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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled ,
Direct Instruction in Critical Listening:
Its Effect On the Reading Progress of
Children identified as Remedial Readers

presented by

Gloria Marlene Boodt

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph. D (m eeh, Elementary
Reading, Language rts and Children's
' Literature

 

flM/cd/ 9 flu (Ma-.44

Major professor

Date May 16, 1978

 

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ii

(9 Copyright by
GLORIA MARLENE BOODT

1978

DIRECT INSTRUCTION IN CRITICAL LISTENING: ITS
EFFECT ON THE READING PROGRESS OF CHILDREN
IDENTIFIED AS REMEDIAL READERS

By

Gloria Marlene Boodt

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Elementary and Special Education

1978

G/r’x

“ ’05:

ABSTRACT

DIRECT INSTRUCTION IN CRITICAL LISTENING: ITS
EFFECT ON THE READING PROGRESS OF CHILDREN
IDENTIFIED AS REMEDIAL READERS

By

Gloria Marlene Boodt

The purpose of this study was to determine whether
direct instruction in critical listening skills learned
through activities in which select literary materials are
used would improve (1) critical listening, (2) critical
reading, and (3) general reading comprehension abilities
of fourth, fifth, and sixth grade children identified as
remedial readers.

Thirty subjects were assigned to the experimental
(n = 15) group, and control (n = 15) group. Subjects were
given Form 4A of the SEQUENTIAL TEST OF EDUCATIONAL
PROGRESS (STEP) Listening test, the SEQUENTIAL TEST OF
EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS (STEP) Reading test, and Form.A of
A LOOK AT LITERATURE: THE NCTE COOPERATIVE TEST OF CRITICAL
READING AND APPRECIATION as pretests. Alternate forms of

these tests were used as posttests.

Procedure

For a period of sixteen weeks, subjects in the

Gloria Marlene Boodt
experimental group listened daily to the oral reading of
select literary materials. Following the twenty minute
oral reading, a group discussion was held to discuss
aspects of the literature which were pertinent to the
growth of certain critical thinking skills.

For the second half of the sixty minute reading
period, subjects in the experimental group worked in skill
building materials designed to improve word attack and
comprehension skills.

The study examined the following research
questions:

Will fourthL fifth, and sixthggrade students who
are not reading at a level commensurate with their apparent
potential general ability improve their (1) critical
listening abilities, (2) critical reading abilities, (3)
general reading comprehension as a result of direct
instruction in select critical listening skills learned
through activities in which select literary materials are

used?

 

The study also examined the following sub-
questions:

Will direct instruction in select critical
listening skills learned through activities in which
select literary materials are used (1) improve subjects'

positive attitudes toward reading, (2) improve subjects'

 

ability to think and respond critically, and (3) will

 

oral reading of select literary materials be an

 

Gloria Marlene Boodt
appropriate medium for teaching critical listening,

critical reading and critical thinking?

 

Subjects in the control group received the school's
regular basal reading program in ability grouped classes

taught by classroom teachers.

Major Findings

 

Data were submitted to analysis of covariance.
The adjusted estimate of the treatment effect on the STEP
posttest of listening was 10.59, with a standard error
of 3.05, favoring the experimental group (F = 12.03,

p less than .002), and was significant at the .05 level.

The adjusted estimate of the treatment effect on
the STEP reading test resulted in a difference between
the groups of 8.9, with a standard error of 2.89, favoring
the experimental group (F = 9.49, p less than .005), and
was significant at the .05 level.

The adjusted estimate of the treatment effect on
the NCTE critical reading test, A LOOK AT LITERATURE, was
3.9, with a standard error of 2.02, favoring the
experimental group (F = 3.66, p less than .07), which did

not reach the .05 level of significance.

Conclusions

It appears that instruction in critical listening
should be included in reading instruction in the
elementary school.

Children's literature appears to be an effective

Gloria Marlene Boodt
medium for improving critical listening, critical reading
and general reading comprehension.

Direct instruction in critical listening in which
select literary materials are used appears to improve
subjects' positive attitudes toward reading, as well as

abilities to think and respond critically to literature.

To my beloved husband, Neil,
and my dear children,
Douglas, Bradley and Jenell,
who so willingly gave their
love and support

throughout this project.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to express my deep appreciation to the
many people who helped to make this study possible.

To Dr. Patricia Cianciolo, my major advisor,
for whom I have great respect and admiration. She has
been more than a mentor; she has been my friend.

To Dr. Charles Blackman, Dr. Lawrence Sarbaugh,
and Dr. James Snoddy, the members of my committee, whose
advice and guidance are greatly appreciated. In sharing
with me their knowledge, they have been kindly and humane.

To Virginia Wiseman in the College of Education
Graduate Office for all her assistance.

To Dr. Judith Taylor in the Office of Research
Consultants for her valuable help with the statistics,
and for her patience in explaining them.

To Dr. Sheila Fitzgerald who first made me aware
of the importance of teaching children to listen. She
is a warm and enthusiastic listener.

Last, but not least, to all the children who
ihelped to make this project a reality. It was for them,

also, that this project was undertaken.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
LIST OF TABLES .................................... vii
LIST OF FIGURES ................................... viii
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION ............................ 1
Purpose of the Study ................. 9
Statement of the Problem. ............. 9
The Need for the Study ............... 14
Statement of Research Questions ...... 24
Statement of Sub-Questions ........... 25
Limitations .......................... 26
Definition of Terms .................. 27
Overview ............................. 28
II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ................ 30
Critical Listening ................... 30
Summary of Research on Critical
Listening ......................... 36
Critical Reading, Literature for
Children and Reading Instruction .. 37
Summary of Studies Pertaining to
Critical Reading, Literature for
Children and Reading Instruction .. 47
Overview ............................. 47
III. SELECTION OF STUDENTS, PROCEDURES
AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY .............. 48
Assumptions .......................... 50
Design and Methodology ............... 52
Methodology .......................... 53
The Sample ........................... 54
Experimental Group Procedure ......... 55

Chapter Page

Sample Critical Listening

Lessons .......................... 59
Control Group Procedure ............. 71
Sample Control Group Lesson ......... 73
Overview ............................ 75
IV. ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS ... 76
California Achievement Test Scores .. 80
Regression Analysis ................. 81
Step-wise Regression Analysis ....... 82
Data Analysis Relating to
Each Research Question ........... 87
Critical Listening .................. 87
Critical Reading .................... 94
General Reading Comprehension ....... 99
Test Item Analysis .................. 103
Critical Listening Items .......... 103
Critical Reading Items ........... 106
Review .............................. 108
Observations of Student Behavior .... 113
Observations Regarding the
Sub-Questions .................... 115
Overview ............................ 123
V. SUMMARY OF THE STUDY ................... 124
Summary of the Findings ............. 124
Critical Listening .................. 126
Critical Reading .................... 126
General Reading Comprehension ....... 127
Discussion .......................... 128
Limitations ......................... 131
Implications ........................ 132
Reflections ......................... 134
Suggestions for Changes in
the Study ........................ 137
Suggestions for Further Research .... 138
Appendix
A TITLES USED IN THE STUDY ............... 142
B TAPE RECORDED STUDENT RESPONSES
TO SELECT LESSONS ................... 147
c CRITICAL LISTENING LESSONS ............. 155

vi

Table

LIST OF TABLES

California Achievement Test
Reading Scores

Sample Correlation Matrix .
Step-wise Regression F Statistics

for the Six Covariates on the
Set of Four Posttests

Step—wise Regression F Statistics
on the Two Covariates on the
Set of Four Posttests

Univariate F Statistics for the
Set of Four Posttests

Total Converted Scores STEP
Listening Test . .

Total Converted Scores A LOOK AT
LITERATURE Test . . . .

Total Converted Scores STEP
Reading Test . .

Observed Cell Means

vii

Page

79

83

85

85

86

88

91

97
101

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page
1. Experimental Group Critical Listening
Items from STEP Listening Test . . . . . 110
2. Experimental Group Critical Reading
Items from A LOOK AT LITERATURE . . . . . 111
3. Experimental Group Critical Reading
Items from STEP Reading Test . . . . . . . 112

viii

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to determine if
direct instruction in critical listening skills, learned
through activities in which select literary materials are
used, will effect the reading progress of children
identified as remedial readers. Critical thinking is a
major aspect of this study and teaching children to think
critically about what they hear and read is viewed by
many as a primary requirement of education. Two basic
purposes for teaching critical thinking are espoused by
those who encourage the teaching of critical thinking.
One purpose is related to their concern for the preservation
of the democratic way of life, and the other is related to
their belief that the ability to engage in critical thinking
helps one to be able to use many kinds of thinking processes
in the solution of life's problems and in the pursuit of
happiness.1

The preservation of the democratic way of life

 

1

Martha L. King, "Critical Reading, What Else?"
A Forum for Focus, ed. Martha L. King, Robert Emans, and
Patricia J. Cianciolo (Urbana, Illinois: The National
Council of Teachers of English, 1973), p. 294.

 

1

2

rests upon the understanding that democracy, by its very
definition is a form of government in which political
power resides in all the people, and is an awesome
responsibility. To exercise one's duty and privilege, each
citizen of normal intellectual capacity has a responsibility
to share in the decision-making process by engaging in
reflective or critical thinking concerning the issues.
Nila Banton Smith wrote:
In our democratic culture we cannot afford

for one moment to become careless about critical

reading and reflective thinking. Pupils free to

evaluate are also responsible for good and sound

decisions.

Helen Robinson states that to the important
priorities of the acquisition of skills and a desire to
learn, must be added the ability to evaluate, which may
prove to be crucial to the survival of our nation and our
world.4

Lillian Gordon expresses a thought-provoking idea

in the statement that the students in our schools today

 

2

Webster's Third International Dictionary of
the English Language, Unabridged, ed. Philip Babcock
Gove, et a1. (Springfield, Massachusetts, 1961), p. 483.

3
Nila Banton Smith, "Reading in Depth at the Middle
Grades," The Instructor, 74 (1965), 103.

4

Helen M. Robinson, "Significant Unsolved Problems
in Reading," Language and the Language Arts, ed. Johanna
deStefano and Sharon E. Fox (Boston: Little, Brown and
Company, 1974), p. 181.

3

will one day become the lawmakers, either as leaders, even
though they are relatively few in percentage of the
population, or as voters who choose the leaders, and as
such, must be taught to examine critically what they see,
hear feel, read, and think. The school, therefore, is
probably the one agency that can help students build
critical thinking skills. While most students do not
master critical thinking by themselves, almost all of them
have the ability to think critically.5

Closely related to the ability to think critically
are the skills of critical listening and critical reading.
Lundsteen states that each process makes use of many of the
same feelings, background experiences, understandings and
concepts. Devine suggests that perhaps all instruction in
reading after one has mastered the basic skill of decoding,
is training in how to think. He further hypothesizes that
the teaching of listening, which goes beyond learning to
follow directions or pay attention, may well be training in

7
thinking. This researcher assumes that the terms

 

5

Lillian G. Gordon, "Promoting Critical Thinking,"
Developing Comprehension Including Critical Reading, comp.
Mildred A. Dawson (Newark, DéIaware: International Reading
Association, 1968), p. 118.

6
Sara W. Lundsteen, Listening: Its Impact on
Reading and the Other Language Arts (Urbana, Illinois:
National Council of Teachers of English, 1971), p. 10.

7Thomas G. Devine, "Listening: What Do We Know
After Fifty Years of Research and Theorizing?" Journal of
Reading, 21, No. 4 (1978), 302.

 

 

4

critical thinking, critical listening, and critical reading
may be used interchangeably since the ability to think
critically appears to be implicit in the act of critical
listening and critical reading.

Another concern facing education is the widespread
use of and exposure to the mass media, and the need it has
created to teach critical thinking, critical listening,
and critical reading as a protection against what has been
called a "mob society." The omnipresence of mass media and
the glibness with which mind-shaping ideas are presented,
makes it crucial for citizens to critically evaluate the
many varied and opposing ideas with which they are confronted
daily through the mass media. David H. Russell once wrote
that because so many children live in a world filled with
ideas with which they are bombarded daily, the need to
evaluate ideas is imperative.8 High among the skills
needed in a world in which mass communication is such a
powerful and influential force are critical thinking skills
such as: the ability to judge and evaluate ideas; to
distinguish fact from opinion; to judge the qualifications
of an authority, and to recognize emotional or persuasive
appeal. Kenneth A. Strike has commented that it could well

be that the ability to make sound, autonomous judgment, as

 

8
David H. Russell, Children's Thinking (Boston:
Ginn and Company, 1965), p. 308.

 

5

well as the capacity to resist external manipulation,
should be placed high upon our list of minimum

9
competencies. Hugh Rank, in his article, "Teaching About

Public Persuasion,‘ suggests that a very significant change
in public persuasion has occurred over the past two decades
in that the professional persuaders have become dominant.
The power of money, media access, sophisticated techniques,
psychologists and sociologists skilled in anyalyzing human
behavior are on one side. On the other side are the
persuadees: the average citizen and consumer. Who trains
the citizen? Not the school, says Rank. "There is no
coherent, systematic effort in the schools today t1 prepare
our future citizens for a sophisticated literacy." O
The world of tomorrow as envisioned by Alvin
Toffler presents a view of rapid and often radical change.
Education, he says, must become future-oriented in order
to prepare mankind for life in a vastly changed society.
the technology of tomorrow requires
men who can make critical judgments, who can
weave their way through novel environments,

who are quick to spot new relationships in
the rapidly changing reality.11

 

9
Kenneth A. Strike. "What Is a 'Competent' High

School Graduate?" Educational Leadership, 35, No. 2 (1977),
96.

10
Hugh Rank, "Teaching About Public Persuasion,"
Teaching About Doublespeak, ed. Daniel Dieterich (Urbana,
Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, l976),p.4.

11
Alvin Toffler, Future Shock (New York: Random
House, 1970), p. 402.

Critical thinking skills are needed to aid young
people in coping effectively in a world which is in a
constant state of flux concerning life styles, career
choices, family and social relationships. A criterion or
standard against which one may evaluate the rapidly
changing ethical, moral and technological climate is
needed to assist young people in making sound choices and
judgments. Further, as society recognizes its pluralistic
nature, evaluations of peoples and cultures must reflect
a consciously developed standard against which judgments
are made rather than stereotypic belief or hasty judgment.
The development of self-awareness, as well as an under-
standing of others, grows as one examines critically one's
feelings about ideas, actions, and people one
encounters in daily living. The Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development espouses the idea
of cultural pluralism in the statement that the impact of
the complexity of life in a highly technological and
industrialized society makes it necessary to recognize
cultural pluralism and foster active efforts for its
positive perpetuation. Translating this into educational
terms, multi-cultural education has as essential goals:
(a) recognizing and prizing diversity; (b) developing
greater understanding of other cultural patterns; (c)
respecting individuals of all cultures; (d) developing

positive interaction among people and among experiences

12
of diverse cultural groups.

According to the Education Policies Commission,
"The purpose which runs through and strengthens all other
educational purposes - the common thread of education -

13
is the development of the ability to think."

 

Opportunities to teach critical thinking may be found in
various areas of the elementary curriculum, and most
particularly in the language arts skills of listening and
reading. The fundamental principles upon which the
development of critical evaluation depend are: (l) a
background of knowledge and experience upon which to draw
when making critical evaluations; (b) the relative
independence of general intelligence and knowledge of the
subject matter, and the ability to think critically
(although it is understood that a certain amount of
intelligence and knowledge of the subject matter must be
present before critical thinking can take place); (c)

a command of the techniques of evaluation and a willingness
to suspend judgment; (d) critical thinking skills must be

learned as they do not develop naturally as part of the

 

12
Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, Multicultural Education, ed. Carl A. Grant
(Washington, D. C., 1977), p. 2.

13
Education Policies Commission, National
Education Association, The Central Purposes of American
Education (Washington, D. C., 1961), p. 12.

 

 

l4
maturational process It may be necessary, as

Russell has pointed out, for the school to provide the
experiences a child does not have before critical thinking
can take place. Indeed, the school may well be the best
environment in which knowledge, experience, and skills

may be acquired, and in which the fundamentals of

critical thinking may be learned and practiced.

 

14
Patricia J. Cianciolo, "Discriminating Readers

Are Critical Thinkers," Reading Horizons, 9, No. 4
(Summer 1969), 174-180.

 

The Purpose of the Study

 

The purpose of this study was to determine whether
the teaching of select critical listening skills through:
activities in which select literary materials were used
would improve the reading abilities of fourth, fifth, and
sixth grade students who were reading at a level not
commensurate with their apparent potential general ability.
A major goal of this study was to investigate the
feasibility of utilizing critical listening to select
literary materials as a viable means for teaching critical
thinking and critical reading to students, who because of
their reading difficulties, were often denied this kind of

learning.

Statement of the Problem

 

As reading programs become directed more toward
teaching the decoding and first level comprehension skills
of reading, less time is provided for reading full length
books, especially if a student has not mastered the
required decoding and comprehension skills being taught
through the use of the selections in basal readers and/or
workbooks. This student is often given more drill on
specific decoding and comprehension skills in which s/he

is deficient while the more fortunate student who has

10

successfully completed his work, may spend his time reading
books other than the basal readers. Aidan Chambers
comments that the children who suffer most from the loss
as a result of not being given time to read books of their
choice and non-textbook selections are those children who
need it most, for they are often the children whose homes
did not prepare them to be readers and do not encourage
them to spend time reading out of school; homes without
books and without the kind of atmosphere that helps
children enjoy reading.15

Reluctance to read is an attitude more often than
an inability. The reader must be able to view the reading
of literature as pleasurable if reluctance for reading is
to be avoided.16 Because the student who experiences
reading difficulties seldom experiences reading as a
pleasurable or worthwhile activity, s/he often has little
opportunity to acquire positive attitudes about reading.
Too often his attitudes about reading are negative; s/he

does not want to read and may express belligerency when

asked to do so. S/he feels that reading is punishment and

 

15
Aidan Chambers, "Letter from.England: Talking
About Reading: Back to Basics?" The Horn Book Magazine,
53, No. 5 (1977), 573.

16
Aidan Chambers, The Reluctant Reader (Oxford:
Pergamon Press Ltd., 1969), p. 127.

 

11

often expresses the feeling that reading has no
significance. The child who has difficulty with reading
is often a discouraged student who may be fearful of
attempting something at which failure is almost always
assurred. Therefore, this researcher is of the opinion
that a major part of a remedial reading program should be
designed to change the reader's perception of the reading
act to one that is more positive. The reader must be
helped to realize that the material s/he is given, or that
which s/he chooses to read, is worth reading; the language
and message in the books that s/he reads must be real and
interesting. It is important for the developing reader to
realize that there is a purpose for reading beyond the
completion of assigned work in reading class; that reading
is a lifelong activity from.which pleasure and knowledge
may be gained. Jeannette Veatch contends that children
will actually learn to read through the sheer pleasure
found in books if they are given ample time to spend with
literature.17 Alm states that the availability of good
literature is a crucial factor in providing excellent

18
instruction and preventing reading difficulties.

 

l7
Jeannette Veatch, "Let's Put the Joy Back into
Reading," School Library Journal, 95, No.I10 (MayIS,'I970),
29.

 

18
Richard S. Alm, "Causes of Reluctance," Remedial
Reading: Classroom and Clinic, ed. Leo M. Schell and Paul
M. Burns (Zafed.; Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1972),
p. 85.

 

12

Chambers comments that it is vitally important for the
child to spend time each week in the library perusing and
handling books without reference to anyone or any subject
except his own desire.19 Daniel Fader comments that the
child who does not perceive reading as a pleasurable
activity may well learn that reading is good for nothing
except the pain of recurrent failure. The developing
reader should learn that one may read for a variety of
purposes. Ideally, the young reader will learn that one
may gain satisfaction and pleasure from reading; and that
reading will also provide one with knowledge and
information about the world in which s/he lives. Triggs
reminds us that one of the main purposes for all reading
is understanding, and that word attack skills must be
learned in a meaningful context. Because reading is
never merely word calling, the learning of word attack
skills without reference to the meaning of the words in
which they are applied has two major fallacies: (1) there
is no purpose in recognizing a word if it has no meaning,

and (2) the meaning of the context in which the unknown

word is found should itself be useful as part of the

 

l9
Aidan Chambers, The Reluctant Reader (Oxford:
Pergamon Press Ltd., 1969), p. 127.

