VALUE OF READING

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 32, 6 August 1930, Page 13

VALUE OF READING

The importance of reading was pointed out by Mr. L. A. Bates, 8.A., at a meeting of the Canterbury Women Teachers' Association. He said that reading was all-important, because it unlocked the door to wealth that was unattainable in any other way. Therefore tho child should be taught to obtain directly from tho printed pafge, the thought of the writer. ' Hence arose the necessity for much practice in silent reading, in order that the child might learn to grasp ideas quickly. As. oral reading involved for tho child two processes, namely . the .■• obtaining of the meaning of tho words for himself, and the conveying of this meaning to others, the child naturally found oral reading more difficult.. Mr. Bates advocated the teaching of silent reading even in the primer classes. The child should learn to recognise certain words. Sightreading of those words having been acquired, the words ' should be combined in small phrases, which the child should read silently. ; Such study should be continued until tho child was abl« to read his first book. That method was preferable to "word by word" reading. Mr. Bates recommended, in the early stages, tho intensive study of a limited number of useful words, rather than the study of a more oxtensive and often useless vocabulary. In dealing with the phonetic method, the speaker advised teachers to encourage the children of the upper infant classes to recognise words by sounding whole syllables, rather than by sounding single letters. Ho outlined a method by which socalled bad renders in tho upper classes could be taught to read well. Children who road well, orally, ho said, were those who understood tho meaning of what they read. Passages, which were to be read orally, should first be read silently, and the meaning carefully examined by the teacher and the class, lie considered that tho time was long past when children of a class were expected to listen while each member of the class read prepared passages aloud. Pupils should be required to listen only to good readers. Weak readers should be treated individually. In order that children should be given opportunity of extensive silent reading every school should be equipped with a large library of suitable and useful books.