questionnaire Analysis) Computer Program was vised to analyze objective items. Information from open-ended questions was analyzed qualita tively as well as quantitatively. Data on items such as popularity, quantity, and quality levels are presented in tabular form. The four general areas— scope, methodology, sample, and procedures— were subject to some limitation because of the time and resources available. CHAPTER II
REVIEW OP THE LITERATURE
In studying the content of what teachers read to their classes in
the middle grades,it seemed appropriate to review the research on the
reading interests of children and that related to the practice of
reading aloud in the elementary school. The reading interests of chil
dren are influenced by three factors: first, those which are inherent
in the child such as sex, age, and mental ability; second, factors
found within reading materials as content and type of literature; and
third, factors of the home-school environment. Studies concerning the
extent to which literature including both prose and poetry are used
within the classroom and the practice of reading aloud to children are
far more limited than the studies of children's reading interests.
Therefore, in considering the relationship of the child to his
literary experiences, this chapter is divided into four major sections.
, The first will present children's general reading interests; the sec
ond, children's interest in poetry, while the third will identify the
factors affecting children's reading interests, such as sex and age,
mental ability, and home-school environmental conditions. The fourth
section will stress the extent of the practice of teachers' reading
aloud to their students.
18 19 General Reading Interests of Children
A knowledge of the general interests or preferences of children is a prerequisite for the wise selection of prose and poetry which the teacher reads to his class. Findings of recent representative studies of general interests of children can provide valuable help in the se lection and use of reading materials for the literature program.
Rudman and Shores reported an extensive survey of reading inter- ests in 270 communities in Illinois. 11 2 Information on the "read- about," "ask-about," and "look-up" in book interests were sought from children in grades four to eight. Questionnaires were completed by
6,313 children, 212 teachers, 4,531 parents, and 169 librarians. In general, when all topics were combined, science was the predominant interest for all groups. Boys were interested in books about air planes, astronomy, boats, geology, geography, Indians, jets and rock ets, science, and sports. Girls wanted to read about animals, boy- girl relationships, faiiy tales and mythology, famous people, mystery, school, and teen-agers. Animal stories ranked high in all levels for both sexes. From grades four to eight, interest in Indian and cowboy stories decreased while interest in sports and mystery increased.
"Read-about" interests were similar for city, rural, and suburban children; "ask-about" interests involved values and ethics, which
^Herbert C. Rudman, "The Informational Needs and Reading Interests of Children in Grades IV through VIII, The Elementary School Journal, IV (May, 1955), pp. 502-512. 2 J. Harlan Shores, "Reading Interests and Informational Needs of Children in Grades Four to Eight," Elementary English, XXXI (December, 1954), pp. 493-500. 20 increased with age: "look-up" behavior concentrated around school subjects. Parents knew more about the reading interests of their children than did the teachers. Belated to the study was Shores1 na tion-wide study of the reading interests, information needs of high school students, and accuracy of teachers' perceptions of these inter- 3 ests. Shores compared his two studies and concluded that elementary school teachers predicted the reading choices and interests of the students more accurately than did secondary school teachers. This may be due to the fact that elementary school teachers generally teach a fewer number of students. They know their needs, abilities, and in terests; this is highly important in predicting the reading choices of students. Parents deal with children in small numbers and studies show they know more about the reading interests of their children than do teachers. In I960, Wolfson surveyed the expressed reading interests of some 4 2,000 children in Norwalk, Connecticut in grades three through six.
Parents provided information about family background such as parent's education and occupations, number of books in the home, .and number of children in the family. Interest for both boys and girls were highest in social studies topics, sports, and fantasy, and comparatively low
^J. Harlan Shores, "Reading Interests and Informational Needs of High School Students." The Reading Teacher, XVII (April, 1964), pp. 536-544.
^Bernice Wolfson, "What Do Children Say Their Reading Interests Are?" The Reading Teacher. XIV (November, I960), pp. 81-82. 21 in books about plants. Boys indicated a preference for machinery, applied science, and physical science; girls favored personal problems, family life and children, and fine and applied arts. Wolf son found no significant differences in reading interests when comparing home fac tors, reading achievement, and intelligence. This study indicates the wide range and variety in children's interests and emphasizes the need to provide all kinds of reading materials to all children in order to capitalize on their interests.
The Norvell report is another extensive study of the interests of 5 children in grades three, four, five, and six. It was based on the responses of 24,000 children in all sizes of schools in the state of
New York. There were approximately 960,000 expressions of opinion or ratings from the children on 1,576 literary selections which included those read independently, studied in class, and those read by the teacher to the class. For grade three, all selections were read aloud.
As data for this study was collected over a period of some twenty years, care should be taken in interpreting the findings.
Boys and girls ranked their interest in animal stories ahead of all other categories of books. Boys ranked animal stories first end girls favored them second to books where girls and women predominate.
In addition, girls enjoy books in which boys and men are principal characters, but the reverse is not true. Besides girls' books, girls
^George Norvell, What Boys and Girls Like to Read (Morristown, New Jersey: Silver Burdett Company,' 1958). 22 also like fairy stories. Boys, on the other hand, also favor boys' g books, myths, legends, hero tales, and biographies.
Social studies interests of elementary school children were iden tified by McAulay by analyzing tape recordings of small group discus sions. First grade children in schools in eastern Pennsylvania showed interests beyond their immediate communities. Children in grades two and three also indicated interest and awareness of social differences, even some understanding of broad differences between the United States and the Soviet Union. Such global interests suggest the need for suitable social studies materials on the primary level and have def inite implications for the selection of books to be read aloud to 7 young children. Similarly, intermediate grade children displayed sophisticated interests in the national scene and an interest in cur- 0 rent trends and events. McAulay observed that we underestimate the interest and information which children in the intermediate grades gain from television, radio, movies, and travel.
The reading interests of elementary school boys in grades four, six, and eight were examined by Stanchfield v/ho conducted individual q "depth interviews" with 153 boys in Los Angeles City Schools. There
6Ibid.. pp. 33-43. 7 J. D. McAulay, "Social Studies Interests of the Primary-Grade Child." Social Education. XXVI (April, 1962), pp. 199-201. 0 ______, "Social Studies Interests of the Intermediate- Grade Child." Social Education, XXVI (May, 1962), pp. 247-248. q Jo M. Stanchfield, "Boys' Reading Interests as Revealed through Personal Conferences." The Reading Teacher, XVI (September, 1962), pp. 41-44. 23 were 51 boys for each grade level of groups of superior, average, and poor readers. The range of intelligence scores was from 90 to 120 and there was a cross section of socio-economic ..classes (ranging from lower middle to upper middle class) represented in the group. In the hour- long interviews, the boys were asked to talk about their free time ac tivities and to rate their interests in 50 categories. The findings indicated high interest of all boys for the following categories, in rank order: outdoor life; exploration and expeditions; sports and fXcVi:; •?; science fiction; "sea adventure" and fantasy; historical fic tion; humor; everyday life adventure of boys; outer space; mystery; and war. The boys appeared to be less interested in such categories as cowboys and westerns, fables, Bible stories, teen-age romance, weather and climate, mathematics, occupations, and fairy tales. They were least interested in books about plants, music, plays, art, farm and home life, and poetry.^
In addition to the general interests identified above, a knowl edge of specific interests in content and theme in prose selections is valuable in selecting material to read. Witty, Coomer, and McBean studied the book choices of 7,879 children in kindergarten through grade eight in six Chicago public schools.^ These schools were in poor, good, and high socio-economic neighborhoods. With the
10jbld.■ p. +3.
Witty, Ann Coomer, and Dilla McBean, "Children's Choices of Favorite Books: A Study Conducted in Ten Elementary Schools," The Journal of Educational Psychology. XXXVTI (May, 1946), pp. 266-278. 24 exception of one school, all these schools contained libraries. In the first three grades, the children's choices were listed by their teachers; children in grades four through eight listed five books they had read and most enjoyed during the 1944-43 school year. The char acteristics of children's book choices for the kindergarten-primary grades included stories about animals, whether wild or tame, real or fanciful; humor in narration and illustration. Besides animal stories and fun and nonsense stories, the intermediate grade children liked adventure books, "real boy" stories, and stories of children in other lands. Action and adventure comprised most of the selections for the upper grades. Books on social issues were not listed very frequently.
To the regret of many, poetry was not well-represented in the survey.
Only one book received enough votes to place it in the list of favorite books. (little Brown Baby, a poetzy book by Paul L. Dunbar was listed by many children from a Negro school in Chicago.) The wide interests reflected favorably the selection of books in the school libraries which were available and accessible to the students. About ten years later, Taylor and Schneider found in a question naire survey of the book choices of 3,477 Chicago children in grades five through eight that girls chose romance and boys preferred ad- 12 venture. The category "teen age and romance" represented 33 per cent of the choices of the girls. Mystery and fantasy were also fa vored by girls. The boys* major interests were adventure, sports, and
Clarion W. Taylor and Mary A. Schneider, "What Books Are Our Children Heading? The Reading Interests of Upper-Grade Pupils," Chicago Schools Journal. XXXVIII (January-February, 1957), pp. 155-160. 25 games. Biography was also popular with them, Taylor and Schneider found that adventure continued as the predominant interest of boys in all four grades and that this pattern and interest increased with grade and age.
Taylor and Schneider also observed that while children read in many fields, the number of fields in which they read tended to de crease with the increase in grade and age level. They raised the is sue of the effects of mass media on the reading interests of children.
The investigators v/ere heartened to find that classics were named as favorites of many children; coupled with this v/as the finding that current books of acceptable quality v/ere read and named "favorites" of children, giving rise to the observation that books of quality will be read and enjoyed by children if they are made accessible to them.
Stanchfield learned in her interviews with boys (in grades four, six, and eight) of all levels of reading achievement that they v/ere most highly interested in unusual experiences, excitement, suspense, liveliness and action, surprise, or unexpectedness in their content of their readings. 13 Stories with elements of cruelty, fighting or bru tality, anger, hate, and familiar experiences were the least liked.
The investigator observed "increasing hostility and defensiveness of the low achievers towards reading as they progressed from the fourth to the eighth grade." This signals an urgent need for easy-to-read books in a variety of subjects and topics and improved reading skills.
13Stanchfield, "Boys1 Reading Interests as Revealed through Per sonal Conferences," p. 44. 26
When Martin asked sixth graders in an Illinois suburban community to name the three best books they had read, that is, "books found so interesting that it was difficult to put them down before they had 14 finished," the children listed 50 titles. Qualities which appealed to the 250 children included animals, biographies, children's activ ities, American history, and humor. Peltola asked some 3*000 children in grades four and six in a Minnesota suburban community to name their favorite book characters. 15 Of the 963 different books listed, the sixth graders named realistic stories more often than make-believe stories. Titles of books that were listed in at least one of three standard reference sources about children's literature were classified as "recommended." Peltola found that the children v/ho read "not rec ommended" books tended to have higher reading achievement than those who named characters from "recommended" books.
This review of the research of certain general reading interests of children in the middle grades reveals some consistent findings which may be summarized as follows;
1. Children enjoy stories about animals (wild or tame, real or fanciful), family and school, children, people, sports, outdoor life, humor and nonsense, teen-agers, romance, and American history.
^Marvin Martin, 'T'ifty Books They Can't Resist," Elementary English. XXXIX (May, 1962), pp. 415-417.
^Bette J. Peltola, "A Study of the Indicated Literary Choices and Measured Literacy Knowledge of Fourth and Sixth Grade Boys and Girls" (Abstract of unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota, 1965)* 27 2. Children also show sophisticated tastes in science and social studies topics.
3. Children's reading interests appear to be specialized— those they read about, talk about, and look up in books.
4. Action, surprise, unexpectedness, and suspense are qualities which children like in the content of their reading.
Children's Interests in Poetry
Although a part of the early studies of reading interests, poetry has received the specific attention of only a very few recent investi gators. Celestine suggested that the lack of interest in the subject may be found in the "prejudice created by several of the earlier stud ies in reading interests which rated poetry as intrinsically of little interest to the child.Highlights of the pioneer studies which may have given rise to this attitude are reviewed in the following pages.
In 1895 Wissler found from the returns of nearly 2,000 children
(ages eight through fifteen) that 63 per cent of the girls and 71 per cent of the boys selected prose over poetry. 17 Although children pre ferred prose to poetry, interest in poetry increased with age for both boys and girls, but girls led with a constant gain. Vostrovsky re ported that poetry preferences of school children were negligible and
^Sister M. Celestine, "A Survey of the literature on Reading Interests of Children in the Elementary Grades," Catholic University of America Educational Research Bulletin, No. 2-3 (Pebruary-March, 1930), pp. 68-69.
17Clark Wissler, "The Interests of Children in the Reading Work of the Elementary School." Pedegogieal Seminary. V (1897-1898), p. 532. 28 did not v/arrant a separate classification in her study. 18 Jordan noted little pupil interest in poetry, but observed that the girl3 showed a rise in their poetry interest between the ages of fourteen and eight- een.19
Dunn conducted a pioneer study on children's interests in primary grade reading materials in 1921, involving children in 195 classes in scattered geographical areas. Reading selections were paired for high interest and a v/ide range of interests and then read to children who used "vote slips" to indicate their preferences. After extraneous elements v/ere eliminated, Dunn found the qualities of "poeticalness and verse forms" correlated v/ith interest to an indifferent degree,
"neither making nor marring interest." On the basis of this low cor relation, Dunn questioned the amount of poetry found in school readers since over one-half of the selections in 29 readers was poetry rather 20 than prose. When taken out of context, the writer sees rather clearly that these findings by Dunn could easily have led people to believe that children were disinterested in poetry. A careful review of Dunn's study reveals that she attempted to place the factors of
18Clara Vostrovsky, "A Study of Children's Reading Tastes," Pedegogical Seminary, VI (1899), pp. 523-555#
19Arthur Melville Jordan, Children's Interests in Reading, Con tributions to Education, Ho. 107 (Hew- York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1921), pp. 89-91.
20Fannie Wyche Dunn, Interest Factors in Primary Reading Material, Contributions to Education^ IIo. 113 (New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1921), p. 43. (Hereinafter referred to as Inter est Factors.) Interest in poetry in perspective. To illustrate, in discussing the
catholicity of childrens interests, Dunn states, "Children like the
stozy, or plot element, but they like it whether it appears in fiction,
in verse, or in historical prose."21
Dunn, however, recognized that the limited proportion of poetic
selections in her samples (five) of the study "is not adequate for 22 final conclusions." She further suggested that the question of in
terest in verse might well be made the subject of further investi- 23 gation. The classroom investigations of Grant and White involved a total of 24 600 pupils from city and rural schools. Children's request for 25 poetry ranked fourth after animal, fairy, and folk stories. Grant
and White questioned the earlier finding of Jordan, Wissler,
^Ibid., p. 69.
22 The writer observes that only five samples of poetic selections were included in the study although 51 per cent of the material in textbooks was in verse form. It is conceivable that this may have skewed the results of the study.
23 Dunn, Interest Factors, p. 48.
QA Emma B. Grant and Margaret I. White, "A Study of Children's Choices of Reading Materials," Teachers College Record, XXVI (April, 1925), pp. 674-675. 30 Vostrovsky, and Dunn that children's interests in poetry seemed 26 small. They stated that "tfith more prose than poetry from which to
choose v/e found three out of fifteen boys voluntarily choosing po- 27 etry." Unfortunately, subsequent investigators have not confirmed or refuted this important statement of Grant and ”/hite.
One of the early poetry studies was an attempt by King to find out v/hich poems are liked the most by American children of elementary 28 school ages. Over 4,500 children in ten cities participated in the study. Poems chosen by children ten or more times v/ere listed and classified according to categories such as: lyrical, nature, story telling, social, humor, holidays-seasons, patriotic, historical, ad venture, emotional appeal, and life.
In 1927, Miriam B. Huber, Herbert B. Bruner, and Charles LI. 29 30 Curiy, editors of The Poetry Book, published the results of a com prehensive study of children's interests in poetry. Children read 100
26Ibid.. p. 676.
27Ibid. 28 Cora King, "Pavorite Poems for Children in Elementary School Age," Teachers College Record. XXIII (May, 1922), pp. 255-273*
29 Miriam B. Huber, Herbert 3. Bruner, and Charles LI. Curry, Chil dren's Interest in Poetry. (Chicago: Rand, McNally and Company, 1927).
______, eds., The Poetry Book. 9 volumes (Chicago: Rand, McNally and Company, 1926). 31 carefully selected poems in groups of five and listed the name of the
'•best liked'* and "least liked" in each group. Huber-Bruner-Curry found that some poems were liked in several grades. An examination of the "least liked" poen3 showed that they contained elements of subtlety 31 of thought or complexities of rhythm. This finding is in agreement with Dunn’s conclusion that the quality of introspective meditation in poetry does not interest children. 32 Children's selections showed no differentiation in favor of either modem poetry (1926) or older po- etry. 33 The results of this extensive study were presented in three listings of poems according to: (1) grade placement of poems arranged in rani: order, (2) authors of all poems in either the experimental or final edition, and (3) titles of all poems in the final edition of the poetry book.
Helen K. Mackintosh was a pioneer investigator of children’s 34 choices in poetry. She conducted three interrelated studies. The first two paralleled each other in method, procedure, and conclusions.
The first study included the selection of 100 poems from recognized anthologies, suggestions from authorities of children’s literature, and courses of study. Pupils in grade five were asked to help their
^Huber, Children’s Interest in Poetry, pp. 70-71. 32 Dunn, Interest Factors, p. 69*
33“^Huber, Children’s Interest in Poetry, p. 69*
*^Helen K. Mackintosh, "A Critical Study of Children's Choices in Poetry," University of Iowa Studies in Education, VII, No. 4 (September, 1932), pp. 7-10, 36-38• 32 teachers determine the best possible list of poems for other fifth graders. 35 Some of the findings of this study are still valid todays
(1) When given a choice, children ranked many poems not included in the course of study higher than those included, (2) Children favored humor and dialect, as v/ell as story and action poems, (3) The most favored poems contain "not one but several characteristics that appeal to children, and probably contains an appeal to more than one grade,"
(4) Boys' and girls' interests show little variation, except that boys prefer "war" and dislike "love," while girls have the opposite prefer ences, and (5) A poem characterized by calm, thoughtful, meditative 36 qualities was rated poorly.
The third and most extensive Mackintosh study was a critical ana lysis of children's choices among 400 selected poems. Pupils in con trol and experimental groups marked poems they preferred and those they thought other fifth graders would not like. 37 Bindings and con clusions from this experiment relevant today are: (l) Children tend to select poems which have the largest number of interest qualities for them, such as, child experience, dialect, humor, imagination,good story, sadness, and repetition. Poets popular with children then were
35Helen K. Mackintosh, "A Study of Children's Choices in Poetry," Elementary English Review. I (May, 1924), pp. 85-89.
56Ibid., p. 89.
37Mackintosh, "A Critical Study of Children's Choices in Poetry," pp. 56-59. 33 Dalyy Guiterman, Lear, Milne, Riley, and Carroll; (2) In terms of the experiment, children's ratings differed from teacher's ratings*
Teachers tended to rate traditional poems higher; yet, they appeared to agree with children's ratings of modem poetry; and (3) Literary merit was no guarantee that a poem would be liked by children* llack- intosh maintained that poems relating to children's actual or vi carious experiences are preferred by children. She re-emphasized the fact that children have little interest in the "thoughtful, meditative 38 type of poem."
In 1927 Eckert compared the poetry choices of 200 Pittsburgh school children in grades one, two, and three. 39 Eckert concluded that the children preferred (l) the conventional type of children's poetry found in the better anthologies of child verse to those in their textbooks, and (2) adult choices of poetry for children seldom coincided with the judgment of children in the matter.
About forty years later, Nelson reported a study of poetry pref erences of children along lines set by Eckert with one main differ ence: Eckert compared poems which were meant to be read to children to poems which were intended to be read b£ children. Nelson, on the other hand, compared poems intended to be read to, children to other
58Ibid., pp. 120-122.
59Mollie Horton Eckert, "Children's Choices of Poems," Elementary English Review, V (June, 1928), pp. 182-185. 34 poems intended to be read to children. 40 Nelson found that a primary child likes poems either about his experiences or near-nonsense humor with a clear story line combined with action. 41 He is of the opinion that for the first three grades at least, the concept that poetry as a listening experience seems more justified than the concept of poetry as a reading experience.
One of the early and significant "in-depth" poetry studies was 42 reported by Weekes. Tests were devised to study the influence of meaning, sentence structure, and experience on the interests in poetry of 400 sixth graders in two equivalent groups. Weekes concluded that both figurative language and complicated sentence structure tend to obscure meaning. The extent and nature of the reader's experience is an important factor in interpreting the poet's meaning. The reader tends to choose poems which he understands clearly. The poetry choices of first grade children and teachers v/ere the concern of Bradshaw. 43 Over 500 children and their teachers in repre sentative towns of Iowa and Illinois participated in the study.
^Richard C. Nelson, "Children's Poetry Preference," Elementary' English, XLIII (March, 1966), pp. 247-251.
41Ibid., pp. 249-250.
4 ^Blanche E. Weekes, The Influence of Meaning on Children's Choices of Poetry, Contributions to Education, No. 354 (New York; Teachers College,Columbia University, 1929).
4^Ruth E. Bradshaw, "Children's Choices in Poetry in the First Grade," Elementary English Review, XIV (May, 1937), pp. 168-176. 35
Conclusions of the Bradshaw study relevant today ares (l) Children like some old and some new poena regardless of quality, authorship, or source, (2) Children have decided preferences and are fairly consistent in their poetiy choices, and (3) Children like humorous poems better than others and like poems dealing with their own "philosophy and ac tivities next best."44
At the University of California, Kyte and his graduate students reported a study of children*s reactions to selected poems in 1947*
Fifty representative poems were classified according to content, mechanics, techniques of verse, patterns of the poem, kinds of po- etry, and length. 45 Pupils from the third through eighth grades indi cated whether they liked, disliked, or were undecided about a poem.
Generally, conclusions reached by Kyte confirm those of earlier studies (by Mackintosh, Eckert, Bradshaw, Huber-Bruner-Curry, and
Weekes) reported above.
A comparative study of the preferences of intermediate grade children for selected old and new poems was conducted by Avegno in 46 1956. Avegno*s findings confirm those of such early investigators as Mackintosh, Eckert, Bradshaw, and Kyte reported above. Children who participated in the Avegno study preferred the selected new poems
44Ibid.. p. 176.
4"* George C. Kyte, "Children*s Reactions to Fifty Selected Poems," Elementary School Journal, XLVII (February, 1947), pp. 331-339.
46T. Silvia Avegno, "Intermediate Grade Children*s Choices of Poetiy," Elementary English, XXXIII (November, 1956), pp. 428-432. 36
slightly more than the old poems. However, an examination of the six
best-liked old and best-liked new poems showed that they v/ere rather
similar in content— animal, humor, everyday things, and people. This
was further verified in the listing of ten poems most often reread
Failure to understand the poem, as v/as pointed out by V/eekes,^ v/as
the most frequently recorded reason for disinterest in poetry. Other
reasons for a distaste for poetry v/ere: no rhyme, no story, no action,
extremes in length, boring, babyish, silly, not true, and too repeti
tious. Such factors as the follov/ing (all identified in earlier re
search reported above) v/ere given for liking poems: rhyme, vocabulary,
story description, reality, truthfulness, familiar experiences, holi day, adventure, action, humor, imagination, and animals.
Poetry preferences of children formed a major part of Horvell's study which v/as reported in 1958. Poems v/hich v/ere humorous and v/ere about animals made up 83 per cent of the 50 best-liked poems of the boys and girls. Patriotism, holiday, didactic, and nature poems fol lowed in that order. There v/ere no fairy poems, but nature poems v/ere not found in the list for intermediate grades. Few poems which adults rate highly in literary quality v/ere represented in the lists. Only
Lear and Milne of the 8 or 10 highly recommended children’s poets v/ere 48 favored by the children. It is to be noted that Norvell’s list
47 Y/eekes, Influence of Meaning on Children’s Choices of Poetry, pp. 39-40. 48 Norvell, Yfoat Boys and Girls Like to Read, pp. 57-72. represents poems to which children were exposed in readers and in
other school materials in New York at a time when there were probably few schools with rich literary environments.
One of Norvellfs conclusions was that specific research infor mation on children's interests in poetry should be available to
teachers and librarians. This v/as supported by his analysis of re plies from 137 representative New York state children's school and public school librarians and teachers of the intermediate grades on two questions: (l) Y/hether, in their opinion, a list of 107 individ ual poems would be very interesting, fairly interesting, and uninter esting to boys and to girls and (2) Their rating of the popularity of six categories of poems in order of popularity with children (humor, patriotism, home and family, war, nature, fairies, didactism). In their ratings of individual poems, the adults were only 30 per cent correct in their ratings, i.e., their ratings corresponded to chil
dren's choices in less than three out of ten poems. The adults did not do very well in their estimate of the popularity of categories of poems. Except for humor, which the adults ell agree was popular with children, the adults rated all other categories of poetry much higher than the children's ratings.^
The majority of the studies reviewed have been attempts to study poetry interests of children in groups of various sizes, from several classrooms to over 30,000 children. These studies have indicated a number of trends which are helpful in understanding what types and 38 qualities of poetry appeal to children. They also help to guide ser ious-minded classroom teachers who are willing to make the effort to conduct "action11 research. Two examples of this type of classroom re search were studies conducted by Hofer and Pittman.
In a rural community of a mid-western state Hofer kept records of student reaction to poems and found that the children in her class liked poems about "experiences they too had had but about which they 50 had been inarticulate." The inland mid-westerners were limited in their appreciation of poems about the sea, an area in which they lacked first-hand experience. This finding confirmed earlier research by
Weekes reported above. When students responded to Hofer1s invitation to bring in poems they enjoyed at home, they produced poems with the element of humor.
Pittman first conducted a study of the general reading interests of her group of third graders in Y/est Lafayette, Indiana. The twenty- four week reading interest investigation revealed that of 1,140 books read, only a total of twelve poetry books were reported. After ana lyzing the reading interests of the group, Pittman conducted an in- vestigation into their specific interests in poetry. 51 Her findings did not differ from those reported in studies cited above.
50 Louise B. Hofer, "tfhat Bo Sixth Graders Really Like in Po etry?" Elementary English, XXXIII (November, 1956), pp. 433-438.
^Grace Pittman, ,fYoung Children Enjoy Poetry," Elementary English. XLIII (January, 1966), pp. 56-69. The effects of the teacher* s preference of poems on the chil
dren* s poetry choices was an early study by Coast in 1928. Children in the first five grades of the Elementary School, State University of
Iowa were subjects. Teachers were asked to emphasize poetry during the literature periods and to call the attention of children to vol umes of poetry in the classroom. At the end of a week of emphasizing poetry, children were given questionnaires to complete about their ten favorite poem3. At the same time teachers were asked to fill out questionnaires listing the ten favorite poems which they most enjoyed teaching. There was an overlap between children*s and teacher*s choices, particularly in grade one. The findings indicate chiefly that the children chose poems they had heard most recently.
A number of conclusions may be drawn from this review of research in poetry:
1. Children enjoy poems about their familiar experiences, people, holidays, historical events, nature, especially animals. 2. Children like such qualities as rhythm, humor, imagination, narration, some repetition, and action in poems.
3. Distinct sex differences are evident in children*s tastes in poetzy. Boys prefer war and adventure in poems while girls prefer poems about home and family.
4. The calm, meditative, thoughtful poem is not popular.
5. literary quality is no guarantee that a poem will be liked by children.
^2Alice B. Coast, ’’Children's Choices of Poetry as Affected by Teacher's Choices.” Elementary English Review. V (May, 1928), pp. 145-147. 40 6* Poems liked in one grade are usually liked in several grades*
7. Children like poems regardless of poet, source, or quality.
Literature regarding the factors affecting the reading interests of children, such as sex and age, mental ability, and home-school en vironmental conditions is discussed in the next section.
Factors Affecting Reading Interests
Research studies of inter-related factors that affect reading in terests will be reviewed in this section: (l) age and sex, (2) mental ability, and (3) the home-school environment.
Age and sex
Age and sex differences do influence children's tastes in reading.
In 1917-1918, Jordan studied the reading interests of children by using a questionnaire and by observing children's uses of library 53 books. The questionnaire study of 3*500 children asked the boys and girls to list, in order of preference, the names of five books and five magazines read. Between the ages of nine and twelve, adventure was the major interest of the boys,and girls we re more interested in fiction. Both boys and girls showed little interest in biography, history, travel, and science. At twelve and thirteen the girls se lected fiction five times as often as boys and juvenile books ("stories" for younger readers) about three times as often. Boys, on the con trary, chose adventure nearly four times as frequently as the girls.
^Jordan, Children's Interests in Reading. 41 In addition, boys displayed a continual rise in interest in current events between the ages nine to eighteen, while girls showed an in- terest between fourteen to eighteen years. 54
The Jordan library investigation of over 800 observations con cerning books children selected,books they requested, and books they borrowed generally confirmed the observations of the first study. 7far and sport stories were added to the boys1 interest and "love" and fairy stories to the girls'. The boys we re more interested in factual books than the girls.^
About seven years later, in 1925, Jordan duplicated his survey with 1,559 high school children. Jordan found that adventure books appealed more and attributed it to the development of the motion picture. He commented that girls "stick to fiction at all times and in all places." A few of the girls did prefer adventure and humor, but except for poetry, which they liked "a little," the girls were not interested in factual books; however, they did favor biographies of 56 women.
An extensive survey of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of children's reading was conducted by Tennan and Lima in the mid
54Ibid., pp. 88-91.
55Ibid., pp. 122-128.
^Arthur Melville Jordan, Children's Interests in Reading. Re vised and Brought Down to Date (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1926), pp. 91-92. 42
1920's. 57 The two groups of children in this study were from the ages of six to sixteen. The control group of children were from three small
California cities; the second group of children had intelligence scores of 135 and higher as measured by the Stanford-Binet test and were chosen from the entire state.
Teiman and lima found that sex differences greatly influenced the amount of reading. Before age nine, children were learning the skills of reading and did not read much, but at ages ten to eleven, there was 58 a decided increase in the number of books read. By ages twelve to thirteen, the "reading craze" age, children reached the maximum amount or peak of their reading. Girls reached their peak at twelve and boys at thirteen. Moreover, there was a drop in the amount of reading during ages fourteen and fifteen, the high school years. Not only did the girls in the study read more at every age, but they showed more homogeneity in reading tastes than did the boys. For example, a book popular with girls would be popular with other groups of girls.59
57Lewis M. Teiman and Margaret Lima, Children's Reading. A Guide for Parents and Teachers (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1926). (Hereinafterreferred to as Children's Reading.)
58Recent studies which have identified sex differences in reading in primary grades, as early as grade one, were reported by Helen Rogers and H. Alan Robinson, "Reading Interests of First Graders," Elementary English, XL (November, 1963)» PP* 707-711 and McAulay, "Social Studies Interests of the Primary Grade Child."
59Teiman and Lima, Children's Reading, pp. 68-70. 43 Terman and Lima also organized data from the study into a summary of
the development of reading interests of children from nursery school
to high school.^ The findings of Jordan, and Terman and Lima rela
tive to age and sex confirm those of a number of early investigators 61 62 6*5 such as Bullock, Wissler, and Vostrovsky, as did those of
Lazar.T 64
Thorndike studied the reading interests of approximately 3,000
children in grades four to twelve. 65 Two significant differences were noted. First, within the same sex, children are much more alike than different in their interests; and second, sex is more important than age or intelligence as a determiner of interest patterns studied.
While there is a cluster of boys1 or girls' interests, there is no
60Ibid., pp. 31-45.
^Royal Bullock, "Some Observations of Children's Reading," na tional Education Association Proceedings. 1897, pp. 1015-1017.
^^Wissler, "Interest of Children in Reading."
65Vostrovsky, "A Study of Children's Reading Tastes."
^May Lazar, Reading Interests, Activities and Opportunities of Bright, Average, and Bull Children. Contributions to Education, No. 707 (Hew York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1937), p. 58. (Hereinafter referred to as Reading Interests of Children.)
65 Robert L. Thorndike, A Comparative Study of Children's Reading Interests, Based on a Fictitious Annotated Title Questionnaire (Hew York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1941), pp. 35-36. (Hereinafter referred to as Children's Reading Interests.) 44 comparable pattern of a particular age which appears for both sexes.
This does not mean that both sexes m a y not be interested in the same topics, but that if it is known that a ten-year-old boy likes a par ticular title, the prospect is that it is more likely to be enjoyed by a fifteen-year^old boy.
A number of conclusions regarding sex and age as factors in the reading interests of children may be drawn from these studies:
1. Sex and age affect the reading interests of children.
2. Reading preferences of children are apparent as early as grade one.
3. Girls read more and reach their maximum or peak a year ahead of boys, but in general, boys have a wider range of reading interests than girls.
4. Boys seldom read "girl" books, but girls often read "boy11 books.
5. Boys are chiefly interested in adventure and girls prefer fiction, but elements of mystery and humor, and animal stories have strong appeal to both sexes.
6. Within the same sex, children are more alike than different in their reading interests.
7. Sex is more important than age or mental ability as a de terminer of reading interests. A book popular with a boy of ten will be more likely to be popular with a fifteen-year- old boy.
Mental ability Huber conducted one of the early systematic studies of intel ligence as a factor in childrens reading interests.The reactions
Sliilam Banton Huber, The Influence of Intelligence upon Chil dren^ Reading Interests, Contributions to Education, No. 312 (New• York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1928). 45 of children of different intelligence levels to the same literary se lections which we re read aloud were analyzed. The selections were of six types: (l) familiar experiences, (2) unusual experiences, (3) humor, (4) fancy, (5) information, and (6) heroism and service. Com ponents of the literary selections included purpose, plot, fancy, action, animals, adventure, humor, and kindliness. The subjects were
430 pupils in grades one through five from public schools in Yonkers,
New York. The responses were separated into three groups according to the respondents* intelligence scores. Ability groups were designated as dull, average, and bright levels of intelligence.
Huber concluded that the reading interests of dull, average, and bright children are very much alike for the types of literature stud ied. Humor was the only type of literature in which there was some difference in the rankings. It ranked second for the bright and average groups and fourth for the dull. If humor were removed from the rankings, the order of preference for all groups would be, in rank order: fancy, adventure, heroism, information, and familiar ex perience. This lack of divergence in type of literature preferences was confirmed in a recent study by Ramsey with 142 children in grades 67 four, five, and six of high and low reading ability.
67 Wallace Ramsey, "A Study of Salient Characteristics of Pupils of High and Low Reading Ability," Journal of Developmental Reading, V (Winter, 1962), pp. 87-94. (Hereinafter referred to as "Salient Characteristics of Pupils.") While Huber used specified literary selections to compare read ing preferences of children, two investigations utilized pupil reading records as their chief sources of information. In the first study, Terman and lima used an experimental group (brilliant chil dren) and a group of children of average ability as a control group.
Terman and lima found that both boys and girls liked adventure or mystery stories and fairy tales. Bright boys read more biography, history, and science than boys of the control group. Girls in the control group leaned toward more sensational fiction— romantic novels 68 and "love” stories— more than the girls of the gifted group. In the second study, Lazar compared the reading backgrounds and inter ests of 2,000 children (ages 10 through 12) selected from different levels of intelligence. About 60 per cent of their parents were foreign born and foreign languages were spoken in 40 per cent of the homes. Lazar reported that girls of all three mental ability levels read more books than boys.^ This confirmed the early research of Leh- mflw and Witty70 and Lancaster* 71 Bright children, both boys and girls, reported reading many more books than average and dull children. Dull
68Terman and lima, Children1 s Reading, pp. 60-61. gq Lazar, Beading Interests of Children, p. 80.
^Harvey C. Lehman and Paul A. Witty, "Sex Differences in Refer ence to Reading Books Just for Pun," Education, XLVIII (June, 1928), pp. 602-617. ^Thomas J. Lancaster, "A Study of the Voluntary Reading of Pupils in Grades IV-YIII," Elementary School Journal, XXVIII (March, 1928), pp. 525-537. 47 72 7^ 7 A girls read more than dull boys. Cooper and Ramsey found that intelligence seemed related to the number of books read over a given period of time. Lazar concluded that there seemed to be a definite relationship between intelligence levels of pupils and types of books liked best. The bright pupils ranked novels, science, and animal stories highest. On the other hand, the dull children liked fairy tales, detective stories, nature and animal stories, and poetry. The fact that books of this latter type v/ere also preferred by younger children led Lazar to wonder whether dull children might be selecting books on the basis of mental age rather than actual age. Lazar also reported that when the boys indicated preferences for "girl" books, they very often were from the dull group, but that bright girls showed preferences for "boy" books.75
Two important conclusions relating to mental ability may be drawn from Thorndike's study. First, bright children are more like a group of mentally slower children who are about two or three years older.
In other words, bright and slow children of the same age have
72 Lazar, Reading Interests of Children, p. 53.
73 Adeline K. Cooper, "An Analysis of the Independent Reading of Sixth Grade Pupils in Selected Rural, Small Town, and Urban Schools of Eastern South Dakota" (unpublished Ed.D. dissertation, State Univer sity of South Dakota, 1959: Dissertation Abstracts. XX (i960), pp. 2646-3547.
Ramsey, "Salient Characteristics of Pupils."
73 Lazar, Reading Interests of Children, pp. 58-59, 77. 48 interests which are much alike; it is only when the brighter children are also older that larger differences in reading interests become ap parent between them and others in their group. Second, the acceler ation of interest by bright children is not limited to interest in titles of a more academic nature but is extended to include interest 76 in mystery, adventure, science, and invention.
These investigations support the following general conclusions relative to mental ability or intelligence as a factor in reading in terests of children:
1. There is little difference in the reading interests of bright, average, and dull children, but bright children usually have a wider range of interests.
2. Bright children read many more books than average children and continue beyond age thirteen when most average children have reached their peaks in reading.
3. Bright children read books which dull children two or three years older like, while dull children often read books which bright children several years younger read.
4. Adventure rather than humor is preferred by dull children.
5. Bright children usually prefer quality while the dull are interested in content only.
The home-school environment
In studying the socio-economic factors that affected the reading interests, activities, and opportunities of children of several levels of intelligence, Lazar found a strong correlation between the general quality of the home background and the intelligence of the child;
^Thorndike, Children*s Reading Interests, pp. 35-36. there was also a direct correlation between reading materials in the home and the socio-economic status. Closely related to these condi tions was the fact that bright pupils v/ho rated lowest in the socio economic status shov/ed an interest in reading, but the quality of the material chosen was inferior. 77
The relationship between reading interests and socio-economic T8 status of children in the fifth grade v/as studied by Roster. Socio economic status v/as found to be of greater influence than age, reading ability, or intelligence in determining reading interests. Further, socio-economic class was also found to be of more significance than sex in determining reading interests. Roster identified the following reading interest areas for each of three social classes: (l) lower: people, children, God and the Bible; (2) upper: history, geography, and true science; and (3) middle: no particular interest as a group in any area. In another study, Vandament found no significant differ ences of interest in different types of fantasy for children in dif- 79 ferent socio-economic levels.
77 Lazar, Reading Interests of Children, pp. 100-101.
^Arlene A. Roster, "An Investigation of the Relationship Between Interests and Socio-economic Status of Children" (unpublished Ed.D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1955)» cited by Warren G. Cutts, Research in Reading for the Iliddle Grades, an Annotated Bib liography "(Washington, B.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1963)» p. 37. ^^William E. Vandament and W. A. Thai man, "An Investigation Into the Reading Interests of Children," Journal of Educational Research, XLIX (February» 1956), pp. 467-470. McCullough studied the reading interests of fifth graders in three socio-economic areas by examining the logs of out-of-school ac- 80 tivities kept by 390 children for one week. Data showed differences among the "hill1' children, those in the central area, and the "water front" children. Nearly half the "hill" children reported reading books; in the waterfront schools, more girls than boys read books.
In general, "reading books" as an activity ranked "fifth" with the
"hill" groups and "thirteenth and fourteenth" with the central and waterfront children respectively. McCullough raised two significant questions: "How can the child make room for reading when life is crowded with other activities?" "How can reading become an interest when the entire family spends most of its time viewing television?"
Both parents and children were involved in Jefferson's study which used annotated fictitious titles to determine whether parents 81 know their children's reading interests. Jefferson concluded that in a typical group of "normal" middle class white American parents:
(l) Groups of parents estimated the reading preferences of groups of children fairly accurately. (2) Parents were particularly aware of the reading dislikes of their children. (3) Parents may underestimate or overestimate their children's interests in a few selections. Some
80Constance M. McCullough, "A Log of Children's Out-of-School Activities." Elementary School Journal. LVTII (December, 1957), pp. 157-165. ®^Benjamin P. Jefferson, "Some Relationships Between Parents' and Children's Preferences in Juvenile Literature," Elementary School Journal. LVIII ( J a n u a r y , 1958), pp. 212-218. 51 parents did overestimate the appeal of travel stories by the young children.
Recent sociological contributions to reading research discussed by Ennis substantiate the fact that reading receives less support in lower socio-economic groups. The importance of the home atmosphere in 82 relation to reading has probably been underestimated.
Research studies which show a relationship between the provision of books in the school and the amount and quality of reading are limited in number. Two ex post facto studies, though not representa- 05 Q / tive, support this assumption. Both Llonahan and Leavitt found that in elementary schools with central libraries the students read more books, read books more varied in content, and of better quality than children in schools without school libraries. The Witty, Coomer, and McBean study also reflected the use children made of available and
82Philip Ennis, "Recent Sociological Contributions to Reading Research," Reading Teacher, XVII (May, 1964), pp. 577-531.
^Marietta Monahan, "A Comparison of Student Reading in Elementary Schools With and Without a Central Library" (unpublished master's thesis, Graduate Library School, University of Chicago, 1956), cited by Mary Virginia Gaver, Effectiveness of Centralized Library Service in Elementary Schools, 2nd 'edition (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University, 1963), pp. xxv-xxvii.