20
Daniel Fader, The Naked Children (New York:

Macmillan, 1971), p. 244.

13

21
attack the reader takes to make the word meaningful.

In a similar statement, Frank Smith suggests that
too much emphasis has been placed on teaching isolated
sounds of letters and isolated words in reading
instruction. He comments that children should always be
taught that print is meaningful. When children do not
perceive reading as being meaningful, a powerful mechanism,
boredom, prevents children from wasting time on sounds that
do not make sense.

As long as children see print as purposeless

or nonsensical, they will find attention to print
aversive and will be bored. Children will not
learn by trying to relate letters to sounds,
partly because the task does not make sense to
them and partly because written language does
not work that way. In my view reading is not

a matter of decoding letters to sounds but of
bringing meaning to print.

Smith, Goodman and Meredith also suggest that we

stop fracturing the language into abstract letters, sounds,

words and skills, and help readers build strategies to

 

 

 

23
find meaning in natural language which is whole and real.
21
Frances Oralind Triggs, "Promoting Growth in
Critical Reading," Critical Reading, ed. Martha L. King,
Bernice D. Ellinger, WilIavene Wolf (New York: J. B.
Lippincott Company, 1967), p. 67.
22
Frank Smith, "Making Sense of Reading - And of
Reading Instruction," Harvard Educational Review, 47,
No. 3 (1977), 387.
23

E. Brooks Smith, Kenneth S. Goodman, and Robert
Meredith, Language and Thinking in School (2d ed.; New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976), p. 300.

The Need for the Study

In a discussion of reading habits and attitudes
about reading, it was reported in the Literature
Assessment of the First National Assessment of Educational
Progress in Writing, Reading and Literature, that the
thirteen and seventeen year olds surveyed Stated that they
believed literature was an important subject to study.
When asked to give their reasons for this belief, only one
third of the 90 percent of high school seniors who said
literature was an important subject to study could give as
much as one clear and sensible reason for their belief.
Among the responses from the thirteen and seventeen year
olds surveyed were the following: literature improves
language skills and helps one in English; literature is
important for one's future education or job; literature
gives one various other kinds of knowledge; literagzre
study increases one's understanding of literature.

The idea that reading could be a pleasurable activity in
which one would engage for personal satisfaction, or for

broadening one's perceptions and knowledge of the world,

was not mentioned.

 

24
John C. Mellon, The National Assessment and the
Teaching of English (Urbana, Illinois: The National Council
of Teachers of English, 1975), p. 94.

 

 

l4

15

How children perceive the reading act was also the
subject of a study by Tovey which yielded some interesting
findings regarding children's perceptions of how meaning
is derived from reading. Children were asked, ”What do
you think you do when you read?" Of the fifty-one responses
given, only fourteen, or twenty-eight percent, thought
reading had something to do with meaning. Forty-three
percent of the responses stated that reading was looking at,
pronouncing, reading, or thinking about words. Twenty-
nine percent described reading as spelling, talking,
memorizing or questioning. The author concluded that
perhaps the reason children fail to perceive reading's
purpose to be obtaining meaning is that children have been
conditioned to think of reading as naming words through the
use of a word-recognition-equals-meaning model.2

The findings of the NAEP and Tovey clearly
indicate that all children do not perceive reading as a
thinking activity, nor do they experience the inherent
pleasure found in the reading of fine literature.

Research evidence suggests that remedial reading
programs which concentrate on reaching minimal standards
of literacy, which means that children will master word

attack skills in addition to answering questions about

 

25
Duane R. Tovey, "Children's Perceptions of
Reading," The Reading Teacher, 29, No. 6 (1976), 537.

16

reading which primarily require literal comprehension, are
unsatisfactory in educating young people to read and think
critically.

Gentile and McMillan suggest that remedial reading
programs do little to help the student acquire a desire to
read.

Corrective programs have focused on diagnosing

deficits and prescribing remediation. Following
the medical model of treating the symptoms and

not the disease, major efforts are launched to
determine the intellectual or physiological basis
of a student's reading deficiency. This
diagnostic/prescriptive approach is not altogether
without success, but it fails drastically to
promote an individual's desire to read.

In research done by Huck, King and Wolf it was
pointed out that teachers too frequently have stressed the
mechanics of reading to the neglect of the thinking aspect.
Often the inherent rightness of the printed page is assumed,
and children develop a non-questioning attitude toward

27
their reading. It appears from research findings that
a re-evaluation of instructional priorities is in order so

that a more comprehensive view of reading may be defined.

An expanded view of the reading curriculum encompasses the

 

26
Lance M. Gentile and Merna M. McMillan, "Why
Won't Teenagers Read?" Journal of Reading, 20, No. 8
(1977), 649.

27
Charlotte 8. Huck, Martha L. King, and Willavene
WOlf, The Critical Reading Abilities of Elementary School
Children, U. 8. Office OfIEducation Cooperative Research
Project No. 2612 (Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State
University, 1967), p. 23.

l7

concept that a truly literate person is one who is capable
of thinking critically about what is heard or read, since
it is the responsibility of all citizens in a democratic
society to think critically if intelligent choices are to
be made. Karlin admonishes all teachers to accept the
responsibility to stimulate readers to react as
thoughtfully as they can to what they read.28

Helen Robinson comments that one of the major
unsolved problems in reading is the teaching of critical
reading. As the reading process is understood more fully,
critical reaction may well be an adjunct to the basic
process of reading. Indeed, it may be one of the major
goals of all education.29

Critical reading need not be limited to only the
gifted student, nor should it be delayed until high school.
Olson states that it is equally as important to teach the
average and below average student to read critically. It

may even be more important to teach this group to read

critically because without instruction it is very likely

 

28
Robert Karlin, ”Critical Reading is Critical
Thinking," Critical Reading, ed. Martha L. King,
Bernice D. Ellinger, and Willavene Wolf (New York: J. B.
Lippincott Company, 1967), p. 135.

29
Helen M. Robinson, "Significant Unsolved
Problems in Reading," Language and the Language Arts,
ed. Johanna de Stefano and Sharon E. Fox (Boston:
Little, Brown and Company, 1974), p. 182.

 

18

that they will not acquire critical reading skills at
all.30

David H. Russell comments that good mental ability
does not necessarily guarantee some of the specific skills
needed in critical thinking as there appears to be a low
correlation between intelligence and critical thinking.
Russell suggests that it may be necessary to give more
emphasis to early manifestations of critical thinking and
to ways of encouraging it in preschool and elementary
school children. Critical thinking does not mean having
a cold, intellectual approach to problems. Particularly
with children who are immature socially and emotionally,
it may be difficult to think critically as well as their
general intellectual development would seem to suggest.
However, a Strong emotion such as sympathy for the
underdog, may stimulate the child to do his best critical
thinking.31

The report of the 1974-75 National Assessment of
Educational Progress, in which the reading Skills of nine,
thirteen, and seventeen year olds were assessed and

compared with the previous assessment made in 1970-71,

 

30
Arthur V. Olson, "Teaching Critical Reading

Skills," Reading Improvement, 4, No. 1 (Fall 1966), l.

31
David H. Russell, Children's Thinking (Boston:
Ginn and Company, 1956), p. 139.

 

 

19

states that there appears to have been an increased
emphasis upon teaching literal comprehension skills over
inferential skills. While no group made significant gains
in any comprehension skill, results clearly indicate that
the most difficult tasks were those which probed the
literal-processing and inferential-reasoning abilities.
Further, the assessment revealed that while thirteen year
olds had developed some study skills, as well as a
variety of useful facts, the idea that they could use these
skills to make life more interesting and productive is
not always obvious to them. In the assessment of seventeen
year olds, it was reported that they can read, write and
compute in well-structured situations; however, they, too,
have difficulty in applying this knowledge to new situations.
These disheartening findings clearly indicate that critical
reading is not being taught in the schools, and children
are not learning to become critical thinkers. While gains
accrue in the mechanical aspects of reading, concomitant
growth in evaluative and judgmental abilities is nearly
non-existent.32

In the present study an attempt was made to teach
critical thinking as a result of direct instruction in
select critical listening skills through activities in

which select literary materials were used as a concomitant

 

32
Education Commission of the States, NAEP
Newsletter,10, No. 2 (April, 1977), p. l.

 

20
component of reading remediation.

This researcher believes that the student who
experiences difficulty with reading may have been denied
access to good literature in the preschool years, and
has not yet learned to appreciate reading as an enjoyable
or valuable skill. Thus, literary selections were
chosen as the material which the children who participated
in this study were asked to listen to critically.

Rudine Sims states that long before children learn
to read they should have many experiences with stories and
poems read or told to them by loving and enthusiastic
adults. If children's experiences with literature are
pleasurable and if literature is made an important and
natural part of their environment, children will most
likely develop positive attitudes toward reading and
literature.33 Durkin concluded that children who read
before they came to school came from homes where parents
read to them, and where reading was viewed as a source of
pleasure in the home.34James Moffett describes the "lap"

method of prereading in which the young child is aided in

 

33
Rudine Sims, "Reading Literature Aloud,"
Literature and Young Children, ed. Bernice E. Cullinan
and Carolyn W. Carmichael (Urbana, Illinois: National
Council of Teachers of English, 1977), p. 108.

34
Dolores Durkin, Children Who Read Early (New
York: Teachers College Press, 1973), p. 135.

21

learning to read as s/he hears stories read aloud while
following along in the text. Children who are not
exposed to this "lap" method tend to have reading
difficulties. Since the advent of television and the
decline of the bedtime story, more students from the
suburban middle class family are experiencing reading
difficulties.35

In the present study, this researcher hypothesized
that teaching critical listening skills, through activities
in which select literary materials were used, might be an
effective means for building critical thinking and critical
reading skills with children who had not yet mastered the
skill of independent reading. Bamberger states that when
children listen to exciting stories vocabularies are
expanded, and a wealth of contextual clues are found in
the plot of the story.36 Kellogg Studied the effect of
listening to literature on reading achievement of
beginning readers. His study revealed a significant

difference favoring the experimental group in reading

achievement as a result of a structured program of

 

35
James Moffett and Betty Jane Wagner, Student-
Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-l3 (Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976), p. 186.

36
Richard Bamberger, "Literature and Development
in Reading,” New Horizons in Reading, ed. John E. Merritt
(Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association, 1976),
p. 62.

 

22

37
listening to literature.

Throughout his years in school, a child needs to be
exposed to a variety of viewpoints and vicarious life
experiences in order to develop a sense of judgment and
a set of values and beliefs. Children who are given a
variety of reading material to listen to and/or read, are
building a resource of ideas and viewpoints from which to
draw when evaluating or interpreting experiences in their
lives. Literature may provide the vicarious experiences
the child is lacking which would aid him or her in becoming
a discerning adult. Ladley comments that the period of
childhood reading is limited generally to the ages of nine
to fifteen, and that in this relatively short period of
time, the young reader must make his reading count, or
risk losing many of Childhood's book treasures. Iverson
has pointed out that a lasting appreciation of literature
does not just occur as a result of training in the basic

reading skills. Because the language used in Skill building

 

37
Ralph Edward Kellogg, "A Study of the Effect of
a First-Grade Listening Instructional Program Upon
Achievement in Listening and Reading " (Doctoral
dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo,

1972).

38
Winifred G. Ladley, "The Right Book: A Librarian
Speaks," Children, Books and Reading: Perspectives in
Reading, Number 3, ed. Mildfed Dawson (Newark, Delaware:
International Reading Association, 1964), p. 45.

 

 

23
materials is different from literary language, children
need to be taught to recognize elements of good literature;
to be immersed in literary language from an early age.39
The present study was designed to test the efficacy of
using listening to literature as the mode of presentation
for teaching select critical listening Skills, and to
determine if concomitant growth in critical reading skills
would occur with fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students

who were not reading at a level commensurate with their

apparent potential general ability.

 

39
William J. Iverson, "What Has Happened to
Children's Literature?" (paper presented at the Sixty-

first Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers
of English, Novmeber, 1971).

STATEMENT OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study examined the following research

questions and sub-questions:

Critical Listening

 

Will fourth, fifth, and sixth grade Students who

 

are not reading at a level commensurate with their

 

apparent potential general ability improve their critical

 

listening abilities as a result of direct instruction in

 

select critical listening skills learned through activities

 

in which select literary materials are used, e.g.,

 

(a) to distinguish relevant from
irrelevant statements?

(b) to examine, contrast, and evaluate
ideas?

(c) to distinguish fact from fancy?

Critical Reading

 

Will fourth, fifth, and Sixth grade students who
are not reading at a level commensurate with their
apparent potential general ability improve their critical
reading abilities as a result of direct instruction in
select critical listening skills learned through activites

in which select literary materials are used, e.g.,

 

24

25

(a) to recognize appeal to emotional or
controversial issues, or the use of
persuasion to influence the reader?

(b) to determine whether a statement is
based on fact, judgment or opinion?

(c) to evaluate ways in which the author's

ideas might be applied to another
situation?

General Reading Comprehension

Will fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students who
are not reading at a level commensurate withtheir
apparent potential general ability improve their general
reading comprehension abilities as a result of direct

instruction in select critical listeningskills learned

 

through activities in which select literary materials are
used, e.g.,

(a) to determine the main idea of a
selection?

(b) to understand a selection at the
literal level of comprehension?

(c) to make personal interpretations of
an author's ideas?

STATEMENT OF SUBvQUESTIONS

This study also examined the following sub—
questions;

(a) Will direct instruction in select critical
listening skills learned through activities in which
select literary materials are used improve subjects'

positive attitudes toward reading demonstrated by an

26
increased willingness to engage in voluntary reading?

(b) Will direct instruction in select critical
listening skills learned through activities in which
‘Select literary materials are used aid in the growth of
students' abiligy to think and respond critically, e.g.,
during such activities as classroom discussions?

(c) Will oral readingnof select literary materials
be an appropriate medium for teaching critical listening,

critical reading, and critical thinking?

Limitations

 

Random assignment to the experimental and control
groups was not possible in this study due to restrictions
regarding the selection of students for the special reading
classes established by the Compensatory Education Program,

The control group was not taught by this researcher
due to limitations regarding numbers of students eligible
to receive special reading instruction as established by
the Compensatory Education Program.

Since all classrooms in the building had class—
room collections of books, and some teachers engaged in
oral reading to their classes, it was not known whether any
discussion of literature involving critical evaluation took
place outside the experimental procedure.

The testing period required five days to complete
for pre and posttests, which was very tiring for students,

It is acknowledged by this researcher that it can

not be definitively determined whether or not the last half

27

hour of instruction in skill building materials had an
effect on the results obtained in this study.
This researcher also acknowledges that some degree

of the halo effect was present in the design of the study.

Definition of Terms

 

Critical Thinking, Critical Reading, Critical Listening:

For purposes of this study, the terms critical
listening, critical reading and critical thinking will be
used interchangeably since they represent the same skill
manifest in three different forms. Critical listening,
critical reading, and critical thinking are defined as the
ability to analyze and evaluate ideas in terms of a standard,

40
norm or criterion.

Interpretive Thinking:

 

Interpretive thinking is defined as the ability to
go beyond the literal level of comprehension to draw
conclusions and to infer meanings not directly apparent

41
in the word symbols themselves.

 

40
Patricia J. Cianciolo and Jean M. LePere, The
Literary Time Line in American Histggy (Garden City,
New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1969), p. 101.

41
Nila Banton Smith, "Reading for Depth,"
Developing Comprehension Including Critical Reading, comp.
Mildred A. Dawson (Newark, Delaware: International
Reading Association, 1968), p. 45.

28

Remedial Reading Instruction:

Remedial reading instruction is defined as the
reteaching of specific word attack, word recognition, and/
or comprehension skills to individuals or small groups of
students so that they may achieve in reading at a level
commensurate with their general ability.42
Literary Materials:

Literary materials are defined as entire stories,
chapters in trade books, entire books, or poems which appeal
to and are written primarily for children ages seven to
fourteen, which have been judged by experts in the field of

children's literature to be of the highest literary quality.

Skill Building Materials:

 

Skill building materials are defined as commercially
or teacher prepared materials designed to reteach specific
word attack, word recognition and/or comprehension skills
through the use of worksheets or workbooks in which they

may be learned and practiced.

Overview
Chapter I began with an introduction to the thesis,
including pertinent research regarding the basic reasons

for teaching critical thinking about what is read and heard.

 

42
Gerald G. Duffy and George B. Sherman, Systematic

Reading_lnstruction (New York: Harper and Row Publishers,
1972), p. 309.

 

29

The preservation of the democratic way of life, the
development of thinking processes which aid in the solution
of life's problems, and the ability to make critical
evaluations and judgments regarding messages emanating

from the mass media were stated as primary reasons for
teaching children to think, read, and listen critically.

The statement of the problem and the need for the
study, accompanied by related research, and a statement of
the research questions were presented following the intro-
duction. The study asked the following questions: Will
direct instruction in critical listening skills improve
subject's critical listening, critical reading and general
reading comprehension abilities?

The limitations of the study and definition of terms
concluded Chapter I.

A review of the research is presented in Chapter II.
The review is focused in two areas: research pertaining to
critical listening, and research pertaining to critical
reading, children's literature and reading instruction.

The selection of subjects, procedures and design of
the study are presented in Chapter III.

Chapter IV will contain the analysis of the data
which was submitted to analysis of covariance to determine
levels of significance.

Chapter V will contain a summary of the study,
reflections and observations, as well as suggestions for

further research.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The review of the literature has been divided into
two major areas which are directly relevant to the
present research study: (1) research pertaining to
critical listening, (2) research pertaining to critical

reading, children's literature and reading instruction.

Critical Listening

The effect of television propaganda on young
children was investigated by Cook, who studied the
impact of propaganda on eight and ten year olds. His
sample consisted of 200 students, who were divided into
experimental and control groups. In addition to the
regular school program, the experimental group was given
sixteen lessons designed to increase critical listening
abilities. The researcher designed a pretest and posttest
of critical listening for use in the study. Results of
the study indicated that the experimental group achieved
significantly greater gains than the control group in
critical listening ability. He concluded that young

children can be made aware of propaganda emanating from

30

31

television if they were given direct instruction in
critical listening. This study tends to support certain
of the research questions hypothesized in the present
experiment in that young children of eight and ten years
of age can be made aware of the effects of mass media, and
can be taught critical listening skills as a means for
evaluating the messages of television.

In a study conducted by Thomas Devine, the
effectiveness of a series of recorded lessons was
evaluated as a means of improving critical listening
abilities of ninth graders. The specific skills Devine
included in the recorded lessons were: (1) recognizing a
speaker's bias; (2) recognizing the speaker's competence
to speak about a given subject; (3) distinguishing
between statements of fact and opinion; (4) recognizing
a speaker's inferences; (5) distinguishing between report
and emotive language. The population was comprised of
six hundred and fourteen pupils. The experimental groups
used the recorded lessons over a four week period. At
the end of the four weeks, both control groups and
experimental groups were given the posttest of a Test of

Certain Critical Listening Abilities designed for the

 

study, The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal,

 

l

Jimmie Ellis Cook, "A Study in Critical Listening
Using Eight and Ten Year Olds in an Analysis of Commercial
Propaganda Emanating from Television " (Doctoral
dissertation, University of California, 1963).

32

and the Brown-Carlsen Listening Comprehensinn Test.

Scores from the posttests were compared to pretest scores
from the same measures. The difference between mean

gains for the experimental and control group yielded a
critical ratio of 7.30 in favor of the experimental group.
This was statistically significant at the .01 level.
Devine reported that the lessons were effective at all
levels of mental ability for promoting growth in critical
listening. Both groups made statistically significant
gains in critical thinking abilities. A major finding

of the study was that the relationship between critical
listening abilities and intelligence, critical thinking
abilities, listening comprehension, and reading
comprehension are substantial. The relationship between
critical listening abilities and chronological age is
negligible. Devine further concluded that it is

doubtful whether growth in general listening comprehension
or in critical thinking can be left to incidental learning
alone. The researcher commented that in order for teachers
to expect growth in general listening comprehension, or

in critical thinking abilities, they will have to teach

these abilities directly.

