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UNIVERSITY
OF FLORIDA
LIBRARIES
, -T
7!
. f."r If
STATE DEPfRTMENT OF EDUCflTION
COLIN ENGLISH. Superintendent
BULLETIN No. 34
TRLLAHtSSEE. FLORIDR
COVER: One of the thousand natural
beauty spots in Florida which attract tourists
and which stimulate Floridians to a creative
use of language in conversation, letters,
poems, plays, fiction, biography, and travel
and scientific essays.
A GUIDE TO TEACHERS
in
KINDERGARTEN
through
GRADE TWELVE
THIS IS FLORIDA
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decked tI tkeai aeeaM v~eet jewel 4oed latewuai tw the .
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lted d omia towns., a uaa atd, uetaM os Uce- -
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Toapica dk.e4 tidal caeeh.
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4m t1Ahe ae- with lac,-e galdeS op/1e1. "
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The h o ae etl /ee ekhiaa i/ee da a dip-awah panther. -
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l a 4 swa bye at e Sloet.a, fcol
/BtWrittn in Cretide Waitin Calas (En h XI), T llabasses
illrrated by R. J. F/rcher, Studt,,,, Plant Caty
The Language Arts
Prepared at
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
ANGELA M. BROENING, Consultant
MRS. DORA SKIPPER, Director
SARAH LOU HAMMOND Assistant Directors
SARA M. KRENTZMAN Assstant Directors
STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
COLIN ENGLISH, Superintendent
JOE HALL, Director, Division of Instruction
BULLETIN No. 34
Tallahassee, Florida, 1948
FLORIDA STATE BULLETINS
Other Florida State Bulletins of special interest to
teachers of the language arts
Arithmetic in the Elementary School, Bulletin 26,
1942
The Audio-Visual Way, Bulletin 22B, 1948
Growing through School Lunch Experiences, Bulletin
33A, 1948
A Brief Guide to Teaching English in Secondary
Schools, Bulletin 49, 1946
A Guide to a Functional Program in the Secondary
School, Bulletin 10, 1940
A Guide to Child Development through the Begin-
ning School Years, Bulletin 53, 1946
A Guide to Teaching in the Elementary Grades,
Bulletin 47, 1944
A Guide to Teaching in the Primary Grades, Bulle-
tin 46, 1944
A Guide to Teaching Science in the Elementary
School, Bulletin 7, 1947
State Adopted Free Textbooks for Use in Elementary
and Secondary Schools, Vol. X, No. 7, 1948
State Adopted Library Books for Florida Schools,
No. 27, 1942
FOREWORD
EXPERIENCING THE LANGUAGE ARTS offers a guide
to teachers from kindergarten through grade twelve and was
prepared at the request of the Florida Council of Teachers of
English, a department of the Florida Education Association
through the Courses of Study Committee. In a practical manner
this bulletin approaches the everyday and long range problems
of developing competence in speaking, listening, reading, and
writing. Attention is given to the place of the language arts in
a free society and of the teaching of the language arts in the
total school program.
In addition, through photographs and actual teaching units,
this bulletin explains how a teacher can create a classroom
"climate" conducive to language development.
Administrators, supervisors, and personnel in the State De-
partment of Education and the State Universities, will find in
this bulletin how teachers feel they can be helped in their work
of establishing good human relations, of securing appropriate
instructional 'materials, and of cooperative planning so that a
coordinated and continuous language arts program may be ex-'
perienced by boys and girls from the kindergarten through
grade twelve.
Teachers will find here a realistic story of what is actually
going on now in many classrooms and schools throughout the
state. This bulletin offers a fresh view of the language arts
because it has brought together the best thinking, experience,
and planning of a group of master teachers, competent librarians,
and creative supervisors from eleven counties in Florida, of
State Department and State University personnel, and of an
out of state consultant who has had wide experience in working
with curriculum groups in Florida and in seven other states.
In expressing my personal and official appreciation to the
persons listed on the next page, I am pleased to note that though
this bulletin carries practical helps to teaching, its use will not
make a routine of the creative act of teaching the language arts.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Bulletin Production Workshop Personnel
DIRECTORS AND CONSULTANTS
Mrs. Dora Sikes Skipper, Coordinator of Supervisory Program,
Florida State Department of Education, Director
Miss Sarah Lou Hammond, Specialist in Elementary Education and
Child Development, Florida State Department of Education,
Assistant Director
Miss Sara Malcolm Krentzman, Assistant Dean of the School of
Library Training and Service, Florida State University, and
Consultant in Library Service, Florida State Department of
Education, Assistant Director
Dr. Angela M. Broening, Associate Director, Curriculum Commission,
National Council of Teachers of English and Assistant Director
of Research, Baltimore Public Schools, Consultant
PARTICIPANTS
Jane Arnold, Clearwater; Mary Loree Atkinson, Pensacola; Mag
Audrey Cameron, Bunnell; Mrs. Alice S. Clark, Sarasota; Mrs. Vida
Cooper, Tallahassee; Dorothy Glen Cox, Lakeland; Roy L. Crews,
Live Oak; Mrs. Dorothy M. Dillard, Winter Haven; Lois C. Geiger,
St. Petersburg; Lucy M. Ingram, Punta Gorda; Mrs. Joanna D.
Ivey, St. Petersburg; Dora Kathleen Johnson, Mayo; Florence A.
Lawrence, Fort Myers Beach; Mrs. Ruth Lenox, Miami; Mary Miles,
Hilliard; Mrs. Mattie C. McCranie, Okeechobee; Mrs. Leila G. Mc-
Mullen, St. Petersburg; Mrs. Julia W. Neely, Tallahassee; Audrey E.
Newman, Madison; Mrs. Ann Carraway Nicholson, Havana; Kathleen
G. Plumb, Clearwater; Louise G. Quarterman, Quincy; Cleo Rain-
water, Sarasota; Maysel E. Rice, Chattahoochee; Lerlie Ray Robin-
son, Milton; Bennie L. Sampley, Plant City; Adah E. Shuflin, Coral
Gables; Mrs. Rozale Smith, Plant City; Mrs. Rosemary W. Trottman,
Cross City; Shirley Turner, Greenwood; Mrs. Mayme Tyner, Laurel
Hill; Virginia L. Walling, Clearwater; Wilma L. Wiggins, Plant City;
Mrs. Beatrice R. Wimberly, Eagle Lake; Mary E. Woodbery,
STallahassee.
SPECIAL ASSISTANCE
From Florida State University, President Doak S. Campbell; Dr.
Ralph L. Eyman, Dean, School of Education; Dr. Louis Shores,
Dean, School of Library Training and Service, who provided facili-
ties, made the consultant available, and arranged for participation
of faculty members of the University.
From Florida State University, Dr. D. Lincoln Canfield, Pro-
fessor of Modern Languages; Dr. Olivia Dorman, Professor of
Classics; Miss Edith W. West, Associate Professor of Classics; Miss
Lynette Thompson, Instructor in Classics; Dr. Wiley Housewright,
Professor of Music Education, and from the State Department of
Education, Mr. E. B. Henderson, Field Supervisor, who assisted in
developing the relationships of English to the total school program.
From the University of Florida, Dr. H. L. Constans, Professor
of Speech; Dr. Howard L. Townsend, Visiting Consultant in Speech;
and the Speech Bulletin Committee who shared experiences during
their day's conference with the language Arts Bulletin Workshop
in Tallahassee.
From the University of Florida, Mrs. Margaret Boutelle, College
of Education and a member of the State Courses of Study Committee,
who reviewed the material and participated for ten days in the
discussions of the Workshop.
From Florida State University, Dr. Mode L. Stone, Professor of
Education, who assisted in preliminary arrangements and cooper-
ated with the workshop committee, and Mrs. Marjorie Philyaw
Wright, Curriculum Librarian, who secured and made available
valuable instructional materials.
From the State Department of Education, Mr. J. K. Chapman, Mr.
A. J. Stevens, and Mr. Sam H. Moorer, who reviewed the administra-
tive section and made valuable suggestions for its development; and
Mr. D. E. Williams and representatives from Florida Agricultural
and Mechanical College who reviewed sections of the manuscript and
reacted to the total outline.
From Florida State University, Mr. Max Ziegler; from the State
Department of Education, Mr. W. L. Hodges, who provided the photo-
graphs. Assistance from the Florida Advertising Commission, Florida
Photo and News Service, from Miss Mary E. Woodbery and her Leon
High School students, and from Miss Bennie L. Sampley and her
junior high school student.
OBSERVATION DEEPENS THE MEANING OF WORDS
The picture on the next page shows children observing two birds
they are caring for in their classroom. The vital language activi-
ties centering on this interest are described in the unit on
page 250.
CONTENTS
PAGE
FOREWORD ...................................................-------------------------------.......................------..................---------- V
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................---------------------------------------.................. vi
THE PLACE OF THE LANGUAGE ARTS IN SCHOOL AND
IN LIFE! ...........................................................-------------------------------------------..................................... 1
OUTCOMES OF LANGUAGE ARTS .......----...--............-....--------------------...--........-...---- 3
LANGUAGE AND THE GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF EDUCATION .................. 5
ENGLISH IN RELATION TO TOTAL SCHOOL PROGRAM ....-......---------.....-........ 8
ADMINISTRATORS' RESPONSIBILITIES ...................................... 13
CREATIVE SUPERVISION .-..........................----------......................--------------------------.............---..-. 14
SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON TO TEACH THE LANGUAGE ARTS ...... 14
ESTABLISHING PROMOTIONAL POLICY ...............................-------------------------------.................. 15
GROUPING CHILDREN .............................................................................. 15
HOMEWORK .........................................................................----------------------------------------------------------.................... 23
REPORTING TO PARENTS .................................-- ...--........................ 25
SCHEDULE-MAKING ................................................................................. 26
BALANCING TEACHER-LOAD .................................................................... 27
PLANNING FOR ADEQUATE FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT .................... 29
CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN AND OF LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................... 34
FOUR TO SIX-YEAR OLDS ...................................................................... 34
SIX TO NINE-YEAR OLDS ..........-----------.----.............----------------------................................------- 44
NINE TO TWELVE-YEAR OLDS ............................................................... 48
TWELVE TO FIFTEEN-YEAR OLDS .......--------------...---....-----........--------.....................-------..... 56
FIFTEEN TO EIGHTEEN-YEAR OLDS .-..-....-..............--------------------------.................-.....-----. 58
PRELIMINARY CONCERNS .................................................................. 65
CREATING AN ATMOSPHERE FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT ................ 65
PROVIDING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS .--------------...---------------.................................-- 6
GROUPING WITHIN A CLASS ORGANIZATION .......................................... 70
ESTABLISHING EVALUATIVE CRITERIA ................................--------------------------------................... 72
DISCOVERING AND UTILIZING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL GROWTH ....................................................-------------------------------------------.................. 85
SPEAKING AND LISTENING ............................................................ 89
ASKING AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS ....................... ....................... 89
SHARING EXPERIENCES THROUGH CONVERSATION ................................ 91
GIVING AND FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS -------............................................... 92
COOPERATIVE GROUP PLANNING THROUGH INFORMAL DISCUSSION .... 93
UTILIZING PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURES TO AFFECT GROUP DE-
CISION AND ACTION ........................................----------------------------------------------- 97
INTRODUCING PEOPLE ....-----------...----...................-----------------------------......................---.............. 98
UTILIZING SPECIALIZED SKILLS AS SPEAKER AND AS LISTENER IN
DISCUSSING CONTROVERSIAL QUESTION OR IN A DEBATE ................ 100
BROADCASTING AND LISTENING TO RADIO ...........-----------..............................----------------.. 102
TAKING PART IN DRAMATIZATION AS PLAYER AND AS AUDIENCE ........ 104
SEQUENCE IN DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS .....................----------.........------------------............ 106
ANALYSIS OF TYPICAL SCHOOL SITUATIONS WHICH NECESSITATE
SPEAKING --...........------------.......--....------------.....-------------------.............--------........... 114
SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE SKILLS ...-......-................-----------------... 122
WRITING ............-...-......------------. ---- ..... ... .........--------.........---- 125
A BEGINNING EXPERIENCE .......................-------------------------............-----...---------......... 125
SOME MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS .........................------------------------.-------------.................... 130
SITUATIONS LEADING TO WRITTEN EXPRESSION ...-.........----------..............----........ 136
IMAGINATIVE WRITING ......................----------------------------........................------------------ 143
INFORMATIONAL WRITING ...------------------------.... --- -----------............................. 163
GUIDANCE IN GRAMMAR ...........--------................---------.......------......-------...... 163
GUIDANCE FOR TEACHER SPELLING ..--...........--..........-----.----.... ....... 166
Reasonable Expectancies in Spelling for Elementary Children 169
Teaching Procedures and Techniques ...........................-------------------............. 170
GUIDANCE IN HANDWRITING .......................----------------...................... ---------- 174
Growth in Understandings and Skills ...........................---------.--............. 175
Suggestions on Teaching Handwriting ..............................----------......... 176
READING ........................ .......---------------- -------------.. .....................------------..... 183
INVENTORY OF NEEDS, ABILITIES, INTERESTS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCES 183
PROVISION FOR INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP NEEDS AND INTERESTS ..-...... 186
Grouping within the Class ......................--------------...............----------------.-------....... 186
Providing for Experiential Background ...-...........................-----.......-. 187
Selecting Appropriate Materials .-.....................--.....................--------------....... 190
Providing for Directed and Independent Activities --..-............. 193
SELECTION OF READING PROCEDURES APPROPRIATE TO READER'S
PURPOSE AND READING MATERIAL .--......................................-----------------------........------. 195
PROVISION FOR CREATIVE SHARING OF READING EXPERIENCES ........ 198
APPLICATION OF EVALUATIVE CRITERIA IN IDENTIFYING PROGRESS
AND UNMET NEEDS ..........----------------- ----------------------- 205
ILLUSTRATIVE UNITS ...............----.......---......--- --- -----------------. 208
UTILIZING A COMMUNITY RESOURCE (FIRST GRAPE) ........................ 210
STUDYING OUR COMMUNITY (SECOND GRADE) ................................. 222
"LAUGHTER HOLDING BOTH HIS SIDES" (SEVENTH GRADE) ............ 230
ADVENTURES ON THE HIGH SEAS (SEVENTH GRADE) ........................ 236
PLEASURES OF THE OUTDOORS (EIGHTH GRADE) ................................ 240
ENJOYING A GOOD STORY (NINTH GRADE) .......................................... 240
TOYS BRING JOY (SECOND GRADE) .--....---------------------...................-..........--..-.......... 249
SNOW WHITE'S BABY BIRDS (FIRST GRADE) ..................-----------------............------....... 250
WE EAT OUR LUNCH (FIFTH GRADE) ........-....------------.............--------------.................. ----54
DEVELOPING A SENTENCE SENSE (SEVENTH GRADE) ........-................-------------.. 255
WRITING LETTERS THAT WILL BE ANSWERED (SEVENTH GRADE) .... 256
"AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL" (SEVENTH GRADE) .................................. 257
LEARNING TO USE THE LIBRARY (SEVENTH GRADE) .......-...-----.-----------............. 258
USING THE VERB EFFECTIVELY (SEVENTH GRADE) ............................ 259
PLANNING A BOOK REVIEW (SEVENTH GRADE) -----------..........-.......-.........-...... 260
PARTICIPATING IN INFORMAL AND FORMAL DISCUSSION GROUPS
(SEVENTH GRADE) ............................------------------------.......-----------....---.......----------............ 260
WRITING EFFECTIVE SIMPLE SENTENCES (EIGHTH GRADE) ............ 261
PRODUCING A PLAY (EIGHTH GRADE) ....--.....-----------.................---------------..........--..-.... 262
PREPARING AN ASSEMBLY (EIGHTH GRADE) ........................................ 262
REPORTING AND REVIEWING (NINTH GRADE) ................. --......-......--.. 263
LEARNING TO USE THE DICTIONARY (NINTH GRADE) ........................ 264
POLITICAL INTRIGUE (NINTH GRADE) ..........................-------------------................... 265
GAINING SENTENCE VARIETY (TENTH GRADE) .............--------------................... 266
IMPROVING READING SKILLS (TENTH GRADE) ....--------.........-............--.--------...... 267
ENJOYING PHOTOPLAYS AND RADIO BROADCASTS (ELEVENTH GRADE) 268
EVALUATING NEWSPAPERS (ELEVENTH GRADE) ..------------------..................--..-..-....... 269
IMPROVING PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE (ELEVENTH GRADE) .................. 270
WHAT POETS WRITE ABOUT (ELEVENTH GRADE) .........--..-....-......-......... 271
PHOTOGRAPHING WITH WORDS (ELEVENTH GRADE) .......................... 272
IDEALS OF FREEDOM (TWELFTH GRADE) -------..............--.. ---..--.............. 273
WINNING AN AUDIENCE (TWELFTH GRADE) ..................-------------------................... 273
LOOKING INTO THE PAST (TWELFTH GRADE) .........----.---................---... 274
HOW A LIBRARIAN HELPED PUPILS TO DEVELOP A DESIRE TO READ
(JUNIOR HIGH) .....................-----------..........-------------...........................---------------------------..................... 276
LEARNING THROUGH LIVING IN THE FIRST GRADE .............................. 278
THE SCHOOL MAGAZINE-AN INTEGRATING UNIT (SIXTH GRADE) .... 283
GRAY SQUIRREL (FIRST GRADE) .....................-------------------------.. ---------...........................--. 286
THE GREEKS WHO BECAME THE TEACHERS OF THE WORLD (SIXTH
GRADE ............................................................................................-------------.. 287
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................. 297
FLORIDA CURRICULUM BULLETINS ..................................................... 297
List of Bulletins ................................................................................ 297
Topical Index to Bulletins .-....-..-.........-.........--------............---------...........------..- 298
OTHER SELECTED REFERENCES .............---------................................................ 301
Child Growth and Development ................---------------...............................------.. 301
Curriculum and Teaching ............---------------------------.....---.---. 302
G rouping ............................................................................................. 304
Observation and Writing ............................... .........................--..... 304
Reading and Literature .......................................... ........................ 305
Speaking and Listening ...-...-....-...........------.---...-.................--------------....--- 310
ADDITIONAL CURRENT REFERENCES ...................................................... 311
1te Place e o 2?angmcge en Scol
Language is a priceless possession. By its means, individuals
can communicate their thoughts and feelings and can appre-
hend and comprehend what other people have said and done.