^Marianne G. Leavitt, "The Effect of School Library Facilities on Fifth and Sixth Grade Reading Habits" (unpublished Master's thesis, Graduate School of Library Science, Drexel Institute of Technology, 1954)> cited by Mary Virginia Gaver, ibid. 52 85 accessible reading materials in schools with libraries. In a study 86 of the effectiveness of centralized school library service in ele mentary schools, Graver found that children read more books and in a larger number of interest areas in schools with centralized school library services than in schools with classroom collections only or 87 centralized collections. In her doctoral investigation, Lowrie re ported observations on what to expect when school libraries (as de fined by Gaver) become more widely developed on the American educa tional scene, lowrie discussed the enlargement of reading interests through guidance in the library and classroom for children in grades four through six. Brief reference was made to the practice of the 88 teachers1 reading to students.
85 Wittyt Coomer and LIc3ean, "Children*s Choices of Pavorite Books," p. 276.
86 Gaver defines the school library as "An organized central col lection of books and other materials, broad in variety and content, housed in a room in a school for the use of students and teachers and under the direction of a librarian, (it was assumed in this case, also, that school libraries would as a rule be supplemented by class room collections.)" Llary Virginia Gaver, Effectiveness of Centralized Library Service in the Elementary School, p. 1.
87Ibid., pp. 97-98.
^Jean Elizabeth Lowrie, Elementary School Libraries (llew York: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1961), pp. 5S-82. (Abridged edition of "Ele mentary School Libraries: A Study of the Programs in Ten School Systems in the Areas of Curriculum Enrichment and Beading Guidance with Emphasis on Pourth, Pifth, and Sixth Grades" (Doctoral dis sertation, School of Library Science, Western Reserve University, February, 1959). 53 The following conclusions may be drawn from this review of studies on the home-school environment:
1* There is a direct correlation between the supply of reading materials found in the home and socio-economic status.
2. Socio-economic conditions are significant in establishing reading interests and interest in reading.
3. Some groups of parents, particularly of the middle class ap pear to know a great deal about the reading interests of their children.
4. Regardless of socio-economic levels, children with access to school libraries read more, read more widely, and read books of better quality than those without the use of school libraries.
The literature pertaining to the reading interests of children reviewed in the three foregoing sections provide a background for the next section which concerns studies relating to the practice of teach ers reading aloud to pupils.
Studies of Teacher Reading-Aloud Practices
There are far fewer investigations of the extent to which teach ers use literature in the classroom or of the practice of oral reading by teachers in their pupils than there are studies, of the reading in terests of children.
'*Daily reading to class in grades 3-4" was used as a part of tentative criteria presented by Irwin in 1963 for evaluating literature programs in elementary schools. 89 Preliminary steps in the study
®Martha B. Irwin, "Evaluating Elementary Literature Programs," Elementary English. XL (December, 1963), pp» 846-849 , 888. included: (l) reviewing professional literature, (2) reviewing the standards for school libraries, (3) identifying schools judged by language arts and library specialists as having good literature pro grains, and (4 ) asking principals of the schools so judged ("criterion schools") to respond to a questionnaire regarding the details of the program. A two-part evaluation check list was developed from the re sponses of principals and the recommendations of language arts and library specialists. In a very broad sense, the criteria presented by
Irwin may be considered a reflection of the "attitude" toward liter ature programs of the respondents. The check list was intended to be used by the individual teacher, by teachers in a building, or by teachers in an entire school system.
The "tentative" check list consisted first, of "provisions for literature in the curriculum" and second, "classroom activities."
Items under "provisions for literature in the curriculum" relating to the teaching or the uses of literature included: (l) administrative provisions (curriculum guides for literature or literature as part of language arts and reading guides, "specific or suggested tine allotment," "self-contained" classes for literature, "individualized approach to literature"); (2) in-service activities (supervisor or con sultant in the language arts and/or reading, some use of teacher dis cussion groups about literature and its uses, some demonstration teaching of literature, the availability of magazines for reference);
(3) evaluating and reporting pupil development (elimination of grade in literature as a subject, informing parents of growth in literature— other than by grades). The section on "classroom activities" includes 55 such items as daily reading to class in grades three and four, oc
casional reading to class in grades five and six, occasional use of literature in science and social studies, and some analysis of lit erature.^®
In light of psychological theory, educational research, and fed eral commitment to education (libraries in particular, discussed in
Chapter I, the writer was dismayed at this quotation from Irwin's discussion:
The results of this survey point to the importance of library facilities to a literature program but they also reveal that schools can develop programs which gain recognition even with substandard facilities and, in some cases, with no school libraries at all. (However, the criterion schools without libraries in the buildings rely heavily upon public facilities and classroom col lections.)^
Irwin offered no data to support this observation. Research findings of Llonohan, Leavitt, and Gaver cited in the preceding section appear to discredit Irwin's conclusion.
Some of the dynamic and hitherto unrealized possibilities of lit- 92 erature are brought out in the experimental study by Cohen. Cohen used the reading of literature by teachers to children to offset reading retardation resulting from inadequate oral language and
^°Ibid.. pp. 847-848.
91Ibid., p. 849.
92 Cohen, "The Effects of Literature on Vocabulary and Reading Achievement." 56
insufficient motivation. This study involved second-grade classes in
seven special service schools in Hew York City. Post-test data were
obtained from 285 pupils. The groups were matched on the basis of age, sex, socio-economic class, reading levels, and ethnic and racial
distribution (predominately Puerto Rican and Negro). Holdovers were not included in the study. Intelligence testing was not permitted, but no known cases of mental retardation were observed.
Classes were taught by licensed teachers of average competency who had at least one year of teaching experience. Basal reader series were used for teaching reading to all groups. Stozy-reading was the experimental variable and only teachers of the experimental groups read aloud from selected books each school day. Children of the ex perimental group were also given access to fifty books selected on three levels of difficulty based on story length, complexity of plot, and complexity of language. The books were selected by a jury of children's literature specialists familiar with socially disadvantaged young children. Books were chosen to promote ego involvement on the part of the learners; hence the stories contained concepts within their comprehension, appealed emotionally, and presented literary quality which emphasized the concrete and sensory instead of "ab
stractions or difficult time-space relationships.11
Teachers from the experimental groups were urged to read the
stories with attention to such desirable principles of oral interpre
tation as knowledge of the story before reading, proper phrasing,
voice control, and pacing. Appropriate language arts activities following the reading were suggested to strengthen comprehension and
vocabulary* In addition, teachers were also asked to introduce books
in the order of increasing difficulty, but once introduced, a book
could be read as often as the teacher or the class desired. No par
ticular plan v/as worked out for the control groups; if teachers read
at all, it v/as an '•occasional treat."
Standardized reading achievement tests and free association vo
cabulary tests were administered to the groups in October and June.
Test results of the three lowest classes in the experimental and con
trol groups indicated gains of the experimental group over the control group in vocabulary and word knowledge significant at the .05 level, 93 and reading comprehension significant at the .005 level.
Cohen's conclusions and implications suggested ways to improve vocabulary and reading achievement of the socially disadvantaged who
come to school with limited experiences, with no books at home, and practically no reading "models." The conclusions included: (l) Read ing aloud facilitates the listener's success in learning to read; (2)
Ego-involvement and comprehension of concepts are important in the se lection of stories to read. They may be used as criteria, and may provide motivation for reading while strengthening language develop ment; (3) Apparently repetition of stories read aloud aids the lis tener's transition from understanding oral language to comprehending the abstract symbols used in writing; (4 ) Vocabulary words appear to be learned best in familiar,emotional and intellectual context;
(5) Oral language and comprehension are foundations for reading; (6) listening to stories selected for emotional appeal and ease of concept formations appear to increase vocabulary development and the faculty of listening; and (7) The belief that a relationship exists between oral language and reading has been confirmed. 94
In 1967» Anderson conducted an informal survey concerning what books teachers read to children in the intermediate grades. 95 An in complete preliminary report of the study states that 296 teachers re sponded to a letter which asked for a list of books read aloud to their classes. The preliminary report did not give information on how the sample v/as selected, but did state, "In no way is this study to be considered as a scientific one." 96 Twenty-four states were represented by the respondents.
Teachers designated several purposes for their reading sessions.
The most frequently mentioned reason was that it encouraged "library reading." Other purposes mentioned v/ere: to gain a knowledge of the literary heritage, to introduce new and old books, to demonstrate that
94Ibid., pp. 213, 217.
"paul S. Anderson, ".'/hat Books Do Teachers Read to Children in the Intermediate Grades?", pp. 1-7. (Ditto copy from author.) 59 teachers enjoy and read children's books, and to bring some books which should be heard first, then read, to the attention of their classes.
As for the tine selected for reading sessions, the tine following the lunch period was nost frequently mentioned; in addition, many teachers reported the use of "other free time".
The ten books most frequently listed were:
Title Author
Charlotte's Web E. B. White Call It Courage Armstrong Sperry The Hundred Dresses Eleanor Estes The little House Books Laura I. Wilder Island of the 31ue Dolphin Scott O'Dell Twenty-One Balloons William DuBois .. .And Now Liiguel Joseph Krumgold Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Betty LIcDonald The Shadow of a Bull Wojciechowska Brighty of the Grand Canyon Margaret Henry97
Anderson also observed the listing of several "controversial" books. However, he did not state the nature of the controversy. A list of these books follow:
Title Author
North to Freedom Anne Holn Mazy Jane Dorothy Sterling The Ark Margo Benary Isbert Harriet the Spy Louise Fitzhugh Rascal Sterling North Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Ian Fleming A Brother for Orphelines Natalie Savage Carlson Dorp Dead Julia Cunningham Follow My Leader James Garfield Mr. Mysterious and Company Sid Fleischman^S
98. Ibid, pp. 1-2. 60 Other observations by Anderson concerned the number of tradi- tional classics being read. 99 He noted that men teachers appeared to be selecting different books to read aloud than women and that they were less likely to select classics for this purpose* Uneven quality in the selections seemed evident in books in series or of "sub-literature" quality. The frequent mention of poetry collections was also noted; one respondent limited all her reading to poetry.
Summary
This review of the literature concerning the reading interests of children and the current practice of teachers reading to their pupils first considered the general interest of children in prose and poetry.
Evidence supporting the following general statements was reported:
1. Children prefer prose to poetry.
2. Children have similar preferences in the content of both prose and poetry.
3. Children like the same qualities of story or narration, action, surprise, suspense, humor, and imagination in stories and poems.
99Part of two related studies conducted in England concerned books teachers of grades comparable to the middle grades read to their pupils: J. D. Carsley, "The Interests of Children (aged 10-11) in Books," The British Journal of Educational Psychology, XXVII (February, 1957) t PP« 13-23 and Joyce U. Morris, Standards and Progress in Reading...(The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Bucks: National Foundation for Educational Research in England and Y/ales, 1966), pp. xxvii-xxxiv. Both studies reported that children*s classics were read. Carsley found that "accepted children's classics and popular current children's stories were generally read." Morris observed that "a knowledge of the classics" v/as an objective which prevailed in the "junior classes." 61
4. Children enjoy reading and listening to stories and poems about familiar experiences, people, animals, and historical events. They also have sophisticated reading interests in science and social studies topics.
5. Children develop in their reading interests, from fiction to informational books.
How these general interests were affected by factors such as age, mental ability, sex, and home-school environmental conditions v/ere then considered. A review of such studies supported these general conclusions:
Mental ability
1. There is little difference in the reading interests of children of different mental ability groups, but bright children have a wider range of interests.
2. Bright children read books which dull children read two or three years later and dull children often read what bright children who are younger read.
Sex and age
1. Girls read more and reach their maximum or peak in reading earlier than do boys.
2. Boys usually have a wider range of reading interests than do girls.
3. Boys seldom select predominantly "girl" books, but girls often read "boy" books.
4. Within the same sex, children are much more alike than different in their reading interests.
5. Sex is more important than age or mental ability as a determiner of reading interests. 62
Home-school environmental conditions
1* Socio-economic status is more important than sex as a determiner of reading interests and interest in reading.
2. There is a direct correlation between reading materials found in the home and socio-economic status.
3* Socio-economic status is significant in establishing interest in reading and reading interests.
4. Regardless of socio-economic levels, children with access to school libraries read more, read more books of a better quality than do children in schools without school library facilities.
Studies of the current practice of teachers reading aloud to their classes indicated support for these general statements:
1. Oral reading by teachers to their students is one means of promoting interest in reading and in developing reading interests.
2. Literature read aloud may be used to stimulate growth in vocabulary and improve the reading comprehension of pupils; this has particular value in the Language Arts program of environmentally disadvantaged children.
3. There are fewer studies of what teachers read aloud to their pupils than what pupils choose to read.
4. The practice of teachers reading aloud to their students is not clearly seen as an objective in the literature pro gram of the elementary school.
Therefore, in consideration of the general reading interests of children in prose and poetry, in recognition of the factors that in fluence the reading interests of children, in viewing the potential ities of the literature program of the elementary school, a current
study of the content of what teachers in the United States read to
their classes appears significant. CHAPTER III
METHODS OP PROCEDURE
This mail questionnaire survey of the content, and the practices and procedures of the read-aloud programs of middle grade teachers had three major objectives: (l) To determine, classify, and evaluate the quality of the fiction and nonfiction titles teachers of grades four, five, and six read to their pupils. (2) To determine the content and to classify the titles or first lines of poems read by teachers ac cording to the subject categories of the selections. (3) To determine some of the situational factors that surrounded this reading of prose and poetry by the teachers. Situational factors in four areas were studied: (a) teacher background in children's literature courses,
(b) the availability of school and public libraries, (c) read-aloud practices, and (d) classroom activities and procedures used when reading aloud.
The first part of this chapter describes the procedures used in drawing the study sample and developing the questionnaire. This is followed by a brief account of the characteristics of the teachers in the sample. The fourth section concerns the procedures involved in the analysis of data gathered through the use of the instrument.
63 64 The Sampling Procedure
For the purposes of the study, the population was composed of teachers of public elementary schools of grades four, five, end six throughout the United States. A four-stage sampling procedure v;as used to obtain a representative selection of teachers for the investi gation.
First-stage: the selection of states.— The USAFI (United States
Air Force Institute) sampling plan was used to select the names of states to represent the four major geographical regions of the coun try.^" The names of five states were drawn to represent the four regions. Region State 2 North Atlantic Delaware, Vermont Southeast West Virginia Great Lakes and Plains Wisconsin West and Southwest Arizona
Second-stage: the selection of school districts.— Three phases were included in this stage: (1) The names of the school districts for each state identified for the study were stratified by enrollment 3 of 300 and above. This information was then verified from current
United States Aimed Forces Institute, "General Specifications for USAFI Subject Standardized Tests" (Madison, Wisconsin: United States Armed Forces Institute, n.d.), p. 7. (Mimeographed.) 2 The names of two states were drawn because Delaware alone did not have the required number of school districts to meet the number projected for the sample. 3 United States Office of Education, Education Directory, 1966-67. Part 2: Public School Systems (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1967). 65 4 state educational directories. A proportional representation for each enrollment level was worked out for each state. (2) The names of possible participants among the school districts were then randomly selected end the cooperation of their administrators was requested.
The investigator asked permission to write directly to teachers in the districts. The administrators were also asked to send current lists of teaching assignments.^ (3) Follow-up letters were sent to adminis trators of schools in enrollment strata not represented in early re turns} in most cases these were the larger school districts.
Third-stage: the selection of schools.— The names of schools were randomly selected from current lists sent by school district ad ministrators. In general, lists obtained from district administrators were used, but in cases where they were not received, state directo ries which supplied such information were used. About 130 schools (on the average of two questionnaires to each school) in each region were randomly selected for the next stage of the sampling procedure.
Arizona.State Department of Public Instruction, Educational Di rectory (Phoenix, Arizona; State Department of Instruction, 1967 )} Delaware.State Department of Education, Educational Directory. 1967-68 (Dover, Delaware: State Department of Education, 1967); Vermont.State Department of Education, Educational Directory, 1967-68 (Montpelier, Vermont: State Department "of Education, 1967;; West Virginia.State Department of Education, Educational Directory (Charleston, West Vir ginia: State Department of Education, 1966"); Wisconsin.Department of Public Instruction, Official School Directory. 1966-67 (Madison, Wis consin: Department of Public Instruction, 1967)•
^See Appendix B for a copy of the letter sent to school district administrators. 66 Fourth-staler the selection of teachers*— The names of teachers were randomly selected, by grade levels, from schools selected for the sample. Some administrators suggested the names of the teachers who were willing to participate in the study or recommended some teachers for the study, other administrators requested that questionnaires be sent directly to them for distribution. In all cases, random sampling was the method used to select the names of the teachers who were to receive questionnaires. Figure 1 summarizes the four-stage sampling procedure used in selecting the names of teachers who were to receive questionnaires.
The Instrument
Pre-testing of instrument.— A teacher questionnaire was developed by the investigator in order to obtain the necessary information for the study. The first draft was pre-tested with a group of graduate students (teachers) enrolled in an Advanced Children1s Literature course during a class session in September, 1967. This pre-testing showed the questionnaire to be too long. The following items which appeared difficult or yielded little useful information, were there fore omitted: (l) the educational level of the teacher as represented in academic degrees and hours beyond the college degree held, (2) the types of Children* s Literature courses taken, (3) an indication of the types of adult and children* s materials the teacher reads and how frequently he reads each type of literature, (4 ) the school and public library facilities available to the teacher as a child, (5) the 67
Country divided into four geo graphical regions according to the USAPI sampling plan.
First-stage Name of one or two states se lected at random from each region. Second-stage Names of school districts for each state stratified by en rollment of 300 or more. Pro portional representation de termined. School districts ran domly selected as possible par ticipants. Investigator wrote school district administrators for permission to write directly to teachers about participating in the study. JcfrfLcQi jdrfL Third-stage Specific names of schools ran domly drawn for each region de i I termined by number of school districts participating in jspfl. eft} j r a study. iJyti r 7i rmi rtjfil\ IA /«t H Fourth stage Names of teachers randomly drawn,by grade levels,for the study from schools identified.
Fig. 1. Diagram of four-stage sampling procedure. 68 remembered reading behavior of the teacher as a child in relation to his reading practices, and (6) listing titles of books and poems read to the teacher as a child in the elementary school.
The second draft of the questionnaire was submitted to members of the writer* s Ph.D. Reading Committee for criticism in mid-November.
Additional items eliminated were: (l) any indication of other grade levels the respondent had taught, (2) the age of the respondent, (3) what other nonprint media respondents used to supplement the literary experiences of pupils in grade taught. Also, in an effort to sharpen some of the questions, open-ended responses were elicited from a group of graduate students in a developmental reading course during a class session in November. Doth the suggestions of the writer’s Ph.D.
Reading Committee and the responses of the graduate students to open- ended questions were incorporated in a third draft which was tested, in mid-December, in depth-interviev/s with twenty teachers of varied teaching experiences in Columbus, Ohio and Honolulu, Hawaii.
Description of the instrument.— The 30-item questionnaire devel oped for the study solicited information about the following areas:
(1) Information about the teacher: Each respondent was asked to indi cate his current grade assignment, total years of teaching experience, pre- and in-service Children’s Literature courses, and how frequently, he recalled that stories and poems were read to him by his teachers during his elementary school years. (2) Information about the school:
Items pertaining to the school concerned size of enrollment, and an estimate of the quality of the school and public library collections 69 accessible to the teacher. (3) Classroom-related activities: Each
teacher was asked to check reasons teacher read) and do not read prose and poetry to students, how the practice of reading aloud to students is correlated with other areas of the curriculum, how the teacher groups his pupils for read-aloud sessions, how long the sessions last, how often the teacher reads to his pupils, and where and how the teacher obtains materials for reading to his class. (4 ) Literature selections read: Open-ended questions called for the listing of titles of books and poems the respondent had read to his class since the be ginning of the school year, September, 1967. In order to provide some
"dialogue” between the investigator and the respondent, space was pro vided in the questionnaire for the respondent to express his views on reading aloud as a teacher activity.^
Administration of the instrument.— During the early part of Jan uary, 1968 letters inviting teachers to participate in the study were mailed with the questionnaires to possible participants. The letters and questionnaires were sent to the teachers at the addresses supplied 7 by administrators of school districts. The letter of transmittal mentioned the probable value the study would have in revising courses in the Language Arts and Children*s Literature at the college level.
It assured the teacher that no names of participants or of their schools would be identified in any report of the study.
®See Appendix B for a copy of the questionnaire.
^See Appendix B for a copy of the letter sent to teachers. 70
The questionnaire also carried the notation that the survey was
completely confidential, that the name of the respondent would not be
associated with the findings in any way. Teachers were asked to re
turn the questionnaire within three weeks. Thus, the study presented
prose and poetry selections during a four to five month period, from
September, 1967 through December, 1967 or January, 1968.
Self-addressed business reply envelopes postpaid, were provided
for the return of the questionnaires.
Characteristics of the Sample
In accordance with sampling procedures described above, 1,020 g questionnaires were sent to teachers. A total of 582 useable ques
tionnaires was returned. This represents a 57 per cent return.
Table 1 presents the composition of the group by region, state, and grade level.
TABLE 1 COMPOSITE Oil 0? THE SAMPLE 0? TEACHERS BY KEGIOIT, STATE, AND GRADE LEVEL
Grade Level and Frequency Region State Pour Pive Six Overall Delaware 36 38 North Atlantic 25 99 Vermont 16 24 24 64 Southeast West Virginia 32 45 54 131 Great Lakes & Plains Wisconsin5 29 53 59 141 West b. Southwest Arizona 32 57 58 147 Total 134 215 233 582
^venty fewer questionnaires were mailed to teachers in Wisconsin when permission for teachers to participate in the study was granted too late.
g Data were also obtained from teachers of Kindergarten through grade three which are to be analyzed in a subsequent study. 71
It will be observed in Table 1 that teachers in Delaware and Ver mont represented the North Atlantic region. In general, due to the numbers and sizes of the school districts within these two states,
teachers from smaller school districts (300 to 3,499 enrollment) rep
resented Vermont and teachers in larger school districts (3>500 to
16,000 enrollment) represented Delaware. The Southeast region was
represented by West Virginia, which unlike other states in the sample,
is organized by county school systems. As indicated in Table 1, teachers in 7/isconsin, which represented the Great lakes and Plains region were mailed twenty fev/er questionnaires when permission for teachers to participate in the study was granted too late by a few large school districts; this probably accounts for the sample from
Wisconsin having only 29 teachers for grade four. Unusually severe snow storms which crippled transportation in Arizona during January,
1968 may have affected the number of returns from the West and South west region. The composition of the number of men and the number of women teachers included in the sample is shown in Table 2. It should be noted in Table 2, that the sample probably reflects the general trend of the composition of the numbers of men and women teachers in the population of teachers in the middle grades. 72 TABLE 2
COMPOSITION OP THE SAMPLE OP TEACHERS BY GRADE AND SEX
Grade Assignment Number Men Women Per cent Pour N = 134 6.0 94.0
Pive N = 215 2i.4 78.6
Six N = 233 30.0 '70.0
The school size or enrollment represented in the sample is pre sented in Table 3» As planned, schools of various sized enrollment were represented in each grade level. The different strata of en rollment of school sizes or school districts appear to be represen tative of the school population.
TABLE 3 ENROLMENT OP THE SCHOOLS REPRESENTED BY TEACHERS IN THE SAMPLE
Grade Assignment Enrollment Pour Pive Six (N = 134) (N = 215) (N = 233) Per cent Less than 50 3.0 ■1.9 3.0 50 - 99 4.5 .5 1.8 100 - 199 12.7 6.5 9.4 200 - 299 10.4 12.1 13.3 300 - 399 7.5 14.0 7.3 400 - 499 11.9 8.4 12.0 500 - 749 22.4 28.3 24.0 750 - 1000 12.7 11.6 13.3 More than 1000 9.7 11.6 10.7 No response 5.2 5.1 5.2 73 Data Analysis
Objective item3.— Teachers ware queried on their children*s lit erature courses, their estimate of the libraries in their schools, their objectives for reading to their pupils, and classroom procedures for their read-aloud sessions. Responses of the teachers to these ob jective or multiple choice items v/ere coded and punched on cards. The
OSQA (Ohio State Questionnaire Analysis) Computer Program was employed for the analysis of data for these objective items. This program tabulates and summarizes the results of questionnaire surveys of the multiple choice variety. It also tabulates the responses of two groups of respondents on nominal data. The output of the program relevant to the present study included these formats: (l) percentage responses, (2) frequency count, and (3 ) statistical measures between groups for each item: (a) the Kolmogorov-Smimov two sample-test and
(b) the Chi-square approximation and significance level.^
The function and rationale of the Kolmogorov-Smimov two-sample test as outlined by Siegel is given below.
The Kolmogorov-Smimov two-sample test is a test of whether two independent samples have been drawn from the same population (or from populations with the same dis tribution). The two-tailed test is sensitive to any kind of difference inthe distributions from which the two samples were drawn— differences in location (central tendency), in dispersion, in skewness, etc.10
V i n State University Computer Center, "Ohio State Questionnaire Analysis" (The Ohio State University, 1965), Appendix D, p. 1. (Mimeographed.) ^Sidney Siegel, Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (Hew York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1956), p V 127• 74 Kerlinger who believes that ’’the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test should
be better known by educational and psychological investigators" notes
that the Kolmogorov-Snimov test "has the important virtue not only of
being capable of use with very small samples, but also of treating in
dividual observations separately.
The Kolmogorov-Smimov two-sample test is concerned with the
agreement between two cumulative distributions or the agreement be
tween two sets of sample values (frequencies and percentages). Llore specifically, as Siegel continues:
If the two samples have in fact been drawn from the same population distribution, then the” cumulative dis tributions of both samples may be empected to be fairly close to each other, inasmuch as they both should show only random deviations from the population distribution. If the two sample cumulative frequencies are "too far apart" at any point, this suggests that the samples come from different populations. Thus a large enough devi ation between the two sample cumulative distributions is evidence for rejecting H .-I-2
In method, this two-sample test depends upon the cumulative fre
quency distribution for each sample of observations, using the same
intervals for both distributions. Por each interval, one step function
is subtracted from the other. It is on the largest of these observed
deviations (d ) that the two-sample test is concerned. It uses this
Pred II. Kerlinger, Foundations of Behavioral Research, Edu cational and Psychological Inquiry (llew York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1964), p. 260.
12Siegel, ITonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. pp. 127-128. formula where D represents the largest observed difference among the intervals of the samples.13
D = maximum [Sn^(x) - Sng(x)]
The statistic (Kolmogorov-Smimov) derived from using the above formula or D is then used in the following formula which is approxi- mated, by the Chi-square distribution with two degrees of freedom: 14
X2 = 4D2 “l + a2
The Chi-square distribution with two degrees of freedom is then used to determine its level of significance.
Bty way of illustration, if one wants to compare the number of teachers of grade four and grade six who correlated what they read to their pupils with other curriculum areas, one sets up a null hypoth esis, e.g.:
There is no difference in the number of teachers of grade four and grade six who correlate what they read to their pupils with other curriculum areas.
In using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov two-sample test, the investigator would then compare the distribution of the number of teachers of grade four with that of teachers of grade six who correlate what they read to their pupils with other curriculum areas. The frequencies in the two distributions would be first converted into cumulative frequencies and the largest difference (d ) in the tv/o cumulative frequencies would be observed. This value of D would then be used to obtain the Chi- square approximation by using the above formula. Suppose this value of Chi-square is larger than 5*99, then the null hypothesis is re jected at the .05 level. This means that the number of teachers of grade four who correlated what they read to their pupils with other curriculum areas was significantly different from teachers of grade six. Rejecting the null hypothesis at the .05 level means that five times out of 100 times the difference as great as obtained in this case occurred by chance alone.
Open-ended items.— Teachers were asked questions regarding the prose and poetry selections they read to their pupils. Their replies to these open-ended questions we re analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Titles of fiction and nonfiction books were treated qualitatively in the following manner. Each title was checked against two standard bibliographies regularly used by librarians. 15 Each bib liography establishes priorities by recommending titles in suggested order of purchase for school and public library collections. The order of purchase is indicated in The Elementary School Library
Children1s Catalog. Tenth and Eleventh editions (New York: H. W. Wilson Company, 1961 and 1967); The Elementary School Library Collection. Phases 1. 2. and 5. Mary Virginia Caver and others, ed., Second and Third editions (Newark, New Jersey: Bro-Dart Foundation, I960 and 1967). Collection by placing a title in one of three phases of recommended
purchase (phase 1, 2, or 3) • In the Children1s Catalog the desig
nation of double stars, single stars, and actual listing serve as a kind of order of recommendation. It may be noted that the two bib
liographies assign similar values to titles recommended in order of purchase. In instances of variation between the two bibliographies, preference was given to The Elementary School Library Collection.
The investigator used a four-point scale to assign numerical values or quality levels for all titles: four points for phase 1 or double star listings, three points for phase 2 or single star list ings, two points for phase 3 or "recommended" and one point if "not listed" in either bibliography. For example, the selection, Roosevelt
Grady (Shotwell) was assigned a numerical or quality level value of four points since it is listed for first purchase or phase 1 in one of the bibliographies. Similarly, the title, The Sugar Bush Family
(Mason) was given one quality level point because it does not appear in either of the sources consulted in this study.^ Means and modes were also used to denote the quality level of prose selections read.
Quantitative analysis of prose selections included the reporting of percentages and the number of times titles in various literary cate gories were listed as read.
Both fiction and nonfiction titles listed as read by teachers to
their pupils were arbitrarily classified by literary categories. The
^See Tables 40 through 62, Appendix A, for titles with quality levels assigned. 78 classification system used was adapted from the textbook on Children's 17 Literature by Huck and Kuhn:
Fiction Categories Traditional Literature Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, Fables Myths, Epics, Legends, Tall Tales, Religious Stories
Realistic Fiction Adventure Stories Regional Stories United States Other Lands Family & Familiar Experience Stories Animal Stories Dogs Horses Other Animals Sport Stories Mystery Stories Holiday Stories
Biography
Historical Fiction United States Other Lands
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Humorous Stories
Nonfiction Categories Natural Science Physical Science Social Studies Other Subjects
^Charlotte S. Huck and Doris Young Kuhn, Children's Literature •in the Elementary School, Second edition (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.,' 1968J, pp. 156-384, 445-541. Poetry selections read were classified by contents according to subject categories generally used in Children's literature textbooks and anthologies of children's poetry. These general areas of subject content were established for poetry selections:
Family and Friends
Familiar Experiences
People
Places
Historical and Patriotic Events
Holiday Poeras
Nature Animals and Nature V/eather and the Seasons
Fanciful Poems
Humorous Poems
Poems of 'wisdom
Unclassified Titles
Many of the teachers listed poems that appeared in pupils' readers and language arts textbooks. The investigator thought it ad visable to check the list of poems reported as read-aloud against the 18 list of poems in the most widely used pupil textbook series. Titles which appeared in both lists were identified.
1 ft See bibliography for specified reading and language arts text' book series examined, pp. 288-291. 80 Summary
The general purpose of this study was to survey the content and the practices and procedures of read-aloud programs of teachers of grades four, five, and six. A teacher questionnaire was used to ob tain information from public elementary school teachers throughout the
United States.
A four-stage sampling procedure was used to select a representa tive study sample by randomly selecting; (l) the names of states to represent the major geographical regions of the country, (2 ) the names of school districts, (3 ) the names of schools, and (4 ) the names of teachers, by grade assignment, from schools identified for the study.
The 582 participants consisted of 134 fourth grade teachers, 215 fifth grade teachers and 233 sixth grade teachers from these states; Arizona,
Delaware, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The 30-item questionnaire, developed by the investigator, con tained both objective and open-ended items. It drew forth information from the respondents concerning their children’s literature background, library facilities available in their teaching, specific prose and poetry titles read aloud to pupils and general read-aloud practices and procedures. The OSQA (Ohio State Questionnaire Analysis) Computer
Program was used to treat information obtained fron objective or mul tiple choice items. The open-ended questions (generally limited to the literary selections listed as read by-teachers to pupils) were treated both quantitatively and qualitatively. The qualitative anal ysis of prose selections included checking the list of titles against 81 standard bibliographies which recommended titles in order of purchase for school and public library collections. A four-point scale was used to assign a quality rating or level to each title according to its rating in the bibliographies. Keans and modes were also used to denote the quality level of books read. Prose selections were further arbitrarily classified into literary categories adapted from the text by Huck and Kuhn (Children's Literature in the Elementary School).
Poems listed as read to pupils were arbitrarily classified as to content according to subject categories generally used in Children's
Literature textbooks and anthologies of children's poetry. The list of poems read by teachers to their pupils was also checked against poetry selections in several of the more widely used basic readers and language arts textbook series. CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS OP LATA ON PROSE REAL ALOUD
The major purposes of this study were three-fold: (l) to ascer tain, classify and evaluate the quality of the titles of prose (fiction and nonfiction) read to pupils by teachers of grades four, five, and six, (2) to ascertain the content and classify the titles of poems read by teachers, and (3 ) to determine some of the situational factors that affected reading of prose and poetry by the teachers.
In order to accomplish the purposes of this study, a 30-item questionnaire was developed and sent to a representative sample of teachers of grades four, five, and six in five states which repre sented the four major geographical regions of the country. A total of 382 useable returns comprised the sample used and were analyzed for this investigation. This chapter presents the data concerning prose read by teachers to their pupils in the middle grades. Poetry selections are reported in Chapter V. Chapter VI gives situational factors such as the back ground of teachers in Children's Literature, the library resources available, and the practices and procedures teachers used in selecting and reading books to their pupils.
Lata on prose selections read are presented in relation to (l) the classroom patterns of prose reading of middle grade teachers, (2 ) prose
82 83 selections read aloud, (3 ) specific fictional subject categories and
the quality of the selections, (4 ) specific nonfictional subject cate
gories and the quality of the selections,and (3 ) special groupings of titles such as the most popular titles read, "classics," and Newbery award selections. The tabular form was used to present data on prose foxms, types of literary selections or categories and frequencies.
Classroom Patterns of Prose Readings of Middle Grade Teachers
Data on the number of teachers in the 582 member sample who listed prose selections read to their pupils, and the quantity and the esti mated quality level of those selections are presented in Tables 4, 5,
6, and 7. Table 4 presents data on the 489 teachers (84 per cent of the sample) who listed fiction and nonfiction selections read to their classes. Eighty-five of these were men and 404 we re women teachers.
The 85 men were 69.1 per cent of the 123 sen respondents and the 404 women were 88 per cent of the 459 women in the sample.
Table 4 also presents data on the 54 teachers (9.2 per cent of the sample) who did not list any prose or poetry selections. Of these
54 teachers, 22 were men and 32 were women. The men represented 17.9 per cent of the total number of men respondents and the 32 women con stituted 7 per cent of the total number of women respondents.
Further information on the number of teachers reading prose by grade level is presented in Table 5* In grade four, 124 out of 134 teachers (92.5 per cent), in grade five, 187 out of 215 teachers (87 per cent), and in grade six, 178 out of 233 teachers (76.4 per cent) 84 TABLE 4
BOMBER OP TEACHERS LISTING PROSE AND POETRY SELECTIONS BY GRADE LEVEL AND SEX
Frequency of Response Grade Pour Pive Six Overall Group N: 134 215 233 582 B of Men: 8 46 69 123 B of Women: 126 169 164 459 f % f i f % f efyo Number of Teachers Listing Prose Selections _a Men 7 36 78.3 42 60.9 85 69.1 Women 117 92.9 151 89.3 136 82.9 404 88.0
Total 124 187 178 489 Number of Teachers Listing Poetry Selections _a Men 5 28 60.9 44 63.8 77 62.6 Women 115 92.0 144 85.2 120 73.1 379 82.6
Total 120 172 164 456
Number of Teachers Giving No listing a Men 0 8 14 20.3 22 17.9 Women 8 I 9 16 9.7 32 7.0
Total 8 17 17 30 54
Percentage indeterminate, number too small. 85
TABLE 5
TOTAL NUMBER OP TEACHERS WHO LISTED PROSE AND POETRY SELECTIONS BY GRADE LEVEL
Frequency of Response Grade Four Five Six Overall Item (N * 134) (N = 215) (N = 233) (N = 582) f % f f % f /»
Number of Teachers Listing Prose Selections
Grade Level 124 92.5 187 87 178 76.4 489 84.0
Number of Teachers Listing Poetry Selections
Grade Level 120 90.0 172 80 164 70.3 456 78.4 Number of Teachers Giving No Listing _a Grade Level 8 17 7.9 30 12.8 54 9.2
Percentage indeterminate, number too small.
These figures do not add up to a total of 100 per cent, obviously many of the teachers reading poetry were the same people as the teachers reading prose. 86 read fiction and nonfiction selections to their pupils* Note that these percentages show a steady decline in the number of teachers reading prose from 92.5 per cent in grade four to 76.4 per cent in grade six.
Data on the foxms of prose read by teachers to their pupils is summarized quantitatively in Table 6 and qualitatively in Table 7.
Table 6 shows that of the grand total of 1,568 selections reported by the respondents, 1,473 or 93*9 per cent were fiction and 95 or 6.1 per cent were nonfiction. The total of 771 individual or single titles consisted of 685 fiction and 86 nonfiction. Some selections, for example B o m to Trot (Henry) might reasonably be listed both as a horse story (fiction) and as a natural science selection (nonfiction).
This was not done, each title was listed only once. Of the number of
1,568 readings or selections, grade four teachers (25.4 per cent of the sample) read 30.5 per cent (479 readings), grade five teachers
(38.2 per cent of the sample) read 35*5 per cent (555 readings), and grade six teachers (36.4 per cent of the sample) read 34 per cent (534 readings). A summary of the prose reading pattern of the middle grade teachers by grade follows: Grade: Pour Pive Six Number of teachers: 25.4$ 38.2$ 36.4$ (N = 489) Number of prose readings: 30.5$ 35*5$ 34.0$ (1,568) Quality level of the books was determined by checking their list ing in two standard references (The Children1 s Catalog and The Ele mentary School Library Collection). Both of these references utilize a three point rating scale. Books not listed in these references re ceived a rating of one point in this study, while a rating of 2, 3, or 87
TABLE 6 FORMS OF PROSE READ ALOUD
Grade and Frequency of Readings____ Form of Prose Titles® Four Five Six Overall
of f % f % f JO f JO f % Fiction 685 88.8 444 92.7 526 94.8 503 94.2 1473 93.9
Nonfiction 86 21.2 35 7.3 29 5.2 51 5.8 95 6.1
TOTAL 771 479 555 534 1568
^ e e Tables 40 through 62, Appendix A, for detailed information on prose selections.
TABLE 7 QUALITY LEVEL OF PROSE READ ALOUD
Quality Level Form of Prose0 N 4 3 2 1 Per cent Fiction 1473 40.6 17.0 14.0 22.3
Nonfiction 95 1.7 1.4 .7 2.4
TOTAL 1568 42.3 18.4 14.7 24.7 A Quality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles unlisted in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Childrens Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collections.
^See Tables 40 through 62, Appendix A, for detailed infomation on prose selections. 88 4 points y/as assigned to titles listed and so evaluated by the above
references. The over-all quality level of the fiction read, as given in Table 7 was: 40.6 per cent at level 4, 17 per cent at level 3, 14 per cent at level 2, and 22.3 per cent at level 1. The nonfiction quality levels v/ere 1.7 per cent at level 4, 1.4 per cent at level 3,
.7 per cent at level 2 and 2.4 per cent at level 1. Almost tY/ice as much fiction v/as rated at quality level 4 (40.6 per cent) as w a s rated as quality level 1 (22.3 per cent). By comparison, few er quality level
4 nonfiction books (l.7 per cent) v/ere read than that rated as quality level 1 (2.4 per cent). Thus more fiction v/as read aloud to children than nonfiction and the quality of the fiction v/as better than the quality of the nonfiction.
Differentiations v/ere made between selections read by men and women teachers in presenting the data on prose. It was expected that there might be some marked variations; no such variations v/ere evident.
Such small differences as appeared, seemed to be regional or “individual differences and offered no firm basis for general conclusions as to differences in type of selections read by men teachers nor favored titles. In general the estimated quality level seemed to be high for the titles read by men. It v/as found that while the number of men teachers comprised 17 per cent of the sample, they read 9*5 per cent of the total prose readings.^" Women teachers (83 per cent of the sample) read 90 per cent of the readings. But when the designated
^By inspection of the prose selections in Table 40 through 62, Appendix A. 89 quality level 4 readings were studied as to the incidence of men teachers reading on that quality level, it was found that 44*6 per cent of the men road quality level 4 selections in contrast to the 42*3 per cent of the whole group reading quality level 4 selections* Thus, although the number of men reading prose was much less than that of the whole group, they read a proportionately larger number of quality level 4 readings.
Prose Selections Read Aloud
The data on frequency and estimated quality of the prose as well as form and types of literature presented in Tables 8 and 9 will be analyzed in this section. Fiction was divided into six general types:
(l) traditional literature, (2) realistic fiction, (3 ) biography and historical fiction, (4 ) fantasy, (3 ) science fiction, and (6) humor.
Nonfiction was divided into four types: (l) natural science, (2 ) physical science, (3 ) social studies, and (4 } other subjects.
As shown in Table 8, 8.7 per cent of the fiction selections read were classified as traditional literature, 32 per cent were classified as realistic fiction, 21.6 per cent as biography and historical fic tion, 13*4 per cent as fantasy, 1.1 per cent as science fiction, and
3.2 per cent as humorous selections. Nonfiction titles were classified as natural science (26.4 per cent), physical science (16.9 per cent), social studies (48 per cent), and other subjects (8.4 per cent). The quantity of fiction and nonfiction read is illustrated in Figure 2.
The high percentage of readings in biography and historical fiction 90
TABLE 8
TYPES OP PROSE READ ALOUD (N = 1568)
Grade and Frequency of Readings Type of Prose Four Five Six Overall
r i f % f % f % Fiction Traditional Literature 30 6.8 37 7.0 62 12.3 129a 8.7 Realistic Fiction 208 46.8 281 53.4 277 55.1 766 52.0 Biography and Historical Fiction 105 23.6 122 23.2 92 18.3 319 21.6 Fantasy 77 17.3 63 12.0 55 10.9 195 13.4 Science Fiction 4 .9 5 1.0 7 1.4 16 1.1 Humor 20 4.5 18 3.4 10 2.0 48 3.2
Sub-total 444 526 503 1473 Nonfiction Natural Science 15 42.9 6 20.7 4 12.9 25 26.4 Physical Science 5 14.3 4 13.8 7 22.6 16 16.9 Social Studies 13 37.1 17 58.6 16 51.6 46 48.0 Other Subjects 2 5.7 2 6.9 4 12.9 8 8.4
Sub-total 35 29 31 95
Grand Total 479 555 534 1568
aSee Tables 40 through 62 , Appendix A , for detailed information on prose selection.