 

2

Thomas Gerald Devine, ”The Development and
Evaluation of a Series of Recordings for Teaching Certain
Critical Listening Abilities"(Doctoral dissertation, Boston
University School of Education, 1961).

33

Devine's study is a particularly significant study
because it answers several major questions concerning
the teaching of critical listening. His research
established that critical listening lessons are effective
at all mental levels; that there is a substantial
relationship between listening and intelligence, critical
thinking, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension.
The study further established that chronological age and
critical listening abilities are not significantly
related. Each of these findings helped to provide
support for the assumptions of the present research, as
did his statement that critical listening and thinking
cannot be left to incidental learning.

Whether critical listening ability is a function
of conditional reasoning ability and general listening
ability was investigated by Sawyer. The study asked the
following questions: (1) Is critical listening ability
more related to general listening ability or to
conditional reasoning ability? (2) What is the
relationship between pupil's post-treatment critical
listening ability and their pre-treatment general listening
ability? (3) What is the relationship between pupil's
post-treatment critical listening ability and their
pre-treatment general conditional reasoning ability?
Sawyer's treatment, which lasted for a period of seven
weeks, consisted of a series of lessons in critical

listening used with sixth graders. Both experimental and

34

control groups, which were comprised of 200 subjects,
participated in the regular language arts program. The
experimental group additionally received the Lundsteen
lessons in critical listening.

Several conclusions were drawn by Sawyer:
(1) Critical listening ability correlated Significantly
higher with general listening ability than with
conditional reasoning ability; (2) When initial critical
listening ability is held constant, lessons designed to
increase critical listening ability are more effective with
subjects with high than with low general listening
ability; (3) Lessons designed to increase critical
listening ability are more effective for subjects with
high than those with low initial ability to discriminate
between a logical conclusion and its negations; (4)
Critical listening lessons were effective in increasing
listening ability in some, but not all subjects. Sawyer
further concluded that critical listening lessons were
effective with average or above average students.3

This study was conducted over a period of seven
weeks. This researcher questions whether or not a longer

treatment period than seven weeks might not have provided

 

3

Walter Edward Sawyer, "Critical Listening
Abilities As A Function of General Listening Ability and
Conditional Reasoning Ability in the Sixth Grade"
(Doctoral dissertation, State University of New York at
Albany, 1974).

35

below average students with an opportunity to grow in
critical listening ability, as well as the average or
above average students. The study conducted by this
researcher was conducted over a period of eighteen weeks,
with sixteen weeks of actual treatment, and results
indicated that below average students could benefit

from direct instruction in critical listening. It
appears that the time factor is an important aspect

of research in critical listening.

One of the major studies in critical listening was
conducted by Sara Lundsteen, who investigated the critical
listening abilities of fifth and sixth grade students.
Lundsteen developed and evaluated a test of critical
listening and a set of lessons designed to teach critical
listening to (l) detect the speaker's purpose; (2) to
analyze and judge propaganda; (3) to analyze and judge
arguments. The general purpose of Lundsteen's research
was to investigate the existence of critical listening
abilities as part of general listening ability, and
determine whether such an ability could be measured and
improved by direct instruction. The population consisted
of 287 subjects. The control group followed a regular
English course, while the experimental group received
nine weeks of critical listening lessons designed by
Lundsteen.

Among the conclusions reported from the study

were two major findings: (1) Lessons designed to improve

36

critical listening were effective in promoting critical
listening abilities of fifth and sixth graders. Indirect
evidence was provided that there does exist an ability or
group of abilities in critical listening which can be
taught and measured; (2) The relationship between
critical listening abilities and intelligence, critical
thinking abilities measured through reading, listening
comprehension, and reading comprehension were positive
and substantial. This is a particularly well-designed
study which appears to be thorough in procedure. The
duration of nine weeks in which the treatment was
administered seems rather short to this researcher. A
longer period of treatment would perhaps yield more
information on the teaching and testing of critical

listening.

Summary of Research on Critical Listening

 

From the research reported pertaining to critical
listening it may be concluded that: (1) Critical listening
appears to be a separate, teachable and testable set of
skills which are related to intelligence, critical thinking
as measured by reading, listening and reading comprehension;

(2) Growth in the ability to engage in critical listening

 

4
Sara W. Lundsteen, "Teaching Abilities in Critical
Listening in the Fifth and Sixth Grades" (Doctoral
dissertation, University of California, 1963).

37
must be taught; (3) Critical listening instruction is

effective at all mental levels.

Critical Reading, Literature for Children and Reading
Instruction

 

A major study was conducted in 1967 at the Ohio
State University by Huck, King and Wolf which investigated
the critical reading abilities of elementary school
children. A population of 651 subjects in grades one
through six participated in the study over one school year.
The experimental groups received instruction in critical
reading while the control groups received instruction in
children's literature. The teaching procedure for the
experimental groups included:(l) reading the materials;
(2) discussing the factual content; (3) establishing the
criteria for evaluating through discussion, illustrations,
or questions; (4) asking students to use the criteria to
evaluate printed materials; (5) assigning follow-up
activities such as writing, comparing books, and searching
for evidence. The teaching procedure for the control
groups included:(l) reading the materials; (2) discussing
the factual content; (3) asking children to relate the
story to the content area of the units, e.g., mathematics;
and (4) assigning follow-up activities such as writing
and additional reading.

Several major conclusions about critical reading
resulted from this study which have relevance to the

present research: (1) Children in grades one through

38

six can learn to read critically. The experimental groups
mean total scores on the OSU Critical Reading Test,
developed for this study, were consistently higher than
the control groups' scores at all grade levels; (2)
instruction in critical reading does not interfere with
elementary school children's growth in other basic reading
skills; children of all intelligence levels who receive
instruction can learn to read critically; (4) children
of both sexes can benefit equally from instruction in
critical reading; (5) the kinds of questions teachers
ask influences the depth of pupils' thinking; (6) children
who receive instruction in critical reading give more
evaluating responses and fewer literal, memory, and
inferring responses than their peers who do not receive
critical reading instruction.5 This study is highly
significant because of its excellent design and
implementation. Results from the study provide solid
research evidence upon which the present study, as well
as other research studies, can be constructed.

Dorothy Cohen investigated the effect of reading
literature on the vocabulary and reading achievement of
children in the second grade. Cohen's sample consisted

of 285 subjects in seven schools considered by the New

 

5

Charlotte S. Huck, Martha L. King, and Willavene
Wolf, The Critical Readinngbilities of Elementary School
Children, United States Office of Education Cooperative
Research Project No. 2612 (Columbus: The Ohio State
University, 1967).

39

York City Board of Education to be Special Service
Schools because of academic retardation, low socio-
economic population and a high percentage of ethnic and
racial minorities. Everyday children listened to the oral
reading selections from.some fifty books that were placed
in the classrooms of the experimental groups. The
experimental and the control groups both continued to
receive reading instruction from a basal series. The
control groups' teachers followed the usual basal series
program for reading, with the reading of stories from
children's literature as an occasional treat. The books
used by the control group for occasional oral reading were
not taken from the list of books used by the experimental
group, which was based on a specific criteria.

Of particular importance to the present research
study are the following results from Cohen's study:
(1) The experimental group increased in vocabulary
development over the control group. The level of
significance between the two groups was established at
the .005 level; (2) The experimental group increased

in Word Knowledge as measured by the Metropolitan

 

Reading Test, over the control group, significant at .005;

 

(3) The experimental group showed growth in reading
comprehension over the control group, significant at .01.
Cohen concluded that the importance of reading literature
to children appears to be a precursor to success in

learning to read, especially among socially or academically

40

disadvantaged students; literature which provides ego-
involvement and comprehension of concepts is important
to the motivation and Stimulation of a desire to read;
(3) listening to literature is an important factor in
developing comprehension first of the spoken word, and
finally of the printed word; the slower the children are
academically, the more difficult it is for them to deal
with words in isolation divorced from meaningful context.
Cohen suggests that vocabulary is best learned by young
children in a context which is emotionally and intellectually
meaningful; some children come to school with a significant
lack in the knowledge of language found in literature,
which suggests that the oral reading of literature plays
an important role in compensating for this lack; continued
listening to stories appears to facilitate listening
ability, attention span, narrative sense, recall of
passages of verbalization, and the recognition of newly
learned words as they appear in other contexts; and,
finally, Cohen's study confirmed the relationship between
reading and oral language.

Cohen's research provided empirical evidence in
support of several contentions included in the present

research concerning the need to provide exposure to

 

6

Dorothy H. Cohen, "The Effect of Literature on
Vocabulary and Reading Achievement" (Doctoral dissertation
United States Office of Education Project No. S-254, New
York University, 1967).

41

literary language through the listening process as a
precusor to learning to read, and for the provision of
experiential background knowledge.

The effects of a literature program on the oral
language expansion of linguistically different Negro
children was investigated by Dorothy Strickland. Using
ninety-four kindergarten children from low socio-
economic classes, Strickland probed the following
questions: (1) Will deliberate programs in the use of
literature and related oral language activites effect the
greater degree of oral language expansion? (2) Will
there be a greater degree of reading readiness on the
part of those children who are exposed to such a program?
The experimental group was read to daily by the teacher
from one of fifty books available in the classroom. The
oral reading was followed by a creative dramatics
experience or an oral language activity. The treatment
lasted for thirty minutes a day. The control group was
also read to orally, but their follow-up activities were
different from the experimental group. Follow-up
activites for the control group included puzzles, games,
films, records and creative writing. The study, which
was conducted from November to May, successfully
demonstrated the positive effect of a literature-

1anguage program on the expansion of linguistically

42

7
different Negro children.

High school juniors, who were trained to read
literature orally to middle grade students, participated
in a study by Edith Jane Porter to test whether oral
reading would effect interest in reading and reading
achievement of middle grade children. The sample
population consisted of 1,202 fourth, fifth, and sixth
grade students divided into experimental and control
groups. For a period of twenty weeks, the experimental
group was read aloud to by high school juniors; the
control group did not participate in the oral reading
sessions. Results from the experiment included: (1) The
total experimental group differed significantly from the
total control group in reading achievement; (2) Expressed
interests of the experimental group were greater than the
control group relating to the reading of literature, but
not significantly different as to general interest in
reading; (3) The mean scores in reading achievement of
the high school readers increased in each subtest,
particularly the gains in comprehension which were greater
than gains in vocabulary. The select results from Porter's

study which are particularly relevant to the present

 

7

Dorothy Salley Strickland, "The Effects of a
Special Literature Program on the Oral Expansion of
Linguistically Different Negro Kindergarten Children"
(Doctoral dissertation, New York University, 1971).

43

research study provide research evidence that oral reading
of children's literature to middle grade children can effect
reading achievement.8

Sister Francis Raftery investigated whether the
reading achievement of second-grade children would be
increased measurably by the addition of a literature
program on a tri-weekly basis to regular reading
instruction. Elementary Education majors were trained
to read to the subjects in the study. Twelve hetero-
geneously grouped second-grade classrooms participated in
the study. The experimental groups increased in reading
achievement, though not significantly. The researcher
concluded that on the overall analysis no subject
regressed in reading ability. A further analysis of the
mode of presentation did find significant gain in the
experimental groups' reading achievement as a result of the
tri-weekly oral reading sessions, indicating that oral

reading is an effective means for improving reading

achievement.

 

8

Edith Jane Porter, "The Effect of a Program of
Reading Aloud to Middle Grade Children in the Inner City"
(Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1969).

9
Sister S. 0. Francis Raftery, "The Effect of a
Quality Literature Program Conducted by Elementary
Education Majors on the Reading Achievement of Second-
Grade Students" (Doctoral dissertation, New York
University, 1974).

44

A descriptive study was conducted by Johnson to
evaluate the need for instruction in critical reading-
listening in the second and third grades. Two hundred
and three subjects in grades two and three participated
in the study which investigated these questions: (1) Is
there a significant difference in critical reading-
listening ability between students in the second-grade and
those in the third-grade? (2) Is there a significant
difference in critical reading -1istening ability of boys
and girls within these grades? (3) Is there a significant
relationship between listening ability and reading
achievement? Major findings from this study which are
relevant to the present research include: (1) Second and
third graders are capable of becoming critical readers
and listeners; (2) There is a positive relationship
between critical reading-listening scores and the ability
to read.10

indi investigated the critical reading abilities
of elementary school children to determine the extent that
these abilities are a function of cognitive style, and two
modes of presentation, reading versus reading and listening.
The sample population consisted of fifty-two boys in third

grade classes from a suburban California elementary school.

 

10
Gwen Parrot Johnson, "An Investigation of
Growth in Critical Reading-Listening Ability in Grades
Two and Three" (Doctoral dissertation, Florida State
University, 1974.)

45

Subjects were divided into four sub-groups; 1-2 audio-
visual, field independent-dependent subjects,and 3-4
visual, field-independent-dependent subjects. Field
independence was defined as the ability to perceive,
organize, integrate, interpret a relevant visual stimulus
and thus overcome the influence of an embedding visual
figural context. Literary selections were presented to
the groups either as selections to be read, or as a
combination of reading and listening selections to test
whether mode of presentation effected one's ability to

read critically. The Ohio State Test of Critical Reading

 

was used to measure critical reading ability. Results
revealed that field—independent subjects performed better
than field-dependent subjects; cognitive style is positively
related to critical reading; and that total intelligence
together with cognitive style accounted for 44.43 percent
of the variance (p less than .05). The main conclusion of
the study was that there are characteristics of
individuals, in addition to ability, which may effect
learning in the classrooms It was found that subjects

who were able to perceptually separate a simple figure

from a complex background peiformed significantly better on

a test of critical reading.

 

ll
Guillaume T. indi, "Field Articulation and
Critical Reading and Listening" (Doctoral dissertation,
University of Toronto, 1974).

46

This research study was well-designed, and appeared
' to probe an important aspect of the ability to develop
critical reading skills. However, the results are not
generalizable beyond the sample population which consisted
of fifty-two boys. It would be well to conduct a similar
study in which the population included both boys and girls
and represented a random sampling of a larger population.
Bergdorf investigated the use of children's
literature and children's ability to draw inferences.
The sample population for this study consisted of four
hundred thirty-two subjects from.various socio-economic
levels in grades four, five, and six. Results indicated
that children do better on the ability to interpret
literary materials that are read to them than on material
read by them.12 This finding has relevance to the present
study in which literature was also read to the subjects.
The finding of Bergdorf's study that the ability to read
is not a prerequisite to understanding material is of
particular Significance to the present research Study.
An extensive discussion of the need to include children's

literature in the elementary curriculum is provided.

 

12
Arlene Bernice Bergdorf, "A Study of the Ability
of Intermediate-Grade Children to Draw Inferences from
Selections of Children's Literature" (Doctoral dissertation,
Ball State University, 1966).

47

Summary of Studies Pertaining to Critical Reading,
Children‘s Literature and Reading Instruction

Since research findings substantiated the belief
that children are capable of becoming critical readers
when direct instruction is provided, it is imperative
that instruction in critical thinking, critical listening
and critical reading be taught in the elementary school
curriculum. Intelligence was found to be related to the
ability to read critically, all children of normal
intelligence are capable of reading critically when given
instruction. The use of children's literature was found to
be a viable means for providing critical reading instruction,
and that instruction in critical reading skills will not
interfere with basic reading instruction, but will in some

cases, promote growth in general reading achievement.

Overview

Chapter 11 contained a summary of research studies
related to the field of critical listening, critical
reading and children's literature and reading instruction.

Chapter III will present the design of the
experiment, the selection of subjects and the procedures
of the experiment to teach critical listening skills
learned through activities in which select literary
materials are used to fourth, fifth, and sixth grade
students who were not reading at a level commensurate

with their apparent potential general ability.

CHAPTER III

SELECTION OF STUDENTS, PROCEDURES
AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY

This chapter will describe the selection of
students, procedures and design of an experiment to teach
critical listening skills learned through activities in
which select literary materials were used with fourth,
fifth, and Sixth grade students who were reading at a
level not commensurate with their apparent potential
general ability.

Specific literary selections were chosen from the
genre of modern realistic fiction portraying human
relationships and social concerns; biography; historical
fiction; and science fiction. Literature for the study
was selected by this researcher based on the following
criteria:

(1) The literature was compatible with

the interests of students in the

middle and upper elementary grades

in the age range of nine to thirteen
years. This researcher consulted an
eminent text in the field of children's
literature by Huck, Children's Literature

in the Elementary School, as a guide in
determining reading interests of children

 

48

49

in the middle and Epper
elementary grades.

(2) The literature was judged to be
of excellent quality by authorities
in the field of children's
literature as determined by reviews
in professional journals; annotated
bibliographies; books on children's
literature, specifigally, Picture
Books for Children, and Readin
Ladders for Human Understanding;3
articles in professional journals
which discussed the teaching of
critical reading; perusal of holdings
of various libraries.

 

 

(3) The literature would be appropriate,
as determined by this researcher, for
the teaching of such critical thinking
skills as: distinguishing fact from
fancy, or fact from opinion; relevant
from irrelevant statements; examination
and contrasting of ideas; the application
of ideas found in books to other
situations, and recognizing and evalu-
ating the devices of appealing to
emotional issues or persuasion.

 

1

Charlotte S. Huck, Children's Literature in the
Elementary School (3d ed.; New York: Rinehart and
Winston, 1976).

2
Patricia J. Cianciolo, Picture Books for Children
(Chicago: American Library Association, 1973)}

3

Virginia M. Reid, Reading Ladders for Human
Understanding (5th ed.; Washington, D. 0.: American
Council on Education, 1972).

 

 

Assumptions

 

The first assumption is that critical listening,
critical reading, and critical thinking are essentially
one in the same, and that these terms may be used
interchangeably. Devine has pointed out that while reading
and listening represent two different communication
processes, they both have a common thinking base. This
researcher assumes that critical thinking must first be
present in the mind of the critical listener or the
critical reader. Helen Robinson states:

Most investigators and theorists agree

that critical reading is based on, or is

an instance of, critical thinking. In this
respect, there is great Similarity to critical
listening.

The second assumption is that children of normal
intelligence who are low achievers in reading can indeed
do critical thinking when direct instruction is provided.

Reading difficulties Should not be considered a barrier

to learning to think critically. Durrell and Chambers

 

4 .
Thomas G. Devine, "Listening: What Do We Know
After Fifty Years of Research and Theorizing?" Journal of
Reading, 21, No. 4 (1978), 302.

5

Helen M. Robinson, "Developing Critical Readers,‘
Critical Reading, ed. Martha L. King, Bernice D. Ellinger,
and Willavene Wolf (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company,
1967). p. 37.

 

50

51
reported that critical reading is not dependent upon
intelligence.6 Johnson, in her research, found that
high intelligence does not insure good critical reading
ability.

The third assumption is that the occurrence of
critical thinking is not dependent upon reading or
listening abilities, but direct instruction in critical
listening and critical reading may facilitate critical
thinking ability. Lillian Gordon has commented that
when the complaint is heard that children do not think,
closer examination of the situation reveals the fact that
opportunigies for thinking have not always been

U

provided.

 

6

Donald Durrell and J. Richard Chambers,
"Research in Thinking Abilities Related to Reading,"
The Reading Teacher, 12, No. 2 (1958), 89.

7

Gwen Parrott Johnson, "An Investigation of Growth
in Critical Reading-Listening Ability in Grades Two and
Three" (Doctoral dissertation, Florida State University,
1974).

8

Lillian G. Gordon, "Promoting Critical Thinking,"
Developing Comprehension Includinggritical Thinking,
comp. Mildred A. Dawson (Newafk, De aware: International
Reading Association, 1968), p. 119.

DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

The basic design of the study was a two group
comparative quasi-experimental pretest, posttest design.
The pretests consisted of Form A of A LOOK AT LITERATURE:
THE NCTE COOPERATIVE TEST OF CRITICAL READING AND
APPRECIATION; Form 4A of the SEQUENTIAL TEST OF EDUCATIONAL
PROGRESS (STEP) Reading; Form 4A of the SEQUENTIAL TEST
OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS (STEP) Listening. Form B of all
three tests was used as the posttest. An individual's
scores on the total pretest and its sub-tests have been
compared with his scores on the total posttest and its
sub-tests. The data were analyzed statistically using

the analysis of covariance to determine levels of

 

 

 

significance.