Language is the mirror of civilization. Training in the
effective use of language, therefore, broadens an individual's
point of view and develops his perspective so that he may
live "at the level of his times."
To teach the language arts-speaking, listening, reading,
and writing-is the greatest challenge in all the world, for
when a teacher develops in his students linguistic competence
he has given those students access to the cultural wealth of the
ages stored in books. In addition, he has released his pupils'
capacity for fuller, richer, direct, first-hand experiences with
persons, places, and things.
Words constitute the "moral and intellectual climate" of
human life. A teacher of the language arts, consequently, has
the function (1) of sharpening perceptions and deepening
understandings; (2) of increasing faith in the dignity and
worth of the individual man as an end in himself, in govern-
ment by persuasion rather than by coercion, and in interna-
tional cooperation rather than national selfishness; (3) of
developing each individual's talents for his own satisfaction
and for the good of society; (4) of increasing wisdom, fellow-
ship, and enjoyment through understanding what it is that
happens when one hears, speaks, reads, or writes words; and
(5) of building a community of ideas, ideals, and aspirations
through the emotional and intellectual responses which words
call into action.
Though a teacher of the language arts must be concerned
with developing skills in the mechanics of oral and silent read-
ing, he is even more interested in creating attitudes favorable
to good books, and in establishing the habit of going to books
for whatever they have to offer the reader in the way of in-
formation, verification, inspiration, and relaxation and the habit
of thinking with discrimination about what is read, of associat-
WISE SELECTION IN PURCHASING BOOKS IS ONE DESIRABLE OUTCOME OF LANGUAGE ARI
EXPERIENCES
ing words with first-hand experiences, and of extending real
experiences through meaningful words.
Though a teacher is still interested in having subjects and
verbs agree, in punctuation that will clarify meanings, in sen-
tence patterns which will communicate effectively what the
pupil wishes to say or to write; though he is still concerned
with the content and form of social and business letters, he is
even more alert to developing his pupils' awareness as to when
a letter is needed and the habit of writing the needed letter
with attention to its possible effect upon the reader and to the
courtesy of clear and correct language.
The teacher's knowledge of grammar, of speaking and writ-
ing techniques, of oral and silent reading and library skills,
of listening procedures-all this professional knowledge is now,
as always, essential in teaching the language arts. But the spark
which will ignite linguistic power in the student is the teacher's
sensitivity to language as social behavior and his alertness to
opportunities in the daily life of the student for learning how
to increase his personal, civic, and occupational competence
through language.
OUTCOMES OF LANGUAGE ARTS
The Curriculum Commission of the National Council of
Teachers of English outlines the desirable outcomes of the
language arts program as these:
1. Mental and Emotional Stability
2. Dynamic and Worthwhile Allegiances through Heightened
Moral Perception and a Personal Sense of Values
3. Growing Intellectual Capacities and Curiosity
4. Increasingly Effective Use of Language for Daily Communica-
tion
5. Habitual and Intelligent Use of Mass Modes of Communica-
tion
6. Growing Personal Interests and Enjoyment
7. Effective Habits of Work
8. Social Sensitivity and Effective Participation in the Group
Life
9. Faith in and Allegiance to the Basic Values of a Democratic
Society
10. Vocational Efficiency
Under these outcomes, the Commission indicates how litera-
ture helps students to grow in effective personality and social
adjustment through a consideration of their own problems,
through access to the spiritual experience of the race, and
through an extension of their interests. The Commission further
explains the importance of mastery of the underlying processes
of observing and assimilating experience, selecting ideas or
details with a purpose in mind, organizing material clearly for
presentation to others, and expressing oneself with clarity,
interest, and, among gifted students, with some degree of per-
sonal style. In all matters of written communication, the Com-
mission states students should assume responsibility for legible
handwriting, appropriate manuscript form, for proofreading
what they have written, and for use of sources of reference
concerning spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammati-
cal usage.
Endorsement of the program of the language arts as planned
for Florida is also found in a comparison of the Imperative
Needs of Youth as outlined by the National Association of Sec-
ondary School Principals and the Goals of General Education
set forth by the President's Commission on Higher Education.
Language and the General Objectives of Education
IMPERATIVE NEEDS OF
YOUTH
(Nat. Assoc. Sec. F-hool Prin-
cipals, Bulletin-Vol. 31, No.
145, 3/47)
1. All youth need to develop
saleable skills and those
understandings and atti-
tudes that make the
worker an intelligent and
productive participant in
economic life. To this end,
most youth need supervis-
ed work experience as
well as education in the
OBJECTIVES OF GENERAL
EDUCATION
(President's Commission on
Higher Education Vol. I Estab-
lishing the Goals, 12/47, p. 50-
7)
*10. To choose a socially use-
ful and personally satis-
fying vocation that will
permit one to use to the
full his particular inter-
ests and abilities.
* Language plays an important part in attaining this objective.
skills and knowledge of
their occupations.
*2. All youth need to develop
and maintain good health
and physical fitness.
*3. All youth need to under-
stand the rights and du-
ties of a citizen of a
democratic society, and
to be diligent and com-
petent in the perform-
ance of their obligations
as members of the com-
munity and citizens of
the state and nation, and
of the world.
*4. All youth need to under-
stand the significance of
the family for the in-
dividual and society and
the conditions conducive
to successful family life.
*5. All youth need to know
how to purchase and use
goods and services intel-
ligently, understanding
both the values received
by the consumer and the
economic consequences of
their acts.
*6. All youth need to under-
stand the methods of
science, the influence of
science on human life,
and the main scientific
facts concerning the na-
ture of the world and of
man.
*7. To maintain and improve
his own health and to
cooperate actively and in-
telligently in solving com-
munity health problems.
*2. To participate actively as
an informed and respon-
sible citizen in solving
the social, economic, and
political problems of one's
community, state, and
nation.
*9. To acquire the knowledge
and attitudes basic to a
satisfying family life.
2. (See above.)
*4. To understand the com-
mon phenomena in one's
physical environment, to
apply habits of scientific
thought to both personal
and civic problems, and
to appreciate the impli-
cations of scientific dis-
coveries for human wel-
fare.
* Language plays an important part in attaining this objective.
**7. All youth need oppor-
tunities to develop their
capacities to appreciate
beauty in literature, art,
music, and nature.
**8. All youth need to be able
to use their leisure time
well and to budget it
wisely, balancing activi-
ties that yield satisfac-
tion to the individual with
those that are socially
useful.
**9. All youth need to develop
respect for other persons,
to grow in their insight
into ethical values and
principles, and to be able
to live and work coopera-
tively with others.
**10. All youth need to grow
in their ability to think
rationally, to express
their thoughts clearly,
and to read and listen
with understanding.
**8. To understand and enjoy
literature, art, music, and
other cultural activities
as expressions of personal
and social experience,
and to participate to some
extent in some form of
creative activity.
8. (See above.)
**1. To develop for the regu-
lation of one's personal
and civic life a code of
behavior based on ethical
principles consistent with
democratic ideals.
**3. To recognize the inter-
dependence of the differ-
ent peoples of the world
and one's personal re-
sponsibility for fostering
international understand-
ing and peace.
**6. To attain a satisfactory
emotional and social ad-
justment.
**5. To understand the ideas
of others and to express
one's own effectively.
**11. To acquire and use the
skills and habits involved
in critical and construc-
tive thinking.
** Language plays a unique part in attaining this objective.
ENGLISH IN RELATION TO THE TOTAL SCHOOL
PROGRAM
Literature and the Other School Subjects. Literature clari-
fies, enriches, and extends first-hand experiences. Literature
can give the feeling of the past and of the present more readily
and more intensely than can a history textbook. Literature helps
the student to sense the significance of scientific discoveries and
invention. Literature opens the eyes of youth to the qualities
and training necessary for success and happiness in the various
fields of human endeavor. The poetry of mathematics and the
mathematics of poetry are kindred outcomes of literary selec-
tions which emphasize the beauty as well as the utility of mathe-
matics. Chemistry as an agent of democracy and biology as the
story of mankind's development are appreciated more keenly
from science in literature than from laboratory experiments and
demonstrations even of "magical" proportions.
Language and the Other Subjects. The work habits, reading
and library skills, and oral and written communication skills
described in this Bulletin make a tremendous contribution to
students' success or failure in all subjects. Reading deficiencies
are not confined to the reading of imaginative fiction or poetry.
These shortages "(in comprehension, in discrimination as to the
proper reading method for the reader's purpose and the author's
content, and in an attitude favorable of good books) are liabili-
ties to students and to teachers throughout the school day.
Inability to select, organize, and present ideas effectively
through oral and written words, likewise, causes untold struggles
for promotion on the part of linguistically incompetent students
and unrelieved boredom on the part of classmates and teacher.
The effort then to bring about improvement in the reading,
writing, speaking and listening skills of boys and girls is worthy
of the best teaching by teachers of English and of the whole-
hearted, intelligent cooperation of teachers of all subjects.
Units in the language arts not only develop the language
skills but also stimulate students to apply these skills in their
reading, speaking, writing, and listening throughout the school
day. Opportunities are provided to talk and to write about ex-
periences in history, modern languages, science, music, art,
CHILDREN GROUPED BECAUSE OF A COMMON INTEREST ARE SHARING THEIR READING
EXPERIENCES
physical education, school lunchroom, and guidance. Standards
of self-appraisal as well as teacher appraisal are applied to the
work of the students.
English and Extra-Curricular Activities. Since language is
social behavior, assemblies, clubs, plays, student participation
in school government, student publications, and social teas,
dances, banquets, picnics, and boat rides make use of the arts
of persuasion and of the social amenities. Units in the English
course provide initial training in all these uses of language.
9
EATING TOGETHER IN THE SCHOOL LUNCHROOM STIMULATES GOOD CONVERSATION
PRACTICE IN THE SOCIAL AMENITIES
School Morale. No school policy or regulation can be more
effective than the students' understanding of it and willingness
to support it. The teacher of English renders a great service
through having her students conduct informed discussions of
policies and regulations, clearing up student's misunderstand-
ings of sound policies and regulations, and securing modifica-
tion of unworkable or out-moded policies and regulations.
Parliamentary procedure is democracy's way of bringing
out cooperative thinking, discussion, and decisions. The English
teacher provides initial training in parliamentary procedure
and all other teachers strengthen the students' skill through
guided practice.
Relations of School and the Public. Impressions gained by
parents through students' spontaneous conversations, student
publications and official communications from school to the
home-these informal impressions may cause the school need-
less worry. There is need in English classes of orientation dis-
cussions of what the school is trying to do for the students, of
how the parents- can help the work of the school, and of how
the students can be effective liaison representatives between
school and home and also between home and school. Such dis-
cussions and teacher-guided experience by students in letter-
writing, speech making, and newspaper writing can do much
to improve the students' competence in English as well as the
public's appreciation of the school.
To know how to watch for, recognize, and take advantage of,
without overstimulating, the budding senses; to discern, encourage,
and wisely assist the development of special responsiveness and
aptitude; to provide enough but not too much guidance in the
exercise of curiosity and experiment, constructive instinct, imagi-
nation; to interpret, supplement and correlate the child's discoveries
and experiences; to know when to incite and how to restrain and
divert; whether and when and how much to moralize, to inculcate
"manners" and beliefs; when to ignore and avoid issues and contro-
versies, when to persuade and compel; whether, when, why, and how
to punish; to comprehend the vital difference between traits and
tendencies to be repressed, transformed, or sublimated and the
ephemeral aberrations of normal development; to sense when to be
sympathetic refuge, comrade and playmate and when to disappear.
It takes more than affection and happy-go-lucky guesswork, to know
when and how to interfere and when to let be!
-John Palmer Gavit, "The Beginnings and the Ends" in Democ-
racy's Challenge to Education. (Beulah Amidon, ed.) Farrar and
Rinehart, Inc. pp. 255-256
Ii '~1i1
~ ~
- /7
ii
FIELD TRIPS PROVIDE EXPERIENTIAL BACKGROUND FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
I~e~pa#~uh 1d~eS
CREATIVE SUPERVISION. Though the principal of a
school may not claim expertness in the field of the language
arts, he is directly responsible for leadership in the develop-
ment of a successful program of instruction. He can reasonably
be expected to develop in himself, in teachers, and in parents
a broad vision of the contribution that the language arts can
make to the lives of children and youth; knowledge of the sig-
nificance of the essential facts of child growth and develop-
ment; awareness of what constitutes good teaching and effec-
tive learning; and an understanding of the kind of society in
which his school is developing young citizens.
A ready source of help to the principal and to his faculty in
projecting a sound language-art program is to be found in the
Florida State Department of Education publications, including
this Bulletin, which extends the helpful beginnings made in
earlier publications. Sharing experiences with competent
language-arts teachers, with State Department and university
personnel, county supervisors, and with informed, interested
laymen will also contribute richly to the development of an
effective program.
The principal, as a creative supervisor, is instrumental in
the cooperative study of school and community needs, of ma-
terial and human resources, of the objectives of the school's
program, of the potentialities of the faculty, and of criteria
for the continuous evaluation and improvement of the educa-
tional program. Perhaps his greatest service is the discovery and
release of the creative teaching and leadership ability of his
teachers, for a creative teacher, in turn, develops every child to
his maximum possibilities.
In organizing his faculty for teaching, the principal, along
with his teachers, gives consideration to the purpose and plan
of the program; provision for individual differences of children
and of teachers through cooperative faculty planning, through
flexible grouping, through rich and varied instructional ma-
SHARING INDIVIDUAL READING IN A GROUP SMALL ENOUGH TO DISCUSS INFORMALLY W1
EACH MEMBER OF THE GROUP HAS READ
trials, and also through differentiated teaching-learning activ-
ities; provision for continuity in learning in order to release
the creative energy of the children and teacher; development
of satisfactory human relationships among the faculty and be-
tween teacher and pupils; and evaluation in terms of purposes
understood by teachers, parents, and children.
SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON TO TEACH THE
LANGUAGE ARTS. A principal readily discovers the value
in his faculty of a well-adjusted, socially mature individual who
is well-read and, consequently, acquainted with the major fields
of human knowledge, is competent in his use of oral and written
language, is informed concerning child growth and development,
is eager for new experiences, and is capable of meeting changing
conditions in his school situation, and whose conversation, man-
ners, and total living give evidence of the rich contribution of
the language arts to personal, civic, and occupational competence.