Note: This table should be read as follows: Of all the fiction selections read in grade four (444 readings), traditional literature comprised 6.8 per cent (30 readings), realistic fiction comprised 46.8 per cent (208 readings), biography and historical fiction, 23*6 per cent (105 readings), fantasy, 17.3 per cent (77 readings), science fiction, .9 per cent (4 readings), humor, 4.5 per cent (20 readings). Of all fiction read in grade five (526 readings), traditional lit erature .... 91
Traditional Literature” Humorous^ Science 1.15 Fiction Fantasy— Realistic Fiction
Biography & Historical— Fiction
Fiction Selections Read (N = 1,473 Readings)
•Physical Science
Other —Social Studies Subjects
Nonfiction Selections Read (H = 95 Readings)
Fig.- 2. Number of prose selections read aloud by middle grade teachers (N = 1,568 readings). coupled with the social studies titles reinforced through practice what 70 per cent of the teachers indicated on the questionnaire, namely that they correlated the material they read with the social studies.^
The quality of what was read was shown in three ways in Table 9— by estimated quality levels, means, and modes. The over-all percentages of quality levels of the various fictional types read weres 49.8 per cent (quality level 4), 13*2 per cent (quality level 3), 16.7 per cent
(quality level 2), and 20.2 per cent (quality level l). It is inter esting to observe the high percentages found in quality level 4 for science fiction (81.2 per cent), fantasy (65.1 per cent), and bio graphy and historical fiction (42.9 per cent). Humorous stories, rea listic fiction, and traditional literature were also represented by percentages of 30 or more. For nonfiction, the highest quality level
4 was represented by 31*2 per cent of the books, followed, in order, by quality level 3» 19.7 per cent, quality level 2, 11 per cent, and quality level 1 books, 38.1 per cent. The uneven quality of selections read in some types of fiction such as humorous stories, realistic fic tion, and traditional literature, appear to support the statement that
•’teachers need to know more about children's books.” This statement was checked by 40 per cent of the respondents as a major reason for not reading. The low quality level of social studies titles would underscore this observation.
^See Chapter VI, pp. 181-182. 93 TABLE 9 QUALITY LEVEL 0? PROSE READ ALOUD (IT = 1568)
Quality Levela Types of Prose ^ 4 3 2 1 Mean Mode Per cent ....rPiction ,»...... Traditional Literature (IT = 129) 33.3 15.5 33.3 17.8 2.6 4,2 Realistic Piction (N = 766) 38.9 19.9 14.1 27.0 2.7 4 Historical Piction & Biography (N = 319) 42.9 16.6 14.4 26.0 2.8 4 Fantasy (N = 195) 65.1 19.0 7.2 8.8 3.4 4 Science Piction (IT = 16) 81.2 — 18.8 . 3.6 4 Humor (N = 48) 37.5 8.3 12.5 41.6 2.5 1
Overall 49.8 13.2 16.7 20.2 Nonfiction Natural Science (IF =25) 32.0 20.0 8.0 40.0 2.4 1 Physical Science (N = 16) 31.3 31.3 6.2 31.2 2.6 4,3,1 Social Studies (¥. = 46) 23.9 15.2 17.4 43.5 2.2 1 Other Subjects (N = 8) 37.5 12.5 12.5 37.5 2.5 4,1
Overall 31.2 19.7 11.0 38.1
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children1s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
bSee Tables 40 through 62, Appendix A, for detailed information on prose selections.
Note: This table should be read as follows: Of the 129 tra ditional literature selections recorded, quality level 4 choices con sisted of 33.3 per cent, level 3 choices of 15*5 per cent, level 2 choices of 33.3 per cent and level 1 choices of 17.8 per cent. The mean quality score v/as 2.6 points and the mode was at quality level 4 and 2, Of the 766 realistic fiction selections recorded... 94
The mode was listed as a second way of indicating quality of ma terial read. As noted in Table 9 (fiction) the modes show a quality level at 4 except for humorous fiction. The erratic quality level of nonfiction read is shown by the modes 1 and 4. The quality of fiction read was higher than that for nonfiction. Quality level 4 books pre dominate in the fiction read.
The mean scores of titles read for each type of prose was the third way used to designate the quality of the selections. Table 9 shows the relatively high mean scores for fantasy and science fiction
(well over 3-0 points). For traditional literature, realistic fiction, historical fiction and biography, and humorous stories the mean scores were over 2.3 points. Nonfiction mean quality scores were highest for physical science books (2.6 points), followed in order by other sub jects (2*3 points), natural science (2.4 points), and social studies
(2.2 points). Both pre- and in-service education appear urgent when it is noted that while social studies readings were the most frequent of nonfiction, they were also of the lowest quality.
Categories of Fiction
Traditional literature
Traditional literature selections were divided into three cate gories,^) folk tales, fairy tales, and fables, (2) myths, epics, legends, and tall tales, and (3) religious stories. The frequency of selections read in this category is presented in Table 10 and estimated quality levels are given in Table 11. 95
TABLE 10
TRADITIONAL LITERATURE
Grade and Frequency Five Six Overall " " § O
v>) v>) 4 (N = 62) (N = 129) Category a (N = 37). t % f % f % f % Polk Tales, Fairy Tales, Fables 19 63.5 16 43.2 33 53.2 68 52.7
Myths, Epics, Legends, Tall Tales 10 33.3 21 56.8 27 43.5 58 45.0
Religious Stories 1 3.3 0 0 2 3.2 3 2.3
®See Tables 40 through 42 , Appendix A, for detailed information on traditional literature selections. 96
TABLE 11
QUALITY LEVEL 0? TRADITIONAL LITERATURE
b Quality Levela Category 4 3 2 1 Mean Mode Per cent Polk Tales, Pairy Tales, Pables (N = 68) 41.2 16.2 33.8 8.8 2.9 4 Iiyths, Epics, Legends, Tall Tales (N = 58) 25.9 15.5 31.0 27.6 2.4 2 Religious Stories (lT = 3) — C — 0 2.0 2
Quality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standai'd bibliographies consulted: The Children’s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^See Tables 40 through 42, Appendix A, for detailed infonaation on traditional literature selections.
°Indeterminate, figures v/ere too small.
Note: This table should be read as follows: Of the 68 folk tales, faiiy tales, or fables recorded as read, quality level 4 choices consisted of 41.2 per cent, level 3 choices of 16.2 per cent... The mean quality was 2.9 points and the mode v/as at quality level 4. Of the 58 myths, epics, legends, and tall tale3 selections recorded... 97 Table 10 shows that more than one-half (52.7 per cent) of tra
ditional literature read aloud was classified as folk tales, fairy
tales, and fables. Table 11 shows that these selections were of very
high quality (2.9 mean points) and the mode was quality level 4. The
most popular titles in this category were Aesop*s Fables.* stories
from the Arabian Nights, and fairy tales by Grimm and Andersen. Greek
and Homan myths, King Arthur legends, and Paul Banyan of American tall
tales were the most frequently chosen myths, epics, legends, and tall
tales; these comprised slightly less than one-half (45 per cent) of
the titles in traditional literature. The mean quality score was 2.4
points and the mode was level 2 for myths, epics, legends, and tall
tales chosen for read-aloud sessions by teachers in the sample. Only
three selections were specifically classified as religious.
Realistic fiction
Selections classified as realistic fiction were divided into seven categories: (l) adventure, (2) regional stories of the United States
and other lands, (3) family and familiar experiences, (4 ) animal
stories of dogs, horses, and other animals, (5 ) sport stories, (6)
mystery stories, and (7 ) holiday stories. Tables 12 and 13 give quan
tity and quality resumes of realistic fiction which contributed
slightly over 50 per cent of the total fiction selections.
^Additional information on titles of particular books are given in Tables 40 through 62, Appendix A. 98 TABLE 12 REALISTIC PICTION
Grade and frequency______Pour Pive Six Overall (N = 208) (N = 281) (N = 277) (N = 766) f * f 1 f i f i Adventure Stories 18 8.7 25 8.9 20 7.2 63 8.2 Regional Stories United States 25 12.0 42 14.9 59 21.3 126 16.4
Other Lands • 15 7.2 24 8.5 25 9.0 64 8.4 Family and Every Day Experiences 28 13.5 419 14.6 28 10.1 97 12.7 Animal Stories Dogs 14 6.7 32 11.4 34 12.3 80 10.4 Horses 23 11.0 26 9.3 16 5.8 65 8.5 Other Animals 28 13.5 33 11.7 30 10.8 91 11.9
Sport Stories 2 1.0 1 .4 2 .7 5 .6
Mystery Stories 25 12.0 17 6.1 31 11.2 73 9.5
Holiday Stories 30 14.4 40 14.2 32 11.6 102 13.3
aSee Tables 43 through 52, Appendix A, for detailed information on realistic fiction selections.
Note: This table should be read as follows: Of the 766 realistic fiction -readings, 63 titles or 8.2 per cent v/ere adventure stories. Teachers of grade four read 18 selections or 8.7 per cent,teachers of grade five read 25 selections or 8.9 per cent, and teachers of grade six read 20 selections or 7»2 per cent. Of the 766 realistic fiction readings, 126 selections or 16.4 per cent v/ere regional stories of the United States...etc. 99
TABLE 13 QUALITY LEVEL OP REALISTIC FICTION (N = 766)
Quality Levela Category 4 3 2 1 Mean Mode Per cent Adventure Stories (if = 63) 44.4 23.8 20.6 11.1 3.0 4 Regional Stories United States (if = 126) 69.0 10.3 8.0 12.7 3.4 4 Other Lands (if =64) 62.5 7.8 14.1 15.6 3.2 4 Family and Familiar Experiences (N = 97) 30.9 14.4 18.5 36.1 2.4 1 Animal Stories Logs (N = 80) 27.5 41.3 15.0 16.3 2.8 3 Horses (N = 65) 33.8 15.4 23.1 27.7 2.6 4 Other Animals (if = 91) 44.0 44.0 4.4 7.7 3.2 4,3 Sport Stories (if = 5) —— _ c _ c 1.2 c Mystery Stories (if = 73) — 4.1 4.1 91.8 1.1 1 Holiday Stories (n ■ 102) 28.4 19.6 22.5 29.4 2.5 4
Overall 34.1 18.1 13.0 24.8 2.7
Quality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Childrens Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^See Tables 43 through 52, Appendix A, for detailed information on realistic fiction selections.
cIndeterminate, figures were too small.
Note: This table should be read as follows: Of the 63 adventure stories recorded, quality level 4 choices consisted of 44*4 per cent, quality level 3 choices of 23.8 per cent... The mean quality score was 3.0 points and the mode was quality level 4. Of the 126 United States regional stories read... 1 0 0 Adventure.— While less than 10 per cent of realistic fiction ti tles chosen (8.2 per cent) v/ere classified as adventure stories, the quality level (3 mean points) and mode (quality level 4) v/ere high. Titles of this category selected the most often v/ere: Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell), The Box Car Children (Warner), Robinson Crusoe (Defoe), Treasure Island (Stevenson), and Sv/iss Family Robinson (Wyss). But while the number of adventure selections (8.2 per cent) v/as about the same as that of mysteries read (9«5 per cent), the contrast in quality of the selections between these two groups is apparent in
Table 13 end will be discussed more fully under the category on mystery stories below. Regional stories.— Of the realistic fiction selections read, reg ional stories v/ere the most numerous. Regional stories of the United States constituted 16.4 per cent of the titles read while the stories of other lands made up 8.4 per cent. These regional, stories had an overall mean quality score of 3«3 points. The node of this category was at quality level 4. Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Adventures of Tom Sawyer v/ere the tv/o most popular titles of United States regional stories read aloud by middle grade teachers to their pupils. Lois Lenski was the most popular author. ...And How
Miguel (Krumgold), Blue Willov/ (Gates), and My Side of the Mountain (George) were among other quality books read. Tv/o titles particularly, emphasized the Negro in American life— The Empty School House (Carl son) and Roosevelt Grady (Shotv/ell). The most popular single title of realistic fiction of other lands v/as the Newbery Award book, Call It Courage (Sperry); the next most popular was the old favorite Heidi (Spyri). 101
Paaily and familiar experience stories.— -Although 12.7 per cent of the selections were classified as family and familiar experience
stories, the mean quality was 2.4 points and the mode v/as level 1. Slightly below a third of the stories (30.9 per cent) were quality lev
el 4 while a little over one-third (36.1 per cent) were level 1. The most popular titles read aloud in this category were: Little Women
(Alcott), The Secret Garden (Burnett), The Hundred Dresses (Estes), Henry and Beezus (Cleary), A Tree for Peter (Seredy), and It's Like
This. Cat (Neville). Animal stories.— More than one-fourth of realistic fiction read consisted of animal stories: dog stories (10.4 per cent), horse stories (8.3 per cent), and stories about other animals (11.9 per cent). The overall mean quality score was 2.9 points and the nodes were levels 4 and 3 for the animal selections read. Jim Kjelgaard was
the most popular author of dog stories read. Old Yeller (Gipson), Call of the Wild (London), and Follow my Leader (Garfield), were the three most frequently read dog stories. Marguerite Henry's books were
the most numerous for a single author in this category. Her book, ng of the Wind, and the old-time favorite Black Beauty (Sewell) lead
the list of most popular titles of this category. Of the other animal stories, one about penguins (Mr. Popper's Penguins) by A. T. Water, a burro (Brighty of the Grand Can7on) by Henry, a bear (Gentle Ben), by Morey, and a raccoon (Rascal), by North were read the most often.
Other popular stories were two about deer (Bambi by Salten and The Yearling by Rawlings), two about lions (Bora Free and Living Free, both by Adamson), and one about owls (Owls in the Family by Mowatt) • 102
Sport stories.— Only five selections v/ere classified as sport
stories. The mean quality score was 1.2 points. Basketball and base
ball stories were included in the few stories in this category. None
of the men teachers in the sample reported reading any sport stories.
While reading interest studies report that many boys enjoy reading
sport stories themselves, these findings indicate that teachers do not
choose sports Stories to read to their group.
Mystery stories.— The total number of mysteries read (9»5 per
cent) was less than 10 per cent for all realistic fiction. The mode
was quality level 1. Not only was the mean quality level score (l.l
points) the lowest for all realistic fiction,it was also the lowest
for all prose selections. Except for two titles , Ghosts Who Went to
School (Spearing) and The Yellow House Mystery (darner), all mysteries
listed were read only once. A very few titles, only five, of the 70 mystery titles were listed in the two standard book selection aids used in establishing quality ratings in this study.
As was seen in the discussion of adventure stories above, sharp
contrasts in quality between these two groups (adventure and mysteries)
are evidenced in Table 13* The mode for the foxmer was level 4, while
that of the latter was level 1. For adventure stories, there was a
steady decrease from 44.8 per cent of quality level 4 down to 11.1 per
cent of quality level 1. No mystery titles were reported for quality level 4, but 91*8 per cent was recorded for quality level 1. 103
Holiday stories.-- Stories of holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween particularly, for the period of the investigation) made up 13*3 per cent of realistic fiction read. The mean quality score was 2.3 points while the mode was at level 4. The most frequently read titles ranged from works by Dickens (A Christmas Carol) and Wig gins (The Bjrd*s Christmas Carol) to Seuss (How the Grinch Stole
Christmas) and Tazewell (The Littlest Angel).
Biography and historical fiction
Biography was classed with historical fiction because so much of juvenile biography is fictionalized. Biographical narrative meets the needs of the elementary school child for a story "that really happened."
Biography also helps children to know historical figures as living human beings. Tables 14 and 13 present data on biography and histori cal fiction. Biographical narrative or biographies made up about one-third
(31.7 per cent) of the titles in this category that were read, by teachers. The mean quality score was 2.3 points and the mode was level
3* Over one-half (35*3 per cent of the selections were level 3 and 4, but about one-third (30.7 per cent)'was level 1. The range of se lections included a wide variety of social studies topics such as:
American patriots, Indians of America, inspirational personalities, early explorers, men and women of the arts, and the Negro in American life. The latter was represented by such titles as: Doctor George
WeeMnflton Carver (Graham), Amos Fortune. Free Man (Yates), Roy
Campanella (Schoor), Mary McLeod Bethune (Sterne), Runaway Slave: The 104
TAHLE 14 BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORICAL PICTION
Grade and Frequency Category® Pour Five Six Overall (N = 105) (N = 122) (N = 92) (N = 319) of s> f 0 f /» f fi f % Biography 32 30.5 40 32.0 29 31.5 101 31.7 Historical Piction United States 68 64.8 71 58.2 40 43.5 179 56.1 Other Lands 5 4.7 11 9.0 23 25.0 39 12.2
®See Tables 53 through 55, Appendix A, for detailed information.
TABLE 15 QUALITY LEVEL 0? BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORICAL PICTION
Quality Level3- Category 4 3 2 1 Mean Mode Per cent Biography (ll = 101) 23.8 31.7 13.8 30.7 2.5 3 Historical Piction United States (ll = 179) 54.9 9.5 11.0 24.6 2.9 4 Other Lands (n = 39) 38.5 10.2 30.8 20.5 2.6 4
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children^ Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
**See Tables 53 through 55, Appendix A, for detailed information. Note: This table should be read as follows: Of the 101 bio graphy selections recorded, quality level 4 choices consisted of 23.8 per cent, quality level 3 choices of 31.7 per cent... The mean quality score was 2.5 points and the mode was quality level 3. Of the 179 historical fiction of the United States read... 105 Storr of Harriet Tubman (McGovern), Up Proa Slavery (Booker T. Wash ington), and Frederick Douglas (Bontemps). Biographies with at least three readings included: Abraham Lincoln (Foster), Doctor George Wash ington Carver (Graham), Abe Lincoln Grows Up (Sandburg), Daniel Boone
(Aulaire), John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Martin), Runaway Slave: The
Story of Harriet Tubman (McGovern), and The Story of Helen Keller
(Hickok).
Over one-half (56.1 per cent) of historical fiction read were stories of the United States while 12.2 per cent were selections of other lands. For United States historical stories the mean score v/as
2.9 points and the mode was level 4. The high quality of these stories is reflected in the selection of titles such as those by Laura
Ingalls Wilder (Little House in the Big Woods. Little House on the
Prairie and other titles), Carol Brink (Caddie Woodlawn), Esther Forbes
(Johnny Tremain), Irene Hunt (Across Five Aprils). Robert Lawson (Ben and Me), and Walter Edmonds (The Matchlock Gun). While fewer selec tions were read of historical fiction of other lands, the mean score was 2.6 points and the mode was level 4. The Door in the Wall (De
Angeli) and The Good Master (Seredy) were the two most frequently read books in this category.
Fantasy Data in Table 8 show that fanciful stories comprised 13.4 per cent of the fiction selections. The mean quality for this category, as recorded in Table 9 was 3*4 points, one of the highest of all ma terial read. The mode for this category was level 4. nIn-demandM 106 stories of this group ranged from Alice in Wonderland (Carroll) to Win nie-?the-Pooh (Milne) to Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang (Fleming). Fanciful stories recorded were predominately animal fantasy* Favorites read were: The Story of Doctor Dolittle (lofting), Just So Stories (Kipl ing), Wind in the Willows (Grahane), and Rabbit Hill (Lawson). The top prose title of the study, Charlotte^ Web (White), which was read by 50 (10.2 per cent) of the teachers in the study, was classified as a fanciful tale.
Science fiction
Data presented in Tables 8 end 9 show that the fewest number of fictional titles read were classified in the category of science fiction. The 16 readings comprised slightly over 1 per cent of all fiction read, however, the mean score for this category was 3*6 points and the mode was level 4. Only quality levels 4 and 2 were represented in the titles classified as science fiction. A Wrinkle in Time (l1-
Engle) and Mrs. Pickerell Goes to Mars (MacGregor) were the two science fiction titles read several times. The former was read by one- half of the number of teachers choosing science fiction to read aloud to their pupils*
Humorous stories
Table 8 shows that few humorous stories (3.2 per cent) were listed. Data in Table 9 show that the quality rating for this cate gory was odd— it was almost equally divided between the top and "low est" levels, with a few titles in between, thus giving this category a mode of 1 (although quality level 4 barely missed qualifying as the 107 mode)* The mean quality score was 2.5 points for this category. Fa vorite humorous stories were Homer Price (llcCloskey) and Mrs. Piggle-
Wiggle (MacDonald). William Steele and Jay Williams were among the popular authors represented in books classified in this category.
Categories of Nonfiction
Table 6 shows that only 93 selections of nonfiction or infoxma- tional books were read by respondents in this survey. This repre sented 6.1 per cent of all prose titles read. Data on nonfiction se lections will be presented under four categories: natural science, physical science, social studies, and other subjects. Table 8 gives data on quantity and Table 9 shows the quality level of nonfiction categories.
Natural science
Of the 95 nonfiction selections read, 23 selections (26.4 per cent) were classified as natural science. Titles placed in this cate gory were, in general, those of facts and scientific information about living animals, plants, or aspects of the biological world. Books in this category rated a mean quality score of 2.4 points and a mode at level 1. As in the case of humorous stories, the mode at level 4 was nearly the highest. Selections were almost entirely of animal life.
Physical science Titles dealing with information on technological and the "non living" aspects of science were classified in the category physical science. These selections comprised 16.9 per cent of nonfiction 1 0 8 material read aloud. The mean quality score was 2.6. Ten out of the
16 selections were quality level 4 and 3, while five titles were at level 1. None of the titles v/as read more than once. The selections included such titles as The Birth of an Island (Selsam) to The Story of the Ice Age (v/yler), and Let’s Go to the tloon (Lev/is).
Social studies
Informational books of history, geography, and travel were classi fied as "social studies" books. (Biographies were classified under
"biography and historical fiction" since most juvenile biographies are fictionalized). Data in Table 8 show that almost one-half of the nonfiction titles read were in the social studies category (48 per cent). Data presented in Table 9 show that the quality level for this category, as indicated earlier in this chapter, v/as the lowest of all nonfiction— a mean score of 2.2 points with a mode at level 1. Titles listed twice or more were Kon T i M (Heyerdahl), Pilgrim Stories (Hall), and Packet Alley (a history of a county in the state of Delaware).
Other subjects
Only eight titles make up this miscellaneous category of non fiction selections which consisted of 8.4 per cent of material read.
The mean score v/as 2.9 points with the mode set at levels 4 and 1.
The selections ranged from Abraham Lincoln’s Joke Book (de Regniers) to The First Lady of the Seeing Eye (Frank and Clark). 109 Special Grouping of Titles
Three special groupings of titles read by the teachers taking part in this study come into focus in this section: (l) the most popu lar titles, (2) the classics, and (3) the Newbery Award winners.
Most popular titles
Data on the most popular titles, those books most frequently read by teachers to their students are presented in Tables 16 and 17* Table
16 lists, in order of frequency, 23 titles read ten or more times by participants. This small number of titles (3 per cent) v/as read 368 times and accounts for about one-fourth (23.5 per cent), of all se lections read.
Five titles were read 20 or more times. The fanciful tale Char lotte^ Web by E. B. White heads the list with 50 readings (10.2 per cent of all fiction read). The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (39 readings) and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (24 readings), the two titles by Mark Twain, are in second and third place. Twenty-one readings put
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder in fourth place, and 20 readings of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens put it in fifth place. The seasonal nature of Dickens' work may account for it being one of the five top choices during the period of this study.
The next group of five popular titles consisted of Caddie Wood- lawn (Brink) with 18 readings, Old Yeller (Gipson) with 15 readings, and three other books each read 13 times— Island of the Blue Dolphins
(O'Dell), The Jungle Book (Kipling), and The Story of Doctor Dolittle
(Lofting). Further examination of Table 16 shows that three authors 110
table: 16
TWENTY-THREE MOST POPULAR WORKS (Read at least 10 times and listed in order of frequency)
Grade and Frequency of Readings______Title— Author Four Five Six Overall
Charlotte's Web— White 24 14 12 50* Adventures of Tom Sawyer— Twain 3 16 20 39 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn— Twain 4 8 12 24 Little House in the Big Woods— Wilder 14 6 1 21* A Christmas Carol— Dickens 0 9 11 20* Caddie Woodlawn— Brink 7 9 2 18 Old Yeller— Gipson 4 6 5 15* Island of the Blue Dolphins— O'Dell 3 5 5 13* Jungle Book— Kipling 2 3 8 13* Story of Doctor Dolittle— Lofting 3 7 3 13* Bird's Christmas Carol— Wiggin 2 4 6 12* Call it Courage— Sperry 2 3 7 12 Follow My Leader— Garfield 0 7 5 12* Mr* Popper's Penguins— Atwater 6 6 0 12* Black Beauty— Sewell 5 5 1 11 Call of the Wild— London 1 6 4 11* Rascal— North 3 1 7 11* Wind in the Willows— Grahame 1 5 5 11* Box Car Children— Warner 6 3 1 10* Brighty of the Grand Canyon— Henry 5 3 2 10 Gentle Ben— llorey 3 6 1 10* King of the Wind— Henry 0 8 2 10* Little House on the Prairie-Wilder 6 3 1 10*
TOTAL 104 143 121 368
♦Indicates work selected by men teachers Ill
TABLE 17 SUBJECT CATEGORIES 0? THE 23 MOST POPULAR WORKS (Read 10 or more times)
Quality Title— Author Levela Special Note Realistic Piction Regional (United States) Adventures of Huckleberry Pinn— Twain 4 Classic Adventures of Tom Sawyer— Twain 4 Classic Regional (other Lands) Call It Courage— Sperry 4 Newbery Award Adventure Box Car Children— Earner 2 --- Island of the Blue Dolphins— O'Dell 4 Newbery Award Animal Stories (Dog) Call of the Wild— London 3 Classic Follow Uy Leader— Garfield 3 --- Old Yeller— Gipson 4 Newbery Runner-up Animal Stories (Horse) Black Beauty— Sev/ell 2 Classic King of the Wind— Henry 4 Newbery Award Other Animal Stories Brighty of the Grand Canyon— Henry 3 Gentle Ben— Iiorey 3 -—- Mr. Popper's Penguins 4 Newbery Runner-up Rascal— North 3 Newbery Runner-up Holiday Stories The Bird's Christmas Carol— Wiggin 2 Classic A Christmas Carol— Dickens 4 Classic Historical Piction Caddie Woodlawn— Brink 4 Newbery Award little House in the Big Woods— Wilder 4 Newbery Runner-up Little House on the Prairie— Wilder 4 ---- Fantasy Charlotte1s Web-— White 4 Newbery Runner-up The Jungle Book— Kipling 3 Classic Story of Doctor Dolittle— Lofting 4 Classic Wind in the Willows— Grahane 4 Classic
Quality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in tv/o standard bibliographies consulted: The Children's Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection. 112
(Hark Twain, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Marguerite Henry) were repre
sented by two titles each among the most popular books.
With the exception of four titles (Dickens' Christmas Carol. Gar
field's Pollow My Leader. Atwater's Mr. Popper's Penguins, and Henry's
King of the Wind) the most frequently read titles were read cn all
three grade levels. Grade levels seem to make little difference in the
titles chosen for read-aloud sessions by the teachers. As for the popularity of the titles by grades, Charlotte's Web (White) with 50
readings was the favorite of grade four teachers (24 readings). About
twice as many teachers of grade four selected this animal fantasy than
grade five (14 readings) and grade six (12 readings) teachers. The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain), however, was the top selection of
both fifth and sixth grade teachers. The five or six most popular titles
with the number of readings for each of the middle grades included:
Grade Pour Charlotte's Web (White) 24 readings Little House in the Big Woods (Wilder) 14 readings Caddie Woodlawn (Brink) 7 readings Mr. Popper's Penguins (Atwater) 6 readings The Box Car Children (Warner) 6 readings Little House on the Prairie (Wilder) 6 readings
Grade Pive The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain) 16 readings Charlotte's Web (White) 14 readings A Christmas Carol (Dickens) 9 readings Caddie Woodlawn (Brink) 9 readings The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Twain) 6 readings King of the Wind (Henry) 8 readings Grade Six The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain) 20 readings The Adventures of Huckleberry Pihn (Twain) 12 readings Charlotte's Web '(White)' ~ 12 readings A Christmas Carol (Dickens) 11 readings The Jungle Book (Kipling) 8 readings As shown in Table 17, when the 23 most frequently read titles
were grouped according to literary categories set up for this study,
three broad types emerged— realistic fiction, historical fiction, and
fantasy. An analysis of the titles in Table 17 shows a predominance
of animal stories. All four fanciful tales were of animals: Charlot
te’s Web. The Jungle Book. The Story of Doctor Dolittle, and The Wind
in the Willows. Of the 16 realistic fiction titles, 9 were animal
stories: The Call of the Wild, Follow l.'.y leader. Old Yeller, Black
Beauty. King of the Wind, Bright.y of the Grand Canyon. Gentle Ben. LIr.
Popper’s Penguins, and Rascal. This great interest in animal stories prompts several considerations. Did teachers read stories that they
themselves thoroughly enjoyed and delighted in sharing with their
pupils? Were the stories of exceptional quality read because they were readily available? How much did the teachers' pre- and in-service
education contribute toward this wide-spread interest in animal stories?
The high quality of reading done by the participants becomes more ap
parent when Table 17 is studied. Of the 23 popular titles, 9 are
"classics" and 9 are Hewbeiy Award winners or runners-up.
Three findings may be drawn from data on popular titles read.
First, that a small number of titles (3 per cent), covers one-fourth of
the total readings; second, that the quality level of these most popu
lar selections v/as markedly above that of the whole; and third, the
selections indicated a wide diversity in types— historical fiction,
realistic fiction, and fantasy. These findings give firm support to 1 1 4 the three major reasons that teachers indicated for reading to their pupils: developing literary taste, extending experiences, and for 5 pure enjoyment.
The classics
A list of classics (fictional) read aloud by the teachers in this study is given in Table 18. Classics are defined in this study on the basis of date of publication and survival value. Table 18 lists the
67 classics read in 295 readings. These constituted a fifth of the total fiction readings. These titles fall into the five broad liter ary types: traditional literature, realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy and humor. There were 25 titles which were read three or more times, nine of these were among the most popular titles listed in Tables 16 and 17. They included: two United States regional stories (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckle berry Finn, both by Twain), two animal stories (The Call of the Wild by London), and (Black Beauty by Sewell), two holiday stories (A
Christmas Carol by Dickens and The Bird's Christmas Carol by Wiggin), and three fanciful tales (The Jungle Book by Kipling, The Story of
Doctor Dolittle by lofting, and Wind in the Willows by Grahame). Six teen titles that were read from three to ten times were: one legend
(The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Pyle), three adventure stories
(Robinson Crusoe by DePoe, The Swiss Family Robinson by Wyss, and
Treasure Island by Stevenson), two regional stories of other lands
(Hans Brihker by Dodge and Heidi by Spyri), two family and familiar
5 See Chapter VI, pp. 162-164. 115
TABLE 18
CLASSICS (FICTIONAL)8, READ ALOUD (Listed alphabetically by title within category) (N = 67)
First No. Pub. Quality Overall Read Title— Author Date Levelb Frequency by Men
Traditional Literature
Polk Tales, Fairy Tales, Fables
Blue Fairy Bool:— Lang (ed.) 1889 4 1 - Legend of Sleepy Hollow— Irving 1820 3 2 - Princess & Curdie— MacDonald 1882 2 1 - Rip Van Winkle— Irving 1819 4 2 Myths, Epics, Legends, Tall Tales
King Arthur and His Knights— ' Malory• 1485 3 2 •“ Merry Adventures of Robin Hood — Pyle 1885 2 4
Realistic Fiction
Adventure
Around the World in Eighty Days— Verne 1873 3 1 - Captains Courageous— Kipling 1897 2 1 1 Gulliver1s Travels— Swift 1726 4 2 - Moby Dick— Melville (adpt.?) 1851 2 1 - Robinson Crusoe— DeFoe 1719 3 7 1 Swiss Family Robinson— Wyss 1813 4 6 1 Tarzan of the Apes— Burroughs 1914 1 1 - Toby Tyler— Otis 1881 3 3 1 Treasure Island— Stevenson 1883 4 7
Regional (United States)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn— Twain 1885 4 24 3 Adventures of Ton Sawyer— Twain 1876 4 39 4 116
TABLE 18 (cont'd.)
First No. Pub. Quality Overall Read Title— Author DateLevel Frequency by Men Regional (United States) cont'd.
Chi-Wee— Moon 1921 2 1 — Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come— Fox 1903 1 1 t Regional (Other Lands)
David Copperfield— Dickens 1849 2 1 — Hans Brinker— Dodge 1865 4 4 - Heidi— Spyri 1884 4 9 2 Little Lord Fauntieroy— Burnett 1886 2 1 - Tom Sawyer Abroad— Twain 1894 1 1 —
Family & Familiar Experiences
Anne of Green Gables— Montgomery 1903 1 1 - Bobbsey Twins— Hope 1904 1 1 1 Bobbsey Tv/ins in the Country— Hope 1 1 - Freckles— Porter 1904 1 1 - The Hardy Boys— Dixon 1 2 - Little Men— Alcott 1871 3 1 1 Little Women— Alcott 1868 4 5 Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch~Rice 1901 1 1 - Nobody1 s Boy— Malot 1 2 - Secret Garden— Burnett 1911 4 6 1 Silas Hamer— Eliot 1861 1 1 —
Animal Stories (Dog)
Beautiful Joe— Saunders 1894 1 2 - Beautiful Joe's Paradise— Saunders 1 1 - Bob, Son of Battle— Ollivant 1898 2 1 - Call of the Wild— London 1903 3 11 4 A Dog of Flanders— de la Rsmee 1872 1 1 - White Fong— London 1906 2 2 1 117
TABLE 18 (cont'd.)
First llo. Pub. Quality Overall Read Title— Author Date Level® Frequency by Men
Animal Stories (Horse)
Black Beauty— Sewell 1877 11
Other Animal Stories
Bambi— Salten 1928
Holiday Stories The Bird's Christmas Carol— Wiggin 1887 2 12 2 A Christmas Carol— Dickens 1845 4 20 1 Why the Chimes Rang— Alden 1908 3 4
Historical Fiction
United States: Indians, Pioneers, History
Kan Without a Country— Hale 1865 1 1 1 On to Oregon!— Morrow 1926 2 3 - Uncle Tom's Cabin— Stowe 1852 1 2 —
her lands
Ben Hur— Wallace 1880 1 2 - lance of Xanana— French 1892 2 1 - Hen of Iron— Pyle 1892 2 2 - Otto of the Silver Hand— Pyle 1888 3 1 - Prince and the Pauper— Twain 1882 2 2 1 Scarlet Pimpernel— Orczy 1905 1 1 - 118
TABLB 18 (cont'd.)
First No. Pub. Overall Title— Author Quality Head Date Level® Frequency by Lien Fantasy and Humor
Fantasy
Adventures of Pinocchio— Collodi 1883 4 4 — Alice's Adventures in ‘wonder land— Carroll 1865 4 5 1 The Jungle Book— Kipling 1894 3 13 1 Just So Stories— Kipling 1902 4 5 2 Peter Pan— Barrie 1904 4 3 — Story of Doctor Dolittle— lofting 1920 4 13 1 Through the Looking C-lass— Carroll 1872 4 1 Voyages of Doctor Dolittle— Lofting 1922 4 2 Wind in the Willows— Grahame 1908 4 11 1 Winnie The Pooh— Llilne 1926 4 5 - Y/onderful Wizard of Oz— Baum 1900 4 3 —
Humor
Peterkin Papers— Hale 1880 4 1
aClassics are defined as titles that have "weathered" at least one generation and are still accepted and read. Bor this study, an arbitrary period of forty years was selected as the minimum period for a book to be judged as a "classic". A first publication date of the year 1928 was the cut-off date for such titles. No other attempt was made to evaluate titles which met this criteria. (The titles in this special grouping were also listed in their respective cate gories.) Quality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children's Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection. 119 experience stories (Little Women by Alcott and The Secret Garden by
Burnett), one animal story (Bambi by Sal ten), one holiday story (Why the Chimes Rang by Alden), one historical fiction of the United States
(On to Oregon by Morrow), and six fanciful tales (Adventures of p^n- oocihib)fcy Collodi, Alicefs Adventures in Wonderland by Carroll, Just So
Stories by Kipling, Peter Pan by Barrie, Winnie the Pooh by Milne, and
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Baum).
The list of classics also contains some books of poor literary quality. Including such titles as Tarzan of the Apes. The Bobbsey
Twins, and The Hardy Boys may jar or puzzle the sophisticated reader who may equate quality with the classics. One wonders whether their appearance does perhaps represent nostalgia on the part of a few teachers. However, for objective reporting, classics were defined in this study as those books which have had sustained interest for 40 or more years.
Several quotations from respondents support the reasons they give for reading "classics" to children. One Mark Twain enthusiast who in dicated that she was in her sixties said:
The only must in my reading aloud is Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Fifth graders never tire of them.
I lean toward the old books, the classics, for two reasons, one, they are neglected in m o d e m texts and two, I like them and want the children to like them. My pupils leave me each year with an increased inter est and desire for reading on their own, and best of all a curiosity about the world and the people and things in it. • .You should see how my boys identify with Huckleberry Pinni II! I read the original story, not the cleaned up one. (0667-45) 120 One participant said:
I feel that children need and enjoy being read to, especially those of families who do not have the time nor facilities to do so. May I also stress that although children come from so-called "culturally de prived" areas, they enjoy the original versions of authors, not the watered-down easy to read ones. (0470-26)
Another who read Bambi:
I feel that children need to be read to today. Their parents do not read out loud [sic] to them and they are often unacquainted with the classics. I try to read one story about animals (Bambi). one about an other i-ace (V/aterless Mountain), and one for sheer enjoyment (Mary Po'ppins). These vary. I also try to read as many of the standard classics as possible. (0334-44) One man offers several conclusions:
During 24 years of teaching in grades 1-8, many of my pupils who had little or no desire for reading were stimulated into such children's books as Heidi. Treasure Island, etc. They found through listening to these books that the doors to reading were opened. I have found very few pupils who could not build up a de sire for reading, even though some could be classified as almost nonreaders. (0281-46)
Table 18 also presents data showing that 32 readings of classics were presented by men teachers; whereas one-fifth of the fiction read by all teachers were classics (295 readings), more than one-fifth of all prose readings by men teachers were classics. This finding agrees with Carsley's^ study that teachers read accepted children's classics 7 and is at variance with the informal study by Anderson. A conclusion
^See Chapter II, p. 60.
7Ibid. 121 of Anderson that men v/ere less apt to select classics to read to their pupils was not supported by this study.
Newbery Award Books
Data on Newbery Award titles read are given in Table 19. The choices scatter over the 47 year period of the awards, from the first,
The Story of Mankind (Van Loon) to the 1968 choice, From the Mixed-up
Files of Lire. Basil B. Frankweiler (Konigsburg). Thirty-three Newbery winners, 70 per cent of the total number of award titles are listed in
Table 19. These 33 selections represent 4.3 per cent of all prose ti tles but cover 8.5 per cent of the prose readings. Teachers are evi dently sensitive to the selective judgment of the Hewbery Award Commit tee. Several of the teachers mentioned using lists of the award books as guides in answer to the question on what guides they use in se lecting books to read to their classes. Only 9.7 per cent or 13 read ings of Newbery titles readings were read by men teachers.
Four Newbery Award titles v/ere read at least ten times: Island of the Blue Dolphins (O’Dell)— an adventure story, Call it Courage (Sperry)
— a regional story of other lands, King of the 7/ind (Henry)— a horse story, and Caddie ffoodlawn (Brink)— historical fiction of the United
States. In addition, twelve other titles were read from 3 to 9 times: two regional stories of the United States (...And Now Miguel by Krum- gold end Strawberry Girl by lenski), two realistic stories of other lands (Shadow of a Bull by Y/ojciechowska and The Vftieel on the School by De Jong), one family and familiar experience story (it’s Like This,
Cat by Neville), two stories based on the history of the United States 122
TABLE 19
MEWHEBY AWARD BOOKS READ 700UD (listed alphabetically by title within category)
Award Quality frequency Title— Author Year Level®1 (N = 133) Traditional Literature
Polk Tales, Fairy Tales, Legends Cat Who Went to Heaven— Coatsworth 1931 2 1 Myths, Epics, Legends, Tall Tales The White Stag— Seredy 1938 2 2
Realistic Fiction
Adventure Island of the Blue Dolphins— O'Dell 1961 4 13 Regional Stories (United States) ...And How Miguel— Krumgold 1954 4 4 Strawberry Girl— Lenski 1946 3 3 Thimble Sumer— Enright 1939 4 1 Waterless Mountain— Armer 1932 3 1 Regional Stories (other lands) Call It Courage— Sperry 1941 4 12 Shadow of a Bull— Y/ojciechowska 1965 4 4 Wheel on the School— De Jong 1955 4 3 Family and Familiar E:q>eriences From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler— Konigsburg 1968 4 1 It's Like This, Cat— Neville 1964 4 4 Miracles on Maple Hill— Sorenson 1957 4 2 Onion John— Krumgold I960 4 2
Animal Stories (Dog) Ginger Pye— Estes 1952
Animal Stories (Horse) King of the Wind— Henry 1949 10c 123
TABLE 19 (cont'd.)