The Design
Group n* Pretest Treatment Posttest
Experimental 15 x ‘ x x
Control 15 x x

 

* Originally each group consisted of 18 subjects. When
three subjects in the experimental group moved away, three
subjects in the control group were selected at random and
removed from the study.

52

Methodology

 

Approval to conduct the research study was obtained
from the superintendent of schools, the director of research
and the building principal. The school system.was located
in a middle-sized industrial community in western Michigan.
The official 1977 estimate of population of this city was
37,000. There were fifteen public elementary schools, four
public junior high schools, and one public senior high
school to serve 9,051 students. The racial make-up of the
school system.was comprised of 65 percent Caucasian students,
31 percent Negro students, with the remaining 4 percent of
other racial groups.

In the school in which the study was conducted,
there were three hundred and thirty-five pupils in grades
kindergarten through six. Two hundred and ninety-nine
pupils were Caucasian, thirty-two Negro, and four Asian.

The school received appropriations from the State of
Michigan under Article III of the Michigan Compensatory
Education Program for the purpose of providing supplementary
reading services. The school in which this study was
conducted was assigned a quota of fifty-one students,
kindergarten through grade six, who would be eligible to
receive reading instruction to supplement regular class-
room reading programs. This quota was established by

the Michigan Compensatory Education Program.

53

The Sample

 

Subjects were selected for this researcher's
special reading classes primarily on the basis of their
scores on the reading sub-test of the CALIFORNIA
ACHIEVEMENT TEST (CAT). Those Students who achieved the
lowest scores on the CAT reading sub-test became candidates
for special reading services provided by Article III of the
Michigan Compensatory Education Program, and taught by this
researcher. In order to conduct the study, this
researcher had to agree with the administration's
stipulation that there would be no change in time
allotted for reading, or in the make-up of the ability
grouped reading classes. Therefore, eighteen children
(seven fourth graders, Six fifth graders, and five sixth
graders) were assigned to this researcher's special reading
classes and became the experimental group for the study.

In addition to reading at least one year below grade
level placement, as measured by the CAT, students were
recommended for remedial reading classes taught by this
researcher on the basis of the following criteria:
deficiencies in language development; limited attention
to learning tasks; failure or poor grades in content
areas; teacher recommendation. During the eighteen weeks
in which the study was conducted, three of the original
eighteen subjects in the experimental group moved away
from the school before the study was completed. Three

54

55
subjects from the control group were randomly selected for
removal from the study in order to equalize the groups at
fifteen subjects each.

A second group of fourth, fifth, and Sixth grade
students who also achieved among the lowest reading scores
on the CAT became the control group. Because of limitations
set down by the guidelines of the Compensatory Education
Program as to the number of upper grade students who could
receive remedial reading services, the control group did
not attend the special reading classes taught by this
researcher, nor did they participate in the study other
than to take the pretests and posttests. This researcher
had no other contact with the control group.

Since random assignment was not allowed, the
results of the study are pertinent only to the subjects

in this group.

Experimental Group Procedure

This project to teach select critical listening
skills through the use of select literary materials was
begun on September 19, 1977, and was concluded at the end
of the first semester, January 27, 1978. Subjects in the
experimental group received all their reading instruction
from this researcher in remedial reading classes established
under Article III of the Michigan Compensatory Education
Program. The experimental group met with this researcher
five days a week from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., while all

other students in grades four, five, and six were having

56

reading instruction from their classroom teachers. The
sixty minute period was divided into two sessions; for the
first thirty minutes, the treatment was administered.

That is to say, each day for the first half of the period
the subjects in the experimental group met with this
researcher for the listening-discussion sessions. The
second thirty minutes were spent in specific word attack/
comprehension building lessons in individually prescribed
skill building materials. Classes were held in the school
library. Comfortable arm chairs were available for our
use and were arranged in an informal and relaxed atmosphere
for the listening-discussion lesson.

At the beginning of the session, the particular
listening skill to be learned was introduced and explained.
At this time, subjects were encouraged to contribute ideas
and examples of the skill to be studied from their own
experience. When it was determined that all subjects
understood the concept to be studied, e.g., how does an
author use words to convey his particular point of view,
this researcher proceeded with the oral reading of the
literary selection she designated as one that would offer
content, theme, ideas about which the student could think
critically. Following the oral reading, which lasted for
twenty minutes, this researcher posed questions designed
to stimulate a group discussion. Three types of questions
were asked: literal comprehension questions to insure that
all subjects understood the selection; questions requiring

interpretive thinking to allow subjects to draw conclusions

57

and make inferences from the selection; and critical
thinking questions to encourage subjects to make
evaluations and judgments about the selection based on
the particular skill being studied, and to apply basic
understandings gathered from the literary selection to
other situations. Sample lessons for each skill are
provided in the following pages, and the complete set of
lessons used in this study appear in the appendix.

For the second half of the period, subjects in
the experimental group adjourned to another section of the
library for specific reading skills instruction. At the
beginning of the term, this researcher wrote individual
programs of instruction for all subjects based on findings
from informal reading inventories. Each student worked
independently in skill building materials designed to
teach specific word attack/comprehension skills. The

Barnell-Loft Specific Skills Series was used for the

 

skills lessons. The following list of lessons in the
series ranged from level A to E: Working with Sounds;

Following Directions; Using the Context; Locating the

 

 

Answer; Getting the Main Idea; Getting the Facts; Drawing
9
Conclusions, and Detecting the Sequence. As the titles

 

indicate, none of these lessons contained elements

inherent in critical reading.

 

9
Richard A. Boning, Specific Skill Series (Baldwin,
New York: Barnell-Loft, Ltd., 1976).

 

58

During their regularly assigned reading instruction
period this researcher met individually with each student
to discuss work, to teach a skill, and to listen to
students read orally. When the occasion arose, two or
three students who were working on the same skill met with
this researcher to work in a small group setting for the
purpose of learning that particular Skill which was being
taught. At this time no group discussion or interaction
to discuss critical thinking of reading materials was
permitted. Group work was allowed only for the purpose
of learning a particular word attack/comprehension skill.

Individual titles of literary selections used in
the study were available in the room, along with numerous
other library books. Subjects in the experimental group
were free to examine and read these books independently
during the special reading class. The members of the
control group also had access to the books used in this
study during their regularly scheduled library periods,
or during the afternoon when the library was open to all
students. Subjects in both the experimental and control
groups also had access to classroom collections of library
books which were available in every classroom in the
building.

A sample lesson for each of the six critical
listening skills used in the study is provided on the

following pages.

Sample Critical Listening Lessons

Skill Number One: To distinguish fact from fancy

 

Lesson # 1 To introduce the concept, and
to distinguish factual from
fanciful writing.

Literary Selection: dePaola, Tomi. The Quicksand
Book. New York: Holiday
House, 1977.

 

In our listening lesson today, you are going to be
practicing how to tell whether a story is one that could
really have happened, or whether it is an imaginary
creation of the author. There is a special name for this
%istening skill; it is called distinguishing fact from

ancy.

An example of a fanciful or imaginary story would
be the fairy tale in which marvelous things happen. One
that you know very well is the story of Cinderella in
which the pumpkin turns into a coach, and the Fairy God-
mother turns Cinderella into a princess. Can you name
other examples of fanciful tales?

 

Other books are written about real experiences that
people could have actually had. We say that these books
are based on factual information - something we could
prove. An example of a factual book would be a biography,
which is the true story of a real person's life.

Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between
a real and a fanciful story because the writer is so
skillful that we believe everything that the author tells
us is happening in the book. Charlotte's Web is a good
example because we almost do believe that Charlotte can
do all those wonderful things; that animals really can
talk.

 

The book that I am going to read to you today is a
little bit of fact and a little bit of fancy. As I read to
you, listen carefully to see if you can tell which parts
of the book are true, or factual, and which parts you think
are fanciful, or imaginary.

 

59

60

As I read this book, I had to laugh at some of

the things Jungle Boy was doing while he was explaining all
about quicksand to poor Jungle Girl. Let's talk about
what made you laugh in this book.

Q:

Q:

How did Mr. dePaola use both fact and fancy in this
book? (literal comprehension)

Tell me some parts of the story that were real.
(literal comprehension)

Tell me some parts of the story that were
fanciful. (literal comprehension)

Why do you think the author wrote the book the
way he did using some factual information and
some fanciful writing? (interpretive thinking)

Did you enjoy hearing about quicksand from this
book? Explain. (critical thinking)

Why do you think the author used the kind of
pictures he did in this book? (interpretive
thinking)

Does the style of art, that is, the pictures,
used in this book help to tell the story?
Explain. (critical thinking)

Let me Show you a picture of Mr. dePaola. Can
you tell from his picture how he feels about
writing books for children? Do you think he
likes writing books for children? Why?
(interpretive thinking)

If you could invite Mr. dePaola to our class,
what questions would you ask him about the
books he writes? (critical thinking)

Would you like to read more books by Tomi
dePaola? Why or why not? (critical thinking)

*

Skill Number Two: To determine whether a
statement is based on fact,
opinion, or judgment

Lesson # 1 To learn to identify an
author's opinion or judgment
Literary Selections: Clapp, Patricia. I'm
Deborah Sampson: A—So1dier
in the War of the Revolution.
New York: Lothrop, Lee and
Shepard Company, 1977.

 

61

McGovern, Ann. The Secret Soldier.
Illustrated by Ananrifalconi}
New York: Four Winds Press, 1973.

 

The books we are going to talk about today are
called historical fiction because they were written about
some event, time period in the past, or some person from
history. Parts of the books contain factual information
about the Revolutionary War. We can verify, or check,
the information the author has given us by reading other
books written about the Revolutionary War which were
written by people who have carefully studied this time in
history. This is the historical part of the story.

In historical fiction books, not everything in the
story had to have happened just as the author said it did.
Some parts of the story could be made-up by the author from
what he or She thought probably happened. Some parts of
the story could have been made-up to make the story more
interesting or exciting. This is why we also use the word
fiction in books we call historical fiction.

Sometimes more than one author will write about
the same topic. However, they may not agree on what
actually took place, and their stories may be different
in certain details. Since there is no one living from the
Revolutionary War days to whom the author could talk, we
say that the author is giving an opinion, or a judgment
of what he or she thinks may have taken place. The
author's interpretation of the causes or consequences about
the events, era or behaviors of the past also may be based
on the author's opinion or judgment.

In the books we will be talking about today, The
Secret Soldier, by Ann McGovern, and I'm Deborah Sampson,
by Patricia Clapp, you will hear two very different
opinions about how Deborah Sampson felt when she entered
the home of the Thomas family as a bound servant at the
age of ten. First I will read you Chapter Four from
The Secret Soldier. Listen carefully and see if you can
tell from.the way the author tells the story how you think
Deborah was feeling about her new home.

 

 

 

Q: Can someone tell us how Deborah must have felt
when she went to live with the Thomas family?
(interpretive thinking)

Q: Name some of the specific words the author used
that helped you understand Deborah's feelings.
(literal comprehension)

62

Q: What kind of mood do you think Deborah was in when
she became part of the Thomas household?
(interpretive thinking)

Q: If you were ten years old, as Deborah Sampson was,
and had already lived in two other foster homes,
how would you have felt to be going to live with
a real family - with a mother, father and children?
(critical thinking)

Q: If you were writing this chapter, how would you
have had Deborah react to her new home? (critical
thinking)

 

Today I will read you a portion of Chapter Four
from I'm Deborah Sampson. Listen carefully to this selection
and be prepared to describe Deborah's feelings about
living with the Thomas family from this author's point of
View.

 

 

Q: Let's see if we can compare the two books now.
How did the author, Patricia Clapp, describe
Deborah's feelings as she entered the Thomas
household in I'm Deborah Sampson? (literal
comprehension)

 

Q: How did the author of The Secret Soldier describe
Deborah's feelings as she entered the Thomas
household? (literal comprehension)

 

Q: How were these two versions of the story of
Deborah Sampson different? (interpretive thinking)

Q: What specific words did this author use to make
you feel that Deborah was going to be happy in
the Thomas family in I'm Deborah Sampson?
(literal comprehension)

Q: Think back to the first chapter I read you when
Deborah said she knows she is in the Thomas house
to be a servant and that the Thomas family was
not her family. If you were Deborah, how would
you have felt? (critical thinking)

Q: Now compare Deborah's welcome in I'm Deborah
Sam son when Mrs. Thomas said that Deborah was
like a younger sister to the family. If you
were Deborah Sampson as described in this book,
how would you have felt about going to live with
the Thomas family? (critical thinking)

 

63

Q: Can you recall some Specific words that either
author used that helped you decide how Deborah
must have felt? Give some examples if you can.
(literal comprehension)

Q: Which chapter did you like best? Why? (critical
thinking)
Q: If you could talk to Deborah Sampson, what

questions would you like to ask her about her
life with the Thomas family? (critical thinking)

Q: What questions would you ask her about her life
in the army? (critical thinking)

Since we do not have any way to know for sure
which author's version is the right one, we must decide for
ourselves which version of what happened we want to
accept. The important idea to remember is that each
author gave us her opinion or judgment of what probably
happened in Deborah's move to the Thomas household.

*

Skill Number Three: To distinguish relevant from
Irrelevant statements.

 

Lesson # 1 To define irrelevant statements
and listen for specific examples
in a literary selection.

Literary Selection: Fritz, Jean. George Washington's
Breakfast. Illustrated by
Paul Galdone. New York:
Coward, McCann, Inc., 1969.

 

In today's lesson you will be asked to listen for
specific ideas. Your job will be to decide which ideas are
absolutely necessary to the telling of the story, and which
ideas may be left out of the story without changing the
author's meaning. This skill is called learning to
distinguish relevant (which means very important to the
topic) ideas from irrelevant (which means not so important
to the topic) ideas. Let me give you an example. If you
were to describe George Washington's career, you might say
that he was a general in the Revolutionary War, that he
became the first President of the United States, that he
was often called the Father of our Country, and he liked
to eat Indian hoecakes for breakfast. Which one of those
ideas could I have left out of my example without changing
the original purpose which was to discuss George Washington's
career?

Here is another example for you. In the book
George Washington's Breakfast, by Jean Fritz, the main

64

character, George Washington Allen, is trying to find a
book about his namesake, George Washington. At the library
he is looking for information in the card catalogue. The
author is describing how to use the card catalogue. Listen
to the paragraph I am going to read and see if you can pick
out a detail she has included that is not absolutely
necessary to her purpose which was to tell how a card
catalogue should be used.

 

Q: Which sentence could have been left out of that
paragraph without changing the author's purpose?
(critical thinking)

An irrelevant statement does not mean that it is
not a good statement, or that it is not interesting.
Often an irrelevant statement is one that is quite interest-
ing, but has nothing of great importance to do with the
understanding of the material being read. For example, it
was interesting to find out that George Allen liked to flip
through the card catalogue, but we did not absolutely have
to know this bit of information in order to learn how to
use a card catalogue properly.

*

Skill Number Four: To examine, contrast and evaluate
ideas.

 

 

Lesson # 1 To introduce the concept of
examining an author's ideas,
contrasting them with other
ideas, and evaluating them.

Literary Selection: Parnall, Peter. The Mountain.
Garden City, New York:
Doubleday and Company, Inc.,
1971.

In the lesson we are going to have today, I will be
reading the book called The Mountain by Peter Parnall.
This is a story you will need to listen to, but you will
also have to look at the pictures as I read because the
pictures help tell the story too.

 

The author of this book has some strong feelings
about his topic that he wants to share with his readers.
Your job will be to listen for his ideas, think about them,
and discuss them with the group. Finally, we will try to
evaluate them, which means you will decide how well you
think he told his story.

Listen and watch now to see what you think Peter
Parnall is telling his readers in this book.

65

What was the important idea that the author wanted
his readers to get from this book? (interpretive
thinking)

In this particular book, which do you think was
more important to understanding the ideas, the
language or the pictures? (interpretive thinking)

Why do you think the author wrote this book?
(critical thinking)

If you were watching closely, you would have
noticed a change taking place in the pictures
in this book. Can anyone tell us what the
author did with his pictures from the beginning
of the book and how they changed at the end

of the book? (literal comprehension)

Do you think his pictures helped express the
author's feelings about what has happened to
the mountain? Explain. (critical thinking)

What was the author saying to his readers by
putting one lonely flower in the middle of all
the junk pile at the very end of the story?
(interpretive thinking)

If you had been in charge of deciding what to
do with this lovely mountain we saw at the
beginning of the book, what would you have

done to keep it from.being destroyed? (critical
thinking)

Some people feel that beautiful sections of the
country should be preserved as national parks
or reserves. Other people want to use the land
for industry and for building homes. Not
everyone would agree with Mr. Parnall that

the mountain Should be left alone and not made
into a national park. If you had to make a
decision whether to keep the mountain just as
it was in the beginning of the book, or turn

it into a national park, what would you do?
(critical thinking)

Do you agree with Mr. Parnall that people spoil
national parks the way the people in this book
did? Explain. (critical thinking)

How do you think this problem could be solved?
(critical thinking)

What would you say to the people who come to

66

this mountain and see it as a lovely place to
build homes and streets and schools and
shopping centers? After all, many jobs
would be created if new land could be
developed for homes. (critical thinking)

Q: Which do you think is more important,having
a national park, or using land in some other
way? (critical thinking)

Q: Why was this an important book to read?
(interpretive thinking)

Q: If you were to write a letter to President
Carter, what arguments would you include in
your letter that would help the President
understand how you feel about national parks,
such as the one in this book, and how they should be
used by people? (critical thinking)

Q: Is there any way that you can think of that would
make it possible for people and animals to share
the mountain without changing the mountain or
making it impossible for animals to live there
safely? (critical thinking)

~k

Skill Number Five: To recognize appeal to emotional
or controverSlal issues, or the
use of persuasion to influence
the listener.

 

Lesson # 1 To recognize appeal to emotional
and controversial issues.

Literary Selection: Peet, Bill. The Gnats of Knotty
Pine. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Company, 1975.

Today we are going to begin practicing a listening
skill in which you will learn to recognize how an author
uses words and pictures in books to change our thinking
about something. We call this persuading the listener.
Let me give you an example:

You have all seen the anti-smoking ads from.the
American Cancer Society that end with the words, "It's
a matter of life and breath." These words are meant to
change people's minds about smoking; to alert them to the
danger of life and health. But what if the ad said,
"Please don't smoke, it is bad for you?" Do you think
many people would pay attention to that message

67

or warning? Why or why not?

The American Heart Association wants to tell people
that being overweight, not getting enough exercise, and
smoking may cause heart attacks. Their slogan is, "We're
fighting for your life." By using these words, "fighting
for your life," the writer of this ad wants people to
realize how serious - how important it is to take care of
themselves even if it means changing some habits. How do
you feel when you hear the words, "fighting for your life?"

Think about a time in your own life when the
words you used, and the way you said them, were important
in order to explain something to someone. Perhaps it was
a time when you really wanted to go somewhere and your
parents were not sure that they wanted you to go. Didn't
you use your words carefully so that you would change your
parents' minds? Can you think of examples when words
were very important to you?

Sometimes we joke with people as a way of making
them pay attention to our ideas. We use humor to tell
our feelings about something. Authors of books do the
same thing. When they have something to tell people,
something they feel is important to people, they must use
words very skillfully in order to change attitudes and
ideas in readers. In the book I am going to read to you
today, The Gnats of Knotty Pine, by Bill Peet, the author
has some strong feelings about his subject. Listen
carefully as I read to you to see if you can tell how he
uses words and pictures to persuade you that hunting for
sport is destructive of life.

 

 

Q: Why do you think the author used humor in his
book to call attention to his belief that
hunting for sport is bad? (interpretive
thinking)

Q: Why do you think the author made the hunters
look and act so greedy and ridiculous in this
book? (interpretive thinking)

Q: Think back to the part in the book when the
squirrel had a dream about hunting the hunters.
Why do you think the squirrel didn't shoot
the hunter? (interpretive thinking)

Q: What do you think the author was saying about
animals? (interpretive thinking)

Q: Did this story of the squirrel's dream help you

68

understand how the author feels about shooting
animals? (critical thinking)

Some people would not agree with Mr. Peet's

ideas in this book, especially when he suggests that hunters
kill just for the fun of it. Some groups of hunters

believe that hunting animals in hunting season is really a
kind thing to do because it helps keep the animal population
in balance. This means that if hunters did not kill

during the hunting season, there would soon be too many
animals and some would starve to death, especially in
winter when food is scarce.