When the principal has the opportunity of selecting a teacher
or when he has the responsibility of assigning teachers to specific
fields of study, he will do well to use as his language arts teacher
an individual having the above characteristics.
ESTABLISHING PROMOTIONAL POLICY. Discovering
with his faculty and parents what is a sound promotional policy
and securing faculty and community acceptance of it is a major
leadership responsibility of the principal. In this consideration,
the faculty is guided primarily by concern for the pupil's
security and growth, but secondarily, with the complexity of
the teaching problems created or solved through the coopera-
tively developed and adopted promotional policy. Whatever the
policy, it should give recognition to and make provisions for
incentive to maximum personal growth, for a variety of ma-
terials appropriate to the range of abilities and achievements
among the pupils, and for the resulting complexity of the
teacher's problems in carefully diagnosing the child's needs
and adequately providing for them.
The present tendency in establishing a promotional policy is
to consider such factors as the growth of the child, his social
maturity and achievements, the interaction of the teacher's
personality with that of the child, the value of regular, rapid,
or delayed promotion to the child's mental and emotional
development.
Any change in promotional policy should grow out of a
careful study over a reasonably long period of time in order
to identify the reason for the change, anticipate its pitfalls,
and set up steps in procedure. Any change, however desirable,
should be introduced gradually so that misunderstanding can
be avoided among teachers, pupils, and parents and also that
continuity can be provided in promotional practice, year after
year, in the child's life.
GROUPING CHILDREN. The purposes and principles of
grouping that are wise for small children apply also to older
children, and extend into adult life. Each pupil needs to feel
secure in his school life, to find himself needed, and to develop
gradually and successfully toward becoming a competent, self-
confident adult, interested in making his best contribution to
FLEXIBLE GROUPING BY INTERESTS AND NEEDS FACILITATES INDIVIDUAL GROWTH Tow
READING COMPETENCE
society. The school as an institution has to adopt some plan for
grouping in order to get the best results from its program and
to keep within reasonable expenditures of public money and of
pupil-teacher time and energy.
Straight-thinking teachers realize that successful teaching
springs from the teacher's understanding of the child and of
the society in which he lives. That children differ in ways and
rates of development is well known to experienced teachers.
Each child needs to be placed in a group in which he will work
well, will have a sense of belonging, and will have his mental,
physical, and emotional health safeguarded. The continuous,
balanced growth of each child, in accordance with his readiness
and understanding rather than with arbitrary grade standards,
is the school's goal. Included in this objective is the develop-
ment of skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. These
communication skills, essential for personal, civic, and occu-
pational competence, can be developed satisfactorily in situa-
tions for which the children are intellectually and emotionally
ready and in which group stimulation, as well as individualized
instruction, is provided.
Grouping is one device which aids teachers in leading chil-
dren, each according to his own growth pattern, into continuous,
rounded development from early childhood to adulthood.
Within each school there must be grouping in sections of
20-30 pupils and purposeful, flexible groupings within each
class section. As any grouping may cause tensions, the educa-
tional personnel should gain the understanding and cooperation
of the parents. Through group and individual conferences with
parents, teachers, revealing their deep interest in children's
development and welfare, can secure the kind of parental sup-
port which will bring about consistent home and school guidance
through which each child will develop intellectual and emotional
maturity.
Many types of grouping have been tried, none being found
adequate for all purposes. A review of the more frequently used
procedures will show why the present trend is toward grouping
on the basis of similar needs and social maturity.
Homogeneous grouping (usually thought of as based upon
similarity of intelligence as measured by standardized tests)
assumes that a more stimulating learning situation is provided
when pupils of similar interests and abilities are grouped to-
gether and that teaching is focused more clearly when the range
of individual differences within the group is reduced. It is not
a "cure-all," for it frequently results in teachers' thinking of
children in groups of "dull" or "bright," overlooking differ-
ences within the group, and failing to give wide experience in
working with and appreciating. other individuals of varying
abilities.
Probably the most common grade groupings are hetero-
geneous, with pupils sorted alphabetically or by chance within
grades. In smaller schools, this grouping occurs of necessity, if
grade lines are maintained, and in very large schools the adminis-
trative difficulties of schedule-making discourage other types of
organization. The resultant wide spread of abilities or interests
in a given group makes it difficult for a teacher to meet the
needs of all the pupils. Heterogeneous grouping tends to level
the work to a class average rather than to provide opportunity
for pupils to work at their own rates. Too great differences in
background or ability may prevent the feeling of belongingness
for the ones at the extremes. Heterogeneous grouping, however,
in the hands of competent teachers provides a lifelike situation
which affords wide opportunities for children to learn to appre-
ciate and to adjust to others, and through the diversities of the
group membership to widen and extend learning possibilities.
The "social" values of random grouping make no adjust-
ments for intellectual needs. Whenever the spread of abilities
and individual needs is so great that the teacher fails to stimu-
late the brightest child sufficiently or to give enough attention
to the very immature ones, frustration results. Boredom follows
as the strong and eager fail to be led out into more enriched
learning or to be carried ahead according to their readiness.
Personality quirks which often continue through life may de-
velop. Thus the "social" values of random grouping may be
lost along with the "instructional" values of homogeneous
grouping.
Grouping by chronological age does not solve the problem,
for it makes groups of as varied needs as does the heterogeneous
arrangements. Children thus grouped are alike only in chrono-
logical age-a likeness which guarantees neither the same level
of physical maturity nor the same intellectual and emotional
maturity.
More recently, grouping for effective learning and successful
human relationships has been achieved by placing children who
have similar needs and a strong possibility of being happy
together.
This plan requires full understanding and cooperative plan-
ning on the part of teachers, supervisors, principals, and parents
as to what is best for each child. Once the parents are made to
feel that the teacher is honestly interested in the welfare of
their child and that they understand the development of that
child; once they see that this grouping is not "smart" and
"bright" divisions; once they see that personality quirks and
emotional blocks can be prevented or lessened in this plan;
once they see and understand something of the uneven rate of
child-growth and of various phases of maturity which do not
occur simultaneously with physical growth of a specific nature;
once they see that their child will meet with success and be
happier-then parents will cooperate and support the pro-
cedure for grouping their child with others having similar needs
and the possibility of working happily together.
By the teacher's friendly attitude, by encouraging visits to
her classroom, by patient explaining and showing, she will re-
assure her parents whenever and as often as doubt assails them.
Parents really want whatever will make their child happier and
at ease as he is led to do his best from day to day. Having a
child move continuously along at his natural speed pleases
parents, for they dislike the idea of "my child failed; he has
to repeat." They like reassurance of their child's rounded de-
velopment and of his continual growth no matter how slow,
as well as of his achievement in reading, writing, speaking, and
listening. Grouping according to children's needs facilitates ef-
fective learning and successful human relationships.
In order to group in this wholesome manner, principal and
teachers weighed many factors before a child is placed in his
group or working team. The teacher closest to this child will
be able to give most of the information needed, but the receiving
teacher and principal need to confer with her about him. Some
time near the close of the school term, the teachers of the
children who have been in school for one and two years will
need to get together for discussion of each child in that group.
This meeting should be anticipated and time provided when the
personnel is not too weary or rushed. They will need to con-
sider the child's maturity (emotional, social, mental, and
physical), his interest, his self-reliance, his experiences, his
background, and conditioning, his health, his readiness, his age,
his personality, his will-to-do, and his intelligence. By obser-
vation of the child's creative efforts and of his reactions to his
environment, the teacher has gathered information. The perma-
nent record, personal history, and class summary give some
light. His test scores will also be considered in determining to
which group the pupil should be assigned. The same procedure
of getting together and constructively planning for each child,
carried out with the teachers at all levels throughout the school
life of the child will facilitate his continuous progress toward
desirable goals.
After the children have been tentatively placed in working
teams for the next year, the principal or 'principal and teachers
will decide to which teacher each group of children will be
assigned. Careful consideration of teachers' aptitudes, training,
abilities, preference, and personalities is urged, for frustrated
teachers usually develop frustrated children. Teachers who seem
especially suited to immature .children should be given the
privilege of guiding them. Mature pupils should be assigned to
teachers who are particularly interested in enriching children's
experiences and in teaching at an accelerated pace of learning.
Fitting together groups or teams of children who have similar
needs with teachers who can meet with success, if given the op-
portunity of guiding these groups, is to plan cooperatively, to
evaluate continuously, and to re-direct, as often as necessary,
whatever grouping procedure is used in a school.
Social mores and attitudes are strong. Extending experience
at any level (for example, using four years instead of three
occasionally for the primary, junior high, and senior high
school experience) has to drop entirely its connotation of failure
and disgrace if such a plan is to be successful. There are advan-
tages to be considered. Grouping according to maturity tends to
prevent warped personalities and to avert behavior problems;
it allows each child to develop according to his individual growth
pattern; it affords to the teacher opportunities for establish-
ing desirable attitudes and habits and for making learning
meaningful. Among the factors to be considered for each child
in arriving at group assignment are these: his background and
earlier conditioning, readiness, maturity (mental, physical, emo-
tional, and social) intelligence, interests, experiences, personal-
ity, health, self-reliance and dependability, as well as the ability
and personality of the teacher to whom the child is to be assigned.
No matter which plan of grouping is used for the school,
within each classroom there will be numerous flexible groupings,
with balance between smaller groups based on special interests
and specific skills, and larger groups formed for sharing, think-
ing or planning together, appreciating contributions of indi-
viduals or committees, and general discussion. As adolescents
mature, their gang feeling, deep loyalties, concern for problems
of social significance and increased appreciation of democratic
procedures demand considerable time for larger group member-
ship, with, of course, opportunities for individual development
in specialized areas. A suggestion for the grouping problem is
that the learner should spend part of his time with a group that
furnishes him essential security; the size of group, conducive
to effective guidance.
Within each classroom, there will need to be numerous,
flexible groups in order to meet effectively the individual needs
in various interests, and for direct teaching. A child will fit
with one group for one thing, in another for a different learning
experience. His groups change or dissolve according to his
growth and interest changes. No teacher should be handicapped
with too heavy a teaching load, for no matter what the group-
ings, her guidance cannot be as effective in a large class as in
one in which she can observe and confer with every individual.
Such flexible grouping is facilitated by a range of instructional
materials, movable furniture, and generous floor space. An
ingenious teacher, however, manages to set up workable groups
despite stationary furniture, inadequate floor space, and other
limitations and also assumes leadership in working with the
principal and parents to secure more adequate. facilities and
materials.
Grouping Beginning Children. Grouping children who are
beginning school for the very first time is usually handled with
effectiveness in the following way:
(1) Prior to the observation period, children may be
assigned to a group according to chronological age
or upon the principal's quick analysis as he regis-
ters the pupil.
(2) A three-week period of observation, orientation, and
testing is usually enough before the conference of the
beginning-teachers and principal is held. At this time,
teacher judgments and test results are considered as
teachers and principals make decisions about needed
shifts. Parents, who have already been introduced to
the plan during interviews at registration or at an
earlier group meeting, are consulted again. Shifting
is made with minimum to-do, for teachers can easily
create a desire for a little child to move into an-
other room when the observation period has not been
too long.
(3) After this initial shifting according to child-needs,
each teacher can within her class, take care of any
"spurts" of development, and so provide for the
child's happiness and scholastic success.
Grouping Junior High School Children. Junior high schools
are attempting by various methods to discover the best way to
provide the children of twelve to fifteen, or so, with opportun-
ities for self-development, improvement of skill, enlargement of
experience, and happy growth. In some schools, seventh and
eighth grades are not wholly departmentalized. Core curricula,
coordinated programs, integrated courses, and other variations
from the subject classes are being tried. One teacher may have
a seventh-grade for two or more subjects. Homerooms are used
to give a sense of wholeness to the child's school day. Variation
in activities, approaches, instructional materials, and expected
outcome influences group procedures. The foremost problem lies
in the agreement of the school faculty as to a basic philosophy
of education founded on understanding of children's physical,
emotional, social, and subject-matter needs. Grouping pupils at
the junior high level involves a consideration of the factors out-
lined above and also the added factor-a teaching staff which
has specialized training in subject areas.
Grouping Senior High Students. The previously enumer-
ated factors to be considered in grouping young children are
relevant to a sound policy of grouping high school students. The
program of studies offers certain aids and pitfalls in grouping.
As generalized education decreases and specialized learning in-
creases toward the end of the high school course, pupils arrange
themselves in changing interest groups, with the day's program
balanced more or less between somewhat heterogeneous and
homogeneous groups. Elective classes, such as music, Spanish,
typing, chemistry, journalism, provide for likeness of aims and
interests. Groups in English, because all students pursue this
subject, are set up either homogeneously or heterogeneously. In
either case, various, flexible groups may be formed according
to the abilities and accomplishments of the pupils and the nature
of the subject. Six or seven boys and girls, working up a play,
include two or three dramatically strong with others of varying
dramatic ability. Soon this group breaks apart as the class re-
groups itself according to technical skills (as spelling, usage,
letter-writing), or by divisions to plan a program or by reading
interests.
If a high school is large enough, it may offer choices in Eng-
lish courses at each grade level. Pupils, with guidance from for-
mer English teachers and homeroom advisers, choose a course of
language as a skill subject-with stress on improving skill in
writing, spelling, speaking, and reading, with less study of
literature, at least of the older, classic literature. Others elect
a different English course because they wish more study of
literature and have little need of remedial or supplemental work
on the mechanical skills. Even though both courses have as
desired outcomes improvement in the arts of communication and
in the ability to read and appreciate good writing, the fact that
the pupil has made a choice according to his interests and needs,
as he feels them, has a desirable effect on his attitude toward
the requirement for the study of English.
No matter how groups are arrived at or what the adminis-
trative plan is, the arrangement into a group is not nearly so
important as what happens within the group as the school year
progresses. If a pupil adjusts happily and successfully to a
situation, learning and growing take place, healthful attitudes
are formed, and a wholesome personality develops.
HOMEWORK. Any school program developed around the
interests and abilities of boys and girls must of necessity possess
flexibility. Course content, teaching techniques, and standards
of achievement must be adapted to the varying types of pupils
represented. With instruction so individualized it would seem
reasonable to infer that home study or homework must be also
individualized if it is to be accepted as a valid aid to learning.
Although directed study at school has made possible a reduc-
tion of certain kinds of home study, it is not recommended that
homework be entirely eliminated. There are times when pupils
should be given an opportunity to apply independently at home
the techniques of study that are emphasized in class. For the
most part, however, homework should be regarded by the teacher
and pupils as projected activity-work, begun at school under
teacher guidance, and finished at home. Such work will be so
strongly motivated that the pupil will want to do it carefully
and accurately.
In planning units of work with the junior and senior high
school pupils, some teachers give long-time assignments in an
effort to encourage pupils to budget their time so that there
will not be too much, if any, home preparation required in any
one day or week. Such assignments differ from the mass variety
in the fact that the pupil has a part in planning for the work.
Such procedure removes the danger of a pupil's misunder-
standing his homework assignment, of running into difficulties,
and of working beyond his capacity and endangering his health.
In some schools, a time limit of not more than thirty minutes
for each subject has been set for assigned homework. Some
schools favor relatively little homework while others find justi-
fication for it in the fact that older pupils, especially, need
the responsibility that homework gives. They regard it as a
steadying agent in the lives of young people who spend too
little time at home anyway.
The important thing to remember, however, no matter what
age the child, is that the individual needs of the child are to be
considered in deciding whether or not there shall be homework
and, if so, of what scope and nature it should be.
Homework, as a valuable learning experience extended from
activities started in the school day, is an enriching experience
for young people. This homework may be library-reading, cre-
ative art, crafts, music, writing, play or sports activity, radio
listening of the right sort, newspaper reading, enjoying desir-
able movies, discussion groups, exploratory trips into the com-
munity. Occasionally the homework may be well-motivated prac-
tice on a partially acquired skill. The matter of homework is
satisfactorily handled when an affirmative answer can be given
to the following, questions:
1. Do the pupils feel a genuine value in doing their
homework ?
2. Do they understand sufficiently what they are trying
to do in order to proceed effectively without strain
on their parents?
3.. Caan the job set up be carried out more efficiently
outside;of the school day than in the school?
4. Is the homework activity something of value that will
fill the pupil's time and save him from developing
poor habits of using his leisure ?
5. Is the homework an opportunity for personal exten-
sion in quality or quantity of the learning begun in
the classroom? (Pupils do differ in rate of learning
and in energy output. Perhaps some will need more
time, or different experiences from what the school-
day can provide.)