Title— Author Award Quality Frequency Year Levela (K = 133) Biography and Historical Fiction
Biography Amos Fortune, Free Llan— Yates 1951 3 2 I, Juan de Pare j a— Trevino 1966 3 2 Invincible Louisa— Meigs 1934 4 1
Historical Fiction (United States) Caddie Woodlawn— Brink 1936 4 18 Johnny Tremain— Forbes 1944 4 6l The Matchlock Gun— Edmonds 1942 3 5 Witch of Blackbird Pond— Speare 1959 4 1 Historical Fiction (Other Lands) The Bronze Bow— Speare 1962 4 1 Door in the Wall— de Angeli 1950 4 6 Secret of the Andes— Clark 1953 2 3 Trumpeter of Krakov;— Kelly 1929 3 1 Fantasy
Hitty, Her First Hundred Years— Bailey 1930 2 1 Rabbit Hill— Lawson 1945 4 7 Twenty-one Balloons— du Bois 1948 3 3 Voyages of Doctor Dolittle— Lofting 1923 4 2
Science Fiction
A Wrinkle in Tine— L'Engle 1963 4 8*
Social Studies
The Story of Mankind— Van Loon 1922 2 1
Quality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children's Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection. ^Indicates titles also selected by men teachers. 124 (johnny Tremain by Forbes and The Matchlock Gun by Edmonds), tv/o stories based on the history of other lands (Door in the Wall by De
Angeli and The Secret of the Andes by Clark), tv/o fanciful tales (Rat- bit Hill by lav/son and The Tv/enty-one Balloons by du Bois), and one science fiction title (A Wrinkle in Time by 1* Engle).
Findings on Prose
The data in this chapter supported these findings:
1. A larger proportion of women teachers in grades four, five,
and six read prose to their classes than did men teachers.
Those women teachers v/ho read prose, read more than did the
men.
2. The percentage of teachers reading prose to their pupils de
creased from grade four through grade six.
3. There v/ere no marked variations in the prose choices of the
men and women teachers in the sample, but the men teachers
tended to read a larger proportion of titles designated as
high quality.
4. More fiction v/as read aloud to children than nonfiction and
the overall quality level of the fiction that was read v/as
superior to that of nonfiction selections.
5. One-half of the fiction selections were classified as realis
tic fiction. The next most numerous category was biography
and historical fiction (20 per cent), followed, in order, by % fantasy (13 per cent), traditional literature (9 per cent), and humorous stories and science fiction (less than 5 per
cent each).
6. Of the categories in which prose titles were classified, the
high percentage of readings in biography and historical
fiction coupled with the social studies selections tended to
support the finding that 70 per cent of the teachers corre
lated their readings with the social studies.
7* The most popular story read by both men and women teachers in
all the middle grades was Charlotte’s Web (White), a fanciful
tale; the next most popular, regional stories by Mark Twain
(The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of HuclJ.e-
berry Pirn), and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the
in the Big Woods.
8. Popular books in one grade tended to be popular in other
grades.
9* A fifth of all prose selections read were designated as
classics.
10. One-half of the fiction titles were designated as quality
level 4. One-half of the nonfiction selections v/ere des
ignated as quality levels 3 and 4.
11. Almost one-half of the nonfiction readings were classified
aa social studies titles.
Summary
Information on fiction and nonfiction titles read aloud by teachers in the middle grades was presented in tabular form. Tables 126 presenting the quantity and quality level of prose selections included the title, the author, and the number of times of the reading of each title by grade level. Popular prose titles (those read at least 10 times) were listed in order of frequency and by subject categories.
"Classics" and Newbery Award titles were also listed by subject cate gories. The five or sir most popular prose selections in each of the middle grades were identified. The analysis of the data also included a discussion of the pattern of prose reading of middle grade teachers. CHAPTER V
ANALYSIS OF LATA ON POETRY REAL ALOUL
One of the major purposes of this survey was to ascertain the
content, specific titles, and frequency of poems read aloud by teach
ers to children in the middle grades. This chapter presents data on poems in relation to the classroom patterns of poetry reading of mid
dle grade teachers, in relation to their subject categories, and in
relation to the comparative popularity of the poems.
Classroom Patterns of Poetry Reading of Middle Grade Teachers
Lata on the number of teachers in the sample who listed poetry
selections and the number of those selections are given in Tables 4,
5 and 20. Table 4 presents data on the number of teachers among the
582 respondents, 123 men and 459 women, answering specific questions on their poetry readings. A total of 456 teachers (78.4 per cent of the sample) listed titles or first lines of poems they read to their
classes. Seventy-seven were men teachers and 379 were women teachers.
These 77 men were 62.6 per cent of the 123 men respondents and the 379 women readers were 82.6 per cent of the 459 women in the sample.
Table 4 also presents data to show that 54 teachers (9.2 per cent of the sample) did not list any poetxy or prose selections. Of these
54 teachers, 22 were men and 32 were women. The 22 men constituted
127 128
TABLE 20
THE CONTENT OP POEMS BEAD ALOUD ACCORDING TO SUBJECT CATEGORIES®
No. of Grade and Frequency of Readings Subject Category ntles Pour Five Six Overall f % f * f i f * f i FAMILY, FRIENDS ft FAMILIAR EXPERIENCES 143 16.0 94 15.6 113 14.2 114 12.4 321 13.9
Family ft Friends 33 23.1 22 23.4 52 46.0 43 37.7 117 36.4
Familiar Experiences 110 76.9 72 76.6 61 54.0 71 62.3 204 63.6
PEOPLE, PLACES ft EVENTS 158 17.7 96 16.0 244 30.7 210 22.8 550 23.8
People 66 41.8 45 46.9 89 36.5 88 41.9 222 40.3
Places 25 15.8 10 10.4 20 8.2 33 15.7 63 11.5
Historical ft Patriotic Events 67 42.4 41 42.6 135 55.3 89 42.4 265 48.2
HOLIDAY 63 7.1 72 12.0 39 4.9 58 6.3 169 7.3
NATURE 247 27.6 196 32.6 199 25.0 229 24.9 624 26.9
Animals A » Nature 156 63.1 106 54.0 123 61.8 145 63.3 374 60.0
Weather ft the Seasons 91 36.8 90 46.0 76 38.2 84 36.7 250 40.0
FANCIFUL 45 5.0 31 5.0 29 3.7 40 4.4 100 4.3 129
TABLE 20 (cont‘d.)
No. of Grade and Frequency of Readings Subject Category Titles Four Five Six Overall
f % f % f % f % f % HUMOROUS 129 14.4 80 13.3 130 16.6 134 14.5 344 14.8
WISDOM 87 9.7 22 3.7 36 4.5 111 12.6 169 7.3
UNCLASSIFIED TITLES 21 2.4 10 1.7 4 .5 24 2.6 38 1.6
g r a n d t o t a l 893 601 794 920 2,315
aSee Appendix A (Tables 63 through 74) for detailed data on poetry readings.
Note: This table should be read as follows: Of the 2,315 poetry readings, 143 titles (16 per cent) classified as "Family, Friends, and Familiar Experiences" v/ere read a total of 321 times (13.9 per cent): grade four (94 readings, 15.6 per cent), grade five (113 readings, 14.2 per cent), and grade six (114 readings, 12.4 per cent). Specific data for the category "Family and Friends" included 33 titles (23.1 per cent) of the 143 titles in the general category that were read a total of 117 times (36.4 per cent): grade four (22 readings, 23.4 per cent), grade five (52 readings, 46 per cent), and grade six (43 readings, 37.7 per cent). The category "Familiar Experiences" included 110 titles (76.9 per cent) of the 143 titles (16 per cent) in the general category... etc. 130
17.9 per cent of the total number of men respondents and the 32 women represented 7 per cent of the total number of women respondents.
Additional information on the number of teachers reading poetry by grade level is presented in Table 5. In grade four, 120 out of 134 teachers (90 per cent), in grade five, 172 out of 215 teachers (80 per cent), and in grade six, 164 out of 233 teachers (70 per cent) listed poetry readings. These percentages show a marked decline in the num ber of teachers reading poetry from grade four (90 per cent) to grade six (70 per cent). Table 20 presents data on the 2,315 poetry read ings of middle grade teachers: 26 per cent (601 readings) were listed by grade four teachers (26.3 per cent of the sample), 34.3 per cent
(794 readings) were listed by grade five teachers (37.7 per cent of the sample), and 39.7 per cent (920 readings) were listed by grade six teachers (36 per cent of the sample). A summary of the poetry reading pattern of middle grade teachers by grade follows: Grade Four Five Six
Number of teachers (456) 26.3$ 37.7$ 36.0$
Number of poems read (2,315) 26.0$ 34.3$ 39.7$
While 78.4 per cent of the teachers in the sample read poetry
(Table 5), they also indicated "the need to know more about poetry" and suggested that the reason other teachers did not read poetry was because of a general lack of knowledge of the field.^ Several quo tations from respondents indicated varied attitudes and practices of
^See Chapter VI, pp. 165-166. 151 teachers pertaining to their reading of poetry to students. Two par ticipants in the survey appeared to be dissatisfied with their poetry selection} in both quality and quantity. A teacher with 4 to9 years of teaching experience,but with no in-service education in children’s literature since her undergraduate course (5 to 8 years ago) wrote:
I think the reading to the children is time well spent. I'm weak in poetry, I guess because my training was too. (0045-55)
Another teacher, a man! commented:
I read very little poetry to my class mainly because I feel inadequate in this area. (0069-15)
Preference for poetry is seen in this answer from another man teacher:
I do not read books to the students during class , I do read poetry... I prefer poetry to stories because it is shorter and the students' attention span is more easily met. Also, for border students (U.S.-Mexico) it seems to be a new experience... (0074-16)
A crowded curriculum and dependence upon poems in textbooks are reflected in this quote from a man teacher:
I would like to read aloud more to each of my four classes but time is an essential element... We have a great many poems in our basic texts to read which are important to children's experiences. (0571-46)
An experienced teacher who loves books herself and who enjoys reading to her pupils expressed her convictions as follows:
...We don't have as much time as I'd like to have for literature, we have a rather rigid curriculum with a certain amount of material to be covered each year. Our reading textbooks do not include poetry or classics so we must supplement this from other sources, some teachers do, some do not. It isn't required and some -MrinTc it a waste of time in today's world. I'm in my sixties and remember a different time. I think the children are missing something valuable... (0667-45) 132
The Content of Poetry Read Aloud According . to Subject Categories
Data on poetry read aloud are presented in Tables 20 and 21.
Table 20 summarizes the content of the poems read by subject cate gories and the number of times poems were read in each category and
Table 21 classifies the popular poems, (those read at least ten times) 2 into categories used in the study. As indicated in Table 20, a total of 893 separate poetry titles were read in 2,313 readings. These readings were arbitrarily classified into eight general categories ac cording to their content: (l) Family, Friends, and Familiar Exper iences, (2) People, Places, Historical and Patriotic Events, (3) Holi days, (4) Nature (Animals, Nature, leather and the Seasons), (3) Fan ciful Poems, (6) Humorous Poems, (7) Poems of Wisdom, and (8) Un classified Titles. Many of the poems might reasonably appear to be classified in several categories. This, however, was not done. Each poem was listed only once. The one exception to this rule was the listing of the "Haiku poems," a distinct form. The rest of the poems were placed in categories according to the general content of the poems. No judgment was attempted as to the quality level of the poems.
As shown in Table 20, poems about nature (animals, nature, weather and the seasons) were the most numerous (26.9 per cent) of the
2 See Tables 61 through 74, Appendix A, for detailed information on poetry readings, especially for poems read less than ten times. 133 TABLE 21 SUBJECT CATEGORIES OF THE MOST POPULAR POEMS READ ALOUD (Read at least ten times listed alphabetically by title within category)
First Grade and Frequency Subject Category Pub. of Readings Title or first line— poet Date Four Five Six Overall FAMILY AND FRIENDS Children's Hour— Longfellow 1859 2 5 8 15 Little Boy Blue— Field, E. 1892 1 5 It 10* Little Orphant Annie— Riley 1885 7 21 7 35* Raggedy Man— Riley 1893 If h 8 16
FAMILIAR EXPERIENCES Mty Shadow— Stevenson 1885 6 5 7 18* Pasture— Frost, R. 1916 1 it 7 12* PEOPLE Columbus —Miller 1896 6 16 9 31 Hiawatha— Longfellow 1855 10 9 12 31* Highway Man— Noyes 1906 - 5 6 11* Nancy Hanks— Benet 1933 1 7 2 10 Village Blacksmith— Longfellow l&kl it 6 11 21*
PIACES Sea Fever— Masefield 1902 2 8 3 13 HISTORICAL AND PATRIOTIC EVENTS In Flanders Field— McCrae 1915 18 5 It 10 Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers— Hemans 1828 1 16 2 19 0 Captain! My Captain!— Whitman 1865- 2 11 16* 66 3 Old Ironsides— Holmes 1830 1 5 it 10* Paul Revere's Ride— Longfellow 1861 15 it7 20 82* HOLIDAY Thanksgiving Day— Child l8ltit 6 5 5 16* A Visit From St. Nicholas— Moore 1823 20 6 16 It 2* 13**
TABLE 21 (cont'd.)
First Grade and Frequency Subject Category Pub. of Readings Title or first line— poet Date Four Five Six Overall ANIMAL AND NATURE Daffodils —Wordsworth l8o4 3 4 3 10* First Snow-fall— Lowell 1849 1 8 12 21* "Haiku poetry" (a form) 5 3 7 15 Runaway— Frost, R. 1923 0 9 12 21* Something Told the Wild Geese— Field 1934 2 5 5 12* Trees— Kilmer 1914 5 9 10 24* Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening— Frost, R. 1923 11 22 20 53* WEATHER AND THE SEASONS Fog— Sandburg 1916 8 7 14 29 October's Bright Blue Weather— Jackson 1886 6 13 5 24* September ("The golden-rod is yellow")— Jackson 1886 9 10 18 27* Snowbound— Whittier 18 66 3 4 7 14* FANCIFUL Pied Piper of Hamlin— Browning 1845 2 7 9 18* HUMOROUS Casey At the Bat--Thayer 1888 3 16 16 35* The Duel— Field, E. 1894 7 6 4 17* Jonathan Bing— Brown, B. 1936 5 2 4 12 Walrus & the Carpenter— Carroll 1871 1 2 9 12* Owl & the Pussy Cat— Lear 1871 8 8 3 19* WISDOM Abou Ben Adhem— Hunt 1834 1 10 11* If— Kipling 1910 1 1 9 11* Psalms— the Bible 2 3 5 10* Road Not Taken— Frost, R. 1916 - 13 13* UNCLASSIFIED TITLES The Raven— Poe 1845 3 1 9 13*
♦Indicates titles also selected by men teachers. 155
2,515 readings of poetry. 2he next most popular categories were, in
order, poems of people, places, historical and patriotic events (25.8
per cent), family, friends and everyday experiences (15.9 per cent),
humorous poems (7.5 per cent), poems of yrisdom (7.5 per cent), fanci
ful poems (4.5 per cent), and unclassified titles (1.6 per cent).
Figure 5 illustrates the distribution of the subject categories of
poetry read.
People, Places, Historical and Patriotic Family, Friends, Events Familiar Experiences — Holiday
Unclassified Titles Wisdom -Nature
Humor
— Fanciful
Fig. 3 . The content of poems read aloud according to subject categories (ll = 2,315 readings). 136
In general, the men teachers tended to favor humorous readings,
Including limericks. There were no obvious differences in the cate- 3 gories of their other choices from the choices of the whole group.
Poems about family, friends and familiar experiences
Poems read by teachers in this general category (13*9 per cent) were divided into two groups, selections about family and friends, and
familiar experiences. The selections of the latter group, familiar experiences, were more numerous (63*6 per cent) than the first group, family and friends (36.4 per cent). Four poems classified in the group of family and friends (two by James W. Riley and one each by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow and Eugene Field) were read 76 times out of the
117 readings (64 per cent). Fifty-one readings were of Riley's poems,
"little Orphant Annie"^(35 readings) and '•The Raggedy Man" (16 read ings). Both of these poems present people from the point of view of children. In contrast, Longfellow's "The Children's Hour" (15 read ings) and Field's "little Boy Blue" (10 readings) are nostalgic se lections that look back upon childhood that is past. For the most part, the selections in this group of poems were sentimental.
The majority of the selections placed in the group familiar ex periences (110 titles in 204 readings) were written from the point of view of children. The three most popular titles were "My Shadow" by
3 See Table 72 for detailed infoimation on humorous poems.
*See Tables 63 through 74, Appendix A, for detailed information on poetry readings. 137 Stevenson (18 readings), "The Pasture" by Robert Frost (12 readings), and "Arithmetic" by Sandburg (9 readings). Other poems in this group read at least three times ranged from such old favorites as Stevenson's
"Swing" and "Lend of Counterpane," Arthur Guiteman's "Little Lost
Pup," and Emily Dickinson's "I Never Saw A Moor," to contemporary works by David McCord, "Every Time I Climb a Tree" and "Song of the Train,"
Dorothy Baruch's "Merry-Go-Round," Robert's "Mumps," Dick Dorrance's
"Cockpit in the Clouds," Rachel Field's "Skyscraper," Frances Frost's
"Trains at Night," and Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Travel."
Poems about people, places, historical and patriotic events
Poetry selections classified in this general category consisted of about one-fourth of all poetry readings (23*8 per cent). Three specific groups of poems were set up for this general category: (l) poems of people, real or imaginary, (2) poems of places, real or im aginary, and (3) poems of historical and patriotic events. These groups were represented by the following percentages: 40, 11.3, and
48.2 respectively.
There were 66 separate titles with a total of 222 readings in the group of poems of real or imaginary people. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the overwhelming favorite poet in this group. Three of his poems made up more than one-fourth of the total readings: "Hiawatha" (31 readings), "The Village Blacksmith" (21 readings), "Evangeline" (7 readings), and "The Courtship of Miles Standish (4 readings). About another fourth of the readings in this unit was made up of "Columbus" 138 by Joaquin Miller (31 readings)) "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes (11 readings)) and "Nancy Hanks" by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet
(10 readings).
Poems about places or "geography" were relatively small with 25 titles and 63 readings. John Masefield's "Sea Fever" (13 readings) was the most popular title in this group. Other poems read at least three times: "America For Me" (Henry Van Dyke), "America the Beauti ful" (Katharine Lee Bates)) "Chicago" (Carl Sandburg)) "The Congo"
(Vachel Lindsay), "Geography" (Eleanor Far jeon), "The Long Road West"
(Henry Khibbs), "My Prairies" (Hamlin Garland), 'Bing Around the
World" (Annette Wynne), and 'Roads" (Rachel Field).
Poetry selections of historical and patriotic events were dis tinguished in two respects, first, they are the most numerous (67 titles with 265 readings) in the general category of people, places and events, and second, the most popular poem of the survey, Longfel low's "Paul Revere's Ride," was classified in this group. About a third of the teachers in the sample (82) read this stirring narrative poem. Four other poems besides "Paul Revere's Ride" made up one-half of all the readings in this group: "The Landing of the Pilgrim
Fathers" by Felicia Hemans (19 readings), "0 Captain I My Captain!" by
Walt Whitman (16 readings), "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae and
"Old Ironsides" by Oliver Wendell Holmes (10 readings each).
The popularity of this general category of poems of people, places, and events tends to reinforce one of the findings of this survey that about 70 per cent of the teachers correlate what they read with the social studies. Holiday poems
There were 63 holiday poems that were read 169 times (7*3 per cent). Halloweent Thanksgiving, and Christmas were the main holidays during the period of this study. Two selections) "A Visit From St.
Nicholas" or "The night before Christmas" by Clement Moore and "Thanks giving Day" or "Over the river and through the woods..." by Iydia LI.
Child made up 34 per cent of the holiday poetry readings. Veil over
30 per cent of the titles classified in this category were specifi cally Christmas poems. Two popular Halloween poems were "Black and
Gold" by Nancy Byrd Turner (8 readings) and Harry Behn's "Halloween"
(6 readings).
Poems of nature
Poems about nature comprised 26.9 per cent of all the poetry read.
About three-fifths of the poems were classified as animal and nature while two-fifths were placed in the group of weather end the seasons.
A total of 136 animal and nature selections were read 374 times (60 per cent). Seven poems accounted for about 40 per cent of the read ings in this group. Bobert Frost's "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy
Evening" was the most popular selection (33 readings). The next most popular poem was Joyce Kilmer's "Trees" (24 readings)) then two poems each read 21 times (Robert Frost's "The Runaway" and James Russell
Lowell's "The First Snow-fall," "HaikuPoetry" (15 readings), Rachel
Field'8 "Something Told the Wild Geese" (12 readings), and William
Wordsworth's "The Daffodils" were also among the popular poems in this 140 group* The 15 readings listed for "Haiku Poetry" is only a general number for this form of oriental poetry, the topic of which is usually some aspect of nature* Specific haiku selections were also included in the listing when separate titles were given, for example, "Daf fodils" (Kikurlo), "Where Can He Be Going" (issa), and "The Wild Geese
Returning" (Kunimoto). Other poems read at least four times ranged from such old favorites as "The Wonderful World" (William Brightly
Rands), "The Eagle" (Alfred Tennyson), "A Bird Came Down the Walk"
(Emily Dickinson), to rather contemporary selections as "Stars"
(Sara Teasdale), "Moon's the North Wind's Cooky" and "The Mysterious
Cat" (Vachel Lindsay), and "Theme in Yellow" (Carl Sandburg).
Poems classified as weather and the seasons selections received
250 readings with 91 titles; this was 20 per cent of the poems in the general category of nature poetry. Pour poems (two by Helen Hunt
Jackson and one each by Carl Sandburg and John Greenleaf Whittier) ac counted for 37*6 per cent of the readings in this group. The most popular selection was "Pog" by Sandburg (29 readings). The next most popular were the two by Jackson, "September" or "The Golden-rod ifl
Yellow" (27 readings) and "October's Bright Blue Weather" (24 readings), and Whittier'8 "Snowbound" (14 readings). Some poets represented by poems read at least five times included Rose Fyleman( "Snow in the City" and "October"), Bliss Carmen ("Vagabond Song"), James W. Riley ("When the Prost la on the Pumpkin"), Robert L. Stevenson ("The Wind," "Windy
Nights," and "Autumn Pires"), Christina Rosetti ("Who Has Seen the
Wind"), James Tippett ("Autumn Woods"), and Celia Thaxter ("Jack Prost"). 141 Fanciful poems
Poems classified as fanciful were relatively few in number, only
45 titles with 100 readings (4*3 per cent)* The well-known "Pied
Piper of Hamlin" by Robert Browning was the most frequently read (18 readings). Other poems which were read at least five times were: "If
Only" (Rose Fyleman), "The Island" (A. A. Milne), "The Sugar Plum
Tree" (Eugene Field), "The Tale of Custard, the Dragon" (Ogden Nash), and "Someone" (Walter de la Mare).
Humorous poems
The general category of humorous poems was made up of 129 titles read a total of 344 times (14.8 per cent). Five poems accounted for about 28 per cent of the readings in this class: "Casey At the Bat"
(Thayer), especially popular with men teachers, was the most frequently read title (35 readings). The next in order of frequency were: Edward
Lear's "The Owl and the Pussy Cat" (19 readings), Eugene Fields "The
Duel" or "The gingham dog and the calico cat" (17 readings), "The Wal rus and the Carpenter" (Lewis Carroll) and "Jonathan Bing" (Beatrice
Curtis Brown), each with 12 readings. Other humorous poems read at least five times ranged from such old favorites as: "Darius Green and
His Flying Machine" (John Trowbridge), •Eletephony" and "The Monkeys and the Crocodile" (Laura Richards), "Godfrey Gordon, Gustavus Gore"
(W. B. Rands), "Jabberwocky" (Lewis Carroll), "Limericks" (lear)f "The
^Many more limericks were read than were identified by the re spondents who often merely replied briefly with: "nonsense verse," "several limericks," and "limericks." Table 72 gives data on specific limericks and other humorous poems. 142 .fipider and the Ply" (Maiy Howitt) to "The Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee"
(Mildred Plew Merryman Meigs), "The Panther" (Ogden Nash), and "Me-
Cavity: The Mysterious Cat" (T. S. Eliot).
Humorous poetry had a special significance for the teacher who wrote:
I never really enjoyed poetry until I began reading it to my classes. The more I read, the better my reading became and the more the class enjoyed it. Humorous poetry seems the best starter for children with very limited backgrounds. (036-24)
Poems of wisdom
Poems presenting a philosophy of life or inspiration were placed in the general category of wisdom. This was also the only subject category in which religious poems were classified. Psalms from the
Bible were counted ten times. Poems of wisdom comprised 87 titles in a total of 169 readings or 7.5 per cent of all poetry read. Three poets, Robert Prost, Leigh Hunt and Rudyard Kipling were represented in the most frequently read selections in this category: "The Road
Not Taken" by Prost (15 readings), "Abou Ben Adhem" by Hunt, and "If" by Kipling, each with 11 readings. Only two other poems in this cate gory received five or more readings, "The Arrow and the Song" by Long fellow (7 readings) and "The Blind Men and the Elephant" by John Saxe
(8 readings).
Unclassified titles
Twenty-one titles read in 58 readings or 1.6 per cent of the total number of poems read were unclassified. Although the contents of some titles placed in the general category of unclassified titles were known, 143 they did not fall appropriately in any of the previously discussed categories, three examples are: "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe,
"Thanatopsis" by Bryant and "The Patchwork Quilt" by Shorter. Poe's work, "The Raven," was the most frequently read title in this group with 13 readings. The specific contents of a few other titles could not be determined because the source or exact title were not immed iately accessible.
The Popular Poetry Selections
Popular poems
Further emphasis is given to frequently read poetry selections in
Tables 21 and 22. Table 22 lists the titles, in order-of frequency for selections read at least ten times and Table 21, as already seen, presents the popular titles in subject categories used in the study.
As shown in Table 22, 41 poems were read at least ten times for a total of 839 readings (36.6 per cent) out of the 2,315 total poetry readings.
Fourteen titles were read at least 21 times. Ten poets were repre sented in these 14 top poems. Three wrote 7 of the poems: Longfellow wrote three of the poems ("Paul Revere's Ride," "Hiawatha" and "The
Village Blacksmith"), while Robert Frost ("Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening" and "The Runaway") and Helen Hunt Jackson ("September" and
"October's Bright Blue Weather") were the poets with two poems each.
Other poets of the most popular poems were Clement Moore ("A Visit
From St. Nicholas"), Ernest Lawrence Thayer ("Casey At the Bat"),
James \7. Riley ("Little Orphant Annie")Joaquin Miller ("Columbus"), TABLE 22 FREQUENCY OF THE FORTY-ONE MOST POPULAR POEMS BEAL (Listed in order of frequency of those read at least ten times)
First Grade and Frequency Title— Poet Pub. of Readings Late Four Five Six Overall Paul Revere*s Ride— Longfellow 1861 15 47 20 82* Stopping by woods— Frost 1923 11 22 20 53* A Visit From St. Nicholas— Moore 1823 20 6 16 42* Casey At The Bat— Thayer 1888 3 16 16 35* Little Oxphant Annie— Riley 1863 7 21 7 35* Columbus— Miller 1896 6 16 9 31* Hiawatha— Longfellow 1855 10 9 12 31* Fog— Sandburg 1916 8 7 14 29 September— J ackson 1886 9 10 8 27* October's Bright Blue Weather— Jackson 1886 6 13 5 24* Trees— Kilmer 1914 5 9 10 24* The First Snow-fall— Lowell 1849 1 8 12 21* The Runaway— Frost 1923 0 9 12 21* Village Blacksmith— Longfellow 1841 4 6 11 21* Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers— Hemans 1828 1 16 2 19 Owl and the Pussy Cat— Lear 1871 8 8 3 19* My Shadow— Stevenson 1885 6 5 7 18* Pied Piper of Hamlin— Browning 1845 2 7 9 18* The Duel— Field 1894 7 6 4 17* 0 Captain! My Captain!— Whitman 1865-66 2 11 3 16* The Raggedy Man— Riley 1893 4 4 8 16 Thanksgiving Lay— Child 1844 6 5 5 16* Children's Hour— Longfellow 1859 2 5 8 15 "Haiku Poetry" (a form) 5 3 7 15 Snowbound— Whittier 1866 3 4 7 14* The Raven— Poe 1845 3 1 9 13* Road Not Taken— Frost 1916 0 0 13 13* Sea Fever— Masefield 1902 2 8 3 13* Jonathan Bing— Brown 1936 6 2 4 12* The Pasture— Frost 1916 1 4 7 12* Something Told the Wild Geese— Field 1934 2 5 5 12* Walrus and the Carpenter— Carroll 1871 1 2 9 12* Abou Ben Adhem— Hunt 1834 1 0 10 11* The Highwayman— Noyes 1906 5 6 11* If— Kipling 1910 1 1 9 11* In Flanders Field— McCrae 1915 1 5 4 10 The Daffodils— Wordsworth 1804 3 4 3 10* Little Boy Blue— Field 1892 1 5 4 10* Nancy Hanks— Benet 1933 1 7 2 10 Old Ironsides— Holmes 1830 1 5 4 10* Psalms— The Bible 3 5 10* GRAND TOTAL 177 330 332 839
^Indicates titles also selected by men teachers 145 Carl Sandburg (^og11)i Joyce Kilmer ("Trees1*)* and James Russell lowell ("The First Snow-fall").
As shown in Table 21, five general subject categories are repre sented in the 14 most popular poems. There were 7 poems about nature:
"Stopping Ey Woods On A Snowy Evening," "Fog," "September," "October's
Bright Blue Weather," "Trees," "The First Snov/-fall," and "The Runa- away." The categories of people, places, and historical and patriotic events were represented by four titles: "Paul Revere's Ride," "Colum bus," "Hiawatha," and "The Village Blacksmith." "Little Orphant Annie" was the most popular selection in the category of family and friends.
"Casey At The Bat" was the popular humorous poem. The most popular holiday poem was "A Visit From St. Nicholas."
Further examination of Table 22 shov/3 that of the 14 most popular poetry titles (those read at least 20 times), 6 were vivid narratives:
"Paul Revere*s Ride," "A Visit From St. Nicholas," "Casey At the Bat,"
"Little Orphant Annie," "Columbus," and "Hiawatha." Table 22 shows that of the 14 most popular titles, 10 were written before the turn of the century. The list of .14 most popular poems ranged from old fav orites by Longfellow to contemporary works by Robert Frost and Carl
Sandburg. In general, of the 41 popular poetry titles shown in Table
22, with the exception of the "Psalms" from the Bible, Wordsworth's
"The Daffodils" or "I wandered lonely as a cloud" was the earliest title published in point of time (1804). Only three titles were written less than 40 years ago: "Nancy Hanks, 1784-1817" by the
Benets (1933)» "Something Told the Wild Geese" by Rachel Field (1934), and "Jonathan Bing" by Beatrice Curtis Brown (1936). It is interesting that Longfellow, the writer of the favorite poem ("Paul Revere1 s Ride") as well as of three other poems in the list of popular poems has been a popular poet of children for generations
(and by extension, of teachers). "If you were taken to a book store and told that you might select just one book for your own, what would you teke?" was a question asked of about 1,500 children, ages 9 to 15 in Indiana in 1895. Longfellow's Poems was the book selected by 14 per cent of the girls and 10 per cent of the boys.** Other popular poets mentioned in the same survey were Riley, Lowell, Whittier, and 7 Holmes — all represented in the list of popular poems in this chapter. g Street reported an earlier study in which Longfellow was the favorite author among 183 young people between 17 to 21 years of age. Par ticipants in the Street study placed Longfellow ahead of Lew Wallace, the Bible, Louisa II. Alcott, Walter Scott, Harriet B. Stowe, and
Charles Dickens as their favorite author.
As for poems selected by men teachers in constrast to those of women teachers, observed differences, as indicated in Table 22, shov; that of the 41 titles read at least 10 times, 34 (83 per cent) were read by both men and women and only 7 titles of the most popular poems were not read by men. These 7 poems read exclusively by women were:
"Fog," "The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers," "The Raggedy Man," "The
Sissler, "The Interests of Children...," p. 535*
7Ibid.. p. 536.
O J. R. Street, "A Study in Moral Education," The Pedagogical Seminary. V (July, 1897), p. 28. 147 Childrens Hour," "Haiku Poetry," "In Flanders Fields," and "Nancy
Hanks."
The most popular poems by grade level
The most popular poems read aloud in the middle grades appear to coincide with other research findings that poems popular in one grade are usually popular in several grades. According to data given in
Table 22, there were 18 poetry titles read at least 10 times in a grade. These have been listed in order of their popularity for each of the three grades in the survey.
The most popular poems which were read in the fourth grade were:
A Vist From St. Nicholas Paul Revere*s Ride Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening Hiawatha
The most popular selections in the fifth grade were:
Paul Revere*s Ride Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening little Orphant Annie Casey At The Bat Columbus The landing of the Pilgrim Fathers October's Bright Blue Weather 0 Captain! My Captain September (The golden-rod is yellow)
The poems most popular in the sixth grade were:
Paul Revere*s Ride Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening A Visit From St. Nicholas Casey At The Bat Pog The Road Not Taken Hiawatha The First Snow-fall The Runaway The Village Blacksmith Abou Ben Adhem Trees 148 Poetry Selections Pound in Reading and Language Arts Texts
An informal survey by the writer of six of the more "popular" basic readers, five l a n g u a g e arts textbook series, and one literature
series (texts for grades four, five, and six) revealed that of the
total of the 893 separate titles read (as shov/n in Table 20), 216
titles (24 per cent) were found in the textbooks examined.^ These poetry titles in the textbooks accounted for 855 readings (36.9 per
cent) of the entire number of readings of poetry (2,315 selections) by members of the sample. In addition, Table 22 shows that 18 of the poems read ten or more times were found in the basal readers, language arts, and literature textbooks examined by the writer.
The comments of several teachers on their use of the poems in the
textbooks appeared to support this finding: that teachers tend to present the poems most easily accessible, the ones in the texts used
by their pupils. This comment came from a man with 21 years of teaching experience and no in-service work in children's literature since an undergraduate
course 12 years ago.
I miss the poetry that was in the adopted texts years ago. Children love to memorize. (0407-46)
Another wrote:
Selections from basic readers only at this time. (0233-15)
A woman teacher answered:
None that Y/ere not in children's textbooks. (0999-34)
Q See bibliography for specific textbook series examined, pp. 288- 291. Tables 63 through 74 identify poems found in textbooks. 149 It is reasonable to assume that the principle of accessibility mas operative when 37 per cent of the poetry selections were avail able in reading and language arts textbooks. In some instances these poems were the only poetry presented to classes. If more than one third of all the poetry selections read are those available in pupil textbooks, it is highly important that publishers select this poetry with the greatest of care.
Findings on Poetry
The data in this chapter supported these findings:
1. A larger proportion of the women teachers read poems to their
classes than did men teachers. Those women who read poetry,
read more poems than did the men.
2. The percentage of teachers in the sample who said they read
poetry to their pupils decreased from grade four through
grade six. (The volume of poetry reading per teacher did
not.) 3. There were no marked variations in the poetry choices of the
men and women teachers.
4. One-half of the poetry selections were classified as poems
about nature (animals, nature, the weather and seasons) and
people, places, events (historical and patriotic), less than
3 per cent of the selections were classified as fanciful
poems. 150
5* The top choice of both men and women teachers in all three
grades was "Paul Revere's Ride," a long narrative poem that
is over one hundred years old.
6. Host of the popular poems were "old time favorites" and were
of the narrative form.
7. The poems that were popular in one grade tended to be popular
in the other middle grades.
8. One-third of the poetry read was available in the textbooks
used by pupils.
Summary
Information on poetry read aloud by teachers in the middle grades was presented in tabular form. Tables presenting the content of poems according to subject categories give the title, the poet, and the num ber of times of the reading of each title by grade level. Popular poems were presented in tables according to their order of frequency
(those read at least ten times) and by subject categories adopted for the study. The analysis of the data also included a discussion of the pattern of poetry reading of middle grade teachers. CHAPTER VI
ANALYSIS OP LATA AND DISCUSSION OP FINDINGS ON THE SITUATIONAL FACTORS SURROUNDING THE READING BY TEACHERS TO THEIR PUPIIS
A determination of the situational factors that affected the reading of prose and poetry by teachers to their pupils was the third of three major purposes of this study. Chapter IV presented data con cerning fiction and nonfiction teachers read to their students. Data pertaining to the poetry selections teachers read to their classes was reported in Chapter V. In order to understand the situational factors surrounding the teachers1 selection of books and poems, certain questions relating to the background of the teachers were asked.
These situational factors included the professional experience of teachers, the library resources available to them in their teaching, and the practice and procedures teachers used in selecting and reading books to their classes. This chapter presents data on these questions relating to the situational factors that affected the reading of prose and poetry by teachers to their pupils in the middle grades.
Situational Factors
The situational factors surrounding the books and poems that teachers read to their classes are analyzed in three general areas.
Pirst, the background information on teachers, including teaching
151 152 experlencef number of years elapsed since enrollment In undergraduate or in-service work in Children's literature, and their recall of the frequency of their former teachers' reading stories and poems to them in the elementary school. The second general area relates to the availability of school and public library resources, and the third area presents read-aloud practices and procedures used by the class room teachers.
The presentation of these data was made in tabular form in order to emphasize the percentages of teachers from each grade level report ing or selecting the various items. Significant facts and comparisons not self-evident from the tables were highlighted in the text. The interpretation of the data also included direct quotations from the questionnaires which were used to illustrate the different perspectives of the respondents.
The background of teachers in the sample
The 582 teachers in the sample represented the major geographical regions of the country and consisted of 134, 215, and 233 teachers of grades four, five, and six, respectively. The sample consisted of a cross section of school sizes and appeared broadly representative of the numbers of men and women who teach in the middle grades. Infor mation obtained from the questionnaires provided background data as presented in the following tables. Table 23 gives the number of years of experience of the teachers. As shown in Table 23, the number of years the teachers have taught appeared to fall into general cate gories for all three grade levels— about 40 per cent of the respondents 153 had taught between 1 to 9 years, some 30 per cent had taught 10 to 20
years, and nearly 30 per cent had taught 21 or more years. Some 17
per cent of the teachers had had between 1 to 3 years of experience,
of v/hich about 6 per cent were first year teachers. Thus, the pro
portion of experienced and inexperienced teachers appeared to be quite
evenly represented in their respective groups.
TABLE 23
NUMBER 0? YEARS OP EXPERIENCE OP TEACHERS IN THE SAMPLE
Grade Number of Years Taught Assignment 1 2-3 4-9 10-20 21 or more No Response
Per cent
Pour (N = 134) 6.0 12.7 18.7 35.0 27.6 .0
Five (H = 215) 5*6 12.6 21.9 30.6 28.8 .5
Six (N = 233) 6.4 8.6 25.3 30.5 29.2 .0
Mean 6.0 11.3 21.9 32.0 28.5 .2
As for recency of orientation in Children's Literature, Table 24
records data on the years elapsed since teachers were enrolled in un
dergraduate courses or studied it as part of another course. Table
25, however, shows the years elapsed since teachers had some orienta
tion in Children's Literature either as a course or in-service con ference* The data in Table 24 indicated that about 55 per cent of the teachers had had courses from 1 to 8 years ago and about 25 per cent had had course work 13 or more years ago. 154
TABLE 24
RECENCY 0? UNDERGRADUATE CHILDREN'S LITERATURE COURSES
Grade Number of Years Elapsed Assignment 1-4 5-8 9-12 13 or more No Course No Response
Per cent Pour (N = 134) 34.4 20.1 13.4 26.1 6.0 .0
Five (N = 215) 30.7 25.1 11.2 25.6 6.0 1.4 Six (N = 233) 33.0 21.5 16.7 19.7 8.2 .9
Mean 32.7 22.2 13.7 23.8 6.7 .8
TABLE 25
RECENCY OF IN-SERVICE WORK IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Grade Number of Years Elapsed Assignment 1-2 3-4 5-6 7 or more No Course No Response Per cent Pour (N = 134) 20.1 14.2 3.0 10.4 52.3 .0
Five (N = 215) 20.0 9.8 7.4 8.4 53.0 1.4
Six (N • 233) 20.2 8.2 5.6 9.9 53.2 2.9
Mean 20.1 10.7 5.3 > 5 52.8 1.4 Howevert nearly 33 per cent reported taking children*s literature courses in the last four years (Table 24) in contrast to the 17 per cent of the sample who were ranked as recent graduates (Table 23).
This interest in children's literature is somewhat confirmed in the data given in Table 25 which shows that approximately 35 per cent of the teachers had had in-service orientation in the subject within the past six years, 5 per cent within the last 5 to 6 years, double that number within the past 3 to 4 years and almost four times as many with in thepast 1 to 2 years. Such interest may be partly due to the in creased number of college and university simmer institutes in the area of the humanities and to the emphasis on the teaching of literature as mentioned in Chapter I. However, the fact that over 50 per cent of the respondents had not had any in-service work in Children's Liter ature and that about 7 per cent (Table 24) had no undergraduate courses in the subject emphasizes the need for more in-service work in this area. The importance of course work in Children's Literature was realistically stated in the following quote from a teacher:
I feel literature appreciation stumbles in .the ele mentary grades (l) because of inadequate textbooks and (2) because of inadequate teachers. The textbooks will be long in changing, thus teachers must feel more com fortable with both the vast materials at hand and their individual method of presenting those materials. Col lege courses must in turn bridge the gap between teachers and texts. Teachers are the only hope toward a very needed understanding and appreciation of our exciting literary heritage. (1001-16) 156
In general | data presented in Tables 24 and 25 appear to be in
line with two interesting findings of the NOTE report on the status of
the profession of elementary school teachers.^* This report revealed,
first, that Children's literature ranked second as the course which
elementary school teachers (60.5 per cent) considered of great inter
est and value. (Only reading, which 79.1 per cent of the teachers
selected, ranked ahead.) Second, the NOTE report showed that the most 2 experienced teachers were those most interested in the subject.
Data on the teachers' recall of how frequently stories or poems
were read to them by their elementary school teachers is given in
Table 26. The data summarized in Table 26 appeared to support these
facts: (l) Teachers of the teachers in the sample did read to them which may have influenced the practice of members in the sample.
Table 34 reveals that about 35 per cent of the teachers in the sample
reported reading to their students once each school day. (2) Over 75 per cent of the teachers remembered that their teachers had read
stories to them at least occasionally, although only 14.5 per cent re
ported that their teachers had read daily. Twice as many teachers in
the present sample reported reading to their classes each day, yet
National Council of Teachers of English, The National Interest and the Continuing Education of Teachers of English (Champaign. Illinois: The Council, 1964), pp. 73-150.