Q:

Q:

How do you feel about this issue? (critical
thinking)

If you were to write a letter to Mr. Peet telling
him why you think hunting is a good sport, what
arguments would you use to convince him?
(critical thinking)

At the very beginning of the book there is a
place for the author to say who he wrote the
book especially for. It is called the
dedication. Mr. Peet dedicated his book this
way: (read dedication)

What do you think this dedication means?
(interpretive thinking)

Do you think people have the right to hunt
animals for sport? Explain. (critical thinking)

If you had to make a law saying whether people
could or could not hunt animals for sport,
what would your law say? (critical thinking)

If you were going to write a letter to Mr. Peet,
what would you tell him about your opinion of
his book? (critical thinking)

Did this book change your thinking about hunting
in any way? Explain. (critical thinking)

*

Skill Number Six: To evaluate ways in which the
speakefls ideas might be
applied to another situation.

Lesson # 1 To introduce the skill of
applying ideas from literature
to one's own experiences.

69

Literary Selection: Clymer, Eleanor. How I Went
Shopping And What I Got.
Illustrated by Trina Schart
Hyman. New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston, Inc.,l972.

 

 

Sometimes characters in books have experiences that
are very much like experiences the reader has had in his
or her life. When this happens, it is always interesting
to see how the character in the book acts and compare the
character's actions with our own. Sometimes when we read
books, we recognize problems that the story characters
are having that are similar to problems the reader has had.
In this case, it is sometimes helpful to see how other
people, or characters in a story, have handled the same
problems. This critical listening skill is called
evaluating ways in which the speaker's, or author's ideas
might be applied to other situations. In today's lesson
you will want to listen to what happens to the story
characters, and see if you can recall a time when something
similar has happened to you or to your friends. It will
be interesting to compare how the characters in the book
behaved, and how you or your friends behaved, in a similar
situation.

 

Q: Could you tell from the story how Debra felt about
herself as a member of her family? (interpretive
thinking)

Q: How did the author make you feel about her
friends, Joanne and Marcy? (critical thinking)

Q: Have you ever done what Debra did? (critical
thinking)

Q: Did Debra seem to change or seem.more grown-up
at the end of the story? Explain. (critical
thinking)

Q: If you had been Debra, and had to decide whether

to stay at home and babysit, or go shopping
with your friends, what choice would you have
made. (critical thinking)

Q: Do you think Debra's mother was fair to make her
stay home and babysit? Why or why not?
(interpretive thinking)

Q: What suggestions do you have to help Debra and

70

her mother work out the problem of having
Debra be Judy's babysitter so often if you
could talk to Debra? (critical thinking)

What do you think Debra's parents learned about
Debra in this story? (interpretive thinking)

How did the author make Debra seem like a "real"
teen-ager in this book? (critical thinking)

Do you think it was a good idea for Debra to
leave her little sister all alone in the toy
department while Debra went to try on clothes?
If you were writing this story, what would
you have had Debra do? (critical thinking)

Did Debra have a good time with her friends?
How does the author let you know how Debra
felt about the shopping trip? (critical
thinking)

If you were Debra's mother and father, would
you have punished Debra for disobeying?
(critical thinking)

If you were Debra's mother or father, what
would you have said to Debra when She came
home? (critical thinking)

Would you like to read more books by this
author? Explain. (critical thinking).

Control Group Procedure

The control group was comprised of one fourth
grader; four fifth graders, and ten sixth graders who
were reading at a level not commensurate with their
apparent potential general ability. All subjects in the
control group were reading one or more years below grade
level placement as measured by the reading sub-test of the
CAT. These subjects did not attend this researcher's
special reading classes, for have to done so would have
exceeded the quota of eighteen middle-grade students
eligible for the Article III reading program that was
established by the department of Compensatory Education for
the State of Michigan. This researcher had no direct
contact with the control group beyond administering the
pretests and posttests.

Subjects in the control group met with their
regular classroom teachers for reading instruction from
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., Monday through Friday. In the
building in which this study was conducted, all students
were grouped for reading instruction according to reading
ability levels. That is, a student may have been in the
sixth grade, but may have been reading at a fourth grade
level. S/he was then placed in a reading group with other
students who were also reading at approximately the same
level as determined by the reading series placement tests
for reading. All teachers throughout the building

71

72
participated in this ability grouping approach to reading
instruction. Members of the control group were all
classified as reading at least one year below actual grade
level placement, and would have been eligible for special
reading classes taught by this researcher had room been
available for them in the program. All members of the
control group remained with the teacher to whom they had
been assigned for reading instruction throughout the
semester. All other instruction was received from their
homeroom teacher.

Subjects in the control group received reading
instruction from the 1971 edition of the Houghton Mifflin
Basal Reading Series.10 In this particular series,
comprehension instruction is described in the teacher's
edition as literal comprehension, interpretive thinking,
and evaluative and creative thinking. It should be
emphasized, however, that this researcher can substantiate
the fact that the way in which teachers in this building
used this reading series, considerably more emphasis was
placed upon literal comprehension than on evaluative or
critical thinking skills. Classroom teachers were kind
enough to discuss classroom procedures and provide this
researcher with sample lessons from which the above

assumption was made. Students were given a work sheet

 

10
William K. Durr, Jean M. LePere, Mary Lou Alsin,
Houghton Mifflin Reading Series (Boston; Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1971).

73
prepared by the teacher. A typical work sheet consisted of
from ten to twenty questions taken from.the teacher's edition,
of which at the most one or two were of the evaluative and
creative thinking nature. A sample lesson in which control
group subjects participated follows on this page. It
should be noted that these lesson plans represent the way
in which individual teachers use the basal series, and it
is not necessarily the recommended procedure by the

publisher.
Sample Control Group Lesson

Day I Introduction of a new lesson, story or Skill lesson
through the use of charts and teaching lesson.
New vocabulary is introduced. Story is introduced,
original reason to read is given. Workbook
assignment, dittoes for independent practice
and questions for checking content are given
out, explained and the order for the assignment
parts is stressed (text, workbook, dittoes).

Day 2 Story has been read through once on Monday, now
it is redone by the students as they skim and
find the information needed to answer two or
three different types of questions from the
story as found on the worksheet. These are
turned into the teacher as completed.

Day 3 Workbook assignments are Started and followed
by additional practice on dittoes for this
teaching lesson. Workbook will be checked
on Friday. Dittoes are turned in to be
checked by the teacher as completed.

Day 4 Dittoes, questions, workbook and story are
due to be completed by the end of this period.

Day 5 All workbooks are checked today. Students
correct by changing any incorrect responses.
Teacher collects and rechecks.

Daily time allotments: First twenty minutes for teaching
the lesson or reviewing a skill being taught. Next
fifteen minutes for providing help to any student who

74

has questions on the story, and discussion that
accompanies the charts as the lesson is taught. The "see
me" and final help period of the lesson provide individual
one-to-one learning situations. The test at the end of
each magazine provides confirmation of skill development

and shows the direction additional assignment must take.

Fiesta Teaching Unit #10 (to be read by the student)

The story you will read today is a very special
type of story. It is about an imaginary character who
probably never lived. Notice on page 96, that it has won
an award, a Caldecott medal. This story about Paul
Bunyan is a story treasure and is the first story treasure
in the book. It is also called a folktale. Read and see
if you can figure out what Paul is supposed to have done.

Questions (to be answered on ditto sheet)

 

1. Most folktales were told orally from one person to
another. Have you ever heard anyone tell a folktale or a
tall tale? If so, who, and tell a little about it.
(critical thinking)

2. One summer where did Paul go? Why did he go there?
(literal comprehension)

3. Who was Bill Pilgrim? (literal comprehension)
4. What was Bill trying to do? (literal comprehension)

5. Do you think Paul was nice to Bill when he saw how
little Bill had finished of the river? What did Paul do
to Bill? (interpretive thinking and literal comprehension)

6. What offer did Bill make Paul if he could keep his
boast to finish in three weeks? (literal comprehension)

7. What did Bill do to try and make sure Paul would
lose? (literal comprehension)

8. Did this dirty trick by Bill work out as Bill Pilgrim
had planned? (literal comprehension)

9. What did Paul have Babe do when Bill refused to pay?
(literal comprehesnion)

10. What did Bill Pilgrim know that caused him to chuckle
and not worry about blue oxes' actions? (literal comprehension)

* This researcher has indicated the types of thinking called
for in each question,. not the teacher or the publisher.

Overview

Chapter III contained the procedures, the
selection of students, and the design of an experiment to
test the feasibility of teaching critical listening skills,
learned through activities in which select literary
materials were used, to fourth, fifth, and sixth grade
students who were not reading at a level commensurate with
their apparent potential general ability.

The procedure for the control group, which did not
receive remedial reading instruction from this researcher,
is presented in the form of sample lesson plans supplied
by the individual classroom teachers who provided remedial
reading instruction to the control group.

Sample lessons from the experiment to teach
select critical listening Skills were provided, as was a
sample lesson plan from the control group's procedure.

Chapter IV contains the data analyzed by the

analysis of covariance.

75

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

This chapter contains the analysis of the data
obtained from the pretest and posttest scores on forms
4A and 4B of the SEQUENTIAL TEST OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS
(STEP) reading, the SEQUENTIAL TEST OF EDUCATIONAL
PROGRESS (STEP) listening, and forms A and B of A LOOK AT
LITERATURE: THE NCTE COOPERATIVE TEST OF CRITICAL READING
AND APPRECIATION. All three of these tests were designed
for use with fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students.

The STEP tests are standardized tests of reading
and listening comprehension. Content validity was reported
as having been provided by relying on well-qualified
persons to construct the tests. Content validity studies
are to be forthcoming from the publisher as they are
completed. Reliability was estimated by the Kuder-
Richardson Formula 20, and are the result of internal
analysis based on a single administration of the tests.

A LOOK AT LITERATURE was normed on random halves
of two fifth grade classes in each of 18 public elementary
schools representing urban and suburban areas of middle

socio-economic level. No national norms are available.

76

77

Face validity is reported since content validity is not
assured beyond the expertise provided by the NCTE committee.
Reliability estimates were obtained from the Kuder-Richardson
Formula 20. Correlations of .78 and .79 were obtained
between the total LAL and STEP reading tests.

The STEP tests measure plain-sense comprehension,
interpretation, evaluation and application. A LOOK AT
LITERATURE measures interpretive response to imaginative
prose and poetry. Each individual's scores on the total
pretests have been compared with his or her scores on the
total posttests. The data from these tests were analyzed
statistically using the analysis of covariance to determine
levels of significance. The test of critical reading and
appreciation, A LOOK AT LITERATURE, measures both listening
and reading, and, therefore, was analyzed as two separate
sub-tests. Part one of A LOOK AT LITERATURE was read by
this researcher while subjects followed along in the text
reading silently. This portion of A LOOK AT LITERATURE
will subsequently be referred to as sub-test listening.

The second portion of A LOOK AT LITERATURE was to be read
entirely by the subjects on their own. This portion of
A LOOK AT LITERATURE will subsequently be referred to as
sub-test reading.

This researcher administered the three pretests to
subjects in the experimental and control groups during the
week of September 19, 1977, and the posttests during the

week of January 24, 1978.

78

Students were initially selected for this
researcher's special reading classes primarily on the basis
of their scores on the reading sub-test of the CALIFORNIA
ACHIEVEMENT TEST (CAT). The reading sub-test of the CAT
provides information on a student's ability to define
words (vocabulary), and to understand what is read
(comprehension). Those students who achieved among the
lowest scores on the CAT sub-test reading became
candidates for special reading services provided by Article
III of the Michigan Compensatory Education Program and
taught by this researcher. To be eligible for the special
reading program, students in grade four must have received
a grade level score on the CAT of lower than 3.2; students
in grade five must have received a grade level score on
the CAT of lower than 4.0, and students in grade Six must
have received a grade level score on the CAT of less than
4.8. The actual range of scores on the CAT achieved by
students in the special reading classes taught by this
researcher was from a grade level score of 7.4 to 2.2.

In order to conduct this study, this researcher had to
agree to abide by the reading schedule established at the
school, which meant that there could be no change in
times allotted for reading, or in the make-up of the
ability grouped reading classes. Therefore, the fourth
fifth, and sixth graders who were assigned to this
researcher's special reading classes became the

experimental group. A second group of fourth, fifth, and

TABLE 4.1

CALIFORNIA ACHIEVEMENT TEST READING SCORES

 

 

Student Total Reading Student Total Reading

Number Score Number Score
Experimental Group Control Group

03 2.6 01 3.5

04 2.2 03 3.

05 2.6 04 4.8

06 3.9 05 4.7

07 3.4 06 3.3

08 3.6 07 4.2

09 2.9 08 4.9

11 3.1 09 4.1

12 2.5 10 3.3

13 3.3 12 3.9

14 7.4 13 2.6

15 2.3 14 5.6

16 3.5 15 3.8

17 3.1 17 4.0

18 6.2 18 4.5

 

*Subjects 1,2,10
before the study

moved away *Subjects 2,11,16 were
was complete. deleted at random to
equalize the groups.

79

80
sixth graders who also achieved among the lowest scores on
the reading sub-test of the CAT became the control group.
The actual range of scores on the CAT achieved by the ‘
control group ranged from a grade level score of 6.5 to
3.4. Because of limitations set down by the guidelines of
the Compensatory Education Program as to the number of
students in the upper grades who could receive remedial
reading services, the control group did not receive
special reading instruction from this researcher, nor did
they participate in the study designed by this researcher,
other than to take the pretests and posttests.
Pretest Scores from the California

Achievement Test (CAT) for the
Experimental Group

 

 

A total of fifteen CAT scores was reported for the
experimental group. The scores for the fifteen subjects
ranged from a high of 7.4 to a low of 2.2. Five subjects
obtained scores in the 7.4 to 3.5 range; five subjects
obtained scores in the 3.4 to 2.9 range, and five subjects
obtained scores in the 2.6 to 2.2 range. The mean for the
group of ten boys and five girls was 36.06.

Pretest Scores from the California

Achievement Test (CAT) for the
Control Group

 

A total of fifteen CAT scores was reported for the
control group. The scores for the fifteen subjects ranged
from a high of 6.5 to a low of 3.4. Five subjects obtained

scores in the 6.5 to 4.2 range; five subjects obtained

81

scores in the 4.1 to 3.5 range and five subjects obtained
scores in the 3.4 to 2.6 range. The mean for the group
of nine boys and six girls was 40.20, which was 5.14
points above the mean for the experimental group.

No posttest scores for subjects in the experimental
and control groups will be reported for the CAT. The
CAT is the major evaluation instrucment to test the
effectiveness of the special reading program funded by the
Michigan Compensatory Education Program, and posttesting
will not begin until May, 1978.

Random assignment to the experimental and control
groups was not possible. Therefore, in analyzing the
data from the study, the CAT scores and ages of the
subjects were included in the six covariates to determine
what, if any, effect these two factors had on the overall
results. The relationship between the set of four
posttests (STEP Listening, STEP Reading, A LOOK AT
LITERATURE sub-tests listening and reading), and the six
covariates (STEP reading pretest, STEP listening pretest,
A LOOK AT LITERATURE sub-test listening pretest, sub-test

reading pretest, CAT and age) was examined.

Regression Analysis

 

The regression analysis was used to determine
whether the inclusion of all six dependent variables was
warranted. The overall multivariate test of the hypothesis
of no association between the four posttests and the six

covariates indicated that there was a signficant

82
relationship when considering an alpha level of .10, and
a probability of .07. The analysis indicated that one
of the six covariates was potentially related to the

posttest, and, therefore, needed to be examined further.

Step-wise Regression Analysis

 

By means of the step-wise regression analysis,
each of the six covariates was individually examined to
determine the unique contribution of each covariate. A
correlation matrix will be found in Table 4.2. The CAT
scores (F = .98, p less than .44) indicated no unique
relationship to the set of four posttests and would not
effect the posttest scores. Similarily, age (F = .31,

p less than .87) was not a biasing factor and would not
effect the posttest scores, nor would the pretest of the
reading sub-test A LOOK AT LITERATURE which had an F of
.86, with p less than .51, or the pretest of the listening
sub-test on A LOOK AT LITERATURE which had an F of .86,
with p less than .62. The inclusion of these four
variables in the analysis of the covariance was not
warranted. The pretest STEP listening test was retained
because the value of the probability emerged as being
significant at the .06 level, and by prior analysis, the
pretest STEP reading test indicated a relationship to the
posttest STEP reading test. The multivariate test

(F = 1.59, p less than .07) indicated adjustment was
warranted. The major relationship was between the

pretest and posttest STEP reading and listening tests.

83

 

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84
The multivariate test of the set of two pretests against
the set of four posttests was significant with a probability
of .0017, which strongly indicated that these two covariates
should be retained in the analysis. Results of the analysis

are in Tables 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5.

TABLE 4.3

Step-wise Regression F Statistics for the Six
Covariates on the Set of Four Posttests

 

 

 

 

Covariate F P

Pretest STEP Reading 5.54 .0027
Pretest STEP Listening 2.53 .0681
Pretest Listening Sub-test

A LOOK AT LITERATURE .84 .6168
Pretest Reading Sub-test

A LOOK AT LITERATURE .86 .5055
Age .31 .8669
CAT .98 .4396

TABLE 4.4

Step-wise Regression F Statistics on the Two
Covariates on the Set of Four Posttests

 

 

 

Covariate F P
Pretest STEP Reading 5.54 .0027
Pretest STEP Listening 2.53 .0681

 

85

TABLE 4.5

Univariate F Statistics for the
Set of Four Posttests

 

 

 

Variable F P
Posttest STEP Listening 2.36 .1362
Posttest STEP Reading 9.49 .0049

Posttest Listening
Sub-test A LOOK AT LITERATURE 12.03 .0019

Posttest Reading
Sub-test A LOOK AT LITERATURE 3.66 .0668

 

Multivariate F = 4.38, p less than .0089

86

DATA ANALYSIS RELATING TO EACH RESEARCH QUESTION

Critical Listening

 

Will fourth, fifth,,and sixth grade students who

 

are not reading at a level commensurate with their apparent

 

potential general ability improve their critical listening

 

abilities as a result of direct instruction in critical

 

listening skills learned through activities in which

 

select literary materials are used?

 

This question was measured by comparing pretest
scores with posttest scores from the STEP listening test
for both the experimental and the control groups, and by
pretest and posttest scores from the listening sub-test
of A LOOK AT LITERATURE.

Pretest Listening Scores (STEP)
for the Experimental Group

 

 

A total of fifteen pretest scores was reported for
the experimental group from the STEP listening test. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 270 to a low of 243. Five subjects obtained
scores in the 270-260 range, five subjects obtained scores
in the 258-252 range, and five subjects obtained scores

in the 249-243 range. The mean for the group of ten boys

87 o

TABLE 4.6

Total Converted Scores - STEP Listening Test

 

 

Experimental Group

Control Group

 

 

 

Student Pre Post Change Student Pre Post Change
Number Number

03 249 262 +13 01 265 257 - 8
04 249 263 +14 03 246 261 +15
05 260 260 + 0 04 259 264 + 5
06 243 257 +14 05 259 252 - 7
07 252 267 +15 06 256 241 -15
08 263 272 + 9 07 262 256 - 6
09 247 261 +14 08 274 269 - 5
11 257 257 + 0 09 258 269 +11
12 258 262 + 4 10 257 251 - 6
13 258 254 - 4 12 253 255 + 2
14 270 270 + 0 13 263 264 + 1
15 269 278 + 9 14 264 274 +10
16 244 245 + l 15 256 252 - 4
17 254 254 + 0 17 252 236 -16
18 262 263 + 1 18 230 226 - 4
Pretest Mean 55.6 Pretest Mean 58.6
Posttest Mean 61.6 Posttest Mean 58.3

88

89

and five girls was 55.67.

Pretest Listening Scores (STEP)
for the Control Group

 

 

A total of fifteen pretest scores was reported
for the control group from the STEP listening test. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 274 to a low of 246. Five subjects obtained scores
in the 274-262 range, seven subjects obtained scores in the
259-256 range, and three subjects obtained scores in the
253-246 range. The mean for the group of nine boys and
six girls was 58.67, which was 3.00 points above the
experimental group pretest mean.