6. Is the homework utilizing community resources, such
as public libraries, museums, forums, demonstrations,
special exhibits, and lectures?
7. Is the homework consistent with good health habits,
including rest and relaxation, and with time allowed
for family visiting?
REPORTING TO PARENTS. Parents, as well as children,
are entitled to know the nature and extent of the child's
progress toward acceptable educational goals. Whatever the
system of reporting, it should foster partnership of parent-
pupil and teacher. Proper reporting to the home is an impor-
tant factor in good home-school relations. Reporting should
foster mutual confidence between parents and faculty, create
a situation in which community and school cooperate whole-
heartedly and intelligently to further the social, emotional, and
intellectual well-being of the child. In making any modification
of the kind of reporting used, the faculty should take necessary
steps to help parents and pupils understand the reason for any
change introduced, as well as the purpose and procedures for
which the report is being used. Naturally, there is a close rela-
tionship between the items in a report and the educational
philosophy of a school, including the procedure for grouping
children both by classes and within classes.
SCHEDULE-MAKING. In both elementary and in see-
ondary schools, schedule making carries large responsibilities
for the principal and his co-workers. A well-balanced day for
children and for teachers is essential to intellectual growth
and physical health. Securing such balance involves not only
a variety of learning experiences, but also their spacing during
the day with relationship to each other.
CHILDREN WITH IMPAIRED VISION NEED BOOKS PRINTED IN LARGE TYPE, READING TAB]
PRIMER TYPE TYPEWRITER, AND BLACKBOARDS SUCH AS ARE SHOWN IN THIS SIG
SAVING CLASS
26
If double periods are scheduled for any subject, adminis-
trative policy should encourage teachers to take trips, to com-
bine directed study with socialized .discussion of what has been
studied, to use library facilities, and to integrate or coordinate
learning in various fields, such as languages, music, fine and
industrial arts, social studies, and science. The teacher's day
needs to have time provided for conferences with individual
pupils, with other teachers who have taught or who are teaching
the same children, and with supervisory personnel, and parents.
The pupil's day should follow a rhythm of work-rest-and-play
and should be rich in intellectual and physical stimulation and
expression through which is developed a healthy, informed, loyal
"public relation" individual whose success and happiness in
school enable him to interpret in a child's way the values of the
educational program.
BALANCING TEACHER-LOAD. Not only is the number
of different children, whose needs, interests, and abilities are
a teacher's concern, but also the scope and extent of her school-
wide responsibilities are involved in "teacher-load."
In the cooperative study by principal and faculty of what
constitutes good education for all the children in their school,
attention needs to be given to the reasons for having student
publications, play-production, assemblies, club activities, home-
room and class organizations, and other extra-class opportuni-
ties for social living and creative language.
Having determined the values of these activities, the principal
turns next to discovering which teachers, because of training,
experience, and personality can contribute most to the children,
while gaining in personal stature.
In balancing the teacher's day with class and extra-class
responsibilities, the principal is alert also to the teacher's need
for time (1) to know adequately every child she teaches, (2)
to keep up with the scientific study of the learning process and
the creative art of teaching language, (3) to confer with indi-
vidual children, parents, and other teachers, and (4) to par-
ticipate in cooperative faculty planning and in cooperative
school and community planning.
EFFICIENT USE OF THE LIBRARY IS ONE OUTCOME OF THE LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM
28
28
Llmow- I
+L .+ < ,
PLANNING FOR ADEQUATE FACILITIES. It has long
been recognized that learning is in terms of the people, places,
and things around the learner. A major responsibility, therefore,
of the school principal is to work cooperatively with. teachers,
librarians, supervisors, superintendents, parents, and children
to provide the best possible environment for learning. The lan-
guage arts classrooms, the school library, the recreation areas,
and the school lunchroom-all these must provide the at-
mosphere, the furniture, and the materials which will encourage
every boy and girl to develop fully his and her potentialities.
It is rare, indeed, that a school has all the space, equipment,
books, films, and other materials that are desirable in a good
program. The principal is challenged to work realistically with
others in the school to devise ways to use most effectively
existing facilities. At the same time, it is his responsibility to
encourage his faculty to recognize unmet needs, whether they
be for additional space, personnel, equipment, or materials.
Recognition of needs must be followed by a clear and convincing
statement of them to the proper individuals or groups who can
provide better facilities. County school boards are usually re-
ceptive to business-like statements of the necessary tools for
teaching, indicating that the teachers and the principals know
what they need and have a plan for using it.
The following suggestions are intended as guides for those
planning new buildings or improving existing facilities. It is
assumed that each school faculty will plan specifically in terms
of the needs of the children in the school, the objectives of the
educational program, the teaching-learning procedures to be
employed, and the possibilities of the existing facilities.
Classrooms and Equipment. The space and equipment in the
language arts classrooms are determining factors as to type of
instructional program which is possible. Ingenious teachers de-
vise ways to overcome limitations, but even the best teachers are
handicapped if space and equipment are inadequate. Space and
flexibility are necessary to permit individual and small group
instruction and an activity program of dramatizations, experi-
ments, exhibits, and discussions. Small classrooms may be sup-
plemented by use of other areas, such as the auditorium, hall-
ways, the library, the out-of-doors. Principals must be alert to
encourage teachers to use any part of the school plant when
feasible and desirable. The following chart suggests desirable
characteristics of a language arts classroom.
Space
A minimum of 30 sq. ft. per child in the classroom.
Additional areas for library, theater, and other
activities.
Lighting, Heating, Ventilation
Adequate to insure health, comfort, and educational
opportunity for the group.
Inside Finish
Ceiling acoustically treated. Flat matte finish on walls
and ceiling in light, pleasing color, with correct amount
of reflection factor. Cool colors suggested for south and
east exposure, warm colors for north and west.
Floors
Wood, asphalt, rubber tile or battleship linoleum. The
latter absorb sound.
Equipment
Furniture-Movable, adjustable, light in color. Tables,
chairs, cabinets, book and magazine shelving, filing
cases, bulletin boards, chalkboards, dictionary stands,
easels.
Storage Facilities
Individual locker space for each child, storage cabinets,
space for housekeeping equipment.
Selection and Use of Textbooks. Through the years, lan-
guage arts teachers have relied on textbooks in language skills
and in literature as sources of help in teaching and learning.
Teachers consider textbooks essential today, but with increased
understanding of child growth and development and clarifica-
tion of the objectives of the language arts program has come
a changed concept of how textbooks can be used most effectively.
No longer is the textbook considered a prescribed course of
study through which all pupils progress in a pre-arranged pat-
tern, at the same rate of speed. The textbook is a tool for learn-
ing, available for teachers and pupils when the material in it
seems suitable and effective for the purpose at hand. Language
texts serve as guides for writing, speaking, reading, and listen-
ing. Literature texts are anthologies, particularly useful for
group reading or for individual reading as a basis for group
discussions. Teachers encourage boys and girls to become fa-
miliar with the organization and contents of their texts and to
develop skill in using them purposefully as the need arises.
It is the principal's responsibility to plan a textbook pro-
gram which provides teachers the opportunity to requisition
textbooks in terms of planned use. The nature of the text and
the teaching methods to be employed are factors in determining
how many copies should be available and how they can be used.
As teachers and principals choose and use textbooks more ef-
fectively, opportunities for learning will be.increased.
It is recognized that the textbook must be supplemented by
many other tools to insure the best environment for learning.
Supplementary books, films, newspapers, magazines, and record-
ings offer rich possibilities for teaching the language arts. For
this reason, the principal must be concerned with developing
good school library service.
The School Library Program. Books, films, recordings,
maps and globes! Children with many abilities, interested in
everything from airplanes to zebras! These confront the mod-
ern principal and teacher as they try to plan adequately for
the materials necessary for a good language arts program.
From recognition of the individual differences in children
and the possibilities of many new and worthwhile materials has
come the realization that a good school library is an integral part
of the environment for learning in the modern school. The li-
brary is essential, regardless of the particular type of curriculum
organization or whether the school is elementary or secondary.
The library serves as a materials center, offering teachers and
boys and girls many types of materials, printed and audio-visual,
to meet many needs, and also guidance in their selection and
use. The content of the language arts program, requiring a wide
variety of materials, suggests the necessity for good library
service in the school.
What is the principal's responsibility for the library? As
with other aspects of the school program, he must be informed
as to what constitutes good library service and must give lead-
ership in providing it. Through creative supervision, he will
stimulate all those affected by the library to want good service
and to work cooperatively in order to attain library services
which include these six provisions:
1. Cooperative planning by principal, teachers, librarian,
parents, and boys and girls, to determine what the
library should offer and how it should operate.
2. A school librarian, educated to understand boys and
girls and their problems, teachers and their goals and
methods, and the selection, organization, and use of
all types of instructional materials.
3. Library quarters, with space and equipment to provide
the best organization and use of materials, and made
attractive and inviting by the use of color, flowers, etc.
4. Materials of instruction, including books, magazines,
films, filmstrips, recordings, maps, globes, charts, still
pictures-all the media of communication which make
learning and teaching interesting and effective.
5. An annual appropriation, adequate to provide the ma-
terials and supplies to keep the library alive and chal-
lenging. $1.50 per year for each student would be a
fair estimate for a satisfactory program in elementary
and secondary schools.
6. A program of service, cooperatively developed and
continuously evaluated to insure its effectiveness in
helping teachers and pupils.
Specific help in planning or renovating library quarters and
in selecting equipment can be found in a brief pamphlet entitled
Dear Mr. Architect, published by the American Library Asso-
ciation, Chicago, and available for 35. Copies may be borrowed
from the Curriculum Laboratories of the two State Universities.
The Library Consultant in the State Department of Education
is available on request for help with local planning. But the
responsibility for initiating and developing the school library
program is primarily that of the school principal, working in
cooperation with his faculty and the lay community.
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Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Ckaiate#kics of Ghi/dde
Arranged by Age-Groups and
Language Characteristics
Level: 4 6 Years
Children
1. are extremely active; require fre-
quent, short rest periods; need from
eleven to twelve hours of sleep per
night and an afternoon nap of from
one to two hours
2. vary widely in rate of .development;
girls are usually about a year ahead
of boys in maturity
3. fundamental habits of regular eat-
ing, sleeping, and elimination can
be developed; some have established
habits of toileting and getting a
drink
4. may upon entering school resume
certain earlier tensional behavior;
thumb sucking, nail biting, knee
knocking; occasional toilet lapses
Children
1. are great talkers; like to use words,
to try them out, to play with them;
like new words and are adept at
picking up phrases; employ much
repetition of the same expressions
2. feel more free to speak in small
groups which afford each child an
opportunity to participate; speak
more freely when they have the
undivided attention of the listener
3. can speak in sentences and answer
simple questions, can narrate a
complete occurrence and repeat a
familiar story; not all, however,
have adequate command of lan-
guage to express themselves reli-
ably
4. are highly dramatic; dramatize
spontaneously, using new words and
terms in meaningful ways
aad oI .lainsage o brelaoemeet
Stating Implications for Teachers
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Implications for the Teacher
Level: 4 6 Years
Include
1. working at a center of interest eith-
er alone or with a few children;
carry on much conversation wheth-
er painting at an easel, working
with clay, or building with blocks
2. manipulating toys and machinery,
thus acquiring new words and new
meanings for words already in their
vocabularies; sharing ideas; carry-
ing on conversation for a reason-
ably long period of time if a toy tel-
ephone is in the room
3. listening from time to time to the
teacher giving directions, which are
needed for the children's safety and
for the welfare of the group
4. imitating social customs, playing
tea party, everyday work of father
and mother, work of people of the
community as postman, delivery
boy; conversation accompanying all
these activities
1. The teacher meets needs best by
providing centers of interest for in-
dividuals and groups of a few chil-
dren, providing for much activity,
frequent change, and relaxation
following activity.
2. The teacher uses toys furnished by
the school and those brought from
home by the children to stimulate
children to speak freely and cour-
teously in relation to their proper-
ty and that of others.
3. In providing opportunity, it is im-
portant that the teacher guide chil-
dren in the development of ways
of living together. Listening to di-
rections as to how to move through
halls, to toilets, to lunchroom and
to playground provides good lan-
guage training, including the social
amenities. Consistency in directions
and in holding children responsible
for directions is essential to good
teaching.
4. Such play affords the teacher good
opportunities for understanding her
children and provides for complete
body activity needed by the child
at the age level. Pencils and paint
brushes, large crayons, and unlined
paper should be provided for use
of large muscles.
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Language Characteristics
Level: 4 6 Years
Children
5. are in a period of rapid develop-
ment of the large muscles that con-
trol the legs, arms, and trunk; this
may involve ascending and descend-
ing stairs in an adult fashion, al-
ternating the feet; are in a period
of slow development of such small
muscles as those that control fin-
gers and hands
6. are definitely right or lefthanded,
usually when five-years old
7. still have a rapidly growing heart
and a decreasing pulse rate
8. have a smaller stomach and intes-
tines in proportion to their bodies
than adults (The stomach lining is
delicate and the digestive juices
are not completely functional.)
9. are quite susceptible to contagious
diseases caused by toxins and bac-
teria
Children
5. understand and carry out sirnpl,
directions from mother or teacher
6. show dominant hand in using pen.
cils, crayons, and hammer, and also
in pointing to pictures
7. may express their emotional upset
in verbal attacks at five and a hal
(Such outbursts are usually cause
by the little things of life, such a
not being able to say the righl
word; indulge in laughter frequent
ly as a form of communication.)
8. are outspoken regarding persona
and physical needs
9. are interrupted in speech develoP
ment through frequent illness
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Implications for the Teacher
Level: 4 6 Years
Include&
5. adding many new words to their
vocabularies and carrying on much
purposeful discussion through such
practical activities as making a gar-
den, churning butter, making jelly,
setting a hen and watching the eggs
hatch, getting frog's eggs and
watching the tadpole change into
frogs, watching bees make honey,
canning, and weaving rugs
6. making scrapbooks for various pur-
poses; encouraging interest in books
7. learning how to use language in
group living to avoid emotional up-
sets
8. sharing responsibilities which re-
quire much use of words during
mid-morning lunch time, e.g. list-
ening to a story told by the teacher
or by one of the children
9. interpret music spontaneously in a
descriptive way; asking and an-
swering questions connected with
physical examinations in school
5. Children's verbal reactions to living
things about them are indicative of
their levels of maturity of under-
standing and expression. Therefore,
it is important that living things
be brought into the classroom be-
cause children talk naturally about
them. Children should share in
planning how to take care of these
and how to take care of themselves
in relation to them.
6. Children may develop stuttering
when they enter school if the teach-
er attempts to change the hand
pattern. Both parents and teachers
may encourage the child to use
either hand until his natural hand
dominance is established.
7. Because of the way the heart is
growing at this time, the child is
very susceptible to diseases. Fatigue
and annoyances should be prevent-
ed. He is apt to go on nervous en-
ergy unless proper rest periods are
provided.
8. A mid-morning lunch is necessary
physically and offers a social situa-
tion for developing habits of cour-
tesy and conversation.
9. It is essential that the school pro-
vide for children at this age level
an opportunity to lie down and rest
and that a physical checkup by
medical attendants be made. This
experience affords occasions for
using words in replying to ques-
tions and in seeking physical aids.
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Level: 4 6 Years
Children
10. suffer often from dental caries;
"baby" teeth loosening; the jaw'
growing to provide the space for
the new teeth
11. do not have entirely developed or
coordinated eyes; normally most
young children farsighted, when
judged by adult standards
12. are very versatile; do many things
spontaneously, giving an indication
of what they can do
13. have acute hearing; show interest
in sounds, but true discrimination
frequently undeveloped
14. acquire rhythm most easily between
two and five years of age
15. enjoy both locomotor and manip-
ulative play; enjoy imaginative play
Children
10. speak more freely when giving at-
tention to the idea they want to
express rather than to the way
they are expressing it
11. have not acquired the accepted
cultural pattern of moving eyes
from left to right, as needed in
reading
12. listen to simple stories and like
to tell their own experiences; like
stories and riddles, both those that
they hear and those that they make
up themselves; show marked inter-
est in words
13. take pleasure in differences in pitch
and quality of sounds; spontaneous-
ly attend to them, interested in pro-
ducing them; relate them rhyth-
mically
14. "play" with words, some words pro-
viding fun because of their sound
and rhythm, as well as for the
"story" that they tell
15. are highly imaginative at four; tell
tall tales which, by adult standards,
may be considered untruths; are
factual and literal by five and con-
tinue so through six
Language Characteristics
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Implications for the Teacher
Level: 4 6 Years
Include
10. sharing experiences in the discus-
sion period without focusing atten-
tion on a temporary physical con-
dition
11. looking at picture books and ex-
pressing enjoyment through contin-
uous use of words-<
12. learning and repeating Mother
Goose rhymes and favorite stories
13. listening to and taking part in sing-
ing; interpreting music spontane-
ously in a descriptive way
14. enjoying and listening to stories
read or told at story hour; develop-
ing a desire to read these stories
and acquiring many desirable pat-
terns of speech
15. taking exploratory trips for new ex-
periences and, through questioning
of observations, enlarging vocabu-
laries and discriminating between
fact and fancy
10. The teacher provides many rich
and stimulating experiences which
encourage each child to express his
thoughts freely, but with attention
to training in correct enunciation.