2Ibid.. pp. 118-121. 157
this still represented only slightly more than one-third of the teach
ers (Table 34). The poetry listening background of the members of the
sample is such less imposing* Less than 1 per cent of the teachers
recalled having poems read to them every day. This finding may be due
in part to the way in which poetry has been presented in the schools
in the past, Wilkinson suggested some fifty years ago that children
did not so much dislike poetry, as they did dislike the way in which 3 specific types of poems had been presented to them.
TABLE 26 TEACHERS' RECALL OP THE FREQUENCY OF THEIR EXEUEHTABY SCHOOL TEACHERS READING TO THEI.1
Grade Frequency of Responses Given by Teachers Assignment Daily Frequently Occasionally Rarely Ho Response Per cent Recall Stories Read Aloud Four (N = 134) 14.2 32.1 34.3 17.9 1.5 Five (N = 215) 12.1 24.7 35.8 26.0 1.4 Six (N = 233) 17.2 25.3 31.8 24.9 .9 Mean 14.5 27.3 34.0 22.9 1.3
Recall Poems Read Aloud Four (N = 134) .7 25.4 41.9 31.3 .7 Five (N = 215) .9 20.9 45.2 31.6 1.4 Six (N = 233) 1.3 18.9 42.0 36.5 1.3 Mean .9 21.7 43.0 33.1 1.1
^Marguerite Wilkinson, New Voices, An Introduction to Contem- porazy Poetry (New York: The T.Iacml'llan Company, 1920), p. 377. 158
Such distaste for the method of presenting poetry probably im pedes the growth in appreciation of this type of literature. The fact that one out of four teachers expressed a need to know more about po etry (Table 2 9) appears to support the assumption that many teachers
do not have a sufficiently rich background in poetry nor do they pos
sess the confidence needed in sharing poetry experiences with their pupils. The value of listening to stories and poems read aloud by teachers is strengthened in this quotation from one respondent:
From personal experience of having listened to parents and teachers read to me for many year?, I feel that such a practice has indeed been an advan tage in my schooling and listening habits. I feel that children will acquire an appreciation of dif ferent types of literature if teachers select and present listening material carefully. (0854-44)
Library resources
Approximately 82 per cent of the sample (83*6, 82.4, and 81.6 per cent for grades four, five and six respectively) reported the presence of libraries in their schools. This figure of 82 per cent was higher than the 64.7 per cent reported by the NOTE survey relative to the availability of central libraries as they affected the teaching of 4 English in the elementary schools. Two factors contributed to this variance: the rapid rise and development of elementary school li
braries within recent years and the fact that the NOTE survey was
based on January, 1963 conditions, while the present study was con
ducted five years later, in January, 1968.
^NCTE, The National Interest. • ., p. 184. 159
A somewhat higher per cent, nearly 90 per cent (91*8, 8 8 ,9 , and
85.5 per cent for grades four, five and six respectively) of the teachers reported the availability of public libraries. Two factors may be considered here: first, public libraries are often established in communities before school libraries and second, the administrators who saw their literature or library programs as rather "good," may have been the more likely to grant peimission for an investigation of this nature. (This sample was randomly selected from schools in dis tricts where the administrators granted permission to contact the teachers.)
Teacher rating of the adequacy of school and public library book collections for teaching purposes are shown in Table 27. Note that the percentages for both types of libraries are rather similar.
Teachers gave these general ratings on the adequacy of both school and public library collections for teaching purposes: excellent, 25 per cent; good, 40 per cent; fair, 18 per cent; and poor, 4 per cent.
There was a high percentage of "no response" for each type of library.
Perhaps this was because of inadequate hours of library service, or inadequate collections, or the fact that many teachers themselves do not read books and therefore, may not be in the habit of frequenting libraries. Apropos to this was the finding of the NOTE survey report ing that teachers (60.6 per cent) in large schools— those with en rollments of 600 or more, show greater interest in and place greater value on Children's Literature courses and conferences than teachers 160
TABLE! 27 ADEQUACY OP LIBRARY BOOK COLLECTIONS POE TEACHING PURPOSES
Bating Given by Teachers Grade Assignment Excellent Good Pair Poor No Response
Per cent
School Library
Pour (N = 134) 21.6 38.8 18.7 3.7 17.2
Five (N = 215) 24.2 39.1 17.2 3.2 16.3
Six (N = 233) 21.9 39.9 17.6 3.4 17.2
Mean 22.6 39.3 17.8 3.4 16.9
Public Library
Pour (N = 134) 23.9 41.0 20.9 4.5 9.7
Five (N = 215) 26.0 39.1 18.6 2.3 14.0
Six (N = 233) 25.3 33.9 18.5 6.4 15.9
Mean 25.0 38.0 19.3 4.4 13.2 (52*3 per cent) In small schools— those with enrollments of 130 or 5 less* The NOTE Report concluded that: "Teachers In smallest schools, which have by far the fewest libraries, are apparently less interested in children's literature than those in larger schools."**
Read-aloud practices and procedures
Classroom practices and procedures relating to read-aloud ses sions as reported by the teachers are presented in three general cate gories: (l) The reasons teachers designate for reading to pupils or for not reading, (2) The reading plan and selection of materials by the teachers, and (3) Read-aloud practices and procedures used by classroom teachers.
The reasons given by teachers for reading aloud provided some in sight into their philosophy and their valuation of the role of lit erature in the development of school children. As shown in Tables 4 and 5, the responses of the 382 teachers in the sample to the question on whether or not they read to their pupils (Question 12) as well as the questions on what they read relative to prose (Question 15) and poetry (Question 18) were divided into three groups: (l) Respondents listing fiction and nonfiction, prose selections: 85 men (69.1 per cent) and 404 women (88 per cent), (2) Respondents listing poetry se lections: 77 men (62.6 per cent) and 379 women (82.6 per cent), and 162 (3 ) Respondents listing neither prose, nor poetry selections: 22 men
(17.9 per cent) and 32 women (7 per cent). The reasons teachers gave for reading are summarized in Table 28. This table shows that the distribution of reasons given by teachers of grades four, five and six, as determined by chi-square levels, do not differ significantly from one another. As indicated in Table 28, the item: "to develop children's appreciation for types of literature," was selected the most frequently (82 per cent) as one of three important reasons teachers read to their classes. One participant put it this way:
My philosophy is that children learn to appreciate good literature through having it read to them. (0195-14)
TABLE 28 REASONS TEACHERS GIVE FOR HEADING TO STUDENTS
Response by Grade Assignment Reasons Four Five Six (N = 134) (N = 215) (N = 233) Mean Per cent Develop children's appreciation for types of literature 79.1 84.2 82.4 81.9 For the enjoyment of children 76.1 73.0 . 72.1 73.7 Extend children's experiences 59.0 54.0 61.4 58.1 Interest children in reading particular books 33.6 34.9 37.8 35.4 Develop children's reading habits 38.1 31.2 27.9 32.4 Enrich the social studies curriculum 8.2 14.0 9.0 10.4 Enrich science curriculum 2.2 1.9 4.3 2.8 Other 10.4 10.7 11.2 10.8 163 Another respondent's comment concerned poetry:
• ■ .My readings serve as only samplings of the vast selections available in our library. On the other hand, developing a love of poetry appears to be more difficult; therefore, I make an effort to give them a reason for appreciation by associating poetry with people's feelings. (0841-13)
Approximately three-fourths of the respondents checked "for the enjoyment of children" as one of the reasons for reading to students.
Yet "enjoyment" was more frequently equated with entertainment than
"real learning" judging by certain responses. Por example, one par ticipant expressed "guilt" that she read to her class in an over
crowded curriculum:
I feel guilty in a way, when I let the curriculum slide— and 'steal' time for reading. Yet, enjoyment and interest— and discussion later is much higher here. (0037-4) One teacher, however, recognized real value in enjoyment when she stated:
I Love it They love it What could be more Pun? (0591-16)
"To extend children's experiences" was a reason selected by nearly 60 per cent of the teachers for reading to their pupils. The comments of one teacher helped to support this reason:
...the class makes a big difference. I read what they will listen to and sometimes you can select and help to change some ideas. (0346-35)
Another respondent observed:
The poorer the reader in my class the more at tentive he is. I also try to choose material more difficult than they are apt to be reading. (0429-5) 164 But the following comment shows that some teachers recognized the
value of literature particularly in broadening children’s experiences:
...If teachers in small communities seem to work more with literature it may be because we lack com munity resources and use books to show the children the rest of the world. (0081-14)
Each of the following two reasons for teachers reading to their
classes received a vote of over one-third of the teachers: "to in
terest children in reading particular books" (35 per cent) and "to
develop children's reading habits (32.4 per cent). One participant
emphasized the reading habit with this comment: "...creating a desire
to read is my responsibility as a classroom teacher." Another respon
dent stated, "I do believe reading aloud creates an interest in reading that would not be, if it were not done."
While 10 per cent of the teachers stated that they read aloud in
order to enrich the social studies curriculum, only 3 per cent indi
cated that a similar approach would "enrich the science curriculum."
This may indicate that literature may be more easily correlated with
the social studies than science. "Other reasons" indicated by 11 per cent of the teachers for
reading aloud to their pupils included: to enrich the language arts
(to demonstrate good read-aloud practice, to develop listening skill,
and to encourage reading as a pastime); to develop literary knowledge
(to increase knowledge of poetry and classics. One teacher maintained
that the children would never read these unless she did.); to enrich 165 the general curriculum. Student-teacher rapport was implied as a fringe benefit for read-aloud sessions in this comment:
To me the time I read to the children is one of the highlights of our day. It draws us a little closer to one another... (0836-14)
Finally, this quotation seems a tidy summation of why teachers read to their classes:
I think most all youngsters love to be read to. My group can hardly wait to have me read to them. Some teachers like to read and make the stories very interesting. The youngsters know when the teachers enjoy the story. The teacher's attitude has a great deal to do in making the children love literature. (0154-35)
Beasons teachers checked for not reading to their classes are presented in Table 29. As in the case of the reasons teachers checked for reading to their students, the grade level distributions showed little difference. Although 80 per cent of the respondents selected the statement "do not have enough time" as their excuse for not reading aloud, only 48 per cent of the respondents selected the statement that
"other subjects are more important". It is to be recognized, moreover, that the statement, "teachers need to know more about children's books," was selected more frequently (41 per cent) than "children can read for themselves" (32 per cent); other reasons checked were
"teachers need to know more about poetry" (26 per cent) and "children get enough stories and poems in basic readers" (21 per cent). The statement "difficult to obtain material," received only about 13 per cent of the votes, probably due to the fact that most of the schools in the sample have rather "adequate" library book collections, as shown in Table 27. It is discouraging to note that 11 per cent of the 166 teachers regarded it "unwise to use school time for entertainment."
This lack of understanding of the basic values of reading to pupils may well be of deep concern to those responsible for Children's Lit erature and language arts courses as well as other pre-service exper iences.
TABLE 29
REASONS TEACHERS GIVE FOR NOT READING TO STUDENTS
ResDonse by Grade Assignment Four Five Six C\J *3,
Reasons t<"\ (N = 134) (11 = 213) 11 Lie an
Per cent Teachers do not have enough time 81.3 81.9 76.4 79.9 Other subjects are more important 55.2 48.4 39.9 47.8 Teachers need to know more about children's books 46.3 33.5 44.2 41.3 Children can read for themselves 51.3 35.3 30.5 32.4 Teachers need to know more about poetry 20.1 23.7 33.5 25.8 Children get enough stories & poems in basic readers 21.6 23.7 17.6 21.0 Difficult to obtain materials 12.7 13.0 14.2 13.3 Unwise to use school time for entertainment 11.9 8.8 13.2 11.3 Other 12.7 19.5 14.6 15.6 167 "Other” reasons given by teachers for not reading to pupils fall
into the following four categories:
1. Administrative disapproval: "afraid to spend the time— administrative disapproval," "school policy, maybe," instructions from principal to let children read for themselves," "read on the Q.T."
2. Overcrowded curriculum and departmentalization: "no time for reading."
3. Attitude of teacher towards literature: a. The lack of appreciation and enjoyment of literature: "Literature does not give them great pleasure so they feel no need to communicate or are inadequate to com municate enjoyment," and "teachers lack sensitivity to and background in literature." b. Teachers do not value and are not interested in reading: "Unaware that a good literature program lends itself to every area in the curriculum," and "reading aloud does not seem necessary to many upper elementary teachers." c. Do not enjoy reading aloud or do not read well: 'Negative feelings about oral reading due to own ex perience in high school and college," and "Teachers lack basic skills needed for oral communication or in terpretation. " d. The need for in-service education and improved library facilities: "Heed help in selecting what to read," "Difficult to be acquainted with appropriate books, stories, poems," "lleed help in selecting interesting and informational material," and "Difficult to select materials which will interest a wide range of students in a class."
4-* The attitude of teacher toward children: a. "too restless to listen to anything except sensational or exciting or humorous material." b. "in some groups children will not listen." c. "depends upon the group. ...If good readers— let them read for themselves, if retarded, read to interest them."
Apparently there is a widespread need for both pre- and in-service
courses in Children* s Literature and need for a clear understanding by administrators of the values of reading aloud to children. 168
Planning end selection of materials
Questions were asked teachers regarding their year's plan for reading aloud and the sources that they used in selecting materials to read aloud. Their answers are reported in this section.
When teachers responded to the question, "Do you have a yearly plan of what to read aloud to your class?" approximately 25 per cent of them gave affirmative answers, as shown in Table 30. Their re sponses to the question, "What resources help you plan to read aloud?" are also presented in Table 30. When chi-squares were computed for the three distributions of the resources used by teachers of grades four, five and six in making yearly plans for read-aloud sessions, it was found that they did not differ significantly.
Less than one half of the teachers who answered that they pre pared yearly plans indicated the sources they used. Twenty-five per cent of these teachers used their own plans. The low percentage of teachers who stated that they used the literature sections of state curriculum and school district guides highlighted the need for more attention to this subject in curricular planning. The "other" sources listed by teachers as helpful in yearly planning included: the needs and interests of the students, and the teacher's guides or manuals for social studies and reading. A few teachers also mentioned course work, social studies and science topics, and the recommendations of supervisors and the librarian. Generally, however, the yearly plans 169 seemed to "emerge," dependent upon the children1 s needs and the de
mands of the curriculum. The following two quotes exemplify this
point of view:
The selection depends upon my group, subject matter and group needs both educational and for furthering an interest in reading.
Each class has a different character. I have, however, never found a group which did not respond eagerly and wholeheartedly to being read to. Each year a plan seems to develop itself.
TABLE 30
TEACHER USE 0? YEARLY PLAITS POR EEAD-ALOUD SESSIONS
Grade Assignment Response Pour Pive Six Mean
Per cent
(N = 134) (II = 215) (N = 233) Use of Yearly Plans Teachers Using Yearly Plans 27.6 23.7 22.7 25.0
(N = 37) (II = 51) (N = 55) Resources Used by Teachers for Yearly Plans Own Plan 28.4 27.9 22.7 26.3 Literature Section, State Curriculum Guide 7.5 4.7 3.9 5.3 Literature Section, School Curriculum Guide 6.0 5.1 2.1 4.4 Other 6.0 7.0 7.7 6.9 No Response 52.1 55.3 63.6 57.0 170 Information obtained from questionnaires on the sources, guides
and publications which teachers use to select materials for read-aloud sessions follow.
Book sources.— The various book sources teachers used in obtaining materials for reading to their classes are given in Table 31. The
distributions of the book sources used by teachers of the three grades were not statistically significant. As Table 31 indicates, about 75 per cent of the teachers use their personal collection and school li
brary. One teacher had this to say of her personal collections
...I have found it very handy to keep my own col lection of poems and books on hand, those which I am most familiar with and can use in a spontaneous way as the material might apply to our studies. Some, of course, are for pure enjoyment, but there is always some lesson in each one... It doesn't take long to gather up a good collection, there is usually much right at hand for us to use if we just notice I The children bring in some "gems" that should be used too. (0832-14)
TABLE 31 SOURCES USED POR OBTAINING BOOKS AND POEBIS POR READ-ALOUD SESSIONS
Grade As si/rnnent Sources Pour Pive Six (N = 134) (N = 215) (N = 233) Mean Per cent Personal Collection 78.4 77.7 70.0 75.4 School Library 75.4 76.3 67.8 73.2 Pupil Copies 35.8 27.0 29.6 30.8 Public Library 29.9 29.3 24.5 27.9 Other Teachers 14.2 11.6 15.9 13.9 Other 11.2 10.7 9.4 10.4 The public library, on the other hand, was used by only about 28
per cent of the teachers and it was less frequently used than pupil
copies or other material brought into the classroom by students. Other
libraries such as classroom, college, university, state curriculum or
board of education libraries were mentioned as sources of material.
Parents, relatives, and supervisors were also listed as providing ma
terial for the read-aloud sessions. All this seems to confirm the as
sumption that teachers, as with people in general, tend to use sources which, are most accessible. This may be due to a great extent to the
time element and to their busy schedules. This tendency to use that which is most accessible, is emphasized in the findings on the guides used by teachers to select reading material which is shown in Table
32. Here, as in the case of the sources teachers use in obtaining
books for read-aloud sessions, the distribution of the guides used by
teachers of the middle grades in this study did not differ signifi
cantly.
As shown in Table 32, about 85 per cent of the teachers relied upon their own knowledge of children's literature in the selection of
reading material. They also accepted suggestions from pupils, school
librarians, and other teachers. Pupil suggestions were utilized more
frequently than those of librarians and other teachers. Public li
brarians, perhaps, by the usual nature of their off-school places of
wozk, were the least frequently consulted of all the guides mentioned. 172
One teacher emphasized the importance of reading well-loved favorites and discovering new titles:
...You should have a list of necessities to read in a healthy classroom atmosphere... Don't get in a rut. That way it will be interesting to the teacher as well. Surprise yourself J Children like surprises. Why not you? Surprise yourself with new ideas of se lections. Surely you have favorites but add to them... (1014-55)
TABLE 32
GUIDES USED BY TEACHERS III SELECTING BOOKS FOE READ-ALOUD SESSIONS
Grade Assignment Guides Pour Five Six (N = 134) (N = 215) (N = 233) Llean Per cent Personal Knowledge 90.3 82.3 81.1 84.6 Pupil Suggestions 48.5 44.2 45.1 46.0 School Librarian 32.8 30.7 29.2 30.9 Other Teachers 29.1 27.0 27.5 27.9 Professional Llagazines 27.6 27.0 26.2 26.9 Publishers Catalogs 9.7 6.0 9.4 8.4 Public Librarian 6.0 7.9 5.2 6.3 Other 10.4 13.0 9.0 10.8
In addition to using professional magazines and publishers' cat alogs) teachers also listed the use of other guides such as college textbooks and courses, book lists in teachers' manuals or those pub lished by professional organizations, suggestions of reading special ists and college librarians, and suggestions from educational tele vision programs. Specific publications used by teachers in the se lection process are given in Table 33. 173
TABLE 33
PUBLICATIONS USED BY TEACHERS IN SELECTING BOOKS POR READ-ALOUD SESSIONS
Grade Assignment Publications Pour Pive Six (N = 134) (N =215) 1[N = 233) I-lean Per cent The Instructor 28.4 27.0 24.9 26.8 Children's Catalog (h .W. Wilson) 26.9 21.4 20.2 22.8 Grade Teacher 20.9 20.9 24.0 21.9 NEA Journal 20.1 22.3 21.5 21.3 Elementary English 13.4 16.7 14.2 14.8 Other 17.9 22.3 18.9 19.7 None 29.9 19.1 22.3 23.8
Data in Table 33 indicated that the magazine, The Instructor, is the most popular magazine with teachers as a source of suggestions for read-aloud sessions. An average of 27 per cent of the teachers re porting using The Instructor just ahead of the percentage of teachers who reported nonusage of any publications. Yfaen teachers listed the names of other magazines they used, only three teachers used The Horn
Book and The Saturday Review and only one each reported using the Book list. and Book Section of The New York Times Magazine. "Other" publi cations used for book selection included: professional journals, state recommended book lists, newspaper reviews, student weekly maga zines, a state curriculum guide for English, and publishers' catalogs.
One encouraging note was that about 15 per cent of the teachers reported using The Elementary English, a professional magazine stress ing all the language arts along with literature. 174 Classroom activities and procedures
Six aspects of actual classroom read-aloud practices are analyzed in this section: (l) frequency, (2) average length of sessions, (3) the times during the school day or week of read-aloud sessions, (4 ) means of grouping students, (3 ) topics discussed in read-aloud ses sions, and (6) correlation of what is read with other areas of the curriculum.
How often teachers read to their classes.— Table 34 shows how often or the frequency with which teachers read aloud to their stud ents. In general, Table 34 shows that more teachers of grade four read f,once a day" than did the teachers of grade five and six. These differences were statistically significant when grade four teachers are compared with grade five (P < .001) and when grade four teachers are compared with grade six (P < .0005). There were, however, no sig nificant differences in the distribution between teachers of grade five and six in this matter.
TABLE 34 FREQUENCY OP HEADING ALOUD TO CHILDREN BY TEACHERS
Grade Assignment Four Five Six Frequency (N = 134) (n * 215) (N = 233) tlean Per cent Once a Day 48.5 27.4 26.2 34.0 Two or Three Times a Y/eek 26.1 37.2 28.8 30.7 Once a Week 13.4 17.2 17.6 16.0 Twice a Day 3.7 1.9 2.1 2.6 Only Before Holidays — 3.3 3.4 2.2 Other 11.9 19.1 19.7 17.0 "Other” tines which teachers listed when they read to their pupils nay be grouped under "no set tine," and "when appropriate."
Such comments as the following illustrate "no set tine": (a) in spurts— daily for a few weeks then none," (b) "oft tines several times a day," (c) "depends upon the weather," (d) "when I can squeeze it in, not as a regular basis; also holiday materials," (e) "more during Book
Week and/or for special days." Teachers gave these as "appropriate" times: (a) "any time it seems relevant or natural to stress a point and to create an atmosphere," (b) "as reward for good day's work,"
(c) "before Christmas and also when we study the poetry unit."
The average length of read-aloud sessions.— Findings for the av erage length of read-aloud sessions are shown in Table 35. When com pared, the grade level distributions of the average length of time teachers read aloud to their pupils did not differ significantly. The data shown in Table 35 indicated that teachers of grade four probably read for shorter periods of tine than do teachers of grade five and six. However, as reported in Table 34, fourth grade teachers were more apt to read once a day than grade five and six teachers. This is confirmed, in replies given to the category "other" for this question.
Read-aloud sessions ranged from 20 to 60 minutes in the responses given; 30 minute responses accounted for one-half of them and were mentioned by tv/ice as many grade five and six teachers. As the length of read-aloud sessions is closely related to what is being read, it was reasonable to expect that some teachers indicated that they often read up to 30 minutes when the reading was correlated with social 176
studies, science, or the language arts. In addition, a few teachers noted that they read ’’as long as children are interested." This could mean that on some days children will listen for a longer period of time than on others and that as in any other classroom activity, the teacher should be flexible in her planning.
TABLE 35
AVERAGE LENGTH OP READ-ALOUD SESSIONS
Grade Assignment Pour Five Six Hinutes (N = 134) (N = 215) (K = 233) Mean Per cent 11 to 15 51.5 41.9 40.3 44.6 16 to 20 37.5 35.8 32.6 35.2 Less than 10 3.7 7.9 5.2 5.6 Other 3.0 6.5 7.3 5.6 No Response 4.5 7.9 14.6 9.0
The time of read-aloud sessions.— Table 36 gives information on the different tines during the day or week teachers read aloud to their pupils. It should be observed that between grades four and five as well as four and six there were differences in the percentage of times teachers who read aloud after lunch; this difference was sta tistically significant (P < .0005). However, there was no significant difference between the numbers of fifth grade teachers and the numbers of sixth grade teachers who read aloud after lunch. The most fre quently given reason for the category "other" times of read-aloud ses sions was "at the beginning of the school day," followed by "at the 177 end of the school day.” A few respondents mentioned "before” and
"during" lunch as well as "during the milk break," "at holiday time,"
"after physical education,11 and during the "reading period on library days."
IA3LB 36
THE ED-3 0? READ-ALOUD S3SSI0IIS
Grade Assi.'pinent Four Five Six Times (N = 134) (if = 215) (if = 233) Kean
Per cent After Lunch 62.7 59.5 31.8 44.7 During Pree Tine 32.1 37.7 33.5 34.4 YVhen Appropriate 29.9 35.8 27.9 31.2 On Rainy Days 18.7 17.7 11.6 16.0 After Recess 18.7 13.5 8.2 13.5 Other 26.1 24.2 9.9 20.0
This comment by a respondent illustrates the reasons teachers give for reading at "appropriate tines":
I feel that children relax during the tine a teacher is reading aloud. After outside physical activity, after lunch, a listening period calms and helps the students to adjust to their class work. T/hen children have been working very hard on class work, listening can give then a break from a too long period of concentration. It seems to refresh them and they work better. (0291-45) A number of teachers, moreover, read "when appropriate" in correlation with social studies, reading, language arts, and art while others even read while their pupils were "waiting for the school bus, as a reward, or during cancelled physical education and library periods. 178 Ways of grouping students for read-aloud sessions.— Table 37 pre
sents data showing how teachers group their pupils for read-aloud ses
sions. In the case of grouping for these sessions, the various prac
tices in the different grade levels did not differ significantly from one another. As expected, when most teachers read aloud, they read to the entire class rather than to selected interest and ability groups. There were only slight differences in the percentages among teachers who did read to selected groups. A few of the teachers read to special or informal subject-area study groups. Here are a few com ments which show how teachers group students for read-aloud sessions:
(l) "...the pupils enjoy it so much that I do not read when very many are absent, they hate to miss it...," (2)"informal grouping when
•projects1' are being worked on," (3 ) "to an individual child who may be having difficulty finding a reading book which interests him."
TAHLE 37 WAYS OF GROUPING STUDENTS POR READ-ALOUD SESSIONS
Grade Assignment Pour Five SixSix Grouping (N = 134) (ll = 215) (N = 233) Mean Per cent Entire Class 94.0 90.7 83.3 89.3 Interest 14.9 12.6 12.0 13.2 Ability 12.7 10.7 8.6 10.7 Other 4.5 5.6 3.9 4.7 179 In the interest of developing oral language, current educational practices favor increasing snail group instruction and giving attention to individual styles of learning. One wonders v/hether the addition of more reading to smaller groups with more closely defined objectives might strengthen the entire literature program.
Topics discussed by teachers after reading to students.— An av erage of 88 per cent of all teachers (88 per cent, grade 4; 90 per cent, grade 5; 86 per cent, grade 6) discussed what they read with their pupils. Table 38 indicates the topics discussed during and after read-aloud sessions.
TABLE 38
TOPICS DISCUSSED BY TEACHERS AFTER READIED TO STUDENTS
grade Assignment Pour Five Six Topics (N = 134) (N = 215) (N = 233) Mean Per cent Characters 72.4 67.0 58.4 65.9 Plot and Theme 53.7 51.6 58.4 54.6 Choice of Words 47.0 49.8 46.4 47.7 Beauty of Language 43.3 40.5 37.8 40.5 Style 14.2 20.5 18.5 17.7 Illustrations 17.6 19.5 13.7 16.9 Comparison With Other Books 15.7 12.6 13.7 14.0 Other 11.2 9.3 9.9 10.1
As shown in Table 38* teachers stressed characterization in what they read to their pupils. This was done more by grade four teachers than grade six teachers (P < .05). However, there was no significant 180 difference between teachers of grade five and grade six or grade six and grade five in this respect. Other topics listed by respondents, in order of popularity were: plot and theme (55 per cent), choice of words (48 per cent), beauty of language (40 per cent), style (18 per cent), illustrations (17 per cent), comparison with other books (14 per cent), and "other reasons" (10 per cent).
"Other reasons" given by teachers for post-reading discussions seem to confirm the finding that teachers correlate what they read with the social studies (Table 59). Teachers stress social aspects in their discussions. Several comments which sustain this observation are: (a) "...attitude of character of place or period; way of living to clarify an unfamiliar situation," (b) "have children compare hap penings with own experiences," (c) "I try to show or explain how our lives compare with the people in the story, House of Sixty Fathers— parents* love (or love one has for another, regardless of race) show how fortunate we are when we see how others live."
Teachers also made an attempt to develop social values in their discussions. This was expressed in the following ways: (a) "tfe some times choose characters we would like for friends," (b) ,Tile mostly discuss our feelings about or reactions to what is read," (c) "Relate to our own experiences."
A few attempts at literaiy analysis were mentioned; they were: the author's feelings or purpose, the author's ability to communicate 181 with children, descriptive language, similes, metaphors, imagery, moods, and tempo* One teacher commented:
One sure way to kill children's love for books and poetry is to analyze it or to belabor the author's purpose, etc. (0918-26)
TABLE 39
OTHER CURRICULUM AREAS TO WHICH TEACHERS RELATE WHAT IS READ TO STUDENTS
Grade Assignment Curriculum Area Pour Pive Six (N = 134) (N = 215) (N = 233) Mean Per cent Social Studies 78.4 68.4 63.9 70.2 Creative Writing 63.4 71.2 60.5 65.0 Dramatization 37.3 47.9 40.8 42.0 Art 44.0 32.1 33.9 36.7 Science 42.5 33.0 30.0 35.2 Uusic 2.0 2.8 1.7 2.2 Other 21.6 14.9 18.5 18.3 Not Related 1.5 1.4 .9 1.3
Correlation of the readings with other curriculum areas.— Table
39 shows the other curriculum areas to which teachers related the con tents of their readings. It may be seen that some 70 per cent of the teachers related their readings to the Social Studies program, in con trast to other curricular areas. There was a statistical difference between the number of fourth grade teachers who related their readings to their Social Studies topics as compared to the number of sixth grade teachers who did so (P < .05). However, there was no significant difference between grade five and grade six teachers or grade four and 182 grade five teachers relating what they read aloud to Social Studies topics.
Creative writing (55 per cent) and dramatization (42 per cent) were two areas of the Language Arts to which teachers related what was read to students. Other curriculum areas included art (36.7 per cent) and science (35 per cent). A low percentage of teachers correlated their readings with the music program; perhaps little emphasis is generally given to the music program in the middle grades. Pour areas mentioned frequently by teachers under the category "other” were:
(l) the language arts (vocabulary study, bool: reports, verse choir, dictionary use, spelling), (2) literature (for benefit of hearing a story or poem and listening, emphasis on the enjoyment of what is read, characterization, rhythm and rhyming of words in poems, pleasure of reading, other stories read, use of leisure), (3) reading texts, end (4 ) social values (which may be interpreted as social studies in the broad sense). V/ith respect to this correlation some teachers said: (a) "notice behavior of story characters as compared to real life," (b) "author's life— personality reflected in v/riting also reflections of era or historical events," (c) "current interests," and (a) "values as applied to their personal lives." But two teachers mentioned "entertainment" as a point of correlating what they read to their students! Findings on Situational Factors
She data in this chapter supported these findings:
Background of the teachers
1. One out of two teachers had had undergraduate courses in Children's Literature within the past 8 years and one out of 4 had had courses more than 13 years ago.
2. Half of the 382 member sample had had no in-service work in Children's Literature. About 4 out of 10 teachers had had in-service courses or conferences within the past 6 years; half of these had had in-service work during the past 2 years.
Library resources
1. Approximately 8 out of 10 teachers reported libraries in their schools; public libraries were available to 9 out of 10 members of the sample.
2. The respondents rated the adequacy of both school and public library collections for teaching purposes as: excellent— 25 per cent, good— 40 per cent, fair— 18 per cent, and poor— 4 per cent.
Teachers' read-aloud practices
1. Over 50 per cent of the teachers checked these three as major reasons for reading to pupils:
a. To develop children's appreciation for types of literature. b. For the enjoyment of children. c. To extend children's experiences. ^ ;
2. Over 40 per cent of the teachers checked these three as major reasons for not reading to pupils:
a. Teachers do not have enough time. b. Other subjects are more important. c. Teachers need to know more about children's books.
3. About one-fourth of the teachers follow a plan for the year's reading. 4. Three out of 4 teachers read books from their school or personal collection; 30 per cent used public libraries.
5. About 85 per cent of the teachers were guided by their personal knowledge in the selection of reading ma terials aided by pupil suggestions) school librarians) and other teachers.
Classroom activities and practices
1« More teachers of grade four read "once a day" than did teachers of grade five or six. This was statistically significant when grade four teachers were compared with grade five (P < .001) and when grade four teachers were compared with grade six (P < .0005).
2. Teachers of grade four read for shorter periods of time, between 10-20 minutes) while teachers of grades five and six appeared to read on the average of 30 minutes for each session.
3. "After lunch" was the most popular time indicated by teachers for read-aloud sessions. The differences in the number of teachers reading after lunch between grade four and five and between grade four and six were sta tistically significant (P < .0005).
4. About 9 out of 10 teachers read aloud to their entire group or class rather than to selected smaller groups.
5. About 9 out of 10 teachers discussed v/hat they read with their pupils. Characterization was stressed more by fourth grade teachers than sixth grade teachers (P < .05). Plot and theme, choice of words, beauty of language were also emphasized by 4 our of 10 teachers. Social values were also stressed.
6. About 7 out of 10 teachers reported that they related ma terial read to the Social Studies program. There was a a statistical difference when what is read is related to Social Studies topics in grade four as compared with grade six (P < .05). 185
Summary
Information relating to situations which surrounded the reading- aloud sessions of- the 582 respondents were analyzed and presented in tabular form. The four areas considered were: (l) the background of teachers in Children's Literature courses, (2) school and community library resources, (3) read-aloud practices, and (4) classroom ac tivities and practices. Chi-square levels of significance were de termined and reported for statistically significant factors. CHAPTER VII
SULMARY A1I3) CONCHJSIOIIS
Summary
Purposes of the Study
This survey of what teachers read to pupils in the middle grades had three major purposes: (l) To ascertain, classify, and evaluate
the quality of the titles of prose selections (fiction and nonfiction) teachers of grades four, five, and six read to their pupils. (2) To
ascertain the content and to classify the titles or first lines of poems read by teachers according to the subject categories of the selections. (3) To determine some of the situational factors that surrounded this reading of prose and poetry by the teachers. Situa tional factors in four areas were considered: (a) the background of teachers in Children’s literature courses, (b) the availability of school and community libraries, (c) read-aloud practices, and (d) classroom activities and procedures U3ed when reading aloud. Specif ically, answers to the following principal questions were sought.
Prose and poetry
1. What are the specific titles of prose and poetry read by teachers to their classes in the middle grades? 2. How much prose and poetry are read aloud by teachers in the middle grades?
186 3» To what extent do the men and women teachers differ in their
patterns of prose and poetry reading?
4. To v/hat extent are the various literary types represented
in the prose selections read by teachers to their classes?
5. V/hat are the estimated quality levels of the prose selections
of the different literary types read by teachers to their
classes?
6. V/hat are the subject categories of the content of the poems
teachers read to their classes?
Situational factors
1. Teacher background— To what extent have teachers had under
graduate courses in Children's literature and in-service
courses or conferences?
2. library resources — To what extent have the teachers found
school and public library facilities available and useful?
3. Teachers' read-aloud practices — (a) V/hat are the reasons
teachers checked for reading or for not reading to their
pupils? and (b) What sources and guides do teachers use in
obtaining and selecting material for reading aloud?
4. Classroom activities and practices — (a) How often do
teachers read aloud to their classes during the day or the
v/eek? (b) To what extent do teachers group their pupils for
read-aloud sessions? (c) To what extent do teachers discuss
what they read with their pupils? and (d) To what extent do 188
teachers relate the material they read aloud with other cur
riculum areas?
Methods of Procedure
A mail questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain information from a representative selection of public elementary school teachers of grades four, five, and six throughout the United States.
Sampling procedure
A four-3tage sampling procedure was used to obtain a represen tative selection of teachers for the investigation: (l) The selection of states involved the use of the U3AFI (United States Air Force In stitute) sampling plan to select names of states to represent the four major geographical regions of the country. (2) The selection of school districts consisted of three phases: * (a) Stratifying the names of school districts by enrollment of 300 and above and deter mining a proportional representation of each enrollment level for each state, (b) Randomly selecting the names of school districts as pos sible participants and requesting cooperation of their administrators.
The investigator asked permission to write directly to teachers in the district. The administrators were also asked to send current lists of teaching assignments, (c) Sending follow-up letters to administrators of schools in enrollment strata not represented in early returns.
(3) The selection of schools was done by randomly selecting the names of schools from lists sent by school district administrators. In cases where lists were not received, state directories which supplied 189
such information were used. (4) The selection of teachers was done by
randomly selecting the names of teachers to receive the questionnaire,
by grade level, from the lists of schools supplied by school adminis
trators.
Accordingly, these five states v/ere randomly selected for the
study: Delaware and Vermont (North Atlantic region), Y/est Virginia
(Southeast region), Y/isconsin (Great Lakes and the Plains region), and
Arizona (Southwest and West region). About 130 schools (on the aver
age of two questionnaires to each school) in each region v/ere randomly
identified. The names of 260 teachers in each of the four regions were selected from the schools so identified to receive questionnaires.
A total of 1,020 questionnaires were mailed to teachers and a total of
582 returns (57 per cent) were analyzed and used for the study.
The instrument
A teacher questionnaire was developed by the investigator for use
in obtaining information for the study. Drafts of the instrument were pre-tested with groups of graduate students (teachers) enrolled in ad vanced Children*s Literature and developmental reading classes. The
questionnaire was also submitted to members of the writer's Ph.D.
Reading Committee for criticism. The questionnaire was further tested
in depth interviews with twenty teachers of varied teaching experience.
The thirty-item questionnaire developed for the study solicited
information through multiple choice questions and open-ended questions
about these four areas: (l) the teacher— background, experience, and 190 grade taught; (2) the school— size of enrollment and available library resources; (3) classroom related activities— reasons teachers checked for reading and for not reading to pupils, the extent teachers cor relate what they read with other curriculum areas, how often the teachers read aloud; and (4) literary selections— a list of specific prose and poetry selections read.
letters inviting teachers to participate in the study were mailed with the questionnaires to teachers during the early part of January,
1968. Letters and the questionnaire carried notations that neither the name nor the school district of any respondent was to be identi fied in the study. Teachers were asked to return the completed ques tionnaire v/ithin three weeks. Thus, the study presented prose and poetry selections teachers of the middle elementary grades reported reading during a four to five month period, from the beginning of the school year to January.
Data analysis
The responses of teachers on objective items were coded and punched on cards. The OSQA (Ohio State Questionnaire Analysis) Com puter Program was used to treat objective or multiple choice items in the questionnaire. The output of the program relative to this study included percentage responses, frequency counts, and two statistical measures between groups— the Kolmogorov-Smimov tv/o-sample test and the Chi-square approximation and significance level. 191
Open-ended questions (generally limited to the literary selections
read by teachers to pupils) were treated both quantitatively and qual
itatively. Qualitative analysis of prose selections read included
checking the list of titles read against standard bibliographies which
recommend titles in order of purchase for school and public library
collections. A four-point scale was used to assign a quality rating or level to each title according to its rating in the bibliographies.
Means and nodes were also employed to denote the quality of titles read. literary selections were further arbitrarily classified into categories adapted from the textbook by Huck and Kuhn (Children1s
Literature in the Blementary School). Quantitative analysis of prose selections included the repoi'ting of percentages and the number of times titles in various literary categories were read.
Poetry selections read to pupils by teachers were arbitrarily classified by content according to subject categories generally used in children*s literature textbooks and anthologies of children's po etry. The list of poems read by teachers to their pupils was also checked against poetry selections in several of the more widely used basic readers and language arts textbook series.
Major Findings
Data in this study support a number of general findings concern ing the prose and poetry selections teachers read to pupils in the middle grades and concerning the situational factors surrounding the read-aloud sessions. Chapter IV presented a detailed analysis of the 192 prose findings, Chapter V, the poetry findings, end Chapter VI, the situational factors. The general findings of this study are pre sented here.
Prose and poetry 1. A larger proportion of wonen teachers read prose and poetry
to their pupils than did nen teachers. Those women teachers
v/ho read prose and poetry read more than did the nen teachers.
2. The percentage of teachers reading prose and poetry to their
pupils decreased from grade four through grade six.
3. There were no marked variations in the prose and poetry
choices of the men and wonen teachers. But the men teachers
tended to read a larger proportion of prose titles designated
as high quality.
4. Books and poems popular in one grade tended to be popular in
other middle grades.
5. The majority of the most popular selections of prose end po
etry were "old time favorites."
Prose 1. More fiction was read aloud to children than nonfiction and
the overall quality level of the fiction that was read v/as
superior to that of nonfiction selections.
2. One-half of the fiction selections were classified as real
istic fiction. The next most numerous category v/as biography 193
and historical fiction (20 per cent), followed, in order, by
fantasy (13 per cent), traditional literature (9 per cent),
and humor, and science fiction (less than 5 per cent each).
The most popular story read by both men and women teachers
in all the middle grades was Charlotte !s Y/eb (v/hite), a fan-
ciful tale; the next most popular, regional stories by Hark
Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of
Huckleberry firm). and Laura Ingalls Wilder*s Little House in
the Big Woods.
4. Of the categories in which prose titles were classified, the
high percentage of readings in biography and historical
fiction coupled with the Social Studies selections tended to
support the finding that 70 per cent of the teachers cor
related their reading with the social studies program.
5. About one-fifth of all prose readings were designated as "classics" (defined as at least 40 years old).
6. One-half of the fiction titles were of estimated top quality.
7. About one-half of the nonfiction readings were classified as Social Studies titles, but the designated quality level of
Social Studies selections was low.
Poetry
1. One-half of the poetry selections were classified as poems about nature (animals, nature, weather and the seasons) and
people, places, and events (historical and patriotic). Less than 5 per cent of the selections were classified as fanciful
poems.