Posttest Listening Scores (STEP)
for the Experimental Group

 

 

A total of fifteen posttest scores was reported
for the experimental group from the STEP listening test.
The converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from
a high of 278 to a low of 245. Four subjects obtained
scores in the 278-267 range, six subjects obtained scores
in the 263-260 range, and five subjects obtained scores
in the 257-245 range. The mean for the group of ten boys
and five girls was 61.67, which was a gain of 6.00 points
over the pretest mean for the experimental group.

Posttest Listening Scores (STEP)
fOr the Control Group

 

 

A total of fifteen posttest scores was reported

for the control group from the STEP listening test. The

90

converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 274 to a low of 236. Six subjects obtained scores
in the 274-264 range, four subjects obtained scores in the
261-255 range, and five subjects obtained scores in the
252-236 range. The mean for the group of nine boys and
six girls was 58.33, which represented a loss of .34 over
the pretest listening mean for the control group.
Difference Between the STEP

Listening Test Scores fOr the
Experimental and Control

Groups

 

 

 

Scores from the pretest and posttest of the STEP
listening test were analyzed by analysis of covariance.

The adjusted estimate of the treatment effect on the
posttest STEP listening test was 5.27, with a standard
error of 3.43 favoring the experimental group.

The second measure of critical listening was the
listening sub-test of A LOOK AT LITERATURE. Part one,
which was read by this researcher to the subjects as they
followed along in the text reading silently, was analyzed
as a measure of critical listening.

Pretest Sub-listenin Scores
A LOOK AT LITERATURE for the

Experimental Group

 

A total of fifteen pretest scores was reported
from the listening sub-test of A LOOK AT LITERATURE. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a

high of 49 to a low of 22. Five subjects obtained scores

TABLE 4.7

Total Converted Scores - A LOOK AT LITERATURE

 

 

 

 

 

Experimental Group Control Group
Student Pre Post Change Student Pre Post Change
Number Number
03 25 38 +13 01 29 36 + 7
04 34 38 + 4 03 32 32 + 0
05 32 45 +13 04 35 36 + l
06 29 38 + 9 05 34 26 - 8
07 30 46 +16 06 31 32 + l
08 45 45 + 0 07 32 41 + 9
09 31 36 + 5 08 39 32 — 7
ll 38 38 + 0 09 31 40 + l
12 32 45 +13 10 41 28 -l3
13 30 37 + 7 12 32 32 + 0
14 32 57 +15 13 35 40 + 5
15 41 48 + 7 14 40 41 + 1
16 30 32 + 2 15 30 36 + 6
17 35 42 + 7 17 36 32 — 4
18 29 34 + 5 18 36 44 + 8
Pretest Mean 32.8 Pretest Mean 35.0
Posttest Mean 41.2 Posttest Mean 35.3
*Students 1,2,10 moved away *Students 2,11,16 were

before the study was completed. deleted at random to
equalize the groups.

91

92
in the 49-36 range, five subjects obtained scores in the
35 to 32 range, and five subjects obtained scores in the
29-22 range. The mean for the group of ten boys and five
girls was 33.73.
Pretest Sub-listening Scores

A LOOK AT LITERATURE for the
Control Group

 

 

 

A total of fifteen pretest scores was reported
from the sub-listening test of A LOOK AT LITERATURE. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 46 to a low of 27. Six subjects obtained scores
in the 46-41 range, four subjects obtained scores in the
39-34 range, and five subjects obtained scores in the 32-
27 range. The mean for the group of nine boys and six
girls was 37.06, which was 3.33 points above the mean for
the experimental group pretest.

Posttest Sub-listenin Scores
A LOOK AT LITERATURE for the

Experimental Group

 

A total of fifteen posttest scores was reported
from the sub-listening test of A LOOK AT LITERATURE. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 61 to a low of 32. Four subjects obtained scores
in the 61-58 range, six subjects obtained scores in the
53-42 range, and five subjects obtained scores in the
40-32 range. The mean for the group of ten boys and

five girls was 47.60.

93

Posttest Sub-listening Scores
A LOOK AT LITERATURE for the
Control Group

 

 

 

A total of fifteen posttest scores was reported
from the sub-listening test of A LOOK AT LITERATURE. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 53 to a low of 24. Six subjects obtained scores
in the 53-42 range, five subjects obtained scores in the
40-37 range, and four subjects obtained scores in the
34-24 range. The mean for the group of nine boys and
six girls was 38.60, which was 9.00 points below the
mean for the experimental group posttest.

Difference Between the Sub-listening

A LOOK AT LITERATURE Scores for the
Experimental and Chntrol Groups

 

The analysis of covariance was used to analyze
the pretest and posttest scores for the sub-listening test
of A LOOK AT LITERATURE. The adjusted estimate of the
treatment effect on the posttest sub-listening test was
10.59, with a standard error of 3.05 favoring the
experimental group.

Further exploration of the multivariate test
for the analysis of covariance by means of the univariate
analysis, which brought the alpha level down to .0125,
indicated that the posttest of the sub-test listening
A LOOK AT LITERATURE was Significantly contributing
toward the multivariate test (F = 12.03, p less than .002).

Based upon the findings of the multivariate

analysis, the first research question may be answered in

94

the affirmative.

Critical Reading

 

Will fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students who are
not reading at a level commensurate with their apparent
potential general ability improve their critical reading
skills as a result of direct instruction in critical
listening skills learned through activities in which
select literary materials are used?

Critical reading was measured by the reading
sub-test of A LOOK AT LITERATURE, and the STEP reading
test.

Pretest Critical Reading Scores

A LOOK AT LITERATURE for the
Experimental Group

 

 

 

A total of fifteen pretest scores was reported for
the experimental group from the test of critical reading,
A LOOK AT LITERATURE. The converted scores for the
fifteen subjects ranged from a high of 45 to a low of 25.
Three subjects obtained scores within the 45-38 range, six
subjects obtained scores within the 35-31 range, and six
subjects obtained scores within the 30-25 range. The
mean for the group of ten boys and five girls was 37.40.

Pretest Critical Readin Scores
A LOOK AT LITERATURE for the

COntrdl Group

 

A total of fifteen pretest scores was reported for
the control group from the test of critical reading, A

LOOK AT LITERATURE. The converted scores ranged from a

95
high of 41 to a low of 29. Five subjects obtained scores
in the 41-36 range, six subjects obtained scores in the
35-32 range, and four subjects obtained scores in the 31-
29 range. The mean for the group of nine boys and six
girls was 36.46, which was .94 below the mean for the
experimental group.
Posttest Critical Reading Scores

A LOOK AT LITERATURE for the
Experimental Group

 

A total of fifteen posttest scores was reported
for the experimental group from the test of critical
reading, A LOOK AT LITERATURE. The converted scores for
the fifteen subjects ranged from a high of 57 to a low of
32. Six subjects obtained scores in the 57-45 range, five
subjects obtained scores in the 42-38 range, and four
subjects obtained scores in the 37-32 range. The mean for
the group of ten boys and five girls was 37.53.

Posttest Critical Readin Scores
A LOOK AT LITERATURE for the

Control Group

 

 

A total of fifteen posttest scores was reported
for the control group from the posttest of critical
reading, A LOOK AT LITERATURE. The converted scores for
the fifteen subjects ranged from a high of 44 to a low of
26. Three subjects obtained scores in the 44-41 range,
five subjects obtained scores in the 40-36 range, and
seven subjects obtained scores in the 32-26 range. The

mean for the group of nine boys and six girls was 34.60

96
which was 2.93 points below the posttest mean for the
experimental group.
Difference Between the Total Critical

Reading Scores A LOOK AT LITERATURE
for the Experimentaliafid Control Groups

 

 

 

The univariate analysis revealed that the sub-test
critical reading test (A LOOK AT LITERATURE) had an
F of 3.66, with p less than .07. The adjusted estimate
of the effect of the treatment resulted in a difference
between the two groups of 3.9, with a standard error of
2.02.

Pretest Critical Reading Scores
STEP for the Experimental Group

 

A total of fifteen pretest scores was reported for
the experimental group from the STEP reading test. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 255 to a low of 226. Two subjects obtained scores
in the 255-246 range, eight subjects obtained scores in
the 238-230 range, and five subjects obtained scores in
the 229-226 range. The mean for the group of ten boys
and five girls was 234.27.

Pretest Critical Reading Scores
STEP for the Control Group

 

A total of fifteen pretest scores was reported for
the control group from.the STEP reading test. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 259 to a low of 230. Four subjects obtained scores

in the 259-245 range, seven subjects obtained scores in

TABLE 4. 8

Total Converted Scores - STEP Reading

 

 

Experimental Group

Control Group

 

 

 

Student Pre Post Change Student Pre Post Change
Number Number

03 226 231 + 5 01 248 247 - l
04 237 232 - 5 03 238 245 + 7
05 246 254 + 8 04 234 226 — 8
06 228 239 +11 05 239 237 - 2
07 233 235 + 2 06 232 231 — l
08 235 246 +11 07 245 238 - 7
09 226 238 +12 08 241 240 - 1
11 226 237 +12 09 245 245 + l
12 229 233 + 4 10 236 234 - 2
13 237 240 + 3 12 237 242 + 5
14 230 237 + 7 14 259 256 - 3
15 230 237 + 7 14 259 256 - 3
16 230 242 +13 15 237 241 + 4
17 238 246 + 8 17 232 230 - 4
18 238 246 + 8 18 230 226 - 4
Pretest Mean 234.2 Pretest Mean 241.2
Posttest Mean 242.6 Posttest Mean 239.0

97

98
the 241-236 range, and four subjects obtained scores in
the 234-230 range. The mean for the group of nine boys
and six girls was 241.27, which was 7.00 points above the
experimental group pretest mean.

Posttest Critical Reading Scores
STEP for the Expefimental Group

 

A total of fifteen posttest scores was reported
for the experimental group from the STEP reading test. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 274 to a low of 231. Five subjects obtained
scores in the 274-246 range, six subjects obtained scores
in the 243-237 range, and four subjects obtained scores in
the 235-231 range. The mean for the group of ten boys
and five girls was 242.60, which was a gain of 8.34 points
over the pretest mean for the experimental group.

Posttest Critical Reading Scores
STEP for the Control Group

A total of fifteen posttest scores was reported
for the control group from the STEP reading test. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 256 to a low of 226. Five subjects obtained
scores in the 256-246 range, five subjects obtained scores
in the 242-237 range, and five subjects obtained scores
in the 234-226 range. The mean for the group of nine boys
and six girls was 239.06, which was 2.21 points below the

pretest mean for the control group.

99

Difference Between the Total STEP Critical
Reading Scores fOr the Experimental
and Control Groups

 

 

 

Scores from the STEP reading test were analyzed by
the analysis of covariance. The adjusted estimate of the
effect on the posttest STEP reading test resulted in a
difference between the experimental and control groups of
8.9 points,with a standard error of 2.89 in favor of the
experimental group. Therefore, the second research

question may be answered in the affirmative.

General Reading Comprehension

 

Will fourth, fifth, and sixthpgrade students who are

 

not reading at a level commensurate with their apparent

 

potential general ability improve their general reading

 

comprehension abilities as a result of direct instruction

 

in critical listening skills learned through activities in

 

which select literary materials are used?

 

General reading comprehension was measured by the
STEP reading test. Pretest scores were compared with
posttest scores for subjects in the experimental and control
groups. The STEP reading test measures both critical
reading ability and general comprehension ability.

Pretest STEP Reading Scores
for the Experimental Group

 

A total of fifteen pretest scores was reported for
the experimental group from the STEP reading test. The

converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a

100
high of 255 to a low of 226. Two subjects obtained scores
in the 255—246 range, eight subjects obtained scores in the
238-230 range, and five subjects obtained scores in the
229-226 range. The mean for the group of ten boys and
five girls was 234.27.

Pretest STEP Reading Scores
for the Control Group

 

 

A total of fifteen pretest scores was reported for
the control group from the STEP reading test. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 259 to a low of 230. Four subjects obtained
scores in the 259-245 range, seven subjects obtained
scores in the 241-236 range, and four subjects obtained
scores in the 234-230 range. The mean for the group of
nine boys and six girls was 241.27, which was 7.00 points
above the mean for the experimental group pretest.

Posttest STEP Reading Scores
for the Experimental Group

A total of fifteen posttest scores was reported
for the experimental group from the STEP reading test.

The converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 274 to a low of 231. Five subjects obtained scores
in the 274-246 range, six subjects obtained scores in the
243—237 range, and four subjects obtained scores in the
235-231 range. The mean for the group of ten boys and five
girls was 242.60, which was a gain of 8.34 points over

the pretest mean for the experimental group.

101

 

 

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102

Posttest STEP Reading Scores
for the Control Group

 

 

A total of fifteen posttest scores was reported
for the control group from the STEP reading test. The
converted scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 256 to a low of 226. Five subjects obtained
scores in the 256-246 range, five subjects obtained scores
in the 242-237 range, and five subjects obtained scores
in the 234-226 range. The mean for the group of nine boys
and six girls was 239.06, which was 2.21 points below the
pretest mean for the control group.

Difference Between the Total STEP

Reading Scores fOr the Experimental
and Control Groups

 

Scores from the STEP reading test were analyzed by
the analysis of covariance. The adjusted estimate of the
effect on the posttest STEP reading test resulted in a
difference between the experimental and control groups of
8.9, with a standard error of 2.89, favoring the
experimental group. The univariate analysis further
revealed that the STEP posttest of reading had an F of
9.49, with p less than .005.

The research data indicated that direct
instruction in critical listening skills learned through
activities in which select literary materials are used
will improve the general reading comprehension abilities
of subjects in the experimental group. Thus, the third

research question may be answered in the affirmative.

103

Test Item Analysis

 

An item analysis was made for each of the three
pretests and posttests to determine how many items which
were specifically critical listening or critical reading
were answered correctly by subjects in the experimental
and control groups.

Pretest STEP Critical Listening

Items Answered Correctly by the
Experimental Group

 

 

 

A total of fifteen critical listening items was
reported for the experimental group from the STEP listening
test. The scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 15 to a low of 5. Five subjects obtained scores
in the 15-9 range, six subjects answered eight items
correctly, and four subjects obtained scores in the 6-5
range. The mean for the group of ten boys and five girls
was 7.47.

Pretest STEP Critical Listening

Items Answered Correctly'by the
Control Group

 

 

 

A total of fifteen critical listening items was
reported for the control group from the STEP listening
test. The scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 13 to a low of 7. Six subjects obtained scores
in the 13-11 range, five subjects obtained scores in the
10-8 range, and four subjects obtained scores in the
7—5 range. The mean for the group of nine boys and six

girls was 9.47.

104

Posttest STEP Critical Listening
Items Answered Correctly by the
Experimental Group

 

 

 

A total of fifteen critical listening items was
reported for the experimental group from the posttest of
the STEP listening test. The scores for the fifteen
subjects ranged from a high of 17 to a low of 7. Five
subjects obtained scores in the l7-15 range, five subjects
obtained scores in the 14-12 range, five subjects obtained
scores in the 10-7 range. The mean for the group of ten
boys and five girls was 12.33, which was a gain of 4.86
points over the pretest mean for the experimental group.
Posttest STEP Critical Listening

Items Answered’Correctly—by the
Control Group

 

 

A total of fifteen critical listening items was
reported for the experimental group from the posttest of
the STEP listening test. The scores for the fifteen
subjects ranged from a high of 16 to a low of 4. Five
subjects obtained scores in the 16-14 range, five subjects
obtained scores in the 13-10 range, and five subjects
obtained scores in the 8-4 range. The mean for the group
of nine boys and six girls was 10.87.

Pretest Critical Listening and
Critical Reading Items from A

LOOK AT LITERATURE Answered‘
CorrectlyIBy the Expefimental

Group

A total of fifteen pretest critical listening and

critical reading items was reported from the total A

105
LOOK AT LITERATURE test for the experimental group. The
scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a high of 6
to a low of 2. Five subjects obtained scores in the
6-3 range, seven subjects answered two items correctly,
and three subjects answered one item correctly. The mean
for the group of ten boys and five girls was 2.40.
Pretest Critical Listeningpand
Critical Reading Items from A

LOOK AT LITERATURE Answered
Correctly by the ControldGroup

 

 

 

A total of fifteen pretest critical listening and
critical reading scores was reported from the total A
LOOK AT LITERATURE test for the control group. The
scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a high of 6
to a low of 1. Four subjects obtained scores in the 6-4
range, four subjects answered three items correctly, and
seven subjects obtained scores in the 2-1 range. The
mean for the group of nine boys and six girls was 3.07.
Posttest Critical Listening and
Critical Reading Items from A

LOOK AT LITERATURE Answered
Correctly By the Experimental

Group

 

 

 

A total of fifteen posttest critical listening and
critical reading items was reported from the total A
LOOK AT LITERATURE test for the experimental group. The
scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a high of 10
to a IOW'Of 2. Four subjects obtained scores in the

10-7 range, seven subjects answered five items correctly,

106
four subjects obtained scores in the 4-2 range. The
mean for the group of ten boys and five girls was 5.47,
which was 3.07 points above the pretest mean for the
experimental group.
Posttest Critical Listening and
Critical Reading Items from A

LOOK AT LITERATURE Answered
Correctly by the Control Group

 

 

A total of fifteen posttest critical listening and
critical reading items was reported from the total A
LOOK AT LITERATURE test for the control group. The scores
for the fifteen subjects ranged from a high of 7 to a low
of 2. Five subjects obtained scores in the 7-6 range,
four subjects answered four questions correctly, and six
subjects obtained scores in the 3-2 range. The mean for
the group of nine boys and six girls was 3.27, which was
.20 above the pretest mean for the control group.
Pretest STEP Critical Reading
Items Answered Correctly by the
Experimental Group

A total of fifteen pretest critical reading items
was reported for the experimental group from the STEP
reading test. The scores for the fifteen subjects ranged
from a high of 9 to a low of 2. Six subjects obtained
scores in the 9-5 range, six subjects answered four items
correctly, and three subjects obtained scores in the 3-2

range. The mean for the group of ten boys and five girls

was 4.67.

107

Pretest STEP Critical Reading
Items Answered Correctly by the
Control Group

 

 

A total of fifteen pretest critical reading items
was reported for the control group from the STEP reading
test. The scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a
high of 10 to a low of 3. Five subjects obtained scores in
the 10-6 range, four subjects answered five items correctly,
and six subjects obtained scores in the 4-3 range. The
mean for the group of nine boys and six girls was 5.67.
Posttest STEP Critical Reading

Items Answered Correctly by the
Experimental Group

 

A total of fifteen posttest critical reading items
was reported for the experimental group from the STEP
reading test. The scores for the fifteen subjects ranged
from a high of 14 to a low of 3. Six subjects obtained
scores in the 14-8 range, four subjects obtained scores in
the 7-6 range, and five subjects obtained scores in the
5-3 range. The mean for the group of ten boys and five
girls was 7.40, which was a 2.73 point gain over the
experimental group pretest mean.

Posttest STEP Critical Reading

Items AnsweredlCorrectly By the
Control Group

 

 

 

A total of fifteen posttest critical reading items
was reported for the control group from the STEP reading
test. The scores for the fifteen subjects ranged from a

high of 9 to a low of 2. Four subjects obtained scores

108
in the 9-8 range, five subjects obtained scores in the 7-4
range, and six subjects obtained scores in the 3-2 range.
The mean for the group of nine boys and six girls was
5.33, which was .34 points below the pretest mean for the

control group.

Review

The pretest mean for the critical reading and
critical listening items were higher in all instances
for the control group (STEP listening 9.47, STEP reading
5.67, A LOOK AT LITERATURE 3.07) than for the experimental
group (STEP listening 7.47, STEP reading 4.67, A LOOK AT
LITERATURE 2.40). However, the posttest means for the
critical reading and critical listening items were higher
in all instances for the experimental group (STEP
listening 12.33, STEP reading 7.40, A LOOK AT LITERATURE
5.47) than for the control group (STEP Listening 10.87,
STEP reading 5.33, A LOOK AT LITERATURE 3.27). A summary
of the growth made by the experimental group in the number
of critical listening and critical reading items answered
correctly appears in Figures 4.1, 4.2, 4.3.