11. Their eyes and nervous systems
may be harmed by forced or ex-
tended periods of close eye-work.
Reading readiness is helped through
experiences with picture books re-
lated to the children's first hand
experiences.
12. Mother Goose rhymes should be a
part of the heritage of every child.
Repeating these rhymes, a 1 on g
with dramatic play, gives children
power over words and leads to read-
iness for reading.
13. Music, suited to their abilities,
should be provided. Listening to a
signal to know when to stop work
is important. A musical note or
softly spoken word or any pleasant
way of calling children's attention,
may be used.
14. Books on the reading table should
satisfy a wide spread of maturity
and interest, the illustrations should
be colorful and simple, stimulating
a love for books and leading to a
desire to read. The books on the
table should be changed frequent-
ly.
15. A trip to acquaint them with their
part of the school building and
grounds, to introduce them to the
principal and other adults will help
each child feel secure
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Language Characteristics
Level: 4 6 Years
Children
16. like to build with blocks, balance
and catch balls, and are interested
in painting, clay modeling, and sim-
ple construction
17. enjoy playing with toys, dolls, ani-
mals, and sand, as well as with
playground apparatus and kiddy
cars; frequently, want to take their
toys apart and sometimes stick to
the problem a remarkably long
time; even though a short attention
span is characteristic of this age
18. are concerned with themselves, the
family, and their own age-mates;
play with companions of either sex,
apparently without sex conscious-
ness; often have imaginary play-
mates
19. are self-centered and show a grow-
ing desire to make their own de-
cisions; have a sense of property
rights; an increased growth in so-
cial relationships with less grab-
bling, pushing, crying; sharing
more
20. are more concerned with adult ap-
proval than with the approval of
their peers
Children
16. prefer outdoor play to listening to
radio if given a choice; usually be-
come restless if allowed to attend
movies; definitely affected by fight-
ing and shooting and weep over sad
scenes; prefer musical and animal
movies
17. differ widely in language ability,
girls being more advanced than
boys; reveal differences in readiness
through differences in interest, in
span of attention and in motor
skill-all of which influence the
rate at which children progress to-
ward competence
18. center a large proportion of their
speech about themselves
19. are interested in socialization; show
a fondness for dressing up and act-
ing like grown-ups; take a signifi-
cant pleasure in listening to expla-
nations; like to make faces, a
method of identification with adults
and of perfecting their skill in read-
ing facial expressions
20. tend to use the vocabulary learned
and to emulate the model of pro-
nunciation set by the teacher; in-
dulge in long telephone conversa-
tions which echo the exact inflec-
tions of the adult voice
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Implications for the Teacher
Level: 4 6 Years
Include
16. thinking together in such school
situations as caring for a rabbit, a
kitten, or some other pet; possibly
carrying on construction, and cer-
tainly engaging in earnest discus-
sion
17. observing of special days as Valen-
tine Day and Christmas by making
greetings or giving a party
18. dramatizing the rhymes they know
and the stories they have heard;
thereby helping to overcome any
self-consciousness and to increase
their vocabularies
19. participating in many group activi-
ties, particularly those that involve
speech
20. sharing experiences with teacher
when they come in the morning
16. The bringing of pets to school pre-
sents a problem to both teacher and
children, and should be done only
if proper housing and care can be
provided and a rich language ex-
perience secured.
17. Making greeting cards and giving
parties help children to feel a need
for writing and to develop writing
readiness. The teacher, however,
would not expect or have the chil-
dren themselves write their mes-
sage at this age level because the
small muscles that control the fin-
gers and hand are not yet devel-
oped.
18. Free play, that permits the child
to use his own initiative and to
move his entire body, meets more
nearly his needs at this age level
than do organized games.
19. Provision for audience situations
should be in small groups. Such
time in large groups may be over-
stimulating or boring.
20. The teacher should enunciate clear-
ly and have a pleasant voice be-
cause she is the children's model.
The way she listens to the child and
makes use of what he says deter-
mines whether he will continue to
share with her and also to learn
how to listen to others.
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Language Characteristics
Level: 4 6 Years
Children
21. are fond of small children and ani-
mals, often revealing a desire to
feed and care for them
22. are very curious about their world
of people and things
23. arc stamped with individuality at
five years and show evidence of
stability
24. have a keen sense of humor about
familiar things
25. are serious and direct in their
thinking about causes of things be-
yond their mental grasp
26. show pride in their acts, their ac-
complishments, their clothes, and
their family possessions
Children
21. imitate calls of animals and show
preference for pictures of children
and familiar animals
22. ask many "how" and "why" ques-
tions not so much for knowledge as
for playing with language
23. have an average vocabulary of over
2000 words (at the age of five
years), including an increase of
verbs and a decrease of nouns
24. show interest in alphabet books,
humorous store s, exaggeration,
and stories telling the functions
and growth of things
25. enjoy particu 1 ar 1 y information
books answering "why" about every-
thing in the environment; show an
awakening interest in books dealing
with spiritual concepts
26. show often at five years the ability
to count glibly to ten, but this abil-
ity is only linguistic.
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Implications for the Teacher
Level: 4 6 Years
Include
21. looking at pictures and solving puz-
zles about children and animals
22. ask questions concerning the things
about which they are curious; co-
operating with the teacher in class-
room responsibilities
23. sharing common interests and curi-
osities with one another
24. engaging in laughter as a game
(Laughter is contagious among
young children, coming as a result
of anything new to their ears or
their eyes or as an overflow from
dramatic play)
25. responding in language to beauty
observed in a flower, a lovely bird
call, beautiful music, sounds of
waves
26. learning to work with others while
realizing within themselves the
feeling of power,-directing, per-
suading others to be their followers
21. Pictures are a rich resource to use
with children. Too many pictures
may clutter the room. There should
be a definite place for each type of
material, easily accessible to chil-
dren, children should share in the
care, as well as the use of these
materials.
22. The teacher must encourage the
child's questions because they help
him identify himself with his world.
She need not, however, feel that
she must answer all. She can an-
swer at times by letting him ob-
serve or experience through other
senses. The classroom responsibili-
ties often afford better opportuni-
ties for functional use of language
than make-believe or dramatiza-
tion.
23. These attempts at sharing by young
children are their beginnings of
friendships and should be encour-
aged.
24. Laughter which lightens the ten-
sions of children and lessens their
over-stimulation should be encour-
aged at appropriate times.
25. It is important that the teacher
permit the child to express in his
own way what he feels and thinks
about these sensory stimuli. These
expressions give the teacher an in-
sight into the child's emotional and
spiritual responses and expand the
child's curiosity and wonder.
26. The teacher will recognize that
young children's constant wavering
in their play between known ex-
periences and new ones is their
method of social adjustment.
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Language Characteristics
Level: 6 9 Years
Children
1. are extremely active, but fatigue
easily; cannot sit still long and
need many opportunities for activ-
ity; need play as a balance against
routines imposed by adults
2. are generally sturdy and healthy,
though postural defects become ap-
parent during this period; need
from ten to twelve hours of sleep;
heart may still be easily damaged
by toxins and bacteria
3. have uneven and incomplete mus-
cular development with control over
large muscles more advanced than
control over small muscles (in some
eight year olds, however, the small
muscles have developed sufficiently
to do work requiring manual dex-
terity, such as writing, sewing, and
weaving)
4. are good listeners; are so influenced
by what they hear as to identify
themselves with the heard experi-
ences (this accounts for frequent
change of mood from lighthearted-
ness to sadness)
5. show great variation in growth of
height and weight which is due to
individual growth patterns; show
ability to plan in advance and make
appraisals of own work; like to
make own choices
Children
1. want to have as many "turns" at
talking as possible, regardless of op-
portunities for others; can work
together in groups of seven or eight
for a fairly long period of time;
are capable of settling own prob.
lems
2. learn by participation and a crea-
tive kind of self-initiated activity
during the sixth and seventh years,
with rote learning more prominent
in the eighth year
3. exhibit "reading readiness" and use
language while playing games, run-
ning, tussling, jumping
4. have on the average by the eighth
year a vocabulary of several thou-
sand words, including many ad-
verbs and adjectives; enjoy radio
and movies
5. become more intellectually expan-
sive and, therefore, more dependent
upon language; show fondness for
making inventories and check lists
of language abilities
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Implications for the Teacher
Level: 6 9 Years
Include
1. participating in the activity period
which provides many opportunities
for language activities in small
groups
2. planning and conversing about
what they are doing during the
work period; speaking easily be-
cause they need to and have some-
thing to say
3. choosing reading and expression ac-
tivities that will help the child
reach his personal and group goals
4. conferring on plans, experiences
and accomplishments in the shar-
ing periods
5. listening to stories and poems well
read by teacher or child; reading
silently a book of own choosing
1. The teacher will find it valuable to
have an activity period early in the
day. Activities of short duration
should be varied and the teacher
should strive to develop cooperative
attitude of "taking turns" in talk-
ing and listening.
2. Avoid activities which require sit-
ting for long periods of time. Pro-
vide a number of centers of interest
to encourage children to work in-
dividually or in small groups.
3. The children can, with the guidance
of the teacher, set up standards for
their living and working together.
This requires thinking and good use
of language.
4. The conference and sharing periods
provide opportunity for children to
plan and evaluate their own work.
5. In the story hour, the teacher has
an opportunity to establish rapport
between the group and herself, to
present many types of literature,
and to deepen and extend the real
experience of children through the
sense-appealing words of literature.
Many types of reading material for
independent reading shou 1 d be
made available to provide for varied
needs, interests, and abilities.
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Language Characteristics
Level: 6 9 Years
Children
6. develop liking for piano playing and
dancing; like to achieve and do not
mind going through whatever prac-
tice is necessary to achieve desired
goals
7. continue to tease, punch, or hit oth-
ers for the fun of it, but socially
undesirable behavior normally re-
cedes and the more approved re-
sponses become increasingly habit-
ual; like to feel they are necessary
in any situation; find security in
the presence and attentiveness of
their leader whether parent, peer,
or teacher
8. are friendly toward children of dif-
ferent races or social position unless
influenced by adults or rejected by
peers; play together indiscriminate-
ly at six and seven years of age
9. are interested in things and people;
are possessive and have natural in-
terest in collecting and owning
things
10. begin to manifest a scientific inter-
est in causes and conditions, show-
ing a trend toward realism and
objectivity; have a keen sense of
humor; enjoy comic situations and
incongruities
11. show ability to respond to others;
put their minds at work on their
own initiative; have increased at-
tention span and can summon re-
serve energies
Children
6. have a growing admiration for such
things as a song sung in correct
pitch, or a well-read poem
7. reveal a growing interest in group
play which involves voluntary use
of expressive language; are sensi-
tive to the teacher's facial expres-
sion and tone of voice, as well as
words
8. display greater cooperation and re-
sponsibility in group discussion and
planning
9. begin to be interested in reading
and talking about people of today
and long ago
10. enjoy poetry and like to discuss
their collections; stories about ani-
mals and other phases of nature;
delight in comic books and fairy
tales; humorous characterizations
and situations; looking at catalogs
and adult magazines
11. listen well or are able to entertain
others for a short' period of time;
like to plan and evaluate programs
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Level: 6 9 Years
Include
6. participating in music hour which
provides opportunities for reading
many songs, for clear pronunciation
and enunciation of words as the
songs are sung, and the memoriza-
tion of many lyrics
7. practicing skills needed to improve
or develop whether they be reading,
writing, listening, or speaking
8. using language arts spontaneously
in play period
9. sharing stories with the teacher of
homelife of today and of the long
ago
10. deriving benefits from movie films
and film strips which increase vo-
cabularies, enlarge meanings, pro-
viding interesting material for dis-
cussion; investigating environment;
expanding silent reading abilities
through investigation according to
individual interests
11. enjoying assembly programs which
are means of sharing verbally
among children of similar ages
6. The teacher uses many opportuni-
ties in the singing period for doubly
clear pronunciation and enuncia-
tion.
7. The day should be filled with en-
riching experiences that help and
encourage each child to use lan-
guage and to feel a need for ac-
quiring the skills he needs now and
will use all through life.
8. Through listening to the free speech
of children on the playground, the
teachers get an insight into the
nature of the child and of his lan-
guage competence.
9. The teacher should provide appor-
tunities to explain the past through
books, pictures, museum trips, and
should utilize every available oppor-
tunity to strengthen language skills.
10. Films and other material should be
previewed by the teacher in order
to provide interests.
11. Any programs presented should
have careful planning and prepara-
tion for language experiences and
should be utilized to increase lan-
guage skills
Implications for the Teacher
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Language Characteristics
Level: 6 9 Years
Children
12. have healthy appetites and need
plenty of food for growth
Children
12. are stimulated to loud talking by
crowds, such as many lunchroom
situations create
Level: 9 12 Years
1. lead a very strenuous, active life,
but need physical activity balanced
by rest, relaxation, and adequate
amounts of sleep
2. have considerable control over their
small muscles by nine years
3. are normally alert, active and curi-
ous about many things. Their in-
terest is free from boredom and dis-
couragement which sometimes char-
acterize adults
4. differ in rate of maturation accord-
ing to sex. Physiologically, the girls
at eleven years are usually ahead
of the boys
1. converse most freely with others of
own and opposite sex; participate
in family and class discussions with
ease and interest in real life topics
2. have ability to write to express their
ideas, as in letter writing, or to
share experiences, as in writing for
newspaper
3. possess a rapidly growing vocabu-
lary as a result of wide reading
which includes magazines as well as
books
4. have usually a reading facility
which enables them to read for
pleasure and enjoyment; wide range
of reading abilities are evident
within the group
School Experiences Offering Op- Implications for the Teacher
portunities for Language Growth
Level: 6 9 Years
giving opportunities for daily prac-
tice in conversation and accepted
social behavior through the period
in the lunch room
12. If the teacher will form the habit
of sitting with different groups in
the lunchroom, she can, in a natural
way, teach them how to converse
pleasantly while they eat. Schools
can aid children in the development
of right language habits and social
behavior by sound-proofing cafe-
terias.
Level: 9 12 Years
1. taking part in conversations and
and discussion, including informal
conversation in which there is no
problem to be solved or decision to
be reached; in discussion of a def-
inite topic or question in which a
problem is to be solved or a deci-
sion to be reached
2. writing letters including friendly
letters such as informal note, news
letter, sympathy note, thank-you
letter, congratulatory letter, invita-
tions and replies; business letter
such as orders, requests for infor-
mation or sample goods, applica-
tions
3. listening to story or poem read by
teacher or other member of group;
participating through reading to
others through choral speaking;
reading silently
4. reading books, and magazines for
information and pleasure
1. Language is basically oral. Writing
and reading are secondary develop-
ments which depend upon speech.
Provision for small group discus-
sions will encourage all children to
express themselves more freely.
2. Spelling, penmanship, reading g,
speaking and listening are of value
only as they contribute to the basic
goal of better communication. Few
children have achieved sufficient
neuro muscular coordination to
write with pen and ink before the
chronological age of ten.
3. The best way to break habits of
incorrect use is to provide motiva-
tion for establishing correct habits
and alert practice and frequent ap-
plications to secure mastery. Varied
purposeful activities increase inter-
est and provide means for develop-
ing language skills according to
abilities of pupils.
4. The range of abilities, interests, and
achievement in each group of chil-
dren makes it necessary to provide
a wide variety of reading materials
on many reading levels.
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Language Characteristics
Level: 9 12 Years
Children
5. reveal sex differences in behavior
and interests
6. have usually, a well-developed sense
of humor
7. show independence, initiative, an
interest in fair play. (At the same
time, boys particularly enjoy teas-
ing, competition and fighting.)