2. The majority of the 41 most popular poems were of the nar
rative form, and all but four out of the 41 were written be
fore 1928. The top choice of teachers in all the middle
grades was "Paul Revere's Ride" (Longfellow), a long nar
rative poem that is more than one hundred years old.
3. One-third of the poetry read was available in the pupil's
textbooks that were examined for the study.
Situational factors
Background of the teachers
1. Half of the teachers in the sample had had undergraduate
courses in Children's Literature within the past eight
years; one-fourth of the others had had such course work
over 13 years ago.
2. Of the 582 participants, half listed no in-service course
work or conferences in Children's Literature.
Library resources
1. Approximately 80 per cent of the teachers had access to
libraries in their own schools; 90 per cent of the sample
had access to public libraries.
2. The quality of the library collections was rated good or
better by nearly two-thirds of the teachers and less than
good by the rest. 195 Read-aloud practices
1. Over 50 per cent of the teachers checked the following
as major reasons for reading to pupils: (a) to develop
children's appreciation for types of literature, (b) for the
enjoyment of children, and (c) to extend children's exper iences.
2. Over 40 per cent of the teachers checked the following three
reasons as major reasons for not reading to pupils: (a)
teachers do not have enough time, (b) other subjects are more
important, and (c) teachers need to know more about children's books.
3. About one-fourth of the teachers followed a plan for the
year's reading.
4. Three out of four teachers read books from their school or
personal collection; 30 per cent used public library books.
5. About 85 per cent of the teachers were guided in the selection
. of reading materials by their personal knowledge of books and
by suggestions of pupils, school librarians, and other teach
ers.
Classroom activities and practices
1. More fourth grade teachers read "once a day" than did teach
ers of grade five or six.
2. Teachers of grade four read for shorter periods of time than
did teachers of grade five and six. “After lunch" was given as the most popular tine for read- aloud sessions.
About 90 per cent of the teachers read to the entire class rather than to a selected smaller group.
About 90 per cent of the teachers discussed what they read with their pupils, covering such topics as: characteri zation, plot and theme, choice of words, beauty of language, and social values.
About 70 per cent of the teachers reported that they related material read to the Social Studies program.
Conclusions major conclusions based on the thirty findings of this study
A large proportion of the teachers in the middle grades value the reading aloud of prose and poetry and do read to their pupils. Findings show that a smaller percentage of teachers in grade five and six read to their pupils than did grade four teach ers. This could be one of the results of a "crowded" cur riculum in the upper grades.
There is little variation in the prose and poetry choices of men and women teachers. llore fiction than nonfiction is read aloud and fiction read is of a superior quality. 197
5. Teachers seen to be largely guided in the choice of reading
material by what is easily available in textbooks and in
school library collections.
6. It appears that public libraries are not being used to ad
vantage in the selection of materials for reading aloud.
7. Teachers need to know more about children's books.
8. Teachers need to laiow more about poetry.
9. Teachers need a wider exposure to contemporary prose and
poetry in their children's literature courses.
Recommendations
The findings and conclusions of the study load the writer to nake
the following recommendations:
1. All elementary schools should develop or maintain a school
library of high quality resources and service. Ho teacher
should be limited in his choice of readings to a personal
collection.
2. Public librarians might well nake their resources and serv
ices more easily accessible to teachers. The predominant
listing by teachers of "old-time favorite" stories and poems
might suggest that very little contemporary material is in
their libraries.
3. A balanced read-aloud program should be made an integral part
of any sequentially planned literature program. Recent
psychological and educational research findings reported by
Bruner and Bloom cited in Chapter I support this statement. School and teacher education personnel should cooperate to design, demonstrate, and encourage sequentially planned lit erature programs for both pre- raid in-service teachers. Such experiences should enable teachers to develop and maintain a balanced read-aloud program in their own classrooms.
Teachers should use more relevant, contemporary titles in their read-aloud programs.
Required Children’s literature courses should include in struction in the philosophy, principles, approaches, and techniques of a sequentially planned literature program in the elementary school. Such courses should also be part of certification requirements for supervisors and administrators as well as for teachers. Administrators and supervisors so qualified y/ould be in a position to encourage and assist teachers in maintaining and developing a literature program of high quality. In addition, children’s literature courses for school and public librarians should be oriented towards a literatui’e program. Such librarians would be in a position not only to develop school library collections of high quality, but also to promote and support teachers in implementing planned literature programs.
College courses in methods of teaching the social studies, science, mathematics, art, music and other related subjects should give strong emphasis to quality standards in choosing related reading material. 8. Publishers of textbooks should be encouraged to include more
high quality prose and poetry in their publications. 3oth
the teachers* responses and their reading choices indicated
that they chose readings from material which is easily avail
able. Ease of access to and a wide choice of available ma
terial would help the teacher maintain a worthwhile read-
aloud program even in the face of a crowded curriculum.
Suggestions for further research
In the light of the findings and conclusions of this study, the following appear to be fruitful areas for future research:
1. The content of and the practices of the read-aloud programs
of primary grade school teachers should be the subject of a
study. Comparisons with the present study could be made to
give a developmental picture of the status of read-aloud pro
grams in elementary schools.
2. An extension of the present study night be made of secondary
school teachers. Such a study would give school and teacher
education personnel a factual basis for evaluating and in
tegrating the read-aloud programs from the elementary school
through the secondary school years.
3. The read-aloud programs of school and public librarians might
also be the subject of research.
4. The personal and professional background of curriculvim and
school administrators as it relates to the attitude towards 200
and the implementation of a planned literature program night
be explored.
5. Studies of the correlation between the prose and poetry se
lections of the read-aloud programs of teachers with varying
professional background and experiences, and library resources
appear to be worthwhile areas for inquiry.
6. The reactions and attitudes of children to read-aloud se
lections night be explored.
7. The age level at which pre-school children of varying back
grounds show preferences for read-aloud selections night be
ejg>lored.
In perspective the information gained and presented in this study
might be used as a framework for shaping a well-defined literature progran for elementary schools in general and for any one school or teacher in particular. APPENDIX A 202
TABLE 40 TRADITIONAL LITERATURE: FOLK TALES, FAIRY TALES, AND FABLES (N = 35)
Orade and Frequency Quality Over- Title— Author Levela Four Five Six all Aesop*s Fables— Aesop 3 5 8 Arabian Nights— Colun, ed. 2 5 ELue Fairy Book— Lang, ed. 1 Emperor's New Clothes— Andersen 1 Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Germany— Haviland Five Chinese Brothers— Bishop It's Perfectly True— Andersen Jack and the Three Sillies— Chase ll Jack Tales— Chase, ed. 1 Rip Van Winkle— Irving 1 Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs— Grim 1 Stone Soup— 3rown 1 Thistle and Thyme— ITic Leodhas Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking
Subtotal 28
Belling the Cat and Other Stories— Jacobs, ed. 3 1 1 Fairy Tales— Grimm 3 4 2 6 Legend of Sleepy Hollow— Irving 3 1 1 2 Nightingale— Andersen (Gallienne, tr.) 3 1 1 2 Subtotal 11
Cat Who Went to Heaven— Coatsworth 2 1 1 Fairy Tales— Andersen 2 2 6 Glass Slipper— Farjeon 2 1 Golden Crane— Yamaguchi 2 Green Mountain Hero— Jackson 2 Princess and Cur die— MacDonald 2 Ride with the Sun— Courlander, ed. 2 Seven Ravens— Grimm 2 Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor 2 1 Sleeping Beauty— Chappell 2 I Thumbelina— Andersen 2 1 Uncle Remus— Harris 2 3
Subtotal 23 203
TABLE 40 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Quality Over- Title— Author Levela Four Five Six all
Boy Who Cried Wolf 1 1 1 Lion and the Mouse 1 1 -— 1 Selfish Giant— Wilde 1 — 1 — 1 Thirteen Monsters— Spicer 1 1 -- 1 Walt Disney American Folklore— Wright 1 - 1 1 2
Subtotal 6
Grand Total 19 16 33 68
0 Quality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles unlisted in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children*s Catalog and The Elenentary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a nan teacher.
cIndicates title read by two men teachers. 204
TABLE 41
TRADITIONAL LITERATURE: MYTHS, EPICS, LEGENDS AND TALL TALES (N = 30)
Grade and Preo.uency Quality Over- Title— Author Levela Pour Pive Six all
A Pall from the Sky— Serraillier -- 1 1 Golden Pleece — 1 lb 2 Paul Bunyan 3 1 2 6 Pecos Bill— Bor/man - 2 - 2 Stories of the Gods and Heroes— Benson lb 1 2 Tall Timber Tales— LlcComick — lb _ 1 Yankee Doodles Cousins— lialcolmson - - 1 1
Subtotal 15
Backbone of the King— Brown, adpt. 3 1 1 Beowulf— Sutcliff 3 —- 1 1 Greek Gods and Heroes— Grave 3 - - 1 1 Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer— Church 3 4 4 King Arthur and His Knights— Llalory 3 - 1 1 2
Subtotal 9
Davy Crockett's Earthquake— Steele 2 lb m m 1 Greek Myths— Coolidge 2 1 3 4 8 llerry Adventures of Robin Hood— Pyle 2 1 2b 1 4 Pecos Bill and Lightning— Peck 2 — lb - 1 Tony Beaver, Griddle Skater— Canuer 2 — 1 - 1 Trojan War— Coolidge 2 —- 1 1 White Stag— Seredy 2 1 - 1 2
Subtotal 18 205
TABLE 41 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Levela Pour Pive Six all
Book of Nature Myths 1 1 1 Bullwhip Griffin 1 — 2 — 2 Greek and Homan Myths— Xottmeyer, comp. 1 - 1 - 1 Indian Thy Stories 1 - 1 — 1 Myths and Polk Tales Around the World— Potter and Robinson 1 1 1 Myths and Legends of Many Lands— Sissons, comp. 1 lb 3 4 Myths Every Child Should Know— Hamilton, ed. 1 1 1 Old Paul, The Mighty Logger 1 - 1 - 1 Page Boy for King Arthur— Stone 1 1 - 1 Three Golden Apples 1 - 1 - 1 Windmaker Smith 1 - - 1 1
Subtotal 16
Grand total 10 21 27 58
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children’s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection*
^Indicates title read by a man teacher. 206
TABLE 42
TRADITIONAL LITERATURE: RELIGIOUS STORIES (N * 3)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over Levela Four Five Six all
Holy Bible (King Janes) 2 - 1 1
Rainbow Book of Bible Stories— Gwynne 2 - 1 1
Subtotal 2
The Story of Joseph the Dreamer i ib . - 1
Subtotal 1
Grand total 1 0 2 3
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles unlisted in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children's Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection,
^Indicates title read by a man teacher. 207
TABLE 43 REALISTIC FICTION: ADVENTURE STORIES (N = 20)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Levela Four Five Six all Gulliver* s Travels— Swift 4 mm “u 2h 2 Island of the Blue Dolphins— O'Dell 4 h 5 5b 13 Swiss Family Robinson— Wyss 4 ib 3 2 6 Treasure Island— Stevenson 4 4 3 7 Subtotal 28 Around the World in 80 Days— Verne 3 1 1 Banner in the Sky— Ullnan 3 - - lb 1 Robinson Crusoe— Defoe 3 2 5 2 9 Tico Bravo, Shark Hunter— 3rov«n 3 - lb "k 1 Toby Tyler— Otis 3 1 2 _3 Subtotal ' 15 Boxcar Children— Warner ' 2 6b 3 lb 10 Captains Courageous— Kipling 2 - - lb 1 Moby Dick— Melville 2 1 -- 1 Three without Fear— Dusoe 2 1 1
Subtotal 13 Alvin Femald & His Wonderful Inventions 1 1 - - 1 Amazon Adventures 1 1 - 1 Boys Who Vanished— Carson 1 1 - - 1 Dangerous Island— Llindlin 1 - 1 long Vacation— Verne 1 iD - 1 Mrs. Twiggy's Treehouse 1 1 - 1 Tarzan— Burroughs 1 i 1 Subtotal 7 Grand total 18 25 20 63
Quality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Childrens Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a man teacher. TABLE 44 REALISTIC FICTION: REGIONAL STORIES (UNITED STATES) (N = 42) Orade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Level6 Pour Five Six all Adventures of Huckleberry Finn— Twain 4 4 8b 12c 24 Adventures of Tom Sawyer— Twain 4 3 16c 20c 39 All-of-a-Kind Family— Taylor 4 - 1 m m 1 • ••And Now Miguel— Krumgold 4 - 1 3C 4 The Beatinest Boy— Stuart 4 - 2 - 2 Blue Willow— Gates 4 2 1 2 5 Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley?— Caudill 4 1 - - 1 The Empty Schoolhouse— Carlson 4 1 - - 1 My Side of the Mountain— George 4 -- 4b 4 A Penny's Worth of Character— Stuart 4 -- 1 1 Roosevelt Grade— Shotwell 4 1 - 2 3 There is a Tide— Bragdon 4 -- 1 1 Thimble Summer— Enright 4 1 1 Subtotal 87
Azor— Crowley 3 - - 2 2 Cotton in My Sack— Lenski 3 - - 1 1 The Devil & Daniel Webster— Benet 3 -- lb 1 Maple Sugar for Windy Foot— Frost 3 1 - - 1 Paddle-to-the Sea— Holling 3 2 - - 2 Prairie School— Lenski 3 1 -- 1 Red Horse Hill— Header 3 - - lb 1 Strawberry Girl— Lenski 3 1 2 - 3 Waterless Mountain— Armer 3 1 1
Subtotal 13
The Cave— Coatsworth 2 _ 1 1 Chi-Wee— Moon 2 - - 1 1 Down the Mississippi— Bulla 2 lb - 1 2 Mountain Bora— Yates 2 -- 1 1 Shoeshine Boy— Beim 2 - - 1 1 Understood Betsy— Canfield 2 - 1 - 1 Willie and the Wildcat— Constant 2 -- 1 1 The Wind in the Chimney— Meigs 2 1 1 2
Subtotal 10 209
TABLE 44 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Level0- Four Five Six all
Blueberry Comers— Lenski 1 1 1 Coal Camp Girl— Lenski 1 1 1 - 2 Flood Friday— Lenski 1 1 - - 1 Hunting Grizzly Bears— Banman 1 1 - - 1 Island of Flame— Horton 1 - 1 - 1 Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come— Fox 1 - 1 - 1 Me and Caleb— Meyer 1 - 3 - Piney Woods— Cotton 1 - 1 - 1 Rick of High Ridge— Llachetany 1 1 - - 1 Robert E— LIusgrave 1 - - 1 1 Save Every Lamb— Stuart 1 - - 1 1 Sawdust in His Shoes— LIcGraw 1 -- 1 1 We Live by the River— Lenski 1 1 - — 1
Subtotal 16
Grant total 25 42 59 126
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) fortitles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children1s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a man teacher.
cIndicates title read by two men teachers. 210
SABLE 45
REALISTIC FICTION: REGIONAL STORIES (OTHER LANDS) (N = 30)
Grade end Preguency Quality Over Title— Author Levela Pour Pive Six all
The Big Wave— Buck 4 1 ib 2 Call it Courage— Sperry 4 2 3 7 12 Hans Brinker— Dodge 4 1 3 “h 4 Heidi— Spyri 4 2 4 3 9 The Happy Orpheline— Carlson 4 1 ”b - 1 Shadow of a Bull— Wojeiechowska 4 - 2° 2 4 Snow Treasure— ilcSwigan 4 3 1 4 Thirty-one Brothers and Sisters— Mirsky 4 1 - - 1 The VJheel On the School— De Jong 4 1 2 3
Subtotal 40
A Brother for the Orphelines— Carlson 3 1 —_ 1 The Llagic Meadow— Aulaire 3 1 - - 1 Santiago— Clark 3 - 1 - 1 The Tide in the Attic— Van Rhijn 3 1 -- 1 Village That Learned to Read— Tarshis 3 1 1
Subtotal 5
Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa— Kalnay 2 - 1 - 1 David Copperfield— Dickens 2 - - 1 1 House of Sixty Pathers— De Jong 2 - 2 2 4 Jon the Unlucky— Coatsworth 2 - - 1 1 Little Lord Pauntleroy— Burnett 2 - 1 - 1 The Rain Porest— Sperry 2 - 1 - 1 Simba of the White uane— Arundel 2 1 —— 1
Subtotal 9 TABLE 45 (cont’d.)
Grade and Frequency Over Title— Author Quality Level8- Four Five Six all
The Black Spearman— Fitzgerald 1 ib 1 Boy Alone— Ottley 1 - “b 1 1 The Chestry Oak— Seredy 1 - 1D - 1 Makema of the Rain Forest— LIcIvor 1 - - 2 Oomi— The New Hunter 1 1 m m - 1 Si, Si, Rosita 1 1 m m - 1 Through the Wall— Halkus 1 -- 1 1 Won Kim’s Ox— Eisenberg 1 1 - — 1
Subtotal 9
Grand total 15 25 24 64
Quality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children1s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a nan teacher. 212
TABLE 46 REALISTIC FICTION: FAMILY AND FAMILIAR EXPERIENCE STORIES (II = 62) Grade and Frequency Over Title— Author Quality Levela Four Five Six all
Ellen Tebbits— Cleary 4 1 - - 1 From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. U Basil E. Frankweiler— Konigsburg 4 1 ^ -- 1 The Hundred Dresses— Estes 4 3 1 4 It’s Like This, Cat— Neville 4 1 3 4 Katie's Chickens— Natson 4 1 -.- 1 Littie 'women— A1 co11 4 2 1 5 The Middle Moffat— Estes 4 1 -- 1 Miracles on Maple Hill— Sorenson 4 2 - 2 The Moffats— Estes 4 1 - 1 Onion John— Krumgold 4 1 1 - 2 Otis Spofford— Cleary 4 1 lb - 2 The Secret Garden— Burnett 4 1 2 3 6 Subtotal 30 Beezus and Ramona— Cleary 3 1 1 - 2 The Grizzly— Johnson 3 1 - - 1 Harriet, the Spy— Fitzhugh 3 1 - 1 Henry and Beezus— Cleary 3 1 ~b 4 Little lien— Alcott 3 - 1° 1 No Children, No Pets— Holland 3 1 1 - 2 The Saturdays— Enright 3 1 1 2 Trolley Car Family— Clyner 3 1 1 Subtotal 14 CircusJPunk— Bisnca 2 - 1 - 1 Eddie and His Big Deals— Haywood 2 - 1 - 1 Henry and the Club House— Cleary 2 1 - - 1 Henry and the Paper Route— Cleary 2 1 - — 1 Little Britches— Moody 2 1 — 2 3 Project; Genius— Hayes 2 - 1 — 1 Rufus M.--Estes 2 1 — — 1 The School Train— Acker 2 1 1 — 2 Screwball— Armer 2 - — 1 Seventeenth Street Gang— Neville 2 - — 1 1 A Tree for Peter— Seredy 2 — 4 — 4 Two Is a Team— Beim 2 1 1 Subtotal 18 213
TABIE 46 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Levela Four Five Six all
Anne of Green Gables— Montgomery 1 1 1 Betsy Goes to School— Haywood 1 m m - 1 1 Billy Had a System— Marian 1 — 2 — 2 A Bird in the Family— Brenner 1 _ 2 "v 2 The Bobbsey Twins— Hope 1 - - lb 1 The Bobbsey Twins in the Country— Hope 1 1 1 The Car Named Julia— Hermanns 1 — 1 — 1 Champlain Sumner— Vetter 1 -- 1 1 Cheaper By the Dozen— Gilbreth 1 - - 1 1 Cherry Ames, Senior Nurse 1 1 - “v 1 Coon Holler— Cook 1 —— lb 1 Fields of Home— Moody 1 —— 1 1 Freckles— Porter 1 —— 1 1 The Funny Guy— Hogarth 1 -- 1 1 The Green Door to the Sea— Best 1 — 1 — 1 The Green Grass of 7/yoning— O'Hara 1 — 1 - 1 The Hardy Boys— Dixon 1 1 1 - 2 Kep— Ball 1 m m - 1 1 Kid Sister— Embry 1 -- 1 1 The Man of the Family— Moody 1 — - 2 2 Me 'n* Steve— 3rotherton 1 - 1 - 1 Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch— Rich 1 1 1 My Brother Stevie 1 - 1 - 1 Nobody's Boy— Malot 1 - 2 - 2 The Bed Car— Stanford 1 -- 1 1 The Red Pony— Steinbeck. 1 - - 1 1 Silas Hamer— Eliot (adpt.) 1 - 1 - 1 The Sugar Bush Family— Mason 1 1 - - 1 There's Something About a River— Robb 1 1 “b - 1 Thirty-Three Bunn Street— Clymer 1 - 1° — 1 Subtotal 35 Grand total 28 41 28 97
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children’s Catalog and The Elementary School library Collection. ^Indicates title read by a nan teacher. 214
TABLE 47
REALISTIC FICTION: DOG STORIES ' (N = 29)
Grade and frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Levela Pour Pive Six all
Big Red— Kjelgaard 4 lb 1 2 Bristle Pace— Ball 4 - 1 - 1 The Dog on Barkhaa Street— Stoltz 4 1 1 2 Old Yeller— Gipson 4 4 6 5° 15 Silver Chief, Dog of the ITorth— 0*Brien 4 1 1 2
Subtotal 22
Beanie— Carroll 3 1 1 Call of the Wild— London 3 1 s ;°b 11 Follow LIy Leader— Garfield 3 - 7 5 12 Ginger Pye— Estes 3 1 - 1 2 Lassie Come-Home— Knight 3 - 3 4 Ribsy— Cleary 3 — iD 1 2 Snow Dog— Kjjelgaard 3 -- 1 1
Subtotal 33
Bob, Son of Battle— Ollivant 2 _ l 1 2 A Dog Like No Other— LiacKellar 2 1 — - 1 Henry and Ribsy— Cleary 2 2 2 - 4 Hurry Hone, Candy— Be Jong 2 - lb - 1 Savage Sam— Gipson 2 _ lb lv 2 White Pang— London 2 1 — lb 2
Subtotal 12 215
TABLE 47 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Quality Title— Author Over Level8, Four Five Six all
Beautiful Joe— Saunders 1 ._ 2 2 Beautiful Joe1 s Paradise— Saunders 1 - - 1 1 Craig of the Welsh Hills 1 - 1 - 1 A Bog of Planders— de la Ramee 1 1 -- 1 Gray Dawn— Terhune 1 «• 1 - 1 Lassie Finds a Way— Shapiro 1 1 a m - 1 Lone Wolf--Haywood 1 -- 1 1 Ulster Jin— Kjelgaard 1 - - 1 1 Star, An Irish Wolfhound 1 - - 1 1 Wild Trek— Kjelgaard 1 -- 2 2 White Ruff— Balch 1 - 1 — 1
Subtotal 13
Grand total 14 32 34 80
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recomended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Childrens Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection. U Indicates title read by a man teacher.
cIndicates title read by three men teachers. TABLE 48
REALISTIC FICTION: HORSE STORIES (N = 28)
Grade and Frequency Quality Over Title— Author Levela Four Five Six all
The Black Stallion— Farley 4 2 2 The Blind Colt— Rounds 4 • 1 1 Casey, the Utterly Impossible Horse— Feagles 4 1 “b - 1 King of the Wind— Henry 4 - 8 2b 10 Misty of Chincoteague— Henry 4 2 1 1° 4 My Friend Flicka— O'Hara 4 1 2 1 4
Subtotal 22
Comanche— Gall 3 — 1 — 1 Justin Morgan Had a Horse— Henry 3 5 1 1 7 A Kingdom in a Horse— V/oj ciechowska 3 - 1 - 1 little Vic— Gates 3 1 1 Subtotal 10
Black Beauty— Sewell 2 5 5 1 11 Ginger Horse— Daly 2 - - 1 1 Little Fellow— Henry 2 1 * 1 Sea Star-: Orphan of Chincoteague— Henry 2 - 1 - 1 Spunky— Hader and Hader 2 1 1
Subtotal 15 217
TABLE 48 (cont'd.)
Grade and Prequency Quality Over- Title— Author levela Pour Pive Six all
Black Storm— Hinkle 1 2 1 3 Blitz, the Story of a Horse— Beatty 1 - - 1 1 Colt Prom the Dark Porest— Loken 1 1 —- 1 El Blanco, the Legend of the White Stallion— llontgonery 1 mm 1 1 The Golden Stallion— Llontgonery 1 -- lb 1 Indian Paint— Brown 1 m m - 1° 1 Old Bones, the V/onder Horse— Pace 1 2 - 2 Old Tangle Eye— Johnston 1 1 1* - 2 Pixie of the Post Road 1 - 1 - 1 Hide Like an Indian— Larom 1 1 1 - 2 Wild Horse Round-Up 1 - 1 - 1 Wild Imp— Kamey 1 m m - 1 1 Yellow Eyes— Llontgonery 1 1 — — 1
Subtotal 18
Grand total 23 26 16 65
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children’s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a man teacher. 218
TABLE 49
REALISTIC FICTION: OTHER ANIMAL STORIES (N = 31)
Grade and Frequency Quality Over Title— Author Levela Four Five Six all
Bambi— Salten 4 4 1 5 The Biggest Bear— Ward 4 1 1 1 3 The Blue Cat of Castletown— - Coblentz 4 1 —h 1 B o m Free— Adanson 4 1 lb 3 5 The Incredible Journey— Bumford 4 - lb 1 2 Little Rascal— North 4 1 -- 1 Make Way for Ducklings— LIcCloskey 4 1 - ”b 1 Mr. Popper's Penguins— Atwater 4 - 6b 6 12 Owls in the Family— Llowatt 4 2 3 ”b 5 The Yearling— Rawlings 4 3 2 5
Subtotal 40
The Big Snow— Hader 3 1 — - 1 Brighty of the Grand Canyon— Henry 3 5 3C 2 10 Gentle Ben— Morey 3 3 6 10 The Golden Footprints— Yashima 3 - - 1° 1 Kildee House— Montgomery 3 •- 1 - 1 Living Free— Adamson 3 1 - 1 2 Nacar, the White Deer— Trevino 3 m m 1 1 Rascal— North 3 3 1 7° 11 That Quail, Robert— Stranger 3 - 1 1 2 White Panther— YTaldeck 3 1
Subtotal H O |
A Black Bear's Story— Liers 2 1 - - 1 Carca j ou— Montgomery 2 - 1 1 The House of Thirty Cats— Calhoun 2 - 1 — 1 Old Mother West Wind— Burgess 2 1 - — 1
Subtotal 4 219
TABLE 49 (cont’d.)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Level0, Four Five Six all
Badger Tales— Tutt 1 1 . 1 Loony Coon— Campbell 1 1 - - 1 The Major and His Camel— Mason 1 1 -— 1 Mr. Piper’s Bus— Clymer 1 1 - - 1 The Runaways— Hader 1 1 -- 1 The True Story of Smoky the Bear— Watson 1 1 -- 1 Twenty-seven Cats IText Boor— Vi Beagles 1 - - 1 1
Subtotal 7
Grand total 28 33 30 91
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices,2 pointsfor level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children’s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a man teacher.
cIndicates title read by two men teachers. 220
TABLE §0
REALISTIC FICTION: SPORT STORIES (N = 5)
Grade and Preauency Title— Author Quality Over- Level3- Pour Five Six all
Family Grandstand— Brink 2 1 - 1
. . . Subtotal 1
Base Burglar— Scholz 1 - - 1 1
Basketball for Breakfast 1 1 - 1
Crazy Legs LIcBain— Archibald 1 - 1 1
Twenty-third Street Crusaders 1 - - 1 1
Subtotal 4
Grand total 2 1 2 5
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, end 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children’s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection. 221
TABLE 51 REALISTIC FICTION t MYSTERY STORIES (N = 70)
Grade end Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Levela Four Five Six all
Encyclopedia Brown— Sobol 3 1 Ghosts Who Went to School— Spearing 3 2 Subtotal Alvin's Secret Code— Hides 2 1 The Jinx Ship— Pease 2 1 The Riddle of the Ring— An clear svard 2 1 Subtotal Captain of the Araby— Pease 1 The Circus of Adventure— 31yton 1 Diamond in the Window— Langton Further Adventures of the Sugar Creek Gang— Hutchens The Ghost of Dibble Hollow Ghost at Skeleton Rock— Dixon 1 Grist Mill Secret— Albrecht l Happy Hollisters and the Haunted House— West 1 Happy Hollisters at Circus Island— West 1 Haunted House and Other Short Stories— Woolf Haunted House at Sugar Creel:— Hutchens The Incredible Detectives— Canfield The Indian Horse Mystery— Adrian Jonathan Crow Detective— Adrian Key to the Treasure— Parish (ab'gd) Lost in a Sugar Creek 31izzard— Hutchens 1 Mike's Mystery— Warner 1 Missing Melinda— Jackson 1 Mystery at Ding-Dong Gulch— Carter 1 Mystery at Echo Ridge 1 Mystery at Sugar Creek— Hutchens 1 Mystery by Moonlight— Jane l Mystery of Forgotten Valley 1 Mystery of Hurricane Castle— Nixon 222
TABLE 51 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author C!ua11^ 0ver‘ Levela Pour Five Six all
Mystery of Ghost Pond r Mystery of Satellite Seven— Coombs i Mystery of the Aztec V/arrior— Dixon i The Mystery of the Blue Pelican 1 The Mystery of the Chinese Junk— Dixon 1 Mystery of the Pire Dragon— Keene i Mystery of the Five Bright Keys— Urmston i Mystery of the Haunted Hut— Sooner Mystery of the Haunted Mine Mystery of the Haunted Pool— ’.Thitney i Mystery ofthe Lost Letter— Orton i Mystery of the Little Red School House— Orton 1 Mystery of the Secret Drawer— Orton 1 Mystery of the Thirteenth Floor Subtotal 38 Mystery of the T/ooden Indian— Honness Mystery of 7/hite Owl Farm Mystery Up the Y/inding Stair— Orton A Power Boys Mystery of the Flying Skeleton The Sea View Secret The Secret of Lonesome Valley The Secret of the Closed Gate The Secret of the Indian Mound— Gage The Secret of the Old Mill— Dixon Secret of the Spanish Desert— Shirreffs The Secret Staircase Shenanigans at Sugar Creek— Hutchens Sherlock Holmes— Doyle The Ski Lodge Mystery— Atwater The Spinning *.7heel Secret— Albrecht Stories of the Supernatural— Sayers 223
TABLE 51 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Levela Pour Five Six all
The Sugar Creek Gang— Hutchens 1 - 1 The Sugar Creek Gang at Snow Goose Lodge— Hutchens 1 - — 1 Surprise Island— 7;amer 1 - - 1 Tick Tock and Jim, Deputy Sheriff -- 1 1 The Trail to Lone Canyon— Tavo • — 1 1 The Treasure in the Covered Wagon— Graham — 1 — 1 Trouble on Heron*s Heck— Ladd 1 -— 1 The White Elephant Mystery - 1 - 1 Willow Hill— Whitney - - 1 1 The Witches of Karres— Schmitz - 1 - 1 The Yellow House Mystery— Warner 1 1 1 3
Subtotal 29 — — — — Grand total 25 17 31 73
Quality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted* The Children1s Catalog and The Eleaentary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a man teacher 224
TABLE 52
REALISTIC FICTIONt HOLIDAY STORIES (N » 37)
Grade and Frequency Quality Over- Title— Author Level^ Four Five Six all
A Certain Small Shepherd— Caudill 4 1 1 -v 2 A Christmas Carol— Dickens 4 9 12 21 The Egg Tree— liilhous 4 - 1 - 1 The Little Fir Tree— Brown 4 - 1 - 1 The Little V/itch— Bennett 4 2 1 — 3 Take Joy— Tudor, ed. 4 1 - - 1
Subtotal 29 Amahl and the Night Visitors— Lienotti 3 lb — 2 3 The Christmas House— Penning 3 lb 1 — 2 The Happy Christmas— Bishop, ed. 3 1 - - 1 How the Grinch Stole Christmas— Seuss 3 3 3 3 9 The Light at Tern Rock— Saurer 3 - 1 1 Why the Chimes Rang— Alden 3 - 4 — 4
Subtotal 20
The Best Christmas— Kingman 2 1 2 The Bird's Christmas Carol— V/iggin 2 2b 4 12 The Blue-Nosed tfitch— Embry 2 1 1 — 2 Christmas Stories— Dickens 2 1 _ 1 The First Thanksgiving— Barksdale 2 lb — 1 Georgie's Halloween— Bright 2 - 1 — 1 The Spirit of Christmas— St. Clair 2 1 1 Timothy's Song— Lederer 2 _- 1 1 Turkey for Christmas— de Angeli 2 - 1 - 1 The Year of the Christmas Dragon— Sawyer 2 1 1
Subtotal 23 225
TABLE 52 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Over- Title— Author Quality Levela Four Five Six all
_b The Adventures of Nicholas 1 1 4 Becky*s Christmas— Tudor 1 1 — 1 2 Charlie Brown's Christmas— Schulz 1 1 — *• 1 Christmas Legends Around the World— Johnson 1 mm - 1 1 Christmas Tree on the Mountain 1 1 - - 1 Dorrie and the Blue Witch— Coombs 1 1 - - 1 Erik's Christmas Camera 1 1 1 - 2 Holly end Ivy— Godden 1 1 1 2 Kaatje and the Christmas Compass— Seymour 1 1 - - 1 The Littlest Angel— Tazewell 1 4 3 1 8 The Marshmallow Ghosts— Friedrich 1 1 mm 1 One-thousand Christmas Beards— Duvoisin 1 1 - - 1 The Other Wise Man— Van Dyke 1 1 2 3 A Pint of Judgment— Morrow 1 1 - 1 Santa's Secret Boom 1 1 1
Subtotal 30
Grand total 30 40 32 102
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other re comended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children’s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a nan teacher. 226
TABLE 53 BIOGRAPHIES (N = 75)
Grade and Frequency Over Title— Author Quality Levela Four Five Six all
Abigail Adams— Peterson 4 1 1 Abraham Lincoln— Foster 4 1 - 2 3 Adventures and Discoveries of Marco Polo— Walsh 4 -- 1 1 America's Ethan Allen 4 1 -- 1 Aimed With Courage— Mclleer 4 -- 1 1 Benjamin Franklin— Judson 4 - 1 - 1 Clara Barton— Boylston 4 - 1 - 1 Doctor George Washington Carver— b Graham 4 - 3° 1 4 Fredrick Douglas: Slave-Fighter- Freeman— Bontemps 4 -- 1 1 Invincible Louisa— Meigs 4 1 - - 1 Joan of Arc— Horizon Magazine 4 - - 1 1 Leif the Lucky— Aulaire 4 1 1 - 2 The Life and Words of John F. b Kennedy— Woods, ed. 4 1° - - 1 Squanto, Friend of the White Lien— Bulla 4 1 1 m m 2 Swamp Fox— Brown 4 - 1 - 1 Thomas Jefferson— Judson 4 - 1 — 1 Vasco da Gama— Syme 4 — 1 — 1 Subtotal 24 Abraham Lincoln Grows Up— Sandburg 3 2 - lb 3 America's Abraham Lincoln— McKeer 3 - “b h 1 Ames Fortune, Free Man— Yates 3 - 1D 1 2 Benjamin Franklin— Aulaire 3 1 - — 1 Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin— Henry 3 — 1 — 1 City Neighbor— Judson 3 — - 1 1 Columbus— Aulaire 3 1 — ”b 1 Daniel Boone— Aulaire 3 2 1 1 4 Freedom Train— Sterling 3 1 — — 1 George Custer— Reynolds 3 — 1 — 1 Helen Keller— Graff 3 — 3 — 3 I, Juan de Pareja— Trevino 3 — • 2 2 227
TABLE 53 (coat'd.)
Grade and Frequency Quality Over- Title— Author Levela Pour Five Six all John Fitzgerald Kennedy— Martin 3 John F. Kennedy and FT-109— Tregaskis 3 John Hancock: Friend of Freedom— Nolan 3 John Paul Jones, Fighting Sailor— Sperry 3 1 Mary McLeod 3ethune— Steme 3 1 Pocahantas— Aulaire 3 Robert Frost, America's Poet— Faber 3 Roy Campanello— Schoor 3 Subtotal Andrew Jackson— Ooit 2 Benjamin Franklin of Old Philadelphia— Cousins 2 1 The Helen Keller Story— Peare 2 Helen Keller's Teacher— Davidson 2 1 Julius Caesar— Gunther 2 2 Marco Polo— Graves 2 1 Mighty Man— Farjeon 2 1 Pablo Casals— Forsee 2 1 Sacajav/ea, Indian Guide— Blassingame 2 2 Soldier Doctor— Judson 2 1 Story of Eleanor Roosevelt— Eaton 2 Up From Slavery— Washington 2 1 Subtotal 1 Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance— Cavanah Adventures of George Washington 1 Angel Unaware— Rogers 1 The Animals and Dr. Schweitzer .1 Beethoven— I-Iirsky 1 Booker T. Washington— Stevenson Captain Cortes Conquers Mexico— Johnson TABLE 53 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author =< Levela Pour Pive Six all Ethan Allen, Green Llountain Hero Explorers All— Anthony and Barnes Francis Scott Key— Stevenson 1 John Jacob Aster— -Anderson 1 Long Shanks Melville in the South Pacific— Hough 1 Microbe Hunters— De Kruif 1 Molly Pitcher— Stevenson 1 P. T. Baxnum: Circus Boy— Stevenson 1 Retreat to Glory— Latham 1 Runaway Slave: Harriet Tubman— McGovern 1 Sir Arthur Smith: Discoverer of Knossos 1 The Spirit of St. Louis— Lindbergh 1 The Story of Helen Keller— Hickok 2 They Wouldn't Quit— Gelfand 1 Three Great Pitchers on the Hound— Bortz 1 Trail Blazers of American History— Mason and Cartwright 1 Virginia Dare: Mystery Girl— Stevenson 1 Young Audubon Subtotal
Grand total 31 40 30 10
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children's Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a man teacher. 229
TABLE 5U HISTORICAL FICTION: UNITED STATES (N = 83)
Grade and Frequency Quality Over- Title— Author Levela Four Five Six all
Across Five Aprils— Hunt U 5 Away Goes Sally— Coatsvorth b 1 Ben and Me— Lawson b 2 7 By Secret Railway--Ueadowcroft H 2 2 By the Shores of Silver Lake— Wilder U Caddie Woodlawn— Brink b 7 9 18 Farmer Boy— Wilder k 2 b Johnny Texas— Hoff __ b 1 Johnny Tremain— Forbes U 6 Landing of the Pilgrims— Daugherty ^ 1 Light in the Forest— Richter b 2 Little House in the Big Woods— Wilder b lb1 21 Little House on the Prairie— Wilder b 6 3 10 Little Town on the Prairie— Wilder U 3 1 b The Long Winter— Wilder k 2 1 1 b The Middle Sister— Mason U 1 1 On the Bank of Plum Creek— Wilder U 2 b The Perilous Road— Steele H 1 1 These Happy Golden Years b 2 The Witch of Blackbird Pond— Speare If 1 Subtotal 98 The Cabin Faced West— Fritz 3 1 Children of the Covered Wagon— Carr 3 1 Corrie and the Yankee— Levy 3 1 Flaming Arrows— Steele 3 1 Journey Cake— McMeekin 3 1 Killer-of-Death— Baker 3 Little Girl with Seven Names— Hunt 3 Magical Melons— Brink 3 1 The Matchlock Gun— Edmonds 3 2 Ride a Northbound Horse— Wormser 3 1 Year of the Bloody Sevens--Steele 3 Subtotal 17 230
TABLE 5U (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Quality Over- Title- -Author Level® Pour Five Six all
Across from Indian Shore— Robinson 2 1 Appleseed Farm— Douglas 2 1 The Buffalo Knife— Steele 2 1 Calico Bush— Field 2 1 Captured by the Abnakis— Philbrook 2 1 Caroline and her Kettle Named Maud-T-Mason 2 Drumbeats in Williamsburg— Lawrence 2 1 Golden Horseshoe— Coatsworth 2 Mr. Revere and I— Lawson 2 2 Make Way for the Brave— Allen 2 1 On to Oregon!— Morrow 2 2 1 Puritan Adventure— Lenski 2 1 School House in the Woods —Caudill 2 1 Thee, Hannah— de Angeli 2 1 The Willow Whistle— Meigs 2 _3 Subtotal 20 Arrow Fly Home— Gibson Bears of Blue River— Major Becky and the Bandit— Gates Boy on the Mayflower 1 Captive of the Delawares 1 Chingo Smith of the Erie Canal 1 Civil War Sailor— Werstein Daughter of Liberty— Boutwell Down the Big River— Meader l Fur Trappers of the Old West— McCall 1 Grandfather's Broadaxe--Stephens 1 Green Mountain Toymakers— Wilson Hannah's Hessian— Albrecht Ho for CalifomyJ— Johnson and Peck Homing and his Blunt-Nosed Arrow— Mason Listen, My Heart— Tungren Little Cloud and the Great Plain Hunters, 15,000 Years Ago— Stevens and Sayles Little Maid of Vermont— Curtis The Little Pilgrim in Penn's Woods 1 Little Settlers of Vermont 2 The Man Without a Country— Hale TABLE 51* (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Quality Over- Title— Author Level® Four Five Six all
The New Home— Darrough 1 One Small Blue Bead— Schweitzer 1 1 The Rising Arrow— Call 1 1 Song of the Pines— Havigburst 1 The Sound of Axes— Smith 1* 1 A Spy in Williamsburg— Lawrence 1 2 Susan's Secret— Wriston 1 Throw Stone— Sayles and Stevens 1 Tomahawk and Trouble— Steele 1 1 Tomahawk Shadow— Faulkner 1 Uncle Tom's Cabin— Stowe 1 2 We Were There at the Boston Tea Party— Webb 1 1 We Were There with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys— Webb 1 1 We Were There with the Mayflower Pilgrims— Webb 2 2 White Bird— Bulla 1 1 White Squaw of the Kauaoka 1 _3 Subtotal Ul*
Grand total 68 71 Uo 179
aQuality level as defined includes 1* points for level 1* or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) fortitles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children's Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a man teacher.
CIndicates title read by two men teachers.