The preceding section of Chapter IV contained the
analysis of the data obtained from the STEP reading, STEP
listening, and A LOOK AT LITERATURE pretests and posttests
for the experimental and control groups. The analysis of
covariance revealed that the experimental treatment was
effective in improving the critical listening and critical

reading, as well as the general reading comprehension

109
abilities of subjects in the experimental group, with a
.05 level of significance.
The following portion of Chapter IV will contain

Observations of Student Behavior.

Figure 4.1

Experimental Group Critical Listening Items from STEP Listening Test

110

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OBSERVATIONS OF STUDENT BEHAVIOR

When this study was initiated, subjects in the
experimental group appeared to be uncomfortable or
resentful about the idea of coming to class to listen to
stories. Group behaviors ranged from the flip statement
made by one subjects, "Oh boy, we're going to hear a

bedtime story, to expressions of concern that if subjects
were not permitted to work in their reading series work-
books, they would not be learning to read. Subjects
expressed concern that they were not doing "real work," and
they frequently asked when they would be given "real work"
to do. Gradually, however, this behavior began to change

as subjects in the experimental group became interested in
the books they were hearing. By the time the study was
concluded and the posttesting had begun, the opposite
reaction was evident. They now expressed concern that there
would be no more books to hear and discuss. For example,
student #8, who at the outset of the study had not expressed
himself verbally in group discussions very frequently, was
quite concerned that the reading of books might not continue.

He stated to this researcher that, "We're not supposed to

take tests in here. Wefre supposed to listen to stories."

113

114

It was obvious to this researcher at the outset
of the study that the ability to concentrate totally on
the literature being read was difficult for many of the
subjects. The first task to be accomplished by this
researcher was to teach subjects in the experimental
group how to listen attentively. At the beginning of
the study it was often necessary to stop the reading
aloud session in order to refocus the children's
attention on the story. As the weeks progressed, however,
it became less and less of a problem; the students were
listening more attentively. When disruptions occurred,
subjects began to discipline each other by telling the
disruptive students to be quiet so that the story could
continue. For example, student #16 reproached three
girls in the group who were talking and giggling together
with the statement, ”Be quiet, you all, we want to hear
this story." At approximately the sixth week of the
study this researcher noted that subjects were entering
the roon in an orderly fashion, with less hiding and
playing in the halls, and going directly to the reading
circle without being told to do so. Remarks such as, "Are

you going to finish that story today,‘ were not infrequent.
At this time also, the reading aloud was able to progress
with fewer interruptions other than to ask specific

questions about the story.

Observations Regarding the Sub-Questions

(a) Will direct instruction in critical listening
skills learned through activities in which select literagy
materials are used improve subjects' positive attitudes
toward reading so that they will engage in more voluntary
reading?

Since the room in which this study was conducted
was the school library, library books as well as the trade
books used in the study, were available for subjects in
the experimental group to read. This researcher did not
urge students to read these books, but merely made them
available on a large table at the rear of the room. One
of the first indications that reading behaviors were
changing came when student #18, who was an extremely
reluctant reader, and appeared to be disinterested in
listening to stories at the beginning of the experiment,
picked up a book and took it to her desk to read. The
book she selected was The Bears' House by Marilyn Sachs.
Her friend, student #11, also requested a copy of this
book and another copy was made available to her by this
researcher. Student #15 selected The Quicksand Book,
written and illustrated by Tomi dePaola, from the table
because he was interested in the directions on how to
make quicksand which appear at the end of the book.
Student #16 went to the collection of biographies of
famous Black people and read several of these biographies.

115

116

He brought copies of ng Charles, written by Sharon Bell

 

Mathis and illustrated by George Ford, and The Picture

 

Life of Jesse Jackson, by Warren Halliburton, to this
researcher and suggested that they would be good books

to read to the total group. An interesting point to note
is that the same library collection of books was available
on the shelves of the library during the entire semester.
No attempt to read or look at library books was made by
any subjects in the experimental group until after the
sixth week of the experiment. Student #6 requested this

researcher to locate a copy of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats

 

of NIHM, by Robert O'Brien, because she had heard it was

a good book. Student #18 particularly enjoyed the
biography of John Hancock by Jean Fritz entitled, Will You
Sign Here, John Hancock? She asked this researcher where
she had obtained the book. When this student learned that
it was available from the local library, she stated that
she had a library card, though she said she did not go to
the library very often, and announced that she would visit
there that afternoon to get a copy of this picture book
biography of John Hancock.

As this researcher completed the reading of a book,
several hands would be outstretched immediately to receive
the book and look at it. It was not unusual to see a
particular book being passed among friends in the
reading circle. By the time this study was concluded, all

subjects in the experimental group were spending a portion

117
of the reading class period in selecting and reading books
quietly at their desks. As a result of sharing and
discussing books together, this researcher enjoyed a
greater degree of rapport with the subjects in the
experimental group than she has in the past with other

groups of upper grade students.

(b) Will direct instruction in critical listening
skills learned through activities in which select literary
materials are used aid in the growth of subjects' ability

to think and respond critically, e.g., during such

 

activities as classroom discussions?

Initially the verbal responses were difficult to
elicit as subjects were apparently inexperienced in
answering open-ended type questions. Over the sixteen
weeks that the reading-listening lessons occurred, growth
was noted in the number of students who responded to
questions. Although some subjects never did volunteer an
opinion unless directly asked, all but three students in the
experimental group took part in the discussions before the
end of the sixteen weeks. Once the novelty of participating
in a group discussion wore off, and as the children learned
how to actually discuss aspects of a topic, that is,
really respond to one another's statements, fewer
irrelevant statements were made, and evidence of more
evaluative thinking began to occur.

Student #5 became a frequent contributor to

class discussions of the books being read. Her comments

118

were always related to the reading, and frequently
reflected the skill of relating experiences from the stories
to her own life. The item analysis of her critical reading
and critical listening test scores revealed growth in the
ability to listen and read critically.

In a casual conversation with the teacher of subject
#14, it was learned that this student was making very good
progress in expressing himself verbally in classroom
discussions during the social studies period, which pleased
his teacher very much. The reader should note that this
researcher did not share details of the treatment with
teachers in the building where the study was conducted,
therefore, this comment was particularly gratifying. This
student had been included in special reading because he
had difficulty comprehending reading in the content areas.
This student gained 15 points on the posttest of A LOOK AT
LITERATURE over his pretest score.

At the beginning of the study, responses during the
class discussions from student #8 were infrequent. Often,
when this researcher asked a direct question of him, his
answer would be a shrug of the shoulders. On November 14,
1977, when the first tape recording of a discussion session
was made, this student volunteered three answers, which
tended to be of a literal comprehension nature. By the
time the second tape recording of the class discussion
was made on December 2, 1977, he again replied voluntarily,
this time on four occasions. Two of his voluntary

replies reflected interpretive thinking. At the final

119
recording session of the class discussions, student #8 was
beginning to express himself in a manner indicating
reflective thinking. At this time, he volunteered to answer
five questions. This young man appears to be a naturally
shy student who would not easily express himself to others.
It was interesting to note that it was he who expressed
concern when the posttesting began that there might not be
more story-discussion sessions. As with subject #5, this
student often related experiences from the stories to
experiences in his own life.

Subjects #11 and #12 were brother and sister. One
day student #12 hit his sister on the arm. Instead of
retaliating in kind, student #11 put her thumb in her mouth
and said, "Who you hitting?" which was a direct quote from

Marilyn Sachs' book, The Bears' House, which had been read

 

to the group. Fran Ellen, the main character in this story,
responded to teasing by other children by sucking her thumb
and making this same comment. The smile on student #ll's
face as she looked at this researcher revealed that she was
pleased with how she had reacted.

(c) Will oral reading of select literary material

be an appropriate medium for teaching critical listening,

 

critical reading and critical thinking?

 

The building in which this study was conducted did
not have a professional librarian to guide children in
the selection of literature. Classroom teachers assist
students to locate books in the library. The amount of

guidance provided students in selecting books is dependent

120
upon each individual teacher's knowledge of literature,
and varies widely from teacher to teacher. For the
student who has not mastered the skill of independent
reading, the library period is often a time of aimless
leafing through one book after another with no real
purpose. This researcher had the occasion to observe
during the third week of the study some members of the
experimental group during a library period and noticed
student #18 and student #11 selected and subsequently
rejected one book after another. Neither student signed
a book out that day. This researcher noted that when
children were introduced to literature which was read to
them, the selection process became more meaningful in
that they were looking for specific titles that had been
read to them. Student #18, as noted previously, expressed
dislike for reading, and appeared to be disinterested in
the listening lessons at the beginning of the experiment.
She was overheard by this researcher during the seventh
week of the study saying to her friend, "Reading is fun."
When that statement was made she had just finished an
entire picture book which was written at the interest level
of upper elementary students but at a reading level that
was not beyond her reading ability. She had chosen to
read Joseph the Dreamer, written by Clyde Robert Bulla and
illustrated by Gordon Laite, which had been recommended to
her by this researcher during an earlier class period.

Student #6 is a shy child who seldom responds

121
unless called upon directly. When the experiment was begun,
she often appeared to be disinterested in the reading of
the stories, frequently looking out of the window, and for
many weeks she did not volunteer to participate in the
discussion even when this researcher called on her for an
opinion. She would usually answer with, "I don't know."

During the reading of The Secret Soldier, written by Ann

 

McGovern and illustrated by Ann Grifalconi, in the week of
November 14, 1977, student #6 entered the discussion for
the first time voluntarily. Her attention to the stories
became more evident as she moved her chair closer to this
researcher so that she could observe pictures in the book
while this researcher was reading. Although she remained
somewhat reluctant to volunteer answers during the
experiment, this researcher noted that she was less
reticent to enter the discussion than she had been at the
beginning of the experiment, and that her answers developed
from.simple questions at the beginning (e.g., "Did she see
her mother again?") to more reflective statements at the
conclusion of the experiment (e.g., Q: How did the author
make the people in this story seem like real people?
Student #6 answered, "It seems they acted just like real
people do when they got problems). An interesting finding
from.the posttesting was that student #6 made a gain of

14 points over her pretest STEP listening test on the
posttest. On the item analysis of the critical listening

items on the STEP listening test she gained 10 points on

122
the posttest. This researcher observed that student #6
was very attentive as the test selections were being read.
This student looked directly at the researcher during the
reading, which reflected a change of behavior from the
beginning of the experiment when she frequently looked out
the window.

An item analysis of the test questions which
required critical reading or listening revealed that only
four subjects of the fifteen in the experimental group
remained at the same level or lower on their scores for
the measures of critical listening and critical reading
ability. The remaining eleven subjects in the experimental
group received higher scores on the posttest than on the
pretests of critical listening and critical reading.

By the time the study was concluded, every subject
without exception was selecting and reading books independent-
ly at various places in the room. Some were sitting on the
floor in front of shelves, others were in the comfortable
arms chairs, others were at their desks. The building
principal came into the room on an errand one morning and
expressed surprise to this researcher that certain students
who often were disruptive in the classroom were seated quietly
reading. The first-grade teacher came into the room on an
occasion when the students were all reading quietly and
whispered to this researcher, "How did you get them so
quiet?" What both persons observed were children who

were quietly absorbed in books.

123

This researcher has observed a complete turnabout
in attitudes regarding the reading act. When these
subjects arrived in special reading classes in September,
they were skeptical of the notion that reading could be
anything but work in a workbook; indeed, they persisted
in bringing their reading series workbooks to class with
them even though this researcher told them it was not
necessary to do so. By the conclusion of the experiment,
subjects in the experimental group were reading from
literary materials including fiction, biography, information-
al books, and science fiction, in addition to their skill

building‘materials.

Overview

Chapter Four presented the analysis of the data
obtained from the pretests and posttests of the three
measures of critical listening, critical reading and
general reading comprehension. The analysis of covariance
revealed that the experimental treatment was effective
at the .05 level of significance in improving the critical
listening, and critical reading, as well as the general
reading comprehension abilities of the subjects in the
experimental group.

Chapter Five will contain a summary of the
findings, observations and reflections gathered from the
experiment to teach critical listening skills to upper
grade students. Suggestions for further research will

also be included.

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY OF THE STUDY

This chapter will contain a summary of the findings,
discussion, implications and reflections concerning the
experiment to teach critical listening skills to fourth,
fifth, and sixth grade students who were reading at a level
not commensurate with their apparent potential general
ability. Recommendations for further research in areas

related to this study will also be presented.

Summary of the Findings

 

Because upper grade students who experience reading
difficulties in elementary school seldom receive instruction
in the higher level thinking skills normally referred to as
enrichment activities, it was hypothesized that direct
instruction in critical listening skills might be a
feasible means for assisting developing readers to think
critically even though they had not mastered the reading
process. Further, it was observed that some difficulties
in reading are not necessarily of the decoding nature, but
could be the result of inexperience with reading as a

thinking process. That is, a student may be capable of

124

125
pronouncing words, but unable to comprehend the meaning of
the passage or respond critically to what has been read.

Research has indicated that the ability to engage
in critical thinking and critical reading, while related
to intelligence, is not dependent upon high I.Q. when
direct instruction is provided. Therefore, this study
was designed to test the feasibility of teaching critical
thinking through critical listening to low achieving
students, and to determine if there would be any effect on
one's ability to read critically. Research evidence was
presented which stated the importance of providing
instruction in critical evaluation as a safeguard of the
democratic way of life, and as an aid in the solution of
life's problems and the pursuit of happiness.

Children's literature was selected as the vehicle
for teaching select critical listening skills because of
its high degree of appeal, and with the contention that a
positive view of reading as a pleasurable and worthwhile
activity would concomitantly occur.

Subjects in this researcher's special reading
classes, funded by Article III of the Michigan Compensatory
Education Program, served as the experimental group,
which was conprised of fifteen fourth, fifth, and sixth
grade students. The control group was comprised of fifteen
fourth, fifth, and sixth graders who received remedial
reading instruction in the regular classroom in ability-

grouped classes. The control group did not attend this

126
researcher's special reading classes and did not participate
in the research project designed by this researcher other
than to take the pretests and posttests.
The study investigated three main questions which
will now be discussed along with the results of the

analysis of the data for each questions.

Critical Listening

 

Will fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students who

 

are not reading at a level commensurate with their apparent

 

potential general ability improve their critical listening

 

abilities as a result of direct instruction in select
critical listening skills learned through activities in

which select literary materials are used?

 

The data were submitted to the analysis of covariance
to determine levels of significance. The adjusted estimate
of the treatment effect on the post sub-listening test
(A LOOK AT LITERATURE) indicated a difference between the
groups of 10.59 points, with a standard error of 3.05
favoring the experimental group. Thus, the conclusion that
direct instruction in critical listening skills learned
through activities in which select literary materials are
used will improve the critical listening skills of students
in the experimental group was supported by the research

data, and found to be significant at the .05 level.

Critical Reading

 

Will fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students w¢m>are

127
not reading at a level commensurate with their apparent
potential general ability improve their critical reading
abilities as a result of direct instruction in select
critical listening skills learned through activities in

which select literary materials are used?

 

The multivariate analysis of the test of critical
reading, A LOOK AT LITERATURE, revealed that on the sub-
test of reading, the adjusted estimate of the effect of
the treatment resulted in a difference between the two
groups of 3.9 points, with a standard error of 2.02,
favoring the experimental group. The univariate analysis
further revealed that the posttest of the STEP reading
test (F = 9.49, p less than .005) was contributing to the
significance. The adjusted estimate of the effect of the
posttest reading resulted in a difference between the
two groups of 8.9 points, with a standard error of 2.89,
favoring the experimental group. Thus, the conclusion that
direct instruction in critical listening skills learned
through activities in which select literary materials are
used will improve the critical reading abilities of the
subjects in the experimental group was supported by the

research data, and found to be significant at the .05 level.

General Reading Comprehension

 

Will fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students who

 

 

are not reading at a level commensurate with their apparent

potential general ability improve their general reading

 

128

compgehension abilities as a result of direct instruction
in select critical listening skills learned through

activities in which select literary materials are used?

 

The adjusted estimate of the effect on the STEP
posttest of reading resulted in a difference between
the two groups of 8.9 points, with a standard error of
2.89, favoring the experimental group. The STEP test
was selected to measure general reading comprehension
abilities because it contains items requiring general
comprehension skill as well as critical reading ability.
The test did not measure word attack or knowledge of
vocabulary in separate sub-tests, but these abilities
were implicit in the fact that subjects were expected to
read and comprehend selections independently. Therefore,
the conclusion that direct instruction in critical
listening skills learned through activities in which
select literary materials are used will improve the general
reading comprehension abilities of subjects in the
experimental group was supported by the research data, and

found to be significant at the .05 level.

Discussion

 

The results of the analysis of covariance indicated
that the experimental group means on all three pretests
and their sub-tests were lower than the means for the
control group on the same pretests. However, the posttest
results indicated that the reverse of this situation

occurred following the sixteen week experimental treatment.

129
The control group means on the posttests and their sub-tests
were lower than the means obtained by the experimental group
on the posttest and post sub-tests. The experimental group
means rose on all three posttests and their sub-tests.
The following chart summarizes the means for the pretests

and posttests.

Summary of Gropp Means

 

 

Experimental: Lit. Listen. Read. Sub-listn. Sub-read.
Pretest 32.87 55.67 234.27 33.73 37.40
Posttest 41.27 61.67 242.60 47.60 37.53

Control:

Pretest 35.00 58.67 241.27 37.07 36.47
Posttest 35.33 58.33 239.67 38.60 34.60

 

This researcher is of the opinion that certain factors
may account for these findings. It appears that listening
is not being taught to subjects in the control group. Their
observed behavior at the time of posttesting had not changed
appreciably from the pretesting situation. The manner in
which the control group entered the room for posttesting
was similar to pretesting. They came in the room noisily,
complained about having to take another test, wanted to sit
next to their friends instead of in the assigned seats.
Oftentimes the control group was not attentive to directions

being read, and frequently asked to have them repeated.

130

Similarily, they asked to have items read a second time
because they had not attended to the first reading, However,
standardization procedures of the tests did not permit the
re-reading of items on the listening tests. The negative
behavior of members of the control group undoubtedly
influenced test results. This researcher observed that
during the posttest a majority of students in the
experimental group asked fewer questions regarding the
instructions, and fewer repetitions of test items. In
addition, certain members of the experimental group looked
directly at this researcher during the reading of test
items and directions, which tends to indicate good listening
behavior. Members of the experimental group, at the
beginning of the treatment, thought they were listening
attentively to the stories. However, when questions were
asked, or when they asked questions of this researcher,

it was obvious that they might have been hearing words,

but were not listening attentively enough to comprehend
what was read. An indication of careful listening habits

‘ having not been acquired by some subjects was given when
questions often had to be repeated, or when irrelevant
statements were made. As subjects in the experimental
group gained experience in listening for specific purposes,
and in listening to one another in group discussions, this
researcher observed fewer incidents of irrelevant questions

or statements being made regarding the stories being read.

131
The contributions the subjects in the experimental group
made to the class discussions indicated a higher level of
thinking was taking place as closer attention was being

paid to the listening lessons and the oral reading.

Limitations

 

Random assignment to the experimental and control
groups was not possible in this study due to restrictions
regarding the selection of students for the special reading
classes established by the Compensatory Education Program.

The control group was not taught by this researcher
due to limitations regarding the numbers of students eligible
to receive special reading instruction as established by
the Compensatory Education Program. It would have been
preferable to have had the control group receive the same
instruction from this researcher for the skills component
of the study as the experimental group received.

Since all classrooms in the building have class-
room collections of books, and some teachers engage in oral
reading to their classes, it was not known whether any
discussion of literature involving critical evaluation
took place outside of the experimental procedure.

The testing period required five days to complete
for both the pretests and the posttests, which was very
tiring for the subjects.

It is acknowledged by this researcher that it can
not be definitively determined whether or not the last

half hour of instruction in skill building materials had

132
an effect on the results obtained in this study.

This researcher also acknowledges that some degree
of the halo effect was present in the design of this study,
and that the enthusiasm for the literature being read to
subjects by this researcher, who is an experienced classroom
teacher, may also have contributed to the results of the

study.