8. are strongly concerned about group
recognition and approbation. They
use members of their own age group
as a yardstick for behavior; atti-
tude, and dress
9. participate as members of the fam-
ily group, assuming responsibility
for care of younger children
10. extend interests beyond home and
local communities to the nation and
to the world
Children
5. vary in stories enjoyed; show a love
for hero stories and discuss world
affairs with considerable under-
standing
6. enjoy jokes and surprises of their
own, and humor in stories
7. show ability to plan a course of
action and to arrive at a satisfac-
tory outcome with a minimum of
adult assistance
8. participate happily in programs
planned for themselves; like se-
crets and rituals of their own ma-
king
9. enjoy ownership of materials, in-
cluding books, and maps which they
like to study and talk about in re-
lation to family trips; sharing stor-
ies with younger children
10. recognize reading as a helpful tool,
and as a means of gaining expe-
rience with other times, other
places, other people
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Implications for the Teacher
Level: 9 12 Years
Include
5. giving reports, oral and written,
including reviews of books read, ra-
dio programs heard, and movies
seen
6. telling and writing stories includ-
ing jokes or anecdotes, stories pre-
viously heard or read, stories of the
experiences of themselves or others;
imaginary stories
7. planning dramatic play; choosing
characters and scenes; writing
script; giving and evaluating pro-
grams
8. discussing social courtesies; setting
up standards for the language arts;
planning clubs and other school ac-
tivities; reading stories satisfying
their interests in mystery an'r sus-
pense
9. getting and sharing information;
interviewing adults of home, school
and community regarding their du-
ties; planning for activities with
younger children
10. planning for use of reference and
pleasure books and other materials
in school or classroom library
5. Expression should be encouraged
but not forced. Wanting to improve
is an important step towards learn-
ing. Opportunity charged with a de-
sire to succeed will make possible
satisfactory achievements.
6. During this period of rapid learn-
ing, the sense of humor of the nine
and ten year olds may be used to
introduce work on more advanced
language art skills. Improvement,
quality of work, spelling, and writ-
ing may be given considerable im-
petus through humorous materials.
7. Play writing and play production in
connection with puppetry, as well
as letter writing and reporting, are
activities through which partially
acquired skills can be sharpened;
pupil analysis and evaluation give
self direction to this application of
skills.
8. Periodic teacher-pupil evaluation of
individual and group progress is
essential. In making this appraisal,
the teacher and pupils should study
the attainments in light of the spe-
cific aims.
9. Children develop a sense of belong-
ing through many opportunities to
contribute to group activities; they
develop leadership among their
peers and with younger groups.
10. Boys and girls should be stimulated
to explore and to locate reading
materials and information or sub-
jects of interest to them; discover
and evaluate by themselves and in
groups their strengths and weak-
nesses, in using language skills to
solve their problems.
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Level: 9 12 Years
Children
Children
11. have the widest range of interests
of any age group; show decreased
interest in imaginative play and in-
creased interests in fact and real-
ism
12. have great interest in facts about
what things are made of and how
they work in such fields as me-
chanics, science, and natural phe-
nomena
13. find satisfaction in collecting
14. show more interest in the gang,
the club, and secret group made up
of children of their own age
11. enjoy stories of "wild west," pioneer
life, fairy tales, comics, adventure
yarns; are becoming more inter-
ested in books containing factual
material; begin travel stories and
biography; books of adventure, sci-
ence, and nature are popular with
this group
12. can weigh evidence and draw con-
clusions based on information se-
cured from several sources
13. enjoy sharing their collections at
school through showing articles and
talking about them in answer to
questions from their group
14. accept responsibility for various
phases of their club activities; par-
ticipate'in planning and giving pro-
grams, make talks on important
topics and reports, orally or in writ-
ing, on club projects
Language Characteristics
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Level: 9 12 Years
Include
11. taking trips into the community
to gain experience in collecting data
and finding answers to problems
through use of community re-
sources, including the public library
12. planning science experiments to es-
tablish or discover facts; explaining
as a means of sharing critical think-
ing; using books as a source of au-
thority; evaluating experience, and
suggesting "leads" to further study
13. using visual aids such as pictures,
maps, charts, etc., discussing their
collections with the group
14. participating in school and com-
munity clubs; increasing vocabu-
lary and ability to live well with
others
11. Teacher purposes and pupil pur-
poses are not necessarily the same.
Pupils need their teacher's help in
developing a sense of inner-respon-
sibility for a given activity or task.
Planning and evaluating the excur-
sion with pupils is an important
part of its use in stimulating and
utilizing language skills.
12. Children should become progres-
sively more self-directive with care-
ful teacher guidance. It is every
teacher's opportunity to help chil-
dren to help themselves.
13. By making books on hobbies avail-
able to children, a teacher may en-
courage and expand a child's in-
terest in a hobby. By skillful lan-
guage training the teacher can as-
sist a child in sharing his collec-
tion with others. Plan with pupils
for handling and arranging mate-
rials and exhibits of their collec-
tions
14. Since children are active and alert
a teacher needs to plan with them
so that as to utilize their "gang"
interests in worthwhile group ac-
tivities. '
Implications for the Teacher
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Language Characteristics
Level: 9 12 Years
Children
15. have wider attention span than pri-
mary children; get a certain
amount of satisfaction from work
done alone, but at the same time
enjoy cooperative group enterprises
16. have concern for own personal
achievements and are keenly af-
fected by success and failure; com-
pare favorably with adults in mem-
orizing rote materials
17. are becoming aware of and con-
cerned about other people's ideas
and beliefs
18. need language to secure and give
information
19. are approaching adult development
in sense of rhythm, sound, discrimi-
nation and associative memory.
(Their retention span is greatest
at this age.)
Children
15. are interested in contributing ar-
ticles, pictures, and drawings to
newspaper, or to class scrapbook,
as well as in making own book of
collections
16. potentialities for using oral ana
written language to further their
success
17. have their favorite poems, stories,
books which they like to read aloud
or recite or talk about with own
age group
18. aware of need for accuracy and
brevity in explanations and direc-
tions
19. listen avidly to radio programs of
action, adventure, mystery with
real-life rather than fanciful set-
tings
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Implications for the Teacher
Level: 9 12 Years
Include
15. enjoying the creative arts; express-
ing creatively their ideas and feel-
ings stimulated by literature, music,
painting; making dioramas of fa-
vorite scenes and characters from
books; working on murals suggest-
ed through the reading of books
16. taking part in meetings and dis-
cussion groups including acting as
chairman; taking part as a mem-
ber of the group in a meeting of
the class, or club; writing minutes
of the meeting; acting as a per-
former or as a member of the au-
dience in a school assembly
17. using the telephone; interviewing
and being interviewed
18. giving directions and explanations,
oral and written, including specific
directions for getting to a certain
place or for making something;
explaining how something was done
or made
19. using the story-telling phonograph
record. (Since the art of story tell-
ing requires much time in prepara-
tion, the story-telling record has its
place and it is growing in popu-
larity. Educational criteria must be
set up for the selection.)
15. Sympathetic and intelligent teach-
er guidance in language develop-
ment is needed to produce socially
acceptable individuals.
16. The child who sits quietly all day
may be in greater need of guidance
in social living than the child who
is loud and aggressive.
17. Using a telephone to secure and
give information is a natural home
use of language. Tone of voice and
choice of words are factors in ef-
fective telephoning.
18. Every teacher should have a genu-
ine interest in encouraging pupils
to think straight and to communi-
cate their thoughts effectively.
19. Too much verbalism by the teacher
discourages pupil participation, in-
itiative, and interest. However, good
story telling is an art which every
teacher of the language arts should
strive to attain.
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Level: 12 15 Years
Children
1. go through a period of rapid growth
and development, making many
new adjustments necessary (many
girls approximately a year ahead
of boys in physical and organic ma-
turity)
2. undergo internal changes involving
heart, gland, and bone structure;
the heart grows faster than do the
arteries, thus causing a strain on
the heart; often causing conflicts
and emotional upsets
3. need emphasis on good posture;
possess relatively poor coordination;
often feel they do not "belong";
evidence marked concern and in-
terest in their accelerated growth
and changing bodies, and take in-
creasing pride in personal appear-
ance
4. have wide intellectual interests as a
group but growing specializations of
interest on part of individual; are
more capable of intellectualizing
their own experiences than at ear-
lier levels but are hampered by
their emotions; are alert, active,
and curious about everything, want
facts, still interested in firsthand
experiences
Children
1. desire to have fun; a fact which
manifests itself in language expres-
sion related to sports, amusements,
and humorous situations; increased
maturity in interests through clubs,
and teamwork; show interest in
language activities related to ani-
mals, adventure, mystery, collec-
tions, and explorations, but resist
tasks requiring lengthy application;
girls show interest in sentiment and
romance
2. desire to be interesting, manifested
in the individual's pursuit of his
own welfare, and in human rela-
tionships, with increasing social
sensitivity to reaction of individuals
and group in language situations
3. desire to understand and express
themselves through dramatization,
imaginative thinking; show wide
variation in educational attain-
ment; desire to realize their ca-
pacities as shown in their attempts
to understand personal abilities and
to seek interests that will fulfill
their recognized language needs
4. desire to become informed and to
discuss ideals by which men live
(manifested in hero worship); and
express a challenging mental atti-
tude toward social problems, and
a concern about right and wrong
Language Characteristics
xcnool Experiences Offering Op- Implications for the Teacher
portunities for Language Growth
Level: 12 15 Years
1. recognizing language arts as a means
of becoming socially competent;
improving conversation, letter writ-
ing, introductions, telephoning, ask-
ing and answering questions, giving
and following directions, reading
menus, labels, and rules
2. understanding the effect of lan-
guage upon others as related to
choice of words, voice modulation,
grammatical correctness in a 11
phases of oral and written language
3. planning and working in groups ac-
cording to individual differences in
oral-language experiences including
informal discussions, reports, dram-
atizations, telling stories, making
announcements, giving directions,
and presenting programs
4. appreciating the heritage of West-
ern Civilization, reading to appreci-
ate our traditional background;
realizing value of stories, songs, po-
etry, speeches in forming opinion;
becoming increasingly conscious of
own citizenship; motivating char-
acter development by expressing
ethical ideals and principles, read-
ilg biography, interview admirable
characters, and making creeds
1. Teachers should adjust class teach-
niques and procedures to meet the
wide range of interests and abili-
ties keeping in mind that awkward-
ness, self-consciousness or aggres-
siveness are normal for many chil-
dren at this age level.
2. Provision should be made for a
variety of tasks alternating quiet
and stimulating activities. Little
attention should be given sudden
temporary emotional disturbances:
however, if these disturbances con-
tinue or are repeated consistently
plans for adjustment should be
made.
3. Reorganize small groups frequent-
ly; relate small groups activities to
language experiences involving total
group.
4. Provisions of adequate materials
should be made to meet needs, in-
terests and specializations; teach-
ers should avoid rivalry between
boys and girls in school activities;
the child's inclination toward hero
worship is a basis for strengthening
his ideals through reading of bi-
ography and interviews with inter-
esting living personalities.
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Language Characteristics
Level: 12 15 Years
Children
5. often feel socially insecure and may
compensate by making themselves
conspicuous in one way or another
hoping for group approval; are
more interested in approval, but
need and desire adult support at
times, desire to understand them-
selves, to be interesting, and to have
freedom with security; experience
anxiety over financial, social, and
family insecurity; desire satisfying
vocational experiences for imme-
diate needs and for building for the
future
Children
5. may display marked aggresssivene
in speech and a tendency town
constant argumentation; show a
liking for parliamentary pro%
dures; enjoy hobbies involving L
of much technical knowledge and
skill and employ a more logical ap.
proach to solving problems; estab,
lish habit of reading periodicals and
books related to interests; experi.
ence a need to express a new awak.
ening to beauty
Level: 15 18 Years
1. reveal great individual differences
in intelligence, scholastic achieve-
ment, background, and interests;
increasingly w i d e variations in
groups of older children because of
the additional years of living and
differing experiences
1. reveal great variations in degree
of development in the various lan.
guage arts; a small percentage have
developed the ability to write cre-
atively, but a greater number prob-
ably have powers that are unde-
veloped; often show reluctance it
sharing their production; far les
difference in reading interests be'
tween sexes than between individ-
uals; exhibit a wide range in ability
in various aspects of language pot*
er; an individual may be skillfd
in one or more abilities (as readiMo
or speaking) and immature in as,
pects of others (as skill in spellii
or punctuation in writing), ran?
from almost total inadequacy to
successful degree of fluency in oer
expression; increase in writing skill
as their thinking becomes imoO
clarified; acquire skill in discri"'
native use of many types of instruc'
tional materials
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Implications for the Teacher
Level: 12 15 Years
include
5. adjusting to school and family lan-
guage and social situations; real-
izing the importance of observing
social amenities at home, school,
and elsewhere; learning to apply
ideas gained from reading to real
life situations; developing lan-
guage skills related to special voca-
tional needs
5. Use indirect methods in helping
pupils to overcome physical, and
language difficulties. Know the
child's background, hobbies, and
interests, giving praise when it is
honestly earned, overlooking physi-
cal changes and incongruities, and
showing sincere interest are means
of establishing better rapport be-
tween pupil and teacher.
Level: 15 18 Years
In total school life-assemblies and
class meetings: presiding; introduc-
ing speakers; making announce-
ments; giving directions; making
election speeches, using parliament-
ary procedures; making or deliver-
ing speeches for entertainment;
making arrangements by letter,
telephone, or interviews; using mic-
rophone
Club, committee, and other group
work; talking, presenting idea s;
reaching conclusions, setting up
Plans; making reports to commit-
tee and back to other student
groups; writing announcements and
directions orally; drawing up con-
stitutions
1. In planning units, selecting mate-
rial, differentiating assignments, and
evaluating results, the teacher of
English must take into considera-
tion the differences among pupils.
Every school needs a well-supplied
library. Every English teacher needs
to know the available books, and
every pupil needs easy access to
the library and time to use it. The
teacher should see that the pupils
develop enough skill to use the li-
brary effectively and efficiently in
a reasonable amount of time.
Physical, Mental, and Language Characteristics
Emotional Characteristics
Level: 15 18 Years
Children Children
2. complete their physical changes and 2. extend language experiences i,
have grown-up-looking bodies; re- treatment of mature problems, in,
quire adequate food, sleep, and pre- eluding relationships among per.
caution against fatigue; are aware sons, sexes, economic classes, races
of physical characteristics of them- political parties, nations, and pe.
selves and others; admire physical riods of history
vigor and courage; tend toward
awkwardness; b e c o m e concerned
about sex, pair with the opposite
sex, as well as go in crowds
3. have strong feelings for their group; 3. increase in power to think together
are extremely sensitive to the opin- in large groups (whole classes), kt
ion of the group; give importance share opinions, and to reach a com-
to the gang and seek its approval mon feeling and understanding;
and acceptance; remain inherently are so preoccupied with activities,
conservative as to group pattern; pleasures, friends that it is neces-
become increasingly aware of the sary that all reading and expres-
importance of cooperation with sion suggested by the school Nc
others in classroom and school ac- meaningful to them in order t(
tivities; have strong feelings of compete successfully for their oul
loyalty of school time; are willing to us
their specific talents for the groul
(e.g., poster-making, lettering, run-
ning machinery, writing verses
planning programs), cooperate be-
cause of group loyalty
School Experiences Offering Op- Implications for the Teacher
portunities for Language Growth
Level: 15 18 Years
publications (yearbook, n e w s p a p ers, 2. The teacher must constantly remind
magazines): writing news stories herself that awkwardness and ap-
and other forms of journalism; co- parent laziness accompany rapid
operative planning and working growth changes and do not
with other staff members; inter- indicate weakness of character.
viewing, s e l1i n g advertisements; Similarly, restlessness and many
managing circulation; writing ac- other forms of undesirable class-
counts of clubs; classes, and school room behavior result from physical
departments; doing creative writ- causes. There is a fine opportunity
ing for the teacher to help pupils in
their concern about sex (a) by sug-
gesting stories, biographies, essays,
and dramas, (b) by affording ex-
perience in creative writing and
personal accounts, (c) by offering
helpful situations for boys and girls
to work together in group work.