^Indicates title read by three men teachers. 232 TABLE 55 HISTORICAL FICTION; OTHER LANDS (N = 21)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Level8- Four Five Six all The Apple and the Arrow— Buff 4 1 2 3 The Bronze Bow— Speare 4 - - 1 1 Door in the Wall— de Angeli 4 1 2b 3b 6 The Good Master— Seredy 4 - 2 3 Subtotal 15 Fire Hunter— Kjelgaard 3 1 -— 1 He Went With Marco Polo— Kent 3 1 -- 1 Otto of the Silver Hand— Pyle 3 - - 1 1 Trumpeter of Krakow— Kelly 3 -- 1 1 Subtotal 4 Black Fox of Lome— de Angeli 2 -- 1 1 Boy of the Pyramids— Jones 2 - 1 1 2 Lance of Kanana— French 2 - - 1 1 Men of Iron— Pyle 2 •m 2 Prince and the Pauper— Twain 2 - lb 1 2 Secret of the Andes— Clark 2 m m 2 1 3 The Singing Tree— Seredy 2 - - 1 1 Subtotal 12
Ben H u t — Wallace (adpt.) 1 - 1 1 2 Boy of Babylon 1 - “b 1 1 Escape from Warsaw 1 1 1D 2 The Scarlet Pimpernel— Orczy 1 -- 1 1 Story of the Aztec Idol 1 1 m m 1 Toward Morning— Seymour 1 - ~ 1 1 Subtotal 8 Grand total 5 11 23 39
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Childrens Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a nan teacher. 233
TABLE 56 FANTASY(N - 51 )
Grade and Frequency Title— Author * £ $ ^ nye ^ °£T
The Adventures of Pinocchio— Collodi If 2 1 1 If Alice's Adventures in Wonderland— Carroll If 2 3* 5 Castaways in Lilliput— Winterfield if 1 -- 1 Charlotte's Wet— White If 2lf Ilf 12C 50 The Complete Adventures of the Borrowers— Norton If 1 1 The Cricket in Times Square— Selden If 2 1 - 3 The Enormous Egg— Butterworth If 2 - U Higglety Pigglety Pop or There Must be More to Life— Sendak If 1* 1 Just So Stories— Kipling If 2b ib 2b 5 Mary Poppins— Travers If 3 1 - if Peter Pan— Barrie If 2 1 3 Rabbit Hill— Lawson If 3 3 1 7 The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek— Lampman If - 1 1 2 The Story of Doctor Dolittle— Lofting If 3 7 3b 13 Through the Locking Glass— Carroll If 1 - 1 The Tough Winter— Lawson If 1 1 - 2 The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle— Lofting If 2 2 The Wind in the Willows— Grahame If 1 cb 5 11 Winnie the Pooh— Milne If If 1 5 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz— Baum If 2 1 - 3 Subtotal 127 Anatole over Paris— Titus 3 1 - t m 1 The Animal Family— Jarrell 3 m m 1 - 1 The Book of Three —Alexander 3 • - 1 1 The Children of Green Knowe— Boston 3 - 1 - 1 Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang— Fleming 3 If - If 8 The 300 Hats of Bartholomew Cubblns— Seuss 3 1 1 234
TABLE 56 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Quali cy Over- Title— Author Level® Four Five Six all
The Hobbit— Tolkien 3 1 2 3 James and the Giant Peach— Dahl 3 1 1 - 2 The Jungle Book— Kipling 3 2 3 8^ 13 Mary Poppins Comes Back— Travers 3 1 -- 1 May I Bring a Friend?— de Regniers 3 1 -- 1 The Red Balloon— Lamorisse 3 1 - 1 The Twenty-one Balloons— du Bois 3 •# 3 - _3 Subtotal 37 The Giant— du Bois 2 1 1 Hitty, Her First Hundred Years— Field 2 - 1 - 1 The Loudest Noise in the World— Elkin 2 - 1 1 The Moonball— Moray Williams 2 - lb - 1 Mouse and the Motorcycle— Cleary 2 - 2b 1 3 Stuart Little— White 2 k 2 1 J_ Subtotal ill Anatole and the Piano— Titus 1 1 1 Buster Bears Twins— Burgess 1 - 1 - 1 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory— Dahl 1 2 2 David and the Phoenix— Ormondroyd - 3 - 3 Dear Rat— Cunningham 1 - 1 - 1 Do Tigers Ever Bite Kings?— Wersba 1 1 - - 1 Lazy Liza Lizard— Raines 1 - 1 - 1 The Little Leftover Witch— Laughlin 1 - 1 2 3 The Magic Knight— Palmer 1 - - 1 1 Mr. Mergatroid— Ward 1 1 - *• 1 Tecwyn, the Last of the Welsch Dragons--Dawson 1 1 1 Zip-Zip Goes to Venus— Schaeler 1 - - 1 1 Subtotal 17
Grand total 77 63 55 195
Quality level as defined includes 1| points for level U or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children's Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection. ^Indicates title read by a man teacher. 235
TABLE 57
SCIENCE FICTION (N = 7)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over Levela Four Five Six all
M s s Pickerell Coes to Liars— HacCregor 4 . 3 3 Space Cat— Todd 4 - 1 - 1 Space Cat Visits Venus— Todd 4 - 1 - 1 A Wrinkle in Time— L'Sngle 4 4 - 4b 8
Subtotal 13 The Magic Tunnel— Emerson 2 - 1 - 1 Down to Earth— Wrightson 2 - 1 - 1 Space Ship Under the Apple Tree— Slobodkin 2 - 1 - 1
Subtotal 3
Grand total 4 5 7 16
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children’s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by two men teachers. 236
TABLE 58
HUMOROUS STORIES (N = 25)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Title— Author Level* Pour ?ive Six all
Chancy and the Grand Rascal— Pleischraan 1 1 Henry Huggins— Cleary 3 4 Homer Price— LIcCloskey 1 3l 4 8 The Peterkin Papers— Kale 1 1 Pippi Longstockings— Lindgren 4 4
Subtotal 18
Centerburg Tales— LicCloskey 3 1 Pippi Goes on Board— Lindgren 3 2 Who1 s in Charge of Lincoln?— Pife 3 1
Subtotal
Amelia Bedelia— Parish 2 1 Daniel Boone's Echo— Steele 2 lv 1 Danny Dunn and the Possil Cave— Williams 2 1 2 Herbert— TTilson 2 1 1 The Plaid Peacock— Alan 2 1 1
Subtotal 237
TABLE 58 (cont*d.)
Grade and Frequency Over- Title— Author Quality Levela Pour Five Six all .. c Andy Jackson's Water Well— Steele 1 1 Charlie Brown's All-Stars— Schulz 1 1 - 1 A Chimp in the Family 1 1 — — 1 Danny Dunn and the Anti Gravity Paint— Williams 1 1 - 1 Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle— MacDonald 1 4 2 1 7 Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic— MacDonald 1 1 - - 1 Mr. Pudgins— Carlsen 1 1 1 1 m W No-Name Man of the Mountain— Steele 1 - - 1 Operation of Rupert Piper 1 1 - 1 Peter's Moose— Call 1 1 - 1 m W Professor Bull's Umbrella 1 - - 1 The Spooky Thing— Steele 1 1 1
Subtotal 20
Grand total 20 18 10 48
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (levell) fortitles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children’s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
'’indicates title read by two men teachers.
cIndicates title read by a man teacher. TABLE 59 N O m C T I O U 300KS: KATUHAL SCIENCE (H = 24)
— --Grade ■ rand Frequency — Quality Over- Title— Author Levela Four Five Six all
Big Tree— Buff 4 - 1 - 1 The Elf Owl— Buff 4 1 — - 1 First I.Ien in the World— White 4 - 1 - 1 Grasshopper Book— Bronson 4 1 -- 1 Here Come the Dolphins— Goudey 4 - 1 - 1 Monarch Butterflies— Hopf 4 1 —- 1 Pagoo— Holling 4 1 - - 1 Wonders of the Human 3ody— Havielli 4 1 - - 1 Subtotal 8 Book of Wild Flowers for Young b People— Hathews 3 - 1 1 B o m to Trot— Henry 3 - lb 1 2 Insect Engineers— Bartlett 3 1 - - 1 Travels of Monarch X— Hutchins 3 1 - - 1 Subtotal 5 Earthworms— Kogner 2 1 _ 1 Ring of Bright Y/ater— Maxwell 2 - - lb 1 Subtotal 2
Animals Do the Strangest Things 1 1 -- 1 Animals Every Child Should Know— , b Humphreys -- 1 1 Ants 1 _ 1 The Biography of a Grizzly - 1 - 1 Bird Book for Children— Burgess _ 1 - 1 Honey Bees 1 — - 1 Life in the Desert— Larson 1 __ 1 Mask, the Door County Coon— Sherwan 1 — - 1 Y/onders of the Jungle, Book One 1 _— 1 Wonders of the Jungle, Book Two 1 - - JL Subtotal 10 Grand total 15 6 4 25
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children1s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection. ^Indicates title read by a man teacher. 239
TABLE 60 NONFICTION BOOKS: PHYSICAL SCIENCE (N « 16)
Grade and Frequency Quality Title— Author Over- Level Four Five Six all Birth of an Island— Selsam 4 1 1 First Book of Space Travel 4 - - 1 1 Hurricanes and Twisters— Irving 4 - 1 “h 1 Project Appollo--Coombs 4 -- lb 1 Question & Answer 3ook of Space— Sonnebom 4 - - 1 1
Subtotal 5 The Big Fire— Olds 3 1 - 1 The Highty Atom— Lewellen 3 - 1D - 1 The Story of Caves— Sterling 3 1 - - 1 The Story of the Ice Age— Wyler 3 - 1 - 1 True Book of Rocks & Minerals— Podendorf 3 1 - - 1
Subtotal 5 All About Fire— Holden 2 1 - - 1
Subtotal 1
All About Atoms and Molecules 1 - - 1 1 Aviation and Space Medicine— Caidin and Caidin 1 -- lb 1 Let's Go to the Moon— Lewis 1 ”b - 1° 1 The Story of Numbers— Lauber 1 1D - - 1 A Trip to the Moon 1 — — 1 1
Subtotal 5
Grand total 5 4 7 16
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Childrens Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
'’indicates title read by a man teacher. 240
TABLE 61
NONFICTION BOOKS; SOCIAL STUDIES (N = 38)
Grade ana Frequency Over Title— Author Quality Levela Four Five Six all
Kon Tiki— Heyerdahl 4 _ 2b 2 People Are Important— Evans 4 - 1 - 1 Pilgrim Stories— Hall, ed. 4 2 2 - 4 Pioneer Children of America— Emerson 4 1 -- 1 The Story of the Negro— Bontemps 4 - - 1 1 A Time of Wonder— McCloskey 4 tm 1 - 1 Subtotal 10
Building of the First Transcon tinental Railroad— Nathan 3 1 - - 1 The Gettysburg Address— Phelan 3 - 1 - 1 Know Your Government— Ross 3 - - 1 1 The Mound Builders— Scheele 3 -- 1 Sinking of the Bismarck— Shirer 3 - 1D - 1 Story of the Naval Academy— Riesenberg 3 - 1 — 1 Witchcraft of Salem Village— Jackson 3 — 1 1 Subtotal Achouna, Boy of the Arctic— Darbois Capitol and Our Lawmakers— Miers Cave of Riches, Story of the Dead Sea Scrolls— Honour Picture Book of West Virginia— Bailey The Royal Canadian Mounted Police— Neuberger The Story of Mankind— Van Loon Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo— Lav/son This is New York— Sasek The White House and the Presidency- Miers Subtotal 9 241
TABLE 61 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- level® Four Five Six all
African Creeks I have 3een Up (ed.)— Spencer 1 1 1 The Americans 1 — 1 — 1 Blood Brother 1 — lb - 1 Clipper Ships— Judson 1 - lb - 1 Delaware Through the Years 1 1 - “h 1 The Human Side of History 1 - - 1D 1 The Men Who Found America 1 - 1 mm 1 Mickey Sees the U.S.A. 1 1 - - 1 My little Vermont 3ook 1 - - 1 1 Our Fifty States 1 - - 1 1 Packet Alley 1 4 1 - Race to the South Pole— 3ixby 1 1 - - 1 The Romans— Miller 1 - - 1 1 Stories of My Country's Beginnings 1 1 -- 1 Understanding Mexico— Gartler and others 1 1 1 Walt Disney's America 1 1 - 1
Subtotal 20
Grand total 13 17 16 46
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children’s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection.
^Indicates title read by a man teacher. 242
TABLE 62
NONFICTION BOOKS: OTHER SUBJECTS (N = 8)
Grade and Frequency Title— Author Quality Over- Level8, Four Five Six all
Cowboys Songs and Other Frontier Ballads— Lomax 4 1 1 Manners to Crow On— Lee 4 - 1 - 1 Musical Instruments— Yfillson 4 1 - - 1
Subtotal 3 Abraham Lincoln's Joke Book— de Regniers 3 - - 1 1 Subtotal 1
Let's Go to A Concert— Sootin 2 - - 1 1 Subtotal 1
Being Teen 1 1 - - 1 First Lady of the Seeing Eye 1 - - 1 1
They Sang a New Song— LlacKay 1 - - 1 1
Subtotal 3
Grand total 2 2 4 8
aQuality level as defined includes 4 points for level 4 or first choices, 3 points for level 3 or second choices, 2 points for level 2 or other recommended choices, and 1 point (level l) for titles un listed in two standard bibliographies consulted: The Children1s Catalog and The Elementary School Library Collection* 243
TABLE 63 POSIS ABOUT FAMILY AND FRIENDS (N = 33)
Grade and Frequency- Title or First Line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall Afternoon with Grandmother— Huff 1 1 Antique Shop— Carmen - - 1 1 "BoohI"— Field 1 -— 1 A Boy's Song— Hogg 2a - 2 The Children's Hour— Longfellov7 5 8 15 Definition of Mom 1 —- 1 A Feller I Know— Austin X - 1 1 Fun in a Garret;— Dowd 1 - A 1 A Good Neighbor - 1 - A Good Play— Stevenson .a 1 Little Boy Blue— Field, E. 1 5 10 Little Brother's Secret— Mansfield - i 1 Little Orphant Annie— Riley 7 21b 7 35 My Brother John 1 1 My Policeman— Fylenan 1 - la 2 The New Neighbor— Fylenan - l a 1 A Night with a Wolf— Taylor - 1 1 Old Grimes— Greene - 1 1 Only One Mother 1 -- 1 Our Hired Girl— Riley 1 -- 1 Out, Out— Frost - 2 2 Out to Old Aunt Mary's— Riley 1 -- 1 The Raggedy Man— Riley 4 8 16 Sally in our Alley— Carey - la - 1 Satellite Satellite— Merriam X - 1 - 1 Sister's Best Feller— Lincoln - 1 - 1 Somebody's Mother 1 4 1 6 A Time to Talk— Frost, R. X - - 1 1 We Are Seven— Wordsworth - 1 1 What is a Boy - 2 1 3 What is a Girl - la 1 2 Where's Mother - 1 1 Which Loved Her Best— Allison - 1 1 2 GRAND TOTAL 3 22 52 43 117
xTnd.io&taa title in reading and language arts texts examined. aIndicates title read by a man teacher. ^Indicates title read by two men teachers. 244
TABLE 64 POEMS ABOUT FAMILIAR EXPERIENCES (N = 110)
„. ■ _. , _ Grade and Frequency Title or First lone— Autnor Text Four Five Six Overall Aeroplane— Green 1 Afternoon on a Hill— Llillay 1 The Airplane— Bennett 1 Animal Crackers— Ilorley 1 The Animal Store— Field, R. x 1 Arithmetic— Sandburg X 3 5 Being a Gypsy— Young 1 A Book— llore 1 Book Houses— Johnston 1 A Boy and his dog made a glorious pair— Guest 1 The Circus— Roberts 1 Choosing Shoes— 'tfolfe 1 Cockpit in the Clouds— Dorrance 3 1 Days— Baker 1 Different 3icycles— Baruch 1 1 Every Time I Climb a Tree— McCord a A Football Game— Van Eck a The Garden Hose— Janosco The General Store— Field, R. Good-bye and Keep Cold— Frost, R. Good Mo m i n 1— Jaragosky Hiding— Aldis A Horse Uould Tire— Coatsworth The Horseshoe— llillay I Never Saw a Moor— Dickinson 1 3 I Remember - I Remember— Hood 2. 2 In School Days— tfhittier 2 Kids are Different 1 The Land of Counterpane— Stevenson 3 3 6 The Land of Story Books— Stevenson 1 1 2 The Last C o m Shock— Dre sbach 2° 2 Little Lost Pup— Guiterman 3 3 Little Puppy— 7/e the rill 1 1 The Little 7/histler— Frost, F. 1 1 2 Lost— Sandburg 1 1 Lullaby— Dunbar 1 1 Manual System— Sandburg 1 1 Me— de la Mare 1 2 Merry-Go-Round— Baruch 3 3 A Modem Dragon— Bennett 1 1 Monday Morning Back to School— McCord 1 TABLE 64 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text Pour Pive Six Overall
Money - - 1 1 Mud— Boyden -- 1 1 Mumps— Roberts 1 3 1 5 My Brother— Aldis 1 1 - 2 My Fireside is a Special Place 1 1 My Heart's in the Highlands— Bums X 1 0 - 1 My Shadow— Stevenson 5 7 18 My Zipper Suit— Allen 1 -- 1 Myself 1 1 2 The Naughty Boy X 1 - - 1 Naughty Soap Song— Aldis 1 -- 1 Newsboy 1 - - 1 Numbers— Far j eon 1 - 1 Old Stone House— de la Mare X 1 -- 1 The Old Swimin* Hole— Riley 1 - - 1 Open The Door— Edey 1 - - 1 Other Children— Wing 1 -- 1 Over the Garden Wall— Parjeon 0 1 - 1 A Parade— Rose - O 2 The Pasture— Frost, R. X 1 4 7 12 Poor Lil* 3rack Sheep Dat Strayed a Away— Brazelton - - The Red Yfheelbarrow— Williams -- la The Road Between -- - Sandbox Engineer 0 I s The Sandpiper— Thaxter 2 1 1 The Sea Gypsy— Hovey - 1 - Sea Memories— Longfellow - 1 - The Secret Cavern— Widdemer 2 - 1 The Secret of Machines— Kipling 1 -- Seein1 Things— Field, E. 1 3 - Seven Times One— Ingelow - 1 - "Sh"— Tippett 1 - - Shoes— Robinson 1 - - Shop Windows— Fylenan. 1 - - The Skaters— Fletcher 1 - - Skating— Asquith 1 Skating— Wordsworth 1 Skipping Along Alone— Welles Skyscrapers— Field x r Is 3 Smells— I.:orley X 2 2 So Was I— Smiley 1 1 Song of the Train— McCord 1 1 3 246
TABLE 64 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall
Southbound on the Freeway— Swenson m m 1 1 The Swing— Stevenson 1 1 1 3 Take Off With Books— Hash 1 m m — 1 Taking Off 1 - 1 Taxis— Field, R. - 1 1 There'll Be a Clown— Davies 1 — 1 This is ny Rock— LIcCord X 1 1 - Thumbprint— Llerriem X 1 - 1 Traffic Sounds 1 —- 1 Trains at Night— Frost, F. X 3 1 la Travel— llillay X 2 1 la 4 Treasures— Thayer -- 1 1 Under a Telephone Pole— Sandburg X -- 2 Vagabond— Stevenson - 1 1 A Wanderers Song— Uasefield - 1 - 1 Washing— Drinkwater - - 1 1 Weary Blues— Hughes - - 1 1 A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea— Cunningham X - 1 - 1 What's In A Name - 1 - 1 Where Go the 3oats?— Stevenson 2 -- Where's Llary— Eastwick 1 -- 1 Whispers— Livingston 1 - - 1 Whistles— Field, R. 1 fi - 1 The Winding Road - I® - 1 The Working Llachine— She ma n - - 1 1 The World is Full of Roads - 1 1 You Read to lie— Ciardi 1 — — 1
GRAND TOTAL 20 72 61 71 204
^Indicates title in reading and language arts texts examined.
aIndicates title read by a nan teacher. TABLE 65 POELIS ABOUT PEOPLE (N = 66)
Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall
Abraham Lincoln— Meigs 1 1 2 Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865— Benet 1 1 2 Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight— Lindsay 1 2 Annabel Lee— Poe 2 2 The Bagpipe Man— Turner x 1 Ballad of the Harp Weaver— Millay x 1 The Balloon Man— Aldis 1 Barefoot Boy— Whittier 2 2 4' Benjamin Franklin— Benet x 1 1 1 Beowolf 1 Da Boy from Rome— Daly Brier Rose— Boyeson Busy Carpenters— Tippett 1 Casey Jones— Saunders x 1 1 2 Columbus— Miller x 6 16 9 Columbus— ’Wynn x 1 Courtship of Lliles Standi sh— Longfellow The Cowboy fs Life— Adams The Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight— Thorpe 1 Daniel Boone— Guiterman 2 Death of a Hired Man— Frost 1 Engineers— Garthwaite 1 Evangeline— Longfellow 1 The Fisherman— Brown 1 George Washington— Schlegel 1 The Goatherd— Conkling 1° - 1 Gypsies— Field, R. Xc 2c Hiawatha— Longfellow 10 9 12® The Highwayman— IToyes 5 6 The Iliad 1 John Gilpin— Cowper 1 Johnny Appleseed— Benet 2 1 Johnny Appleseed--Lindsay Lady Clare— Tennyson 1 The Landlord— Hughes 1 Leetla Giorgio Washeenton— Daly 2 2 Lincoln— Turner 248
TABLE 65 (cont'd.)
Title or First Line— Author Grade and Frequency Text Four Five Six Overall
The Listeners— Be la Mare X 1 m m 1 2 The Little Black-eyed Rebel— Carleton 1 1 Lochinvar— Scott X —- 3 3 Lord Randall— Ballad - — 1 1 Lucinda Matlock— Masters — 1 -» 1 Lucy LIcLockett— McGinley - 1 1 Maid of Timbuctoo — - 1 1 Margery Grey - 1 - 1 The Mending Wall— Frost X - 2 1 Nancy Hanks— Benet 1 7 2 10 Nathan Hale - — 1 1 Parson's Laughter - 1 — 1 The Pioneer— Guiteman X - 1 - 1 Pioneers— Whitman — 2 She Walks in Beauty— 3yron 1 1 The Piper— Blake - 1 - 1 Portrait of an Old Woman— Ficke - - 1 1 Haggle Taggle Gypsies 1 - - 1 Reply to Nancy Hanks— Silberger - 1 - 1 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner— Coleridge 1 2a Robin Hood Poems 1 3 3 7 Sam Houston— 3enet X - o 1 1 The Sea Wolf— McDougal X - 2 - Sir Patrick Spens— 3allad - 1 - 1 A Song of Sherwood— Noyes X - 1 .1 Ulysses— Tennyson - 1 e 1 The Village Blacksmith— Longfellow X 4 6 11° 21 Washington— Turner X 1 2 1 4 Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright— Benet X la 1 — — — —— GRANB TOTAL 20 45 89 88 222
^Indicates title in reading and language arts texts examined. aIndicates title read by a man teacher. ^Indicates title read by four men teachers. °Indicates title read by two men teachers. 249
TABLE 66 POELIS A30UT PLACES (N = 25)
Title or First Line— Author Grade and Frequency Text Four Five Six Overall
African Dance— Hughes X 1 1 America— Smith - — 1 1 America for Lie— Van Dyke - 2 2 4 America the Beautiful— Bates X _ 1 2a 3 Chicago— Sandburg - - 3 3 City— Hughes X - 1 1 2 Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean— Shaw - 1 - 1 Congo— Lindsay - - 3 3 Geography— Par j eon 2 - 1 3 In the Bazaars of Hyderabad— Sarojini - - 1 1 The Long Road West— Knibbs X 2 2 4 My land is fair for any eyes to see— Stuart X - - lb 1 My Prairies— Garland X - - 3 3 New Mexico— 3oyden 1 1 - 2 Our Delaware— Iiynson 1 -- 1 Our West Virginia Hone 1 -- 1 Prelude I— Eliot -- 1 1 Ridge Road and Prairie wives— Sigmund X - 1 - 1 Ring Around the World— Wynne 1 - 2 3 Roads— Field, R. 2 1 3 6 Robinson Crusoe Returns to Amsterdam— J amme s -- la 1 Sea Pever— Masefield X 2 8 3 13 Spanish Waters— llasefield - mm la 1 Wander-Thirst— Gould X 1 la 2 West Virginia, the State Where I Was B o m In - 1 m m 1 — — — — — GRAND TOTAL 9 10 20 33 63
*Indicates title in reading and language arts texts examined.
aIndicates title read by a man teacher. ^Indicates title read by two men teachers. 250
table 67 POEMS ABOUT HISTORICAL(N - 67) AMD PATRIOTIC EVENTS
Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text ------Four Five Six Overall
America— Lanier _ 1 1 America Was Schoolmasters— Coffin X - a» 1 1 An Arbor Day Tree 1 -- 1 The Ballad of Roger Young - m 1 1 Barbara Frietchie— Whittier - k 3 7 Battle Hymn of the Republic— Hove - - 2 2 Ben Franklin's Head— Hove X -- 1 1 The Blue Hen's'Chickens— Guiterman 1 - - 1 Buffalo Dusk— Sandburg X 1 la _ 2 Charge of the Light Brigade— Tennyson X - ua 2 6 Concord Hymn— Emerson X 1 7 1 9 The Covered Bridge— Cavein 1 1 Death of Slavery— Bryant - Ia 1 Effortlessly Democratic Santa Fe Trail--Baird X la 1 2 The Flag Goes By— Bennett X - 2 k 6 Flanders Fields— McCrae 1 5 k 10 The Flover-Fed Buffaloes— Lindsay X 1 1 - 2 The Gift Outright— Frost - 1 1 2 Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill Battle— Holmes 1 _ 1 The Green Mountain Boys— Bryant - 1 - 1 Gunga Din— Kipling - 1 1 2 The Hand That Signed The Paper Felled A City— Thomas ■a 1 1 Horatius at the Bridge— Macaulay - - 1 1 Hov They Brought the Good Nevs From Ghent to Aix— Browning X m 1 1 2 I Am an American— Lieberman m 1 1 2 I Hear America Singing— Whitman X 2 2 it If I Were A Pilgrim Child— Bennett 1 1 - 2 In the days vhen the cattle ran— Garland m la 1 Inchcape Rock— Southey X - - 2 2 Indian— Benet X 1 - - 1 Indian Children— Wynne X 1 28 - 3 Indian Names— Sigourney - 1 - 1 Joe Bovers a* 1 _ 1 Kentucky Belle— Woolson - 1 Ia 2 The Lamplighter— Stevenson - 1 - 1 251
TABLE 67 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall The Land of Plenty - 1 - 1 The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers— Hemans 1 16 2 19 The Lay of the Last Minstrel— Scott m - 1. 1 The Leak in the Dike— Carey 3 1 k* 8 Lexington— Lanier - 1 - 1 Long, Long Ago 1 - O 1 A Nation's Strength— Emerson x 2 1 2 5 The New Colossus— Lazarus X - 1 3 k The Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria 1 "v 1 0 Captain! My Captain!— Whitman 2 11® 3 16 October Twelfth 1 - - 1 The Old Coach Road— Field X - 1 1 Old Ironsides— Holmes 1 5 kl 10 Omaha— Sandburg -- 1® 1 The Oregon Trail— Guiterman 1 2 - 3 a* Our Country— America - ia 1 The Passing of the Buffalo— Garland X a 1 Paul Revere's Ride— Longfellow X 15® U7 20 82 Pilgrim Lullaby 1 - - 1 The Pilgrims Came— Wynne 1 1 - 2 The Pioneer— Ruggles -- 1 1 Pocahontas —Thackeray X m 1 - 1 Refhgee in America— Hughes - 1 - 1 Rodney's Ride— Brooks 1 - 1 Sheridan's Ride— Read -- 1 1 Star-Spangled Banner— Key 1 - 1 2 Still Falls the Rain— Sitwell m - 1 1 There Was an Indian— Squire X - - 1 1 Watch America— Nathan X -- 1 1 Western Wagons— Benet X 1 2 3 When Hannibal Crossed the Alps— FarJeon - 1 1 2 Wreck of the Hesperus— Longfellow — 2 6 GRAND TOTAL 22 k l 135 89 265 X Indicates title in reading and language arts texts examined. aIndicates title read by a man teacher. ^Indicates title read by two men teachers. CIndicates title read by six men teachers. ^Indicates title read by five men teachers. 252
TAHLB 68 HOLIDAY POH/B (N = 63)
-n- ^ TJ , ... Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author - - Text Four Five Six Overall
April Fool's Day— Pomeroy 1 - - 1 The B a m — Coatsworth - 1 1 2 The Bells— Poe 1 1 4 6 Black and Gold— Turner X 6 1 1 8 Broomstick Time 1 -- Bundles— Farrar 1 - - mm Candy Canes 1* - Carol, Brothers, Carol la -- Child's Christmas in 7/ales— Thomas -- la Christmas— Chute 1 - - Christmas— Dixon 1 -- Christmas 1 o - Christmas Bells 1 3a 1 Christmas Everywhere— Brooks 2 2 3 A Christmas Carol— Holland 1 1 - A Christmas Suggestion - 1 - Christmas in the Woods— Frost - 1 - Christmas Horning— Roberts -- 1 Christmas Santa Forgot He was He 1 i 1 Christmas Symbols— Pool 1 - A A Crumpled Sheet - - la Day Before Christmas— Chute 1 - - The First Thanksgiving of All— Turner -- 2 For Christmas, Let's Carol - - 1 The Forest Santa Claus - - 1 Giftwrapped - i - Gladde Things - i - Halloween— Behn 1 3 2 Halloween Indignation Meeting - - K A Haunting We \7ill Go 1 m m i Here We Come A-Caroling 1 - - In Bethlehem - - i Jest 'Fore Christmas— Field 2 5 2 Jingle Bells 1 - — Legend of the Christmas Rose— Davis m m — 1 Let's Carol - mm 1 The Littlest Shepherd 1 - — Now Every Child— Far jeon 1 - — 0 Christmas Trees 1 — — On Halloween Eve 1 - — On the Morning of Christ's Nativity - — 1 253
TABLE 68 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title or First line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall Our First Thanksgiving 1 1 The Pilgrim's Thanksgiving Feast— Guiteman 1 1 2 Recipe for Halloween -- 1 1 Ring Out 7/ild Bells— Tennyson - 2 1 3 Rudolph The Red-Hosed Reindeer— Hay 1 - 1 Scare crow— Franklin X 1 - 1 Silver Bells— Hendry la 1 Thanksgiving Bay— Child 6 5* 5 16 A Thanksgiving Fable— Herford -- 1 1 Thanksgiving Joy 1 - 1 Thanksgiving ilagic— 3ennett X 2 2 1 5 This is Halloween— Thompson 2 - 2 To a Christmas Tree— Frost -- 1 1 Tom the Turkey 1 - 1 2 Trimming the Tree 1 -- 1
Twelve Days of Christmas— Song 1 o 1 A Visit from St. Nicholas— L'.oore 20 6° 16 42 White Christmas 1 -- 1 Witches Broom 1 -- 1 The Witching Hour - - 1 1 A Wreath of Christmas Legend— LicGinley - 1 - 1 The Year Santa Went Llod(em)— Armour - - 1 1
GRAND TOTAL 3 72 39 58 169
XIndicates title in reading and language arts texts examined.
aIndicates title read by a man teacher.
^Indicates title read by three men teachers.
CIndicates title read by two men teachers. 254
TABUS 69 ANIMAL AHD NATUR3 POEMS (N = 156)
Grade and frequency Title or Pirst Line— Author Text Pour Pive Six Overall Apple Song— Prost 1 mm 1 As a Quiet little Seedling Lay Within Its Darksome Bed - 1 - 1 The Bat— Roethke - 1 1 Beauty— Ho ore - la 1 Beyond High Hills— Hasnrussen X - 1 - 1 Birches— Prost 1 3a 4 A Bird Came Down the Walk— Dickinson X - 1 3 4 The Black Cat Yawns— Hiller X 1 • 1 A Blackbird Suddenly— Auslander - 1 - 1 Boats Sail on the Rivers— Hossetti - 1 1 Bob White — la - 1 The Bobolinks— Cranch 1 -- 1 The Brown Thrush— Larcom 1 - 1 2 The Bunter X — - 1 1 The Butterfly -- 1 1 The Cardinal Bird— Gallagher -- 1 1 Cat— Struthers 1 _ 1 2 Catalog— Moore -- 2 2 The Caterpillar— Graves 1 - 1 2 Catkin 1 -- 1 Check— Stephens X 1 -- 1 Chickadee— Conkling 1 -- 1 The Chickens— Pyleman 1 -- 1 Cinquains— Crap s ey -- 1 1 The City House and the Garden Mouse— Rossetti 1 -- 1 A Cloud Goes By —- 1 1 Cloud Zoo— Gillett -- 1 1 Clouds— Bermett X - 1 • 1 Coal Pire— Untermeyer -- 1 1 Cobweb— Welles 2 -- Contented Rabbit— Anderson X 2 - - Corn Grinding Song— Curtis 1 - - 1 The Cow— Stevenson - 1 - 1 The Creation— Alexander - 2* 2 4 Crows— McCord 1 - - 1 Daffodils— Kikurio - 1 - 1 255
TABLE! 69 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title or Pirst Line— Author Text Pour Five Six Overall The Daffodils— Wordsworth 4a 3 10 The Deer— Austin 1 Desert Sunset 1 Dog at Night— Untermeyer 1 The Ducks— Wilkins 1 Ducks' Ditty— Grahane x 1 The Eagle— Tennyson x 1 3 The Elephant— Asquith 1 Escape at Bedtime— Stevenson X Falling Snow 1 Falling Star— Teasdale X 1 1 The Family— Fyleman la Fern Hill— Thomas 2b First Sight— Larkin la First Snow— Allen 1 First Snow— Eastwick 1 The First Snow-Fall— Lowell 1 8 12° Fog, the Uagician— Cane 1 A Forest Takes From Every Tree 1 Four Little Foxes— Sarett 1 Foxes— Frost, F. 1 A Friend in the Garden— Ewing 1 The Full lloon— De la Mare Giraffes— Kahn Give Me the Splendid, Silent Sun— Whitman Green Grass Growing All Around Green Hill Neighbors— Prost Green Moth— Welles X 2 The Hairy Dog— Asquith 1 "Haiku Poetry" X 5 3 7 1 The Hippopotamus— Belloc 1-1 Holding Hands— link 1 - - I Heard a Bird Sing— Herford - - 1 I'll Tell you How the Sun Hose— Dickinson In the Kiddle of the Night— Pi she r 1 Irrigation— Clark 1 Jack in the Pulpit— Holland 1 Jump or Jiggle— Beyer 1 The Jungle— Miller 1 256
t a b l e 69 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall Korosta Xatzina Song— Curtis, tr. Larry's Lamb la Lesson— Behn 1 The Lion— Howitt 1 Little Snail— Conkling Little Things— Stephens 1 The Little Turtle— Lindsay x 3 Lone Bog— McLeod x 1 2 1 Lost Bog— Hodman 1 Marjorie's Almanac— Aldrich 1 Marshes of Glynn— Lamier Mice— Fyleman 1 Mice Under Snow— Frost, F. 1 The Mist and All— Willson X 1 1 - 2 The Moon— Coatsv/orth 2 —- 2 Moon's the Korthwind's Cooky— Lindsay X 1 1 1 3 My Bog— Chute 2 1 - 3 Jty Horse Boes Not Hefuse to Stir— Be Zouche X 2 2 The Mysterious Cat— Lindsay X — 3 1 4 A Narrow Fellow in the Grass— Dickinson — — 1 1 The Night 'Jill Never Stay— Far Jeon •» 1 — 1 The Night Wind— Field • — 1 1 On a Night of Snow— Coat sworth • — 1 1 One, Two, Three— Christopher 1 3 - 4 Open Range— Jackson & Jackson 1 —— 1 Otter Creek— Frost, F. 1 _ - 1 The Owl— Tennyson _ — 1 1 The Pet Shop— Field 1 —- 1 Pied Beauty— Hopkins —_ 1 1 Prairie - Bog Town— Austin 2 —— 2 Babbits— Baruch 1 —- 1 The Bhodora— Emerson _ 1 - 1 The Robin and the Cows— Howells __ 1 1 Robin's Song— King _ 1 _ 1 The Runaway— Frost X m m 9 12b 21 Sea Gull— Coatsv/orth 1 - — 1 Sea Shell— Lowell X 2 • - 2 Seal Lullaby— Kipling X 1 1 - 2 The Secret 1 —- 1 Secret in the Bain— Wood 1 1 - 2 The Seed— Fisher -- 1 1 Silver— Be la Mare X - 3 - 3 The Skunk— Coffin 2 _— 2 257
TABI3 69 (cont'd.)
Title or First Itae-Author „ „ grade Dnd?reouenc7 Text Pour Five Six Overall Snail— Hughes 1 1 The Snake— Lawrence 1 1 Snowflakes— Lodge 1 - 1 2 Something Told the Wild Geese— Field, R. 2 5 5a 12 The Sound of Trees— Prost - - 1 Spider Webs— Tippett x 1 Splinter— Sandburg x - 1 1 Spring— Carew x 1 Spring's Arrival 1 Stars— Teas dale x - 1 3 Stopping by Woods On a Snowy Evening— Prost, R. x 11 22a 20a 5 Swift Things are Beautiful— Coatsworth x - - 1 Theme in Yellow— Sandburg x 1 2 1 This Air That Blows in Prom the Sea 1 This Day - la To a House—Bums 1 1 To the Dandelion— Lowell 2 Tracks— Farrar la The Tree— 3jomson 1 The Tree 1 Trees— Behn 1 Trees— Kilmer 5 9a 10a Until We Built a Cabin— Pisher x - - 1 Useful Trees 1 Velvet Shoes— Wylie 1 2 Waiting— Behn 1 The Wandering Moon— Reeves 1 The Way Through the Woods— Kipling 1 The West Wind— Masefield 1 What Do We Plant— Abbey x 1 2 1 Where Can He Be Going— Issa 1 Wild Geese— Chipp 1 The Wild Geese Returning— Kunimoto 1 298
TABLE 69 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall
Wind is a Cat— Fuller _ 1 1 The Wolf Cry— Sarett X —- 1 1 The Wonderful World— Hands 4a 2 - 6 Woodman, Spare That Tree— Morris - 1 1 2 The Woodpecker— Hoberts — - 1 1
GRAND TOTAL 37 106 123 145 374
XIndicates title in reading and language arts texts examined.
aIndicates title read by a man teacher.
^Indicates title read by two men teachers.
cIndicates title read by four men teachers. 259
TABLE 70 POEMS ON THE HEATHER AND SEASONS (N = 91)
Grade and Frequency Title or Pirst Line— Author Text Pour Five Six Overall All Winter— Pisher 1 1 August— Thaxter - - 1 1 Autumn— Curran - 1 - 1 Autumn— Dickinson X - 1 1 2 Autumn 2 - 1 3 Autumn Fires— Stevenson X 4 1 - 5 Autumn Leaves 2 -- 2 Autumn Leaves Whisper -- 1 1 Autumn Rain— Par jeon 1 1 - 2 Autumn Woods— Tippett 3 1 1 5 Beautiful Snow— Watson -- 1 1 Bed in Summer— Stevenson 1 -- 1 The Best Time of All— Turner 1 -- 1 The Bluebird— Wilson 1 -- 1 A Bowl of October— Bevington 1 -- 1 Chanson Innocente (in Just)— Cummings X 3 City of Palling Leaves— Lowell 1 1 City Rain— Field 1 -- 1 Cold Winter Now is in the Wood— Coatsworth - 1 - 1 Cottonwood Leaves— Clark X - 1 - 1 December— Lowell - m m 1 1 Down! Down!— Parjeon 1 - - 1 Pall— Fisher 1 - - 1 Pog— Sandburg 8 7 14 29 Pour Seasons— Bennett 1 1 Garden Year— Coleridge 1 la : Glimpse in Autumn— Untermeyer - 1 - 1 Horse-Chestnut Time— Starbird 1 * 1 In Time of Silver Rain— Hughes 1 i Injun Summer - - ia 1 Jack Prost— Thaxter 2 - 2 4 January'— Williams - 1 - 1 Jenny's Pour Seasons— Holliday- X - 1 — Just a Mile Beyond— Fisher - - 1 1 The Last Word of a Bluebird— Frost, R. X 1 - - 1 The Leaves Do Not Mind At All— Wynne - - 1 1 The Months— Rossetti 2 - 1 3 A New Dress for the Pine Tree - - 1 1 No !— Hood - 1 - 1 November— Coatsv/orth - 2 - 2 November— Pisher 2 - 1 3 260
TABLES 70 (cont'd.)
T i u e or ilrat Mne-Author ^
November Garden— Driscoll 1 - November Leaves 1 - Now Is the time when cheery crickets, Autumn!— Turner - 1 October— S^rleman - 4a 4 October's Bright Blue V/eather— Jackson x 6 13^ 5 October's Party— Cooper 3 - Picture Books in Winter— Stevenson 1 Pippa's Song— Browning - 1 1 The Pumpkin— Whittier 1 Pussy Willows— Guiterman 1 Bain— Stevenson - 1 The Rain 1 Rain in Summer— Longfellow 1 Reflections on Snow 1 - Rubber Boots— Bennett 1 September— Pallis 1 - - September— J ackson x 9 10* 8 September is a Lady in a'Russett Gown 1 September Horn - 1 - Sky Lambs - 1 Snow— Cawein 1 Snow 1 Snow in the City— Pield 3 1 1 Snowbound— Whittier 3 4^ 7“ Snow Pall— Rendel, tr. 1 Song of the Rain Chant— Curtis, tr, 1 - - Summer-time and Winter^time— Riley - 1 - These are the days when the birds come back— Dickinson - 1 Thirty Days Have September 1 - This Gold October Day - - 1 Today— Carlyle - - A Vagabond Song— Caiman x - 3a 2 Weather is Pull of the Nicest Sounds - - 1 What Happened to the Summer? - 1 - When Icicles Hang on the 77all- Shakespeare 1 1 2 When the frost is on the pumpkin— Riley 1 2a 2 5 Where the bee sucks, there suck I— Shakespeare - 1 - 1 261
TABLE 70 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title or Pirst Line— Author Texy Four Five Six Overall
White Fields— Stephens X _ 1 _ 1 Who has seen the wind— Rossetti X 4 2 2 8 Wild September - - 1 1 The Wind— Stevenson X 5 1 3 9 The Wind and the Lloon— Llacdonald X — 1 - 1 find Wolves— Sargent X — 1 - 1 The Wind's Song— Setoun - — 1 1 A Windy Day— Howard X -- 2 2 Windy Nights— Stevenson X 3 2 - 5 Vinter's Song 1 -- 1 Winter Tapestry 1 -- 1 Winter-time— Stevenson - 1 - 1 Written in Harch— Wordsworth 1 — - 1 GRAND TOTAL 16 90 76 84 250
indicates title in reading and language arts texts examined,
indicates title read by a man teacher.