Implications

 

This researcher believes that learning to read
encompasses much more than the physical act of decoding
words and repeating literally what happened in the passages
read. Children who were assigned to special reading classes,
and who were labelled as below average readers, displayed
a variety of reading problems. Therefore, reading
instruction should consist of more than additional drill
lessons on word attack and literal comprehension activities.
Critical reading and critical thinking do not develop
naturally as children mature, which was substantiated by
the results of the comparison between the pretests and
posttests scores of the experimental and control groups.
This researcher firmly believes that if better initial
and developmental reading instruction were provided in
the classroom, which would include (1) listening
instruction, (2) the development of thinking skills, (3)
the development of critical evaluation skills, fewer
children would fail on standardized tests of reading, and

subsequently be assigned to special reading classes.

133

Actually, research solidly demonstrates that most children
in remedial reading classes know how to decode. Artley
summarizes this point when he states that there is a large
group of children who experience reading difficulties in
the classroom, whose reading needs are not being met, and
who will eventually be referred to the remedial reading
teacher. From his own clinical experience, he reports
that the majority of children referred for special help
are not those with severe physical, mental or emotional
disorders, but are students with an accumulation of unmet
reading needs.l Yet remedial readers continue to be
drilled on decoding skills. Allington reports from an
observational study that even though students and teachers
in remedial reading classes were busily engaged in a
variety of instructional activities, very little actual
reading was taking place in the classes.2

An item analysis of those questions on all of the
measures used in the present study which required critical

evaluation revealed that the experimental group answered

more critical thinking items correctly on the posttests

 

l

A. Sterl Artley, "Classroom Help for Children with
Beginning Reading Problems," Reading Instruction: Dimensions
and Issues, ed. William K. Durr (Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1967), p.335.

2

Richard L. Allington, "If They Don't Read Much,
How They Ever Gonna Get Good?" Journal of Reading, 21,
No. l (1977), 58.

 

134
than on the pretests, which indicates to this researcher
that instruction in critical listening does result in the
ability to think and read critically. This tends to
strengthen this researcher's belief that certain types
of errors made on measures of reading are actually errors
in thinking rather than decoding, and should be treated
as examples of faulty thinking rather than errors in
the ability to decode.

It appears that instruction in listening,
especially critical listening, is an important aspect and
prerequisite to reading instruction, particularly with
students who experience reading difficulty as measured on
standardized tests. The student who has not mastered
independent reading skill seldom receives instruction in
critical thinking, and is unprepared to engaged in the
critical thinking which is called for on test items.

This researcher also believes that students should
learn to engage in class discussions in order to develop
the ability to express ideas and to respond critically to

material which is heard as well as read.

Reflections

 

One of the most gratifying results of the present
investigation was in the observed behaviors and attitudes
toward reading as a pleasurable activity on the part of
subjects in the experimental group. As reported in an
earlier chapter, negative and disruptive behaviors were

displayed by the experimental group in class at the

135

beginning of the school year. These students perceived
reading to be an activity in which they had little or no
ability, and, therefore, reading was an unpleasant activity
to be avoided. The children who participated in this study
had experienced reading instruction which concentrated
primarily upon the mechanics of reading. Because they had
not mastered the mechanics, they did not enjoy reading.
Therefore, they viewed their attendance in remedial reading
classes not as an opportunity to improve, but as yet
another reminder of their failure. Opportunities to explore
and enjoy good literature for sheer pleasure; opportunities
to respond to books, seldom existed for these students.

As a result, negative attitudes toward reading developed.
However, as subjects began to experience reading as a
pleasurable activity, first through listening to good stories,
and then in their own independent reading of books, reading
became more than skills lessons and workbook exercises.
Concomitantly, they began to be less disruptive in class.
This researcher noted that when students began to enjoy
books, they began to be mbre relaxed and calm, which, in
turn, allowed this researcher to be more relaxed with the
group. When these children found that books could bring
them knowledge of a subject in which they had an interest,
and when they realized that time would be allotted them
during reading class to peruse and select books, some

of the aversion expressed for reading was lost. When

they found satisfaction in reading a story on their own,

136

they began to engage in reading rather than disruptive
behavior. It appears to this researcher that when reading
instruction is perceived as only skills instruction, and
has no meaning for the reader, the child who has difficulty
reading is less willing to engage in activities which
may cause him embarrassment. This researcher has observed
that an interesting and well-written story will be read by
a student who has reading difficulties with little problem
when the storyline is meaningful and important to the
reader. It appears that the context of the story carries
the reader along and over the difficult or unknown words
to the extent that the meaning of the passage is grasped
by the reader. This researcher believes that the mastery
of phonetic and structural word analysis must be viewed
in proper perspective. That is, skills instruction is a
means to an end, which is independent reading. By no
means should skills instruction be viewed as the major
or sole purpose for reading instruction. To this
researcher, the true purpose of reading instruction is to
develop students who not only can read, but students who
will read for knowledge and enjoyment which the printed
page offers them.

The method of reading instruction employed in
this present research appears to have rewards for the
teacher of reading as well as the student. When children
are enjoying a learning experience, such as listening to

or reading literature, the teacher, as well, experiences

137
satisfaction in knowing that s/he has helped children
find success and pleasure in reading.
Perhaps the best summation of this study was
expressed by subject #17, who said to this researcher

following the reading of The Hundred Penny Box, "Why

 

do books look so funny on the outside, but are so good

on the inside?

Suggestions for Changes in the Study

 

If this present study were to be repeated, it
would be well to make the following changes.

The study should be made using a larger sample,
randomly assigned, over a longer period of time to further
test the effectiveness of teaching critical thinking
through critical listening lessons in which select literary
materials are used.

Because this researcher was not able to work with
the control group due to limitations of numbers of students
who could be enrolled in the special reading classes, a
subsequent study should make provisions for the control
group to receive the same skill building instruction from
the researcher as was given to the experimental group.

The testing procedure was long and tiring for the
subjects. A subsequent study should make use of analysis
of discourse, which analyzes subjects' tape recorded
responses to test items, as the testing procedure.
Information would be provided regarding subjects' ability

to respond critically to test questions without the

138
hindrance of reading difficulties. Analysis of discourse
would also provide additional information on subjects'
growth in oral language facility.

A subsequent study should eliminate the skill to
distinguish relevant from irrelevant statements, since
this researcher found that literary materials are so well
written that examples of irrelevant statements are
difficult to find. This skill is better taught using
non-literary materials.

It is recommended that literary materials be used
which could be completed in one, or not more than two,
class periods. For some subjects, the selections that
lasted longer than two class periods seemed to surpass
their attention span.

It is recommended that more poetry selections be

included.

Suggestions for Further Research

 

Further research is needed to determine whether
there is a sequential arrangement of listening skills in
order to facilitate learning effectiveness at all age
levels.

Research should be conducted to determine if there
is an optimal time at which instruction in critical
thinking, critical listening and critical reading
instruction would prove most effective.

A study is needed to determine whether early

training in critical listening would have an effect on

139

reducing the number of cases of boys who experience reading
difficulties.

A longitudinal study should be conducted to
determine whether instruction in critical listening and
critical thinking, beginning in the kindergarten and
continuing through the elementary grades, would have an
effect on the prevention of reading difficulties.

A study could be designed with three experimental
groups: (1) a group which listens to literature read
orally, (2) a group which follows the regular basal
program, (3) a group which participates in a combination
of the first two to determine the effect each variable
has on the reading process.

The development of better measures of critical
listening, critical reading, and critical thinking needs
to be undertaken, especially as they pertain to testing
children in the elementary school. At present, there are
no measures of critical thinking for use with elementary
school children. There are no other standardized tests
of critical listening and critical reading other than the
STEP tests. It would be preferable to have tests which
measure just critical reading and critical listening.

Further research needs to be conducted with A
LOOK AT LITERATURE: THE NCTE COOPERATIVE TEST OF CRITICAL
READING AND APPRECIATION. This test needs to be normed
on a wider and more representative sample of elementary

school children. A test similar to this measure is needed

140
which would be more suitable for the reading levels of
upper elementary grade students who have reading
difficulties.

A study is needed to determine the extent to
which listening skills are being taught in the reading
programs of elementary schools.

A study is needed to assess teachers' knowledge
of the need for teaching listening skills, and to
determine teachers' perceptions of their ability to
teach listening.

Studies should be conducted to determine what
training should be provided in teacher preparation
programs to prepare teachers for teaching listening.

A study is needed to determine how to assist
inservice teachers in becoming knowledgeable and competent
teachers of listening.

A study is needed to determine teachers' perceptions
of the use of children's literature in the elementary
curriculum, as well as to determine how teachers use
children's literature.

A study is needed to determine what training
should be provided in teacher preparation programs that
would prepare teachers to use children's literature for
teaching reading, listening and thinking.

A study is needed to determine the most efficient
manner in which to assist inservice teachers to become

knowledgeable and competent in using children's

l4l

literature for teaching reading, listening and thinking.

A study to investigate the knowledge and
perceptions that school administrators and reading
personnel have regarding the use of children's literature
as a means for teaching reading, listening and thinking is
needed. This study should determine ways in which
administrators can most effectively be advised of the
use of children's literature in the elementary reading
curriculum.

Further studies are needed to establish the
relationship between listening and reading. It should be
determined to what extent instruction in listening has
an effect on the ability of students to learn to read.

The effect that the discussion factor has on the
ability to think and read critically should be tested.

One group of students could listen to literature without
discussing it. A second group of students should read the
same literature, followed by a group discussion of it.
This study could determine whether there is an optimal
length of time needed for listening-discussion periods

in order to produce growth in these skills.

A study is needed to determine what types of
literature are best suited for teaching critical listening

to upper grade students who have reading difficulties.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

TITLES USED IN THE STUDY

APPENDIX A

TITLES USED IN THE STUDY

The following books were used in this study with
subjects in the experimental group.

Skill: To distinguish fact from fancy

Beatty, Jerome, Jr. Matthew Looney's Voyage to the Earth.
Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing
Company, Inc., 1961.

Matthew Looney, along with his famous space
commander uncle and his pet "murtle," who is smuggled
aboard the space ship, set out to prove that earth
is a dead planet. The young inhabitant of the moon
and his pet murtle, however, prove that life does
indeed exist on earth.

dePaola, Tomi. The Quicksand Book. New York: Holiday

House, 1977.
A delightful mixture of fact and fancy as Jungle

Boy explains the facts of quicksand to poor Jungle
Girl who is languishing in quicksand, the result of a
fall. A surprising ending adds humor and charm to the
story which provides the young reader with factual
information about quicksand.

 

Haley, Gail E. The Abominable Swamp Man. New York:
The Viking Press, 1975}

A fanciful tale of a little girl who befriends the
Abominable Swamp Man who has frightened the town. The
Swamp Man is a peaceful creature who leads his young
friend, Edwina, through the land of imagination.

 

Mendoza, George. The Hunter, The Tick and the Gumberoo.
Illustrated by Philip Wende. New York: Cowles Book
Company, Inc., 1971.

The hunter sets out to kill the mighty Gumberoo. A
strange turn of events causes the hunter to become the
victim of his own greed, which eventually destroys him.

 

142

143

Philipe, Anne. Atom: The Little Moon Monkey. Pictures by

Jacqueline Duheme. New York: Harlin Quist, Inc., 1970.
Atom, the little moon monkey, who is raised and

trained in a laboratory, is the first monkey to travel
into space. He smuggles his beloved friend, Etna,
aboard the ship and together they fly off into space.
An accident on this first flight leaves the monkeys
in a strange and exotic land.

Skill: To determine whether a statement is based on fact,
opinion, or judgment.

Clapp, Patricia. I'm Deborah Sampson: A Soldier of the
War of the Revolution. New York: Lothrop, Lee and
Shepard Company, 1977.

The fictionalized biography of a young girl who
disguises herself as a man and joins the revolutionary
army is the subject of this book.

 

McGovern, Ann. The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah
Sampson. Illustrated by Ann Gfifdlconi. New York:
Four Winds Press, 1975.

Monjo, F. N. Gettysburg: Tad Lincoln's Story. Illustrated
by Douglas Gorsline. New York: Windmill Books, Inc.,
and E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc., 1976.

This is the story of the Battle of Gettysburg and
the Gettysburg Address told by Lincoln's son, Tad, in
this historical fiction account of these events in
history.

Rudeen, Kenneth. Wilt Chamberlain. Illustrated by Frank
Mullins. New York: Thomale. Crowell Company, 1970.
A biography of Wilt Chamberlain.

 

Walker, Barbara J. The Picture Life of Jimmy Carter. New
York: Franklin Watts, 1977.
The life of President Jimmy Carter told in pictures
and text.

Skill: To distinguish relevant from irrelevant statements

 

Fritz, Jean. George Washington's Breakfast. Illustrations
by Paul Galdone. New York: Coward, McCann and Geoghegan,
Inc., 1969.

When young George Washington Allen seeks information
about his namesake, the reader is treated to an
interesting and unusual historical account of the life
and times of George Washington.

144

. Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? Illustrated by
Trina Schart Hyman. New York? COward, McCann, and
Geoghegan, Inc., 1976.

The very real and human John Hancock is presented
in this book about the famous man who wanted everyone
to like him, and who spent much time and money trying
to make this wish happen.

 

Skill: To examine, contrast, and evaluate ideas

 

Blue, Rose. Grandma Didn't Wave Back. Illustrated by

Ted Lewin. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1972
This book deals with a young girl's painful

experience of watching her beloved grandmother age
and change. As Deborah struggles to understand
the changes in her grandmother, she experiences
a wide range of emotions and feelings with which
the reader may empathize.

 

Carmer, Carl. The Boy Drummer of Vincennes. Illustrated
by Seymour Fleishman. New York: Harvey House, Inc.,
Publishers, 1972.

The story of George Rogers Clark and his small
band of volunteers is told in a narrative poem which
is filled with verbal imagery and folk expressions.

 

Mathis, Sharon Bell. The Hundred Penny Box. Illustrated

Ry Leo and Diane Dilldn. New York: The Viking Press,
975.
A warm and loving relationship exists between

Michael and his great-great Aunt Dew, who is one
hundred years old. For each year of her life, Aunt
Dew has a penny and a story to go with it. Michael
doesn't always understand the relationship between
grown-ups, but he knows he loves his great-great
Aunt, and she loves him.

 

Miles, Miska. Annie and the Old One. Illustrated by

Peter Parnall. Boston:lLittle, Brown and Company,l97l.
A touching story of a young Navajo girl's love for

her grandmother, who foretells that she will soon
return to mother earth. Annie tries to prevent the
inevitable from happening. It is the grandmother who
helps Annie understand and accept what she cannot
change.

 

Monjo, F. N. The Jezebel Wolf. Illustrated by John
Schoenherr. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1971.

The author relates a true story of a wolf hunt which
took place in 1740 in Pomfret, Connecticut. Israel
Putnam, who later fought under General George Washington,
tells the story of the famous wolf hunt.

145

Miles, Miska. ‘Wharf Rat. Illustrated by John

Schoenherr. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1972.
In a very objective way, the author presents

the realities of a rat's struggle for survival as
he seeks food and shelter. The rat experiences the
dangers of an oil spill. The reader is given realistic
and factual information concerning the animal world
from which s/he may draw conclusions.

Parnall, Peter. The Mountain. Garden City, New York:
Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1971.

The author portrays in pictures and text the
destruction of a beautiful mountain when man enters
it and makes it a national park. The reader is given
food for thought concerning important ecological
considerations which must be acknowledged and
resolved.

 

Schoenherr, John. The Barn. Boston: Little, Brown and
and Company, 19 .

Readers of this book are given a realistic view
of the struggle for survival within the animal world
as the owl and skunk forage for daily food. The
hunter becomes the hunted as each animal seeks to
provide for itself and its young.

Skill: To recognize appeal to emotional or controversial
issues, or the use of persuasion to influence
the reader .

 

 

Chen, Tony. Run, Zebra,Run. New York: Lothrop, Lee and
Shepard Company, 1972.
written in verse, the author issues a warning
that many exotic animals are in danger of extinction
from their most powerful enemy, man.

 

Peet, Bill. The Gnats of Knotty Pine. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Company, 1975.
This humorous story has a very serious message
which relates the author's view of hunting as a sport.

 

Skill: To evaluate ways in which the speaker's ideas
might be applied to another situation.

 

 

Carrick, Carol. The Accident. Illustrated by Donald
Garrick. New York: The Seabury Press, 1976.

This is the story of a beloved dog who is struck
and killed by a passing truck, and how the young boy,
Christopher, and his family deal with this real-life
tragedy.

 

146

Clymer, Eleanor. How I Went Shgpping and What I Got.
Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1972.

Twelve year old Debbie, influenced by two new
friends, becomes discontented with always being good.
The story tells a realistic tale of the problems she
encounters when she disobeys her mother, goes
shopping in a large department store, and loses her
little sister in the toy department. A happy ending
is provided to this story with which a teenager can
easily identify.

 

Sachs, Marilyn. The Bears' House. Illustrated by
Louis Glanzman. Garden City, New York: Doubleday
and Company, 1971.

Fran Ellen retreats into an imaginary home with
the Three Bears when she is rejected by her classmates,
and when her own real life becomes too intolerable to
bear. Fran Ellen is a "real" little girl who faces
a less than beautiful world filled with many
contemporary social problems.

 

Tate, Joan. Ben and Annie. Illustrated by Judity Gwyn
Brown. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company,
Inc., 1974.

A tender story of friendship between two young
people which has a startling ending. Annie, who is
an invalid, and Ben, her friend from the apartment
upstairs, experience a tragic misunderstanding on
the part of grown-ups which is not unlike the real
experiences of some children.

 

APPENDIX B

TAPE RECORDED STUDENT RESPONSES TO SELECT LESSONS

APPENDIX B
TAPE RECORDED STUDENT RESPONSES TO SELECT LESSONS

Literary Selection:

McGovern, Ann. The Secret Soldier. The Story of
Deborah Sampson. Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi.
New York: Four Winds Press, 1975.

Date: November 14, 1977

With this particular book more students began to
participate in the group discussions. It was an exciting
story, and one they seemed to enjoy. The reader will
note that the lack of sophistication in answers indicates
that subjects have had little experience in expressing
their ideas about literature. The enthusiasm.with which
they responded was evident, however.

 

 

 

 

Q: How did the author make Deborah seem like a real
person, not just a character in a book? (critical
thinking)

A: (Student #3) She went to war, but she was afraid.

A: (Student #16) She got hurt and she got sick from
the war.

Q: If you could ask Deborah any questions about her
life, what would you want to know? (critical
thinking)

A: (Student #13) What was it like in the hospital
in those days?

A: (Student #5) Why did she join the army?

A: (Student #11) Did she feel funny about dressing

up like a man?

147

95.”???

F?

148

(Student #4) What was it like to get shot?
(Student #8) Did she like being a teacher?
(Student #5) Was she scared to leave her mother?
(Student #6) Did she ever see her mother again?

What did you especially like about Deborah?
(interpretive thinking)

(Student #8) She was brave.

(Student #3) She did something that other people
didn't do.

(Student #5) She was daring her life when she
went to the house of those Torries, or something.
She was daring her life.

(Student #7) When she had her children. I liked
the way she treated her children.

111 1., .1, 1., , I I] ,,

(Student #5) Probably she was so nice to her
children because when she was little she got split
up from her mother and she didn't want that to
happen to her kids.

(Student #7) She didn't get to know her mother
very well, and she wanted her children to love her.

If you were Deborah Samwson and had to go live
with a strange family when you were only ten, how
would you feel (critical thinking)

 

 

(Student #7) I would be scared.

(Student #9) It would be better than living with
that old lady she lived with at first; the one she
had to take care of.

(Student #5) When I was real little, my mother was
sick and I had to stay with a neighbor. I was
scared and I wanted to go home all the time.

Would you like to have been Deborah Sampson?
(critical thinking)

 

(Student #11) No, cause I didn't like the part about
getting shot in the leg.

149

(Student#3) No, cause she had to live in too many
places.

(Student #5) It wouldn't of been so bad when she
got older cause she could do what she wanted, but
I wouldn't of liked to be her when she was little.

Did Deborah change her mind about war? Did she
feel differently about what war was all about from
the beginning of the book to the end? (interpretive
thinking)

 

 

(Student #14) She thought war was going to be a
big adventure.

(Student #17) She got dressed up