Homeroom (or activity periods): pre- 3. By understanding the strength of
siding; Bible reading; making an- group feeling and appreciating the
nouncements, ho 1 ding elections; values of cooperation and loyalty,
holding business meetings; plan- teacher may use this force for
ning projects, programs, and other growth in all the language arts.
enterprises She may share the school responsi-
bilities for the language arts and
Social functions, formal and infor- related social amenities involved
mal, e.g., planning in groups; tak- in school social functions, such as
ing part in programs; making post- banquets, dances, teas, and club
ers and announcements; convers- meetings. She should be sensitive
ing; introducing strangers to the relationships of the language
arts to other subject fields and
Use of library: finding books and peri- utilize every opportunity to help
odicals; calling and signing for boys and girls apply what they
books; asking for help in research; know outside the English class.
using catalog and Readers' Guide; Aware of the pupils' vital preoccu-
using reference books; reading for pation with activities, pleasures,
recreation and pleasure and friends, the teacher can find
numerous situations for effective
Informal situations; greeting friends language experiences.
before and after school; talking at
lunch and between classes; being
friendly on the bus (or whatever
means of transportation is used to
and from school)
Physical, Mental, and
Emotional Characteristics
Language Characteristics
Level: 15 18 Years
Children
t. have considerable feeling of inse-
curity; may replace lack of assur-
ance and insecurity by rowdyism;
often cover shyness and sensitivity
by apparent indifference; often in-
dulge in conspicuous behavior and
employ various other devices for
gaining attention
5. are growing increasingly independ-
ent of parents and other adults;
resent domination; respect adults
without f e e 1 in g dependence on
them; are curious about people in
the adult world and seek vocational
guidance
6. have intense emotions and sensory
impressions; subordinate intellec-
tual drives to emotional and social
needs; are uncertain or questioning
with regard to values, particularly
in respect to such areas as meaning
of life and nature of success; de-
sire insight into themselves; seek
understanding of self, ask in g:
"What am I like as an individual?
Why am I as I am? Why do I do as
I do?"
Children
4. make considerable use of slang and
swearing in their speech since it
serves not only to furnish a form
of expression for their emotions,
but also to attract attention of
adults and to show belongingness
in their own group; are interest-
ed in dramatics for personal satis-
faction and to gain status within
the group
5. desire intensely to gain informa-
tion on their special interests, they
are easily led toward becoming good
readers; appreciate the importance
of vocational success and are will-
ing to master necessary language
skills and adult standards; many
delight in expressing opinions, es-
pecially in a critical way; "sharpen"
their powers of discrimination to
select from many sources those lit-
erary experiences including books,
periodicals, music, radio programs,
plays, etc., which best fill their
needs
6. have begun to see remote goals and
are willing to go through experi-
ences and practices in language
even though tedious, because of the
values anticipated in successful ac-
complishments; interest in becom-
ing informed as to human relation-
ships and issues; enjoy the beauti-
ful in nature, literature, and hu-
man beings; strive to acquire beau-
ty for themselves as a means of
securing favorable reaction, as ex-
pressed in words, from the group
School Experiences Offering Op-
portunities for Language Growth
Implications for the Teacher
Level: 15 18 Years
In English classes-speaking: discuss-
ing, explaining, asking and answer-
ing questions, making reports, hold-
ing forums and panel discussions,
reading aloud, experiencing parlia-
mentary procedure, practicing g
grammar and sentence structure,
giving out words for spelling, dra-
matizing, talking to groups, broad-
casting and using a microphone,
and choral reading
Listening: observing, and thinking; list-
ening to speakers, group discus-
sions, teachers, recordings, radio
programs, sound pictures, direc-
tions
Reading: mastering techniques; enjoy-
ing and appreciating literature; ac-
quiring information and b a c k-
ground; following directions; read-
ing to memorize
Writing: writing notes, outlines, and
summaries; taking tests; writing
creatively for fun and for work;
editing and proofreading; learning
how to improve the mechanics of
written expression, including usage;
filling in forms; keeping records
and writing minutes; preparing bib-
liographies; writing practice mate-
rial and study assignments; writing
letters; writing programs
4. By using a variety of activities, the
teacher has many opportunities to
strengthen in the pupils a feeling
of security. They may gain confi-
dence in themselves by success even
in small accomplishments.
5. The English teacher provides op-
portunities for developing and ap-
plying standards for composing an-
nouncements and posters, minutes
for organizations. With the pupils,
the teacher may work out a hand-
book of standards, which can, in
turn, affect usage in the home and
community. The teacher should
help pupils to set up and to apply
attainable standards for their per-
sonal writing and those required in
their school study experiences. (It
is important that the school as a
whole help pupils maintain high
standards.) The teacher has a spe-
cial responsibility for helping pupils
develop skills and habits of success-
ful listening. Localisms, which may
be a hinderance to pupils, should be
eliminated by effective speaking and
writing associated with everyday
needs.
6. The teacher needs to be on the
alert to determine when pupils are
sincerely eager to gain insight into
problems of human relationships
and when they prolong discussions
because they enjoy expressing opin-
ions and arguments. The teacher
of English has a responsibility for
the quality of oral expression used
in school activities, such as, Bible
reading, announcements, speeches
in assemblies, parliamentary proce-
dure in class or club meetings.
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VITAL LANGUAGE EXPERIENCES WERE INVOLVED IN PLANNING AND ARRANGING THIS
BULLETIN BOARD DISPLAY
Creating an Atmosphere for Language Development. Just
as an atmosphere of pleasant friendliness is conducive to I'ull
enjoyment of eating and to assimilation through good digestion,
so too is a friendly atmosphere in a classroom a stimulus to
language development. When a child feels at ease, he can
make known his needs and interests, and he can contribute to
and learn from group activity. Tenseness from fear of failure or
from unreasonable regulations can inhibit growth in language
power. Though there are school and life tasks which require
silent, individual, and concentrated efforts, there are many
more which can be more effectively handled through group
planning, shared reading, cooperative writing, and group
evaluation. All such socialized situations motivate and provide
for language development.
Through her understanding of the physical, intellectual, and
emotional characteristics of children, a teacher can establish
rapport between herself and each child. School life is rich in
the language experiences through which a teacher has the
opportunity to assist each child in getting along with all,l the
rest. The social amenities, which smooth life's way, .can be
acquired as each day is lived in the schoolroom, in the. lunch
period, on the playground, and on the way to and from school.
In a friendly atmosphere, children soon become aware of tl.:
information, relaxation, and inspiration in books, and also
of the value of effective and correct language in communicat-
ing their needs and interest to others.
Because language is the medium of communication and the
instrument of thought in all fields of study, the entire faculty
and administrative and supervisory staffs must be sensitive
to the value of a cooperative effort to have boys and girls apply
continuously the reading, writing, speaking, and listening
skills developed in the language arts- program.
A principal and supervisor can do much to lighten the
load of the language arts teacher. By understanding the pro-
gram, by interpreting it to the public, by providing stimulation
DISCUSSION OF STIMULATING EXPERIENCES CULMINATED IN MODELING IN- CLAY
to creative teaching, by opening up opportunity for sharing
experiences of master teachers-and, above all, by being a
reasonable individual, aware of the teachers' stresses and strains
while trying to develop linguistic competence in youth, the
principal or supervisor can contribute to producing an atmos-
phere conducive to language development.
Providing Instructional Materials. In addition to friendly
human relationships, there is need for adequate instructional
materials to facilitate learning. Good teachers have always
known that the key to getting boys and girls to learn is to
stimulate them to want to know and also to provide experiences
through which they can learn. Direct experience is most effec-
tive but in many cases it is not feasible. Experience and repre-
resentations of it, communicated through many media, are
known as materials of instruction. Good materials contribute to
a good environment for learning.
Mankind is constantly devising new means of communicat-
ing ideas, and the various media offer many possibilities for
enriching the learning situation. Books can extend present
environment in time or space, they speak from the past, they
predict the future. Films present life-like situations through
moving pictures and sound. Recordings reproduce voices and
other sounds which tell of happenings, ideas, emotions. Maps
and globes capture the world and show each other their ideas
and feelings.
Good teachers are aware of the many potentialities in all
types of instructional materials. They know that materials can
be effective only when the learner understands them-finds it
possible to read, see, or hear them satisfactorily. They know, too,
that children learn best when materials are varied, so that
the situation is fresh and interesting. And good teachers know
that the same book, film, or record may speak differently to
different people, depending on the learner's previous experi-
ence and his readiness to assimilate.
The most effective environment for learning provides books,
magazines, newspapers, films, recordings, and other materials,
selected purposefully to communicate to the particular boys
and girls in terms of their needs and abilities. Teachers and
librarians must use their training, experience, and ingenuity
in selecting, providing, and presenting these materials. They
must work cooperatively to develop materials centers which
offer appropriate, stimulating tools for learning, and they must
.be concerned with getting the materials to the boys and girls
in classrooms, in libraries, at home, or in the local theater-
wherever they can communicate most effectively.
Many practical problems are involved. When and how can
the textbook be used? How can boys and girls be taught to
discriminate among values in the various types of materials so
that they choose voluntarily the best for a purpose ? What place
do workbooks and other practice materials have? How can one
provide the necessary materials in a particular school? When
they are available, how can a teacher know which will be most
effective ?
There are no ready-made answers to these and similar ques-
tions which trouble language arts teachers. Effective teaching
has never been simple or easy. But for this very reason, teach-
ers are challenged to study, to experiment, to seek continuously
better understanding of how to use instructional materials.
The following suggestions may prove helpful to teachers in
pursuit of this understanding:
1. Select material for a purpose and for a particular person or
group.
2. Recognize the psychological value of using many types of
materials in different ways.
3. Become familiar with the aids to selection-recommended
lists of books, films, recordings.
4. Read at least one good periodical which reviews new materials
in the language arts field.
5. Study the materials already available in the school to deter-
mine their possibilities in terms of the purposes of the
language arts program.
6. Substitute new materials for old whenever the new are better.
7. Give boys and girls many opportunities to choose materials
so that they can learn to make good choices.
8. Evaluate continuously the materials program in terms of its
contribution to the needs of boys and girls.
9. Be willing to modify objectives, methods, and materials as
children's needs and interests change.
Aids to Selection of Materials
Book Lists
1. American Library Association. Basic Book Collection for
Elementary Grades. Chicago, The Association, 1944.
2. American Library Association. Subject Index to Children's
Plays. Chicago, The Association, 1940.
3. Association for Childhood Education. Bibliography of Books
for Young Children. Washington, D. C., The Association, 1939.
4. Brewton, J. E. and Sara. W. Index to Children's Poetry. New
York, H. W. Wilson Co., 1942.
5. The Children's Catalog. 7th rev. ed. New York, H. W. Wilson
Co., 1946. Yearly cumulated supplements. Revised every sixth
year.
6. Joint Committee, American Library Association, National
Education Association, National Council of Teachers of Eng-
lish. A Basic Book Collection for High Schools. Chicago,
American Library Association, 1942.
I1. Joint Committee of the American Library Association, Na-
tional Education Association, and the National Council of
Teachers of English. By Way of Introduction (a booklist for
young people), American Library Association, 1947.
8. National Council of Teachers of English. Books for You (a
senior high book list), 211 W. 68th Street, Chicago 21, 1946.
9. National Council of Teachers of English. Your Reading (a
junior high book list), 211 W. 68th Street, Chicago 21, 1946.
10. Rue, Eloise, comp. Subject Index to Books for Intermediate
Grades. Chicago, American Library Association, 1940.
11. Rue, Eloise, comp. Subject Index to Books for Primary Grades.
Chicago, American Library Association, 1943.
12. Standard Catalog for High School Libraries, 4th ed. New
York, H. W. Wilson, Co., 1942. Yearly cumulated supplements.
Revised every sixth year.
13. Washburn, Carleton, and others. The Right Book for the
Right Child; A Graded Buying List. 3rd rev. ed. New York,
John Day, 1942.
Current Periodicals Reviewing Books
1. The Booklist: A Guide to Current Books. Chicago, American
Library Association, Semimonthly, Oct. through July;
monthly, August and Sept. ($3.00 a year).
2. Books. New York, the New York Herald-Tribune. Weekly
($1.50 a year).
3. Horn Book Magazine. Women's Educational and Industrial
Union. 264 Boylston St., Boston, Mass., Bi-monthly ($2.50
a year).
4. New York Times Book Review. New York, New York Times
Company, Weekly $(2.00 a year).
Magazine Lists
1. "Library Manual for Florida Schools." Florida School Bul-
letin, Dec., 1943, p. 30-31.
2. Martin, Laura K. Magazines for School Libraries. New York,
H. W. Wilson Co., 1947.
Lists of Audio-Visual Materials
1. A Catalogue of Selected Educational Recordings. Washing-
ton Square, New York, 1944.
2. Educational Film Guide. New York, H. W. Wilson & Co.
Edited annually and kept up-to-date with monthly supple-
ments.
3. Educational Recordings for Classroom Use. Rev. ed., Wash-
ington, D. C., American Council on Education, 1941.
4. Educator's Guide to Free Films, 5th ed. Randolph,Wisconsin,
Educators Progress Service, 1945.
5. Florida Cooperative Film Library. Gainesville, Florida, Gen-
eral Extension Division, University of Florida.
6. Selected Educational Motion Pictures. Washington, D. C.,
American Council on Education, 1942.
GROUPING FOR SPECIAL INTERESTS AND FOR INSTRUCTIONAL NEEDS FACILITATES INDIVIDUAL
GROWTH IN LANGUAGE
Grouping within a Class Organization. Grouping is one
means available to the teacher to lead her pupils, each according
to his own growth pattern and rate of learning, into con-
tinuous development toward language competence. She will
group children as she identifies through observational and test
data, the children's needs, interests, and competencies. The
number of children in a group will depend upon her purpose
for grouping them. If the goal is to give an opportunity for a
talented oral reader to interpret effectively a literary selection,
a whole class might form the listening group. If, however, the
purpose is to give each child in the group a chance to react
orally to what was read, the listening group would need to
be small enough to permit each and all to participate during
the available time. If the purpose, to use another example, is to
70
help children improve a specific skill, only those who need
directed practice on that skill should be included in the group.
Diagnostic tests, both standardized and teacher-made, informal
measures, are useful as basis for such grouping.
The length of the life of a group also varies with the chil-
dren's needs, interests, and competencies and with the teacher's
purpose in forming the group. If a group is formed to study
a problem and to prepare a source paper, annotated cards, radio
forum, panel discussion, or debate, the group's life would be
from the planning step, through the study, the culminating
activity, and evaluation step. A choral reading group would
work together in the preparation of the reading and in its
presentation to an audience. Creative language expression
through dramatization, broadcasting, assembly and club pro-
grams may occasion a group to work together for several days,
and at times to break into sub-groups for specific purposes.
The important thing for language development is that the
group be mutually stimulating, that its activity be purposeful,
and that it work with meaningful materials. In such a way will
each individual within the group feel secure, be stimulated to
make his best contribution, and learn from the others in the
group.
"Interest corners," bulletin board displays arranged by
committees of pupils, and various media of expression, such as
clay, tempera paints, blocks, pictures, books, work benches,
etc., stimulate young children to work in groups, as well as
alone. As children get older, clay and blocks are less frequently
seen in the "language-arts-laboratory" (English classroom).
Books, periodicals, bulletin boards, films, recordings, radio
and public address systems, are the materials which satisfy,
at a more mature level of language development, the purpose
of "interest" and "activity" corners found in the classrooms
for young children.
The quantity of useful materials which are available is, of
course, another reason for grouping children. To provide a
variety of reading and listening materials it is often to limit
quantities purchased for any specific need or interest. By flexi-
ble grouping, however, the teacher can arrange that all children
in the total group who might profit from using any material
get a turn to use it.
A WELL-EQUIPPED SCHOOL LIBRARY AFFORDS STIMULATION TO INDIVIDUAL READING
APPROPRIATE TO EACH READER'S PURPOSES AND READING COMPETENCE
Establishing Evaluative Criteria. In any school where there
is more than one section of beginners, of seventh-graders, etc.,
the teachers of all sections at each age-grade level will profit
from cooperatively developing evaluative criteria. In addition
to this horizontal view of what is desired and what is attained,
say by beginners, seventh-graders, etc., there is need for ver-
tical planning so that every child may make continuous pro-
gress as he steps forward from wherever he is on the educational
stairway or ramp.
The cooperative development and use of evaluative criteria
help children, teachers, and parents to identify evidence of
growth toward desirable goals. Such criteria have significance
and acceptability, in part, because those who are applying them
have thought them through and have examined evidence of pupil
growth in respect to the criteria.
