CHAPTER VI

ORAL READING

In many schools oral reading is begun the first day or the first week, but according to the plan herein outlined it probably should not be begun sooner than the fifth weel: of school. Oral reading involves recognition of the words, thinking the thought, and experiencing the feelings of the author and the conveying of the same pictures, thoughts, and feelings to another or the arousing of sympathetic thought and feeling in the auditor. The child must have much training in thought-getting before he will be able even to approach this ideal. Silent reading must precede oral reading in time. Skill in thought-acquiring precedes skill in thought-conveying. In those schools which attempt to teach the two from the start simultaneously, we frequently find a wooden, monotonous, halting pronunciation of the words.

Conditions of Oral Reading

The power of interpretation is cultivated and dis played through oral reading. Of course, the exact nature or character of the interpretation varies with the kind of selection studied, but it is well to bear

in mind that drill work in the pronunciation of words is not oral reading. The power to make the lesson a vital part of one's life experience is very different from the power of calling words. If the individual sees some organic unity in the details he reads about, sees through the mechanics of the page the pictures and the various incidents, and is able to give to each its proper emphasis, experiencing pleasurable or painful feelings as the case may be, he is prepared for the highest type of oral reading. Oral reading becomes educative when it is re-creative.

Time in Oral Reading

In much of the oral reading consideration is not given to the time element. Any effort to make the oral reading as rapid as the silent leads to a telescoping of words and phrases which obscures the thought. The reader must bear in mind his audience. It must follow him and unless he is clear and deliberate, emphasizing and inflecting appropriately, it will soon be characterized by inattention. Reading must be thinking both to the reader and audience if interest and attention are maintained. Seeing words is not thinking, nor does the mere pronunciation of them convey thought. Thought must precede expression before expression can be followed by thought. The constant request the audience makes upon the reader is "Give us time to think." Although the questions, "What did you say?” or "What does that mean?” may sometimes indicate ambiguity of statement, they more often indicate

that the utterance was so poor that it failed to impress the mind of the hearer.

Two Suggestions

Out of the list of numerous devices used to strengthen the power of oral expression two, at least, are worthy of further consideration. During the first year and even later, frequently practice having the child grasp the thought of the sentence, and then, with his face turned away from the book and his attention directed to the class, have him reproduce it. Drill of this kind will do three things: it will enable the child to grasp larger and larger units of thought, it will produce a better correspondence between his reading voice and his conversational voice, and it will insure a more thoughtful expression. A little later, possibly in the third grade, give to a pupil some unfamiliar matter, but of a degree of difficulty adapted to the class, and with the rest of the class sitting as an audience, seek to have it read so that the class will attend the reading and be able to restate immediately, as well as at some future time, the gist of the selection. This plan will put the reader and the class to the real test.

Training in Interpretation

The interpretation of any story or selection wil; be greatly aided by judicious questioning. McMurry*

says:

* Special Method in Reading, pp. 111-112.

"The chief aim of questions is to arouse vigor and variety of thought as a means of better appreciation and expression. Children read poorly because they do not see the meaning or do not feel the force of the sentiment. They give wrong emphasis and intonation. A good question is like a flash of lightning which suddenly reveals our standing ground and surroundings, and gives the child a chance to strike out again for himself. His intelligence lights up, he sees the point, and responds with a significant rendering of the thought. But the teacher must be a thinker to ask simple and pertinent questions. He can't go at it in a loose and lumbering fashion. Lively and sympathetic and appreciative of the child's moods must he be, as well as clear and definite in his own perception of the author's meaning."

A Type Lesson

A TYPICAL ORAL READING LESSON. SECOND MONTH OF

SCHOOL

Materials, three Teddy bears and a tiny house, three chairs, or pictures of these things.

Teacher looks at one of the bears and says as she writes upon the board, "I see the papa bear."

She asks, "Is this true for you, Horace? Then tell me so.'

Horace replies, "I see the papa bear."

Teacher quickly writes the same sentence directly under the first one. "Is this true about you, Prudence?" she asks. If Prudence sees likenesses quickly she can read the sentence. Not all children can do this during the second month of school.

Teacher, pointing to word papa, says, “I'll erase this word papa and write mamma in its place. Now

who can read the sentence?" "Show me that you do," she asks as the sentence is read. (The child touches the mamma bear.) The teacher holds up the baby bear, saying as she writes the sentence, "This is the baby bear." "You may tell me who this is," she says as she gives the bear to Marion. As Marion repeats, "This is the baby bear," the teacher points to the words upon the board.

"Close your eyes, children," says the teacher, and while the boys and girls are not looking the teacher writes, "This is the baby bear," again in another place upon the board.

"Look now and find another sentence telling who this is,' says the teacher. "Muriel may show us." "See what this says" (writing under the above, "This is the mamma bear"). Several children read, holding up, or pointing to the bear mentioned.

"This is the bears' house," writes the teacher, and she points to the house. Some of the children take the hint and can read the sentence.

In quick succession the teacher writes:

"I see the bear's house."