^Indicates title read by two men teachers. 262
TABLE 71 FANCIFUL POEMS READ (N - U5)
Grade and Frequency Title or First Line-^Author Text Four Five Six Overall Amigo— Schweitzer 1 1 Behind the Waterfall— Welles x - - 1 Consolation— Fyleman - 1 The Dinkey Bird— Field - «a 1 The Elf and the Dormouse— Her ford x 2 1 The Fairies— Fyleman - 1 Fairy Folk 1 Fairy Lullaby— Shakespeare 1 Fairy Shoes 1 A Fairy Went A-Marketing— Fyleman 1 The Family Dragon - 1 The Goblin— Fyleman - 1 1 Halfway Down— Milne - 1 I Keep Three Wishes Ready— Wynne 1 a If only— Fyleman x 5 1 The Island— Milne x - 3 2a John Henry - 1 1 Lady Moon— Houghton lft The Little Land— Stevenson 1 The Mermaid— Tennyson - 1 The Merman— Tennyson - 1 Musetta of the Mountains— Reeves x - - 1 The Night I Met A Monster 1 The Nine Little Goblins— Riley 1 Of a Spider— Thorley 2 ”b ' " ^ Paul Bunyan— Bourinot -516 The Pied Piper of Hamlin— Browning x 2 7 9 18 Pirate Story— Stevenson 1 1 The Potatoes' Dance— Lindsay 1 1 The Rainbow Fairies— Hadley 1 1 The Ride by Nights— De la Mare 1 2 3 Sam— De la Mare x - - 1 1 Santa Claus and the Mouse— Poulsson 1 1 Sea Spirit— Hubbell x - - 1 1 Smoke Animals— Bennett x - - 1 1 263
TABLE 71 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall
Someone: De la Mare X 2 1 2 5 The Song of Wandering Aengus— Yeats - - 1 1 Stocking Fairy— Welles - m 1 1 The Story of Augustus— Hofftaan X la - 1 Sugar Plum Tree— Field 5 1 1 7 The Tale of Custard, the Dragon— Nash 2 - 3 5 The White Knight's Tale— Carroll - - 1 Who Killed Cock Robin? - - 1 Wynken, Blytiken, and Nod— Field - 2 1 3 Yesterday in Oxford Street— Fyleman mm - 1 1
gr an d total 11 31 29 Uo 100
xIndicates title in reading and language arts texts examined.
aIndicates title read by a man teacher.
^Indicates title read by two men teachers.
°Indicates title read by three men teachers. 264
TABLE 72
HUMOROUS POE,IS (N = 129)
Title or Pirst Line— Author Text Pour Five Six Overall
A Was Once an Apple Pie— Lear 2 2a 4 Adventures of Isabel— Hash X 1 _— 1 After the Party— Wise - 1 - 1 As I Was Going to St. Ives — 1 — 1 At the Zoo— Milne 2 — - 2 Baa, Baa, Black Sheep - - la 1 The Bear Story— Riley - 3 - 3 Before Tea— Ililne - - la 1 Betty Botta Bought Some Butter - - 1 1 Bill Grogan*s Goat - 1 1 A Boy and His Stomach— Guest - 2 2 B's the Bus— IiIcGinley X 1 - 1 Calico Pie— Lear 1 — 1 2 Casey at the Bat— Thayer 3 16b 16° 35 Casey - Twenty Years Later— McDonald - - 2a 2 Casey1 s Revenge— Wilson -- 4.d 4 Celery— Nash X -- 2 "Cool11 Casey at the Bat— Mad, ed. -- 1 1 Courtship of Yonghy-Bonghy Bo— Lear - 1 1 2 The Cowboy's Dream— Dinger - la 1 Crenation of Sam McGee - le 3d 4 Daddy Pell into the Pond— Noyes - 1 1 2 Darius Green and His Plying Machine— Trowbridge - 2 7d 9 Don't Ever Cross A Crocodile— Starbird - 1 1 Down with Dinosaurs— Graham X - 2a 2 The Duck and the Kangaroo— Lear -- 1 1 The Duel— Pi eld, E. 7 6a 4 17 An Elephant is an Odd Affair— 3urgess - 1 1 Eletelephony— Richards 1 3a 1 5 The Embarrassing Episode of Little Miss Huffet— Carryl - 1 1 The Emperor's Rhyne— Milne - - la 1 Father William— Carroll X 1 2 3 A Flea and a Fly in a Flue X -- la 1 Forgive Me When I Whine - 1 - 1 The Frog— Belloc X - - 2 2 The Funniest Thing in the World— Riley - 1 - 1 TABLE 72 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall
Get Up and Bar the Boor - 1 1 2 Godfrey Gordon Gustavus Gore— Band x 1 4a 1 6 Going Too Far— Howells —— la 1 Goober Peas— Brand x — • - 1 1 The Grasshoppers— Aldis - 1 1 2 Da Greater Baseball— Daly —_ 1 1 Grizzly Bear— Austin x 1 -- 1 How to Tell the Top of a Hill— Ciardi — 1 - 1 How to Tell the Wild Animals— 'Jells x - 3 - 3 I Sometimes Think — 1 - 1 If I Were King— Milne — 1 - 1 The Ingenious Little Old Man— Bennett — 2 — 2 Jabberwocky— Carroll x 1 5a 2s 8 The Janitor's Boy— Crane —_ 1 1 The Jelly Fish— Hash —- 1 1 Johnny'8 Hist'ry Lesson— Waterman — 2a — 2 Jonathan— Fyleman, tr. 1 1 - 2 Jonathan Bing— Brown x 6 2 4a 12 Jonathan Bing's Maimers— Brown —— 1 1 The Juablies— Lear x - 1 4 5 The Knight Whose A m o r Didn't Squeak— Milne la 1 Legend of Lake Okeefinokee— Richards X — 1 3 4 Limericks— Lear X 4 2 1 7 'Liza, Liza, Bless de Lawd— Dunbar — 1 - 1 Little Black Bug— Brown 1 - - 1 A little green frog lived under a log— Yates la 1 Little Jack Frost - - 1 1 The Little Man Who Wasn't There— Meaxns 1 1 The Locomotive— Dickinson — . 1 - 1 Marco Comes Late— Seuss 1 — 1 McCavity: The Mystery Cat— Eliot _ 6d 1 7 The Man in the Moon x 1 —- 1 Meddlesome Matty— Taylor - 1 - 1 Memo from a Meadow Mouse— Graham x — 1 - 1 Missing— Milne 1 -- 1 Mr. Nobody 2 2 1 5 The Modem Hiawatha— Strong —— 1 1 The Monkeys and the Crocodile— Richards x 4 1 2 7 Moral Song— Farrar _ 1 - 1 266
TABLE 72 (cont'd.)
Grade and Frequency Title or First line— Author text Four Five Six Overall A Mortifying Mistake— Pratt 2 1 3 The Mountain and the Squirrel— Emerson “ 1 1 2 The House That Gnawed the Oak Tree Down— Lindsay - - 1 1 Multiplication— Drinkwater 2 -- 2 My Donkey— Fyleman, tr. - 1 - 1 My Room— Burgess X - - la 1 A Nautical Ballad— Carryl X 1 1 New Song To Sing About Jonathan Bing— Brown X 1 - 1 The Octopus— Hash X 1 -- 1 Oh Where Have You Been Billy 3oy? - - la 1 Old Man Rein— Cawein —— 1 1 An Old Person of Leeds X -- la 1 Old Woman Who Swallowed The Fly 2 — 2 4 One Bright Morning the the Middle of the Night mm - 1 1 The Owl and the Pussycat— Lear 8a 8 3 19 The Panther— Nash X 1 - 4a 5 Pete at the Zoo— Brooks X - 1 - 1 Phizzog— Sandburg - 3 1 4 The Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee— Meigs X 2 6b 1 The Plaint of the Camel— Carryl X 3 - 1 4 The Postman— Richards 1 - - 1 The Purple Cow— Burgess X 1 2a - Puzzled Centipede— Craster X ** 1 1 The Rabbit, the Bear, the Zinniga- Zanniga— Seuss X • 1 1 The Rime of the Chivalrous Shark— Richards 1 -- 1 Rules— Farj eon 1 - - 1 A Seal— Herford -- 1 1 The Shanty Boy - la - 1 Sing Song of Old Man Kangaroo— Kipling - la - 1 Sneezles— Milne -- 1 1 The Spider and the Fly— Howitt 2 2a 4a 8 The Story of Johnny Head-in-Air— Hoffman 1 - - 1 267
TABLE 72 (cont'd.)
Title or First Idne— Author Grade and Frequency Text Four Five Six Overall
The Table and the Chair— Lear X 3 3 Tall Tales— Sandburg X — 1 1 2 Termite— Hash X —— la 1 There Once was a Puffin— Jacques — 1 — 1 This is the House That Jack Built 1 —— 1 Thomas Writes a Composition 1 1 The Three Little Kittens— Pollen 1 1 Three Turkeys— Fleming 1 -— 1 A Tiger's Tale— 3ennett X - 1 1 Tom Twist— Butler — 1 — 1 The Tree— Kreynborg —- 1 1 The Tutor— Welles X —— la 1 The Tv/ins— Leigh X - 1 3a 4 Two Old Crows— Lindsay — 1 mm 1 Us Two— Llilne —- 1 1 The Walrus and the Carpenter— Carroll X 1 2 9® 12 What the Rattlesnake Said— Lindsay - 1 - 1 When Father Carves the Duck— Wright — 1 1 Why Nobody Pets the Lion at the Zoo— Ciardi -- 1 1 Woodpecker with Long Bars— Robinson X m m - 1 1 Words— Turner - - 1 1 The Yak— Belloc - - 1 1 —— — — GRAND TOTAL 39 80 130 134 344
xIndicates title in reading and language arts texts examined. indicates title read by a man teacher, b Indicates title read by three men teachers. e Indicates title read by six men teachers. ^Indicates title read by two men teachers. Indicates title read by four men teachers* 268
TABLE 73 POEMS OF WISDOM (N = 87)
™ ^ A Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall
Abou Ben Adhem— Hunt X 1 - ioa 11 Adventure is Where you Find It— Moore X 1 -- 1 All the World's a Stage— Shakespeare -- 1 The Anvil - God's Word -- b 1 The Arrow and the Song— Longfellow X - 2 5* 7 The Art of Living -- l* 1 Barter— Teasdale - - 2 2 Be Like the Bird— Hugo - 1 - 1 Be the Best of Whatever You Are— Malloch -- 1 1 The Beautiful Life - 1 - 1 Beauty-E-Yeh-Shure - 3 - 3 Blind Men and the Elephant— Saxe X 2 1 5 8 Brain is Wider than the Sky— Dickinson - - 1 1 The Calf Path— Foss X - - lb 1 Can You? - 1 1 2 The Chambered Nautilus— Holmes 1 1 m 2 Chartless— Dickinson X - - 1 1 Cheerfulness - 1 - 1 Circles— Sandburg X 1 -- 1 Climbing the Mountain to Success - 1 - 1 The Coin— Teasdale - 1 1 2 A Cowboy's Prayer— Clark 1 - - 1 Crossing the Bar— Tennyson —— 1 1 The Day Will Bring Some Lovely Thing--Crowell - - 1 1 Do It Now - - 1 1 Do Something - 1* 1 Dust— Brooke 2 - 1 3 Dust of Snow— Frost X - 1 1 2 The Enchanted Shirt 2 - 1 3 Four Leaf Clover— Higginson - 1 1 2 Friendship 1 -- 1 Full Fathom Five— Shakespeare - - 1 1 Give— Gray 1 - - 1 God Give Us Men.'— Holland - 1 1 2 Grace for an Island Meal 1 - - 1 The Happy Family 1 - - 1 Help Me To Win - 1 - 1 High Flight— McGee X 1 1 - 2 269
TABLE 73 (cont'd.)
„ . . Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall
Hold Fast Your Dream— Driscoll x 1 - 3 ^ Hope is the thing with feathers— Dickinson 1 1 The House hy the Side of the Road— Foss 2 2 1 Dream a World— Hughes 1 1 Z Know Something Good About You— Shimon 1 1 I Meant To Do Hy Work Today— Gallienne x - - 1 1 I Want a Pasture— Field 1 1 If— Kipling 1 1 9® 11 If at first you don't succeed 1 1 If Once You have Slept Upon an Island x - - 2 2 Invictus— Henley x - - 2 2 It Couldn't Be Done— Guest 1^-1 2 It Isn't the School, It's You 1 Kid Stuff--Horne 1 The Legend Beautiful— Longfellow - - 1 The Lion and the Mouse— Taylor - 1 Little Black Boy— Blake - - 1 The Lord of Life - 1^ The Man with the Hoe— Markham - 1 Miracles— Whitman x - - 1 Mother to Son— Hughes x - 1 - Neither Far Out Nor in Deep— Frost - 1 - New Friends and Old Friends— Parry - 1 Night— Teasdale - 3 On His Blindness— Milton - 1 One Thing At a Time— Stodart 1 - - The Optimist's Song 1 - - Primer Lesson— Sandburg x - - 1 A Psalm of Life— Longfellow - 11 Psalms— The Bible 2 3 5^ 1 Rhapsody— Braithwaite 1 The Right Kind of People— Markham x - - 3 Road Not Taken— Frost x 13a A School Creed - 1 See It Through - 1^ A Song of Greatness— Austin x - 2 1 270
TABLE 73 (cont'd.)
Title or First Line— Author Grade and Frequency Text Four Five Six Overall
Suppose my Little Lady— Cary lb 1 - 2 Take Some Human Nature As You Find It — 1 — 1 Thanks For Bread 1 1 — 2 There Was a Child Went Forth— Whitman —- 1 1 Three Kinds of Courage - m m lb 1 Three Priceless Cifts - - lb 1 To Have Nothing at All— Coatsworth X - - 1 1 To Toil and Be Kind - - 1 1 Try, Try Again— Palmer - 1 - 1 The Warm of Heart— Coatsworth X -- 1 1 We Thank Thee -- 1 1 What is School? — — lb 1 You tell on yourself by the friends you seek -- 1 1 — — — ■ ■ 1 ■ ■ - GRAND TOTAL 21 22 36 111 169
zIndicates title in reading and ianguage arts texts examined.
aIndicates title read, by a man teacher.
^Indicates title read by two men teachers. 271
TABLE 74
POEMS: UNCLASSIFIED TITLES (N = 21)
Grade and Frequency Title or First Line— Author Text Four Five Six Overall
Discovering the Joy of Making Music 1 A 1 P a m Father -- 2 2 God's Trombones — - 1 1 I Peast Iiy Eyes 1 - 1 Lady of the Lake -- 1 1 The Last of Six - 1 1 A Lonely Light -- 1 1 MacBeth (parts)— Shakespeare - — 1 1 The Nicest Gift— Saure 1 - 1 The Patchwork Quilt— Shorter - - o 1 Pity Llary Davis— Reed O - lb 1 The Raven— Poe 3 1 13 Requiem— Stevenson - 1 1 2 Something's Going On I 1 - 1 Strange Fits of Passion— Wordsworth - - 1 1 Strange Dance -- 1 1 Thanatopsis (selections)— Bryant - - 1 1 Three Young Men and a Cat 1 - - 1 The Victory— Miller X - 1 1 2 Weapon Song 1 -- 1 The Universe— Farjeon X 1 2 3
GRAND TOTAL 2 10 4 24 38
indicates title in reading and language arts texts examined,
indicates title read by a man teacher.
V Indicates title read by two men teachers. APPENDIX B 273
December 4, 1967
Dear
Elementary school teachers of your district have been selected as possible participants in a study entitled, "tfhat Elementary School Teachers Read to Their Classes." This letter is to request your per mission to communicate with them directly. We should like to send to a small number of teachers in your dis trict a questionnaire requiring 10 - 13 minutes for completion. It will ask teachers to list the titles of books and poems read aloud to classes and to give the titles of anthologies used. Teachers will also be asked to circle items concerning the following: their teach ing experience, children*s literature courses, library facilities used, frequency of reading aloud to classes, reasons for reading or not reading to classes, and selection of books. The results of this study of teachers in 1000 schools of five states will have value for teacher education and library science courses. No names of specific school districts, schools, or teachers will be identified in any published reports of the study. If you are willing to have a few of your teachers participate (on the average of two from each school selected) would you please check the appropriate item on the enclosed self-addressed post card and return it to U3 before December 15. In order that vte may address the questionnaires accurately, we should appreciate your sending us a current list of your elementary teaching staff assignments. Thank you for your cooperation and interest.
Sincerely yours,
Charlotte S. Huck Professor of Education
Chow Loy Tom Assistant Professor of Education University of Hawaii
Enc. January 5, 1968
Dear Those of us who read books and poetry aloud to children often wonder what other teachers are reading and why some teachers seldom read to their classes.
Your name has been selected to represent teachers from a group of 1000 schools in five states to study what teachers read to their classes. The administrator of your school district has given us permission to ask you to participate in this study. ITo names, either of the participating teachers or of their schools, will be identified in any report of this study.
We hope you will be able to give about 15 minutes of your time this week to tell us what and when you read to the children in your class. We would also like to know something about you, your school and your teaching situation. What we learn from you will be valuable in revising courses in the Language Arts and Children's Literature. It is only by hearing directly from teachers such as you that we can better prepare others for the important job you are doing in the classroom.
Thank you for your interest and cooperation.
Sincerely yours,
Charlotte S. Kuck Professor of Education
Chow Loy Tom Assistant Professor of Education University of Hawaii 275
Y/HAT BLHSEHTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS READ TO THEIR CLASSES
QUESTIONNAIRE FOE TEACHERS Kindergarten through grade six
Instructions: 1. Please answer the questions which apply to you and to your situation in school. 2. Kindly return this questionnaire in the enclosed envelope * before January 30. 3. Please circle the number of the answer you give for each question unless otherwise directed. For example: What is your favorite type of television program? a. Documentaries b. Musicals c. News reports d. Variety shows A person whose favorite type of program is "news reports" will circle choice "c", like this <§>.
•^Identification: Your name** Sex: M F (Please Print) School District School State ______Date______
GENERAL AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1. What grade are you now teaching? (Use higher grade if more than one and answer the questions in relation to that grade.) K 1 2 3 4 5 6
2. Please indicate the total number of years you have taught. (Count present school year as one year.) a. One year c. 4-9 yrs. e. 21 or more yrs. b. 2-3 yrs. d. 10-20 yrs.
3. What is the enrollment of the school in which you are teaching?
•* WE ARE A3XIR6 FOR TOUR RAHE 80 THAT WE CAN FECORS THE FACT THAT YOU RAVE RETURREO THE QUEST I OHRAI RE. THE SURVEY IS COMPLETELY CCHFI BERT I At. YOUR RAIIt Will ROT SE ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIROIVCS IR ARY WAY. 276
4* HHiat is the organization of your class?
a. Self-contained b. Ungraded c. Team teaching (Single grade) d. Departmentalized
5. In your opinion how often do the majority of the pupils in your class come from homes which stimulate them to do several of the following: to use libraries, visit art galleries, museums, the zoo, cultivate musical taste, and take family trips?
a. Frequently b. Occasionally c. Hardly ever
6. Do you have access to a school library?
a. Yes b. No
If yes, how adequate is its book collection for use in your teaching? a* Excellent b. Good c. Fair d.Poor
7. Do you have access to a public library?
a. Yes b. No
If yes, how adequate is its book collection for use in your teaching? a. Excellent b. Good c. Fair d. Poor
8* Please indicate how long ago you have had an undergraduate course in Children's Literature or studied it as part of another course.
a. 1-4 yrs. c. 9-11 yrs. e. None b. 5-8 yrs. d. 12 or more yrs.
9. Please indicate how long ago you have attended an in-service conference or workshop relating to Children's Literature.
a. 1-2 yrs. b. 3-4 yrs. c. 5-6 yrs. d. 7 or more yrs. e. None
10. As you remember your elementary school years (K-6), how often did your teachers read stories aloud to you?
a. Daily b. Frequently c. Occasionally d. Rarely
11. A s you remember your elementary school years (K-6), how often did your teachers read poems aloud to you?
a. Daily b. Frequently c. Occasionally d. Rarely 277
CIASSROOLI RELATED ACTIVITIES
12* Do you read books and poems aloud to your class?
‘a. Yes b. No
13. What do you think are the three most important reasons why teachers read to their classes?
a* For enjoyment of children b. To extend children*s experiences c. To develop children's reading habits d. To interest children in reading particular books e. To develop appreciation for various types of literature (poems, myths, classics) f. To enrich the science curriculum g. To enrich the social studies curriculum h. Other (Please specify) ______
14. What do you think are the three most important reasons why some teachers do not read to their classes?
a. Children read for themselves b. Children get enough stories and poems in basic readers c. Other subjects are more important d. Teachers need to know more about children's books e. Teachers need to know more about poetry f . Teachers do not have enough time g. Unwise to use school time for entertainment h. Difficult to obtain materials i. Other (Please specify)______
Instructions: Questions 15-30 are meant for teachers who read books and poems to their classes. If you do not read books and poems aloud to your class, we would appreciate any additional comments you wish to make about reading aloud as a teacher activity. (Use back of this page.) Please use the enclosed self-addressed envelope to return the questionnaire before January 30. THAUK YOU for your cooperation. 278
For teachers who read books and poetry aloud to their classes:
15* Please list the titles of whole books (any length) you have read (or are reading) to your class since September* (Use back of .this page if necessary*)
a. ______b . ______c . ______
16. Please list the titles of three books you especially enjoy reading aloud to your class, regardless of whether you have read them this year.
1st choice: 2nd choice: . 3rd choice: ______
17* . Please list the titles of books from which you have read excerpts to your class since September. (Use back of this page is necessary.)
a. ______b. ______c. ______
18. Please list the titles or first lines of POEMS you have read to your class since September. (Use back of this page if necessary.)
a. ______b. ______c. " 19. Please list the titles or first lines of three POEMS you es pecially enjoy reading aloud in your class, regardless of whether you have read them this year.
1st choice: ______2nd choice: 3rd choice: 279 20. Do you use anthologies or collections of poetry in your teaching?
a. Yes b. No
•If yes, please list anthologies or collections of poetry you uses
TITLE COMPILES OH AUTHOR a.
c.”
21. Do you discuss with your class what you read aloud?
a* Yes b. No
If yes, which three of the following points do you discuss most often during or after reading a book to your class?
a. Characters e. Plot and theme b. Choice of words f. Style c. Beauty of language g. Comparison with other books d. Illustrations h. Other (Please specify)
22. With what other areas do you relate what you read aloud to your classes? Circle as many as apply.
a. Art e. Science b. Creative writing f. None c. Dramatization g. Other (Please specify) d. Social Studies ___
23. How do you group your pupils when you read aloud to them? Circle as many as apply.
a. According to their interest d. Other (Please specify) b. According to their ability ______c. Entire class (no grouping)
24. Where do you most often obtain or borrow books or poems to read to your class? Circle no more than three.
a. School library e. Other teachers b. Public library f* Other (Please specify) c. Personal collection d. Pupil copies 280 25* In selecting books to read to your class, which of the following do you most often use? Circle no more than three.
a. Personal knowledge of books b. Pupil suggestions c. Recommendation of other teachers d . Recommendation of public librarian e. Recommendation of school librarian f• Professional magazines g. Publishers1 catalogs h. Other (Please specify)
26. Which of the following publications help you select books for reading to your class? Circle no more than three most-used sources.
a. CHILDREN'S CATALOG e. NEA JOURNAL (H. W. Wilson Co.) f. None b. ELEMENTARY ENGLISH g. Other (Please specify) c. GRADE TEACHER ______d. THE INSTRUCTOR
27. How often do you read books and poems to your class?
a. Once a day d. Two or three times a week b. Twice a day e. Only before holidays c. Once a week f. Other (Please specify)
28. What is the length of your average reading-aloud sessions?
a. Less than 10 minutes c. 16-20 minutes b. 11-15 minutes d. Other (Give average time)
29. When do you read books or poems to your class? Circle as many as apply.
a. After lunch d. On rainy days b. After recess e. Other (Please specify) c. During free time • 281 30. Do you have a yearly plan of what to read aloud to your class?
a. Yes b. No
If yes, which of these resources help you plan? Circle as many as apply.
a. Literature section of school district curriculum guide b. Literature section of state curriculum guide c. Your own plan d. Other (Please specify)______
THANK YOU for completing the questionnaire. We would appreciate any additional comments you wish to make about reading aloud to your class.
Please use the enclosed self-addressed envelope to return the com pleted questionnaire to use before January 30. 1968. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Arizona. State Department of Public Instruction. Educational Direc tory, 1966-67. Phoenix, Arizona: State Department of Public Instruction, 1967.
Bloom, Benjamin S. Stability and Change in Human Characteristics. Hew York: John Y/iley & Sons, Inc., 1964.
Bruner, Jerome S. The Process of Education. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, I960.
Childrens Catalog. 10th ed. Hew York: K. Vi. V7ilson Company, 1961. Also supplements.
. 11th ed. 1967. Also supplement.
Corbin, Hichard, and Crosby, Muriel, eds. Language Programs for the Pisadvantaged. Champaign, Illinois: national Council of Teachers of English, 1965.
Delaware. State Department of Education. Educational Directory, 1967-68. Dover, Delaware: State Department of Education, 1967.
Dunn, Pannie Wyche. Interest Factors in Primary Heading Material. Contributions to Education, Ho. 113. Hew York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1921.
The Elementary School Library Collection, Phases 1, 2, and 3« Edited by Mary Virginia Gaver and others. 2d ed. Hewark, Hew Jersey: Bro-Dart Foundation, i960. Also supplements.
______• 3d ed. 1967. Also supplement.
Parmer, Paul, and Freeman, Bernice. The Teaching of English in Georgia. A Report of the Georgia English Commission. Atlanta, Georgia: Georgia Council of Teachers of English, 1952.
Gaver, Mary Virginia. Effectiveness of Centralized Library Service in Elementary Schools. 2d ed. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University, 1963*
282 283 Huber, Miriam Banton. The Influence of Intelligence Upon Childrens Reading Interests, Contributions to Education, llo. 312. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1928.
. Bruner, Herbert B., and-Curry, Charles M. Children's Interests in Poetry. Chicago: Rand, McNally and Company, 1927.
Huck, Charlotte S., and Kuhn, Doris Young. Children's literature in the Elementary School. 2d ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1968.
Huus, Helen. "Interpreting Research in Children's literature." Children's Books and Reading. Edited by Mildred Dawson. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association, 1964.
Jordan, Arthur Melville. Children's Interests in Reading. Contri butions to Education, No. 107. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1921.
______• . Revised and Brought Down to Date. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1926.
Kerlinger, Bred N. Foundations of Behavioral Research; Educational and Psychological Inquiry. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1964.
Lazar, May. Reading Interests, Activities, end Opportunities of Bright. Average, and Dull Children. Contributions to Education, No. 707. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1937.
Lowrie, Jean Elizabeth. Elementary School Libraries. New York: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1961.
Morris, Joyce M. Standards and Progress in Reading... The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Bucks: National Foundation of Educational Research in England and Wales, 1966.
National Council of Teachers of English. The National Interest and the Continuing Education of Teachers of English. Champaign, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1964.
Nebraska. Curriculum Development Center. A Curriculum For English, Grade 1: Units 1-12. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1966. Norvell, George. What Boys and Girls Like to Read. Morristown, New Jersey: Silver Burdett Company, 1958. 284 Pooley, Robert C., and Williams, Robert D. The Teaching of English in Wisconsin; A Survey of the Methods end Materials of Instruction and of Teaching Personnel in the Elementary end Secondary Schools, 1944-45. Madison, Y/isconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1948.
Siegel, Sidney. Ilonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1956*
Smith, Dora V. Evaluating Instruction in English in the Elementary Schools of New York. A Report of the Regents' Inquiry into the Character and Cost of Public Education in New York State... National Conference on Research in English. Eighth Research Bulletin. Chicago: Scott, Poresman and Company, 1941.
Sourcebook on English Institutes for Elementary Teachers. Champaign, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English and New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1965*
Terman, Lev/is M., and Lima, Margaret. Children's Reading, a Guide for Parents and Teachers. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1926.
Thorndike, Robert L. A Comparative Study of Children's Reading Inter ests, Based on a Fictitious Annotated Titles Questionnaire. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1941.
United States Office of Education. Education Director:/, 1966-67. Part 2: Public School Systems. Washington, B.C.: Government Printing Office, 1967.
Vermont. State Department of Education. Educational Directory, 1967- 68. Montpelier, Vermont: State Department of Education, 1967.
Weekes, Blanche E. The Influence of Meaning in Children's Choices of Poetry. Contributions to Education, No. 354. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1929.
West Virginia. State Department of Education. Educational Directory, 1966-67. Charleston, West Virginia: State Department of Edu cation, 1966*
Wilkinson, Marguerite. New Voices, an Introduction to Contemporary Poetry. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1920.
Wisconsin. Department, of Public Instruction. Official School Direc tory. 1966-67. Madison, Y/isconsin: Department of Public In struction, 1967. 285 Wisconsin. Department of Public Instruction. English Curriculum Center. Teaching Literature in Wisconsin. A Sequential Growth Curriculum in Experiences with literature for the Kindergarten through Grade Twelve... Experimental ed. Madison, Wisconsin: Department of Public Instruction, 1965.
Wolf, Willavene, Huck, Charlotte S., and King, Martha L. Critical Reading Ability of Elementary School Children. U. S. Office of Education Project, iio. 5-1040, Pinal Report. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University, June, 1967.
Journals
Avegno, T. Sylvia. "Intermediate-Grade Children’s Choices of Poetry.” Elementary English. XXXIII (November, 1956), pp. 428-432.
Bradshaw, Ruth E. "Children's Choices in Poetry in the First Grade,” Elementary English Review, XIV (May, 1937), pp. 168-176, 188.
Bullock, Royal W. "Some Observations of Children's Reading.” National Education Association. Proceedings, 1897, pp. 1015- 1021. Carsley, J. D. "The Interests of Children (aged 10-11) in Books." The British Journal of Educational Psychology, XXVII (February, 1957)'," PP. 13-23. Celestine, Sister LI. "A Survey of the Literature on Reading Inter ests of Children in the Elementary Grades.” Catholic University of America Educational Research Bulletin, No. 2-3 (February- March,' 1930), pp. 1-114.
Coast, Alice B. "Children's Choices of Poetry as Affected by Teacher's Choices." Elementary English Review, V (llay, 1928), pp. 145- 147, 159. Cohen, Dorothy H. "The Effects of Literature on Vocabulary and Reading Achievement." Elementary English, XLV (February, 1968), pp. 209-213, 217. Cooper, Adeline K. "An Analysis of the Independent Reading of Sixth Grade Pupils in Selected Rural, Small Town, and Urban Schools of Eastern South Dakota." Unpublished Ed. D. dissertation, State University of South Dakota, 1959. Dissertation Abstracts, XX (I960), pp. 2646-3547. Eckert, Kollie Horton. "Children's Choices of Poems." Elementary English Review, V (dune, 1928), pp. 182-185, 192.
Ennis, Philip. "Recent Sociological Contributions to Heading Re search." Reading Teacher, XVII (l Grant, Emma B., and White, Margaret 1. "A Study of Children's Choic of Reading Materials." Teachers College Record, XXVI (April, 1925), pp. 671-678. Hofer, Louise B. "What Do Sixth Graders Really like in Poetry?" Elementary English, XXXIII (November, 1956), pp. 433-438. Irv/in, IJartha E. "Evaluating Elementary literature Programs." Elementary English, XL (December, 1963), pp. 846-849, 888. Jefferson, Benjamin P. "Some Relationships Between Parents' and Children's Preferences in Juvenile Literature." Elementary School Journal, LVIII (January, 1958), pp. 212-218. King, Cora. "Favorite Poems for Children in Elementary School Age." Teachers College Record, XXIII (may, 1922), pp. 255-273. Kyte, George C. "Children's Reactions to Fifty Selected Poems." Elemental:/ School Journal, XLVII (February, 1947), pp. 331- 339. Lancaster, Thomas J. "A Study of the Voluntary Reading of Pupils in Grades Four to Eight." Elementary School Journal, XXVIII (March, 1928), pp. 525-537. Lehman, Harvey C., and Witty, Paul A. "Sex Differences in Reference to Reading Books Just for Fun." Education, XLVIII (June, 1928) pp. 602-617. McAulay, J. D. "Social Studies Interests of the Intermediate-Grade Child." Social Education, XXVI (May, 1962), pp. 247-248. ______. "Social Studies Interests of the Primary-Grade Child." Social Education, XXVI (April, 1962), pp. 199-201. McCullough, Constance LI. "A Log of Children's Out-of-School Ac tivities." Elementary School Journal, LVIII (December, 1957), pp. 157-165. McGuire, Alice B. "The Librarian's Role in the Literature Program." Elemental:/ English, XLIV (May, 1967), pp. 468-471. Mackintosh, Helen K. "A Critical Study of Children's Choices in Poetry." University of Iov/a Studies in Education, VII, No. 4 (September, 1932). 287 . "A Study of Children’s Choices in Poetry." Elementary English Review, I (Hay, 1924), pp. 85-89. Martin, Marvin. "Pifty Books They Can't Resist." Elementary English. XXXIX (May, 1962), pp. 415-417. Nelson, Richard C. "Children’s Poetry Preferences." Elementary Eng lish, XIIII (March, 1966), pp. 247-251. Pittman, Grace. "Young Children Enjoy Poetry." Elementary English. XLIII (January, 1966), pp. 56-59. Ramsey, Y/allace. "A Study of Salient Characteristics of Pupils of High and low Reading Ability." Journal of Developmental Reading. V (Winter, 1962), pp. 87-94. Rogers, Helen, and Robinson, H. Alan. "Reading Interests of Pirst Graders." Elementary English. XL (November, 1963), pp. 707- 711. Rudman, Herbert C. "The Informational Needs and Reading Interests of Children in Grades IV through VIII." Elementary School Journal. LX (May, 1955), pp. 502-512. Shores, J. Harlan. "Reading Interests and Informational Needs of Children in Grades Pour to Eight." Elementary English. XXXI (December, 1954), pp. 493-500. . "Reading Interests and Informational Needs of High School Students." Reading Teacher, XVII (April, 1964), pp. 536-544. Smiley, Marjorie B. "Gateway English: Teaching English to Disad vantaged Students." English Journal, LIV (April, 1965), pp. 265-274. Stanchfield, Jo U. "Boys’ Reading Interests as Revealed through Per sonal Conferences." Reading Teacher. XVI (September, 1962), pp. 41-44. Street, J. R. "A Study in Moral Education." Pedagogical Seminary, V (July, 1897), pp. 4-40. Taylor, Marion W., and Schneider, Mary A. "What Books Are Our Children Reading? The Reading Interests of Upper-Grade Pupils." Chicago Schools Journal, XXXVIII (January-Pebruary, 1957), pp. 155-160. Vandament, William E., and T'nalman, W. A. "An Investigation into the Reading Interests of Children." Journal of Educational Research, XLIX (February, 1956), pp. 467-470. 288 Vostrovsky, Clara. "A Study of Children's Reading Tastes." Pedago gical Seminary. VI (1899)> pp. 523-535. Wightman, H. J. "A Study of Reading Appreciation." American School Board Journal. L (June, 1915), p. 42. Wissler, Clark. "Interests of Children in the Reading Work of the Elementary School." Pedagogical Seminary. V (1897-1898), pp. 523-540. Witty, Paul A., Coomer, Ann, and IIcBean, Dilla. "Children's Choices of Pavorite Books: A Study Conducted in Ten Elementary Schools." Journal of Educational Psychology. XXXVII (llay, 1946), pp. 266- 278. Wolfcon, Bernice. "What Bo Children Say Their Reading Interests Are?" Reading Teacher, XIV (November, I960), pp. 81-82, 111. Textbook Series, Grades 4-6 (X• ed by grade level within scries) A. Basal Readers American Book Company. Betts Basic Readers. Anniversary 3d ed. New York: American Book Company', 1965. American Adventures. Grade 4. Edited by Emmett A. Betts and Carolyn 1.1. Welch. Adventures Here and There. Grade 5. Edited by Emmett A. Betts and Carolyn Li. Welch. Adventures Now and Then, Grade 6. Edited by Emmett A. Betts and Carolyn LI. Welch. Ginn and Company. Ginn Basic Readers. 100 ed.„ Boston: Ginn and Company, 1966. Roads to Everywhere. Grade 4. Edited by Bavid H. Russell and others. Trails to Treasure. Grade 5. Edited by Bavid H. Russell and others. Wings to Adventure. Grade 6. Edited by Bavid H. Russell and others. 289 Houghton Mifflin Company. Reading; for Cleaning Series. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. High Roads. Grade 4. Edited by Paul McKee and others, 1957. Sky Lines, Grade 5. 3d ed. Edited by Paul McKee and others, 1962. Bright Peaks. Grade 6. 3d ed. Edited by Paul McKee and others, 1962. J. B. lippincott Company. Basic Reading Series. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, Company, 1965. Basic Reading, Book 4. Edited by Glenn McCracken and Charles C. Walcutt. Basic Reading, Book 5. Edited by Glenn McCracken and Charles C. Walcutt. Basic Reading. Book 6. Edited by Glenn McCracken and Charles C. Walcutt. Macmillan Company. The Macmillan Reading Program. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1966. The Magic Word. Fourth Reader. Edited by Albert J • Harris and others. Bold Journeys. Fifth Reader. Edited by Albert J. Harris and others. Into New Worlds. Sixth Reader. Edited by Albert J. Harris and others. Scott, Foresman and Company. The New Basic Readers, Curriculum Foundation Series. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1965. Ventures. Book 4. Edited by Helen M. Robinson and others, eds. Vistas. Book 5. Edited by Helen M. Robinson and others, eds. Cavalcades. Book 6. Edited by Helen M. Robinson and others, eds. ______. The Open Highways Readers. Curriculum Foundation Series. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company. Open Highways. Book 4. Edited by Helen H. Robinson and others, 1965. Open Highways, Book 5. Edited by Helen M. Robinson and others, 1966. Open Highways. Book 6. Edited by Helen M. Robinson and others, 1966. ______• The Wide Horizons Readers, Curriculum foundation Series. Chicago: Scott, foresman and Company, 1965. Wide Horizons. Book 4. Edited by Helen 1.1. Robinson and others. Wide Horizons, Book 5« Edited by Helen M. Robinson and others. Wide Horizons, Book 6. Edited by Helen K. Robinson and others. B. Language Arts Textbooks American Book Comp any. Our Language Today Series. New York: American Book Company, 1967. Our Language Today 4. By David A. Conlin and Ann Lefcourt. Our Language Today 5. By David A. Conlin and H. T. Eillmer. Our Language Today 6. By David A. Conlin and Nell C. Thompson. Ginn and Company. Ginn Elementary English Series. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1967. Ginn Elementary English, Book 4. By B. Robert Tabachnick and Dan W. Andersen. Ginn Elementary English, Book 5. By John C. Maxwell. Ginn Elementary English, Book 6. By Dorothy Miller. Harcourt, Brace and World.The Robert English Series: A Linguistics Program. New York: Harcourt,Brace and World, Inc., 1966, Book 4. By Paul Roberts. Book 5. By Paul Roberts. Book 6. B y Paul Roberts. 291 D. C. Heath and Company. Reading Caravan Series. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1964. Peacock Lane. Book 4. Edited by Paul A. Y/itty and Alma IJoore Preeland. Silver V/eb, Book 5. Edited by Paul A. Tv’itty and Alma Moore Preeland. Treasure Gold. Book 6. Edited by Paul A. Yi'itty and Alma I.Ioore Preeland. Houghton Mifflin Company. English for Meaning Series. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin Company, 1962. English for Meaning, 4. By Paul McKee and Annie McCowen. English for Meaning, 9. By Paul McKee and Annie McCowen. English for Meaning, 6. By Paul McKee and Annie McCowen. Macmillan Company. The Macmillan English Series. 3d rev. ed. Hew York: The Macmillan Company, 1967. Book 4. By Thomas Clark Pollock and others. Book 3. By Thomas Clark Polio cl: and others. Book 6. By Thomas Clark Pollock and others. Unpublished Material Anderson, Paul S. "Y/hat 3ooks Do Teachers Read to Children in the Intermediate Grades?" (Ditto copy from author.) Huck, Charlotte S., and Kuhn, Doris Young. 'Evaluating the Literature Curriculum." (Typescript.) Ohio State University Computer Center. "Ohio State Questionnaire Analysis." Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University, 1965. (Mimeographed.) Peltola, Bette J. "A Study of the Indicated Literary Choices and Measured Literary Knowledge of Fourth and Sixth Grade Boys and Girls." Abstract of unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota, 1965. / 292 Roster, Arlene A. "An Investigation of the Relationship Between Interests and Socioeconomic Status of Children." Unpublished Ed. D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1955. Cited by Warren C-. Cutts, Research in Reading for the Middle Grades, an Annotated Bibliography. Washington, D. C.: Gov ernment Printing Office, 1963. United States Armed Porces Institute. "General Specifications for USAPI Subject Standardized Tests." Madison, ’Wisconsin: United States Armed Porces Institute, n.d. (Mimeographed.)