Certain broad criteria are applicable to the language arts
program as a whole; others to its facets-speaking, listening,
reading, writing and observing.
On the program, as a whole, teachers and administrators, as
well as parents and other citizens, might ask:
1. Are speaking, listening, reading, writing, and observing organ-
ized into a developmental program from grade to grade, from
year to year in the child's life?
2. Is instruction individualized within a class organization
through flexible grouping, differentiated assignments, utiliza-
tion of pupil leadership, and a variety of instructional
materials?
3. Is provision made to meet the needs of pupils for enrich-
ment and for remedial instruction in speaking, reading, writ-
ing, and listening?
4. Are movies, radio, recordings, and periodicals, as well as
field trips, used to enrich experiences gained from reading
books?
5. Is the literature presented for pupils' independent reading
within their silent reading comprehension?
6. Is literature beyond the pupils' silent reading comprehension
but within their emotional understanding, presented to them
through oral methods?
7. Are experiences provided for developing in pupils discrimina-
tion in selecting books, periodicals, novels, radio programs,
and recordings?
8. Is specific training provided for the various reading pur-
poses of the pupils at each stage of their development?
9. Are the reading and library skills needed for study and
recreational reading being developed and used?
10. Are grammatical concepts developed at the age-grade level
where the pupils can use them to facilitate correct and effec-
tive oral and written expression?
11. Are listening skills developed through specialized radio and
speech activities, as well as in the daily contacts of pupils
in small and large groups?
12. Are language activities (in reading, writing, speaking, and
listening, integrated with other subject-matter areas, and
with the total school and out-of-school life of the pupils?
OBSERVATION IN THE OUTDOORS STIMULATES DISCUSSION AND READING WHICH DEEPEN THE
MEANING OF WORDS AND PROMOTE SHARING OF INSIGHTS AND UNDERSTANDINGS
In respect to each of the facets of the language arts program,
teachers, administrators, and informed laymen might look for
evidence of pupil progress along these lines:
Observing-
1. Boys and girls know how to observe another's performance
so as to improve their own.
2. Boys and girls on field trips see salient details, remem-
ber what they see, associate these first-hand experiences
with their reading, and utilize what they observe to
enrich their speaking and writing activities.
3. Boys and girls can observe a dramatization, theatre pro-
duction, movie, or telecast so as to experience vicariously
the significant human experience being dramatized or
visualized.
4. Boys and girls observe during a conversation or discussion
so as to sense why some persons fail to participate and
to assist in involving them in the conversation or discus-
sion.
5. Boys and girls develop as a pleasant past time the habit
of observing people and things so as to have something
to talk or to write about.
Listening-
1. Boys and girls can listen alertly to follow directions.
2. Boys and girls can listen so as to summarize the gist of a
report, discussion, speech, or broadcast.
3. Boys and girls can listen in a conversation or discussion
so as to follow the point and to make relevant remarks or
to ask questions.
4. Boys and girls know acceptable audience behavior pat-
terns and follow these during assemblies, movies, and
games.
5. Boys and girls evidence discrimination in their choice of
listening experiences (radio programs, recordings, talks,
etc.)
6. Boys and girls show increasing awareness of how to
listen to detect false reasoning or insincerity on the part
of a speaker.
Reading-
1. Boys and girls have developed reading and library skills
at a level consistent with their rate and pattern of growth
and stage of intellectual and emotional development.
2. Boys and girls are developing an attitude favorable to
reading whenever it is an appropriate means of study or
recreation.
3. Boys and girls are developing discrimination in their
choice of reading material to fit their purposes and
abilities.
4. Boys and girls are reading good books and periodicals to an
increasing extent as a leisure-time activity.
5. Boys and girls know how to analyze a problem or purpose
for key words useful in locating reading references.
6. Boys and girls know how to read for their different pur-
poses and to choose the reading method appropriate to
their purpose and the reading material.
Speaking and Writing-
1. Boys and girls are aware of what make effective com-
munication.
2. Boys and girls have the habit of performing at their
highest level not only in the learning situations in the
language arts program but also in every school and out-of-
school situation involving oral or written language.
3. Boys and girls recognize the life situations which call
for oral or written communication and act appropriately.
4. Boys and girls have guided experiences in all the kinds
of speaking and writing which they can utilize at their
level of maturity.
5. Boys and girls have guided experiences in the cycle of
compositional activities from identifying the speaker's
or writer's purpose, selecting and arranging appropriate
ideas, developing the ideas, and revising for effective-
ness and correctness.
6. Boys and girls have skill in obtaining materials on sub-
jects that demand something in the way of reference
work.
7. Boys and girls can use effectively and have the habit of
consulting, when needed, dictionaries, handbooks of usage,
style books, etc.
If evaluation is to make its best contribution to the improve-
ment of learning, evaluative criteria and plans for self-appraisal
must be developed cooperatively by the teacher with her pupils.
A few illustrations of such criteria will be quoted from the
dozens discussed in the Bulletin Production Workshop. They
are presented here as illustrations only, for the items finally
used by any group of boys and girls should be those which the
pupils and their teacher develop as means of identifying pupil
growth toward desirable and attainable ends.
One good beginning in establishing evaluative criteria is
to study several pieces of writing, for example, of the same
child, noting always the motivating situation which stimulated
the writing, the quality and amount of teaching which preceded
the writing, and whether or not the actual writing was a first
draft written independently by the child or a piece of writing
which was revised after a conference with the teacher or with
other pupils.
Examples of a child's writing for different purposes are
illustrated with these samples:
Dear Mrs. Shields,
Thank you for bringing Susie to see us. She is very cute.
Maybe you can bring her sometimes again. Susie is the cuteest
Monkey I have ever seen.
Love,
Nancy
Little Gray Squirrel
I have a little gray squirrel. His name is Bobbie. He has
a bushy tail. It is pretty too. He likes nuts too. I feed my
squirrel. I love my squirrel very much.
Nancy
A New Dog
Once I saw a little dog. When it was raining very hard.
She was very cold. It looked like she would catch cold. Mother
said that I could keep her. I named her Penny. Now Penny
has five little puppies. We have very good times.
Nancy
These first drafts, written by a second-grade child, show
a desire and a need to communicate. Nancy's letters shows
greater sentence variety and reader-interest than does her
account of her squirrel. The inadequate cute and spelling of
cuteest need attention. In "A New Dog," she has not quite
developed a "sentence sense." There are things to do for her,
but not all at the same time. Through the cooperative develop-
ment of evaluative criteria, the teacher can bring Nancy and
the other children in the group to an awareness of the goals
they are seeking and their progress toward the goals.
Evaluating Individual Growth as Speaker
The real purpose of evaluation is to provide a point at
which one takes stock of oneself and, in the light of the find-
ings, projects a plan for future action. Evaluation gives life
and work its richest meaning and most enduring satisfaction.
It should result in satisfaction at progress already made and
a desire to improve, increasing respect for the achievements
of others, courage to attempt and carry out new things, an
ability to give major attention to quality rather than quantity
and a cooperative attitude in carrying out plans for improve-
ments.
Every child needs to evaluate his progress in terms of pur-
poses, goals, and standards which he has helped to set up, and
therefore, fully understands. When such standards are set up
cooperatively, with teacher and children participating, they are
more likely to have meaning. For example, Jim has made a
report to the group and he asks himself the following questions:
Did I conform to the standards set up by the group by
1. Maintaining good posture
2. Making a pleasing appearance
3. Establishing a good speaker-audience relation
4. Expressing my ideas clearly and in an orderly manner
5. Using a pleasing voice
6. Using an interesting beginning and conclusion
7. Using notes
8. Using correct English
9. Accepting and profiting by criticism from group and teacher
In the light of the results of this questioning, Jim is grati-
fied by his strong points and is able to locate his weaknesses for
correction. Such evaluation must be continuous.
The teacher will need to be continually evaluating pupil
progress so that she may be on the alert to supply the needed
stimulus for continuous growth. She may wish to consider and
evaluate progress in the light of the over-all aims of oral com-
munication. She may ask herself:
1. Does the pupil meet easily a speech situation with a few
persons or many persons with whom he is familiar?
2. Does a pupil meet easily a speech situation with a few
strangers or with many strangers?
3. Does the pupil consider the comfort or discomfort of others
in the group?
4. Does the pupils contribute to group planning by making
suggestions?
5. Does the pupil contribute willingly to group planning by
accepting and following suggestions?
6. Does the pupil think things over or is he inclined to snap
judgments?
7. Does the pupil answer questions, give directions, make an-
nouncements from a "you" or "we" viewpoint rather than
an "I"?
8. Does the pupil incorporate his own ideas with the ideas of
the group in order to further the purpose of group activity?
9. Does the pupil show or respond to any form of humor?
The teacher may wish to evaluate pupil progress in effec-
tiveness as a speaker by observing the effect on the audience.
Group reaction to a speaker may be evaluated as follows:
1. Did the speaker arouse group interest?
2. Was material organized so that the group could follow?
3. Was there evidence of sustained interest (alert attention,
questioning, statement of approval or disapproval) ?
4. Was there any evidence of group carry over of interest?
Formal and informal instruments for checking speech effi-
ciency are useful to teachers and pupils. The teacher of begin-
ners and of the children in the early elementary grades finds
a simple check list of value. This she makes by drawing 26
columns beside a column giving the names of each of her pupils.
At the head of each column she inserts the vowel and consonant
sounds to which she is giving attention. A she listens during
group conferences and informal dramatizations, she unobstru-
sively checks beside the child-speaker's name, the sound or
sounds with which she will need to help the child.
Similiarly she may use a checklist giving descriptive words
under such heads as these: Quality of Voice, Articulation,
Volume, Expression, Range of Inflection, and Use of Bodily
and Facial Expression.
Evaluation of Individual as Speaker through Recordings
Much corrective speech work can be accomplished by the
use of the recorder: the disc, the tape, and wire recorder (see
The Audio Visual Way, Bulletin No. 22B, p. 71).
The use of these is limitless as instantaneous and accurate
speech recordings can be made of actual individual needs and
class situations. It is valuable at all grade levels to inventory
and to detect speech irregularities so that a pupil can hear him-
self as others hear him. As a means for checking individual
growth, a pupil's voice recording is made at the beginning of
the year and an analysis is drawn up and improper speech
tones checked. After training proper sounding of letters, games,
and help from the teacher and other members of the class, a
second recording is made. Effective self-evaluation can then
be made by comparing the two recordings.
1. Do I understand what is involved in the making of speech
sounds? If I do not, do I avail myself of materials available
in this area?
2. Am I careful of my own speech habits?
3. In evaluating pupil progress do I consider physical develop-
ment, home environment, and personal experience back-
ground?
4. Do I cooperate with the other teachers in the language
development of my pupils?
5. Do I practice courtesy in all teacher-pupil relationships?
Evaluating Individual Growth as Listener
a. Does the child have an understanding of audiences respon-
sibility for the success of a performance?
b. Does he have a knowledge of the correct ways of applaud-
ing a good performance?
c. Does he have the ability to listen for significant details in
announcements?
d. Does he get the main idea of the speaker?
e. Can he follow the sequence of ideas in a speech?
f. Does he get the rhythm and thought of the poet?
g. Does he have a good ear-minded vocabulary?
h. Can he take accurate notes?
i. Can he differentiate in the qualities of speaking tones?
Evaluating Individual Growth of Writer
From the child's point of view, such questions as the fol-
lowing prove useful in self-evaluation:
1. Are my efforts becoming more readable and interesting?
2. Can my friends, my teacher, and I read easily what I have
written?
3. Am I learning how to study the spelling of new words?
4. Am I actually cutting down the number of misspelled words
in what I write?
5. Am I forming the habit of checking back to correct as many
careless mistakes as possible?
6. Am I indenting my paragraphs, keeping to my topic within
the paragraph, and forming new paragraphs for each new
topic or change of speaker?
7. Are my sentences set apart by capitals and proper end
punctuation?
8. Are my sentences complete, varied, and interesting?
9. Do I use a comma properly? a colon? semicolon? hyphen?
and apostrophe?
10. Do I use interesting words of action, color, smell, sound,
and sight?
11. Do I plan the organization of my material carefully before
beginning to write?
12. Do I consider my reader by checking whether I have been
clear, have followed my plan, and have been entertaining,
convincing, or informing-whichever was my purpose?
Evaluating Individual Growth in Spelling
Stated from the teacher's point of view, the following ques-
tions will point to evidence of pupil growth in spelling:
1. Does the pupil feel a conscious need for spelling as an im-
portant social asset?
2. Is the pupil more independent in spelling?
3. Is he able to use parts of words with which he is familiar?
4. Does he show steady improvement?
5. Does he use correct spelling in his written work?
Does he seek help in spelling the words he needs but may
not know how to spell rather than to use inappropriate or
incorrect words which he can spell?
(Second grade Ronnie, who uses effective English, handed
his teacher a letter he had voluntarily written her. Near
the close of it, he had seemed to feel some explanation due
and had taken care of it with "I have not wrote you in
sometime." Privately she thanked the child for the pleasant
surprise he had given her. Then she asked, "Ronnie, will
you read this sentence to me?" When he read it out loud, she
persisted, "Is that what you say, Ronnie?" "No, I wouldn't,
I would say, 'I have not written'." Sensing the next question
he hurried on with the logical and simple explanation, "I
can't spell written, and I can spell wrote.")
6. Does he know where to find the words he cannot spell?
7. Does he understand how to study effectively alone?
8. Does he add words that he would like to use to his individual
list?
The developmental approach means that in anything we are trying
to teach, we should pick out and emphasize the inner, living essence
in the first place, rather than the external manifestations. It means
giving the pupil a grasp of this inner, living essence right from the
very start, and seeing that his grasp of it improves as he works at
this, that, or the other of its external manifestations. In the rhumba,
the rhythm is the inner, living essence; the steps are the external
manifestations; and the rhythm should be emphasized all along the
line. In mathematics, relational thinking is the inner, living essence;
sums, calculations, rules, formulae are the outer manifestations;
and relational thinking should be emphasized all along the line. In
English composition, clear communication is the inner, living
essence; rules of grammar, punctuation, and usage are the external
manifestations; and clear communication should be emphasized all
along the line. Of course we want these external manifestations to
appear. Not to care about them would be quite idiotic. But the
question is how best to get them. Well, the best way to get fruit
from a tree is to pay particular attention to the growth of the tree.
There you have the whole idea of developmental teaching.
-James L. Mursell. Education for Musical Growth. Ginn and
Company, 1948, pp. 4-5
Evaluating Individual Growth
at the Secondary Level
Pupils at the secondary level of learning find such cumu-
lative records and individual self-appraisal checklists as the
following a stimulus and a guide to improvement.
Cumulative Record in Written English
Last Name (print) First Name School Class
DIRECTIONS TO STUDENT: Insert the date on which you revised a paper to submit to your teacher.
In the column headed "S" check the errors you, the STUDENT, located and corrected. In the column
headed "T" insert the errors your TEACHER located when she marked your paper. Watch carefully
from one paper to the next that you do not repeat the same error. Use the rules on the Diagnostic Sheet
(on file in your notebook) to assist you in careful proofreading before you turn in a paper. Use your dic-
tionary to verify spelling of words. Ask your teacher for help if you can not locate a word in the dictionary.
Keep this record in your notebook throughout the school year.
Date Date Date
S T S T S T
GENERAL ESTIMATE OF WRITTEN ENGLISH...
CONTENT............. ......................
ORGANIZATION ..............................
SENTENCE STRUCTURE.....................
PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE.......................
GRAMMAR
Agreement Subject and Verb ...................... .
Change of Tense .................................
Change of Person ................................
M mistake in M ood ...............................
M mistake in V oice...............................
Agreement of Pronoun with Antecedent ..............
Case of Pronoun .................................
Reference of Pronoun ..............................
D angling Participle.............................
PUNCTUATION
E n d ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Apostrophe .....................................
Com m a .......................................
series .. . . . . . . . .. . .. .. .. .. . . . . .
independent clause with conjunction .............
introductory clause or phrase ................... '
parenthetical expression .......................
street name, city, state........................
salutation, complimentary close.................
Quotation m arks ................................. .
Sem i-colon ...................................... .
Colon ................... .....................
CAPITALIZATION ............................... -
SPELLING (including plurals of nouns) ................
HANDWRITING.............. ...................
CODE: V means one error; V V means two errors; V V V means three or more errors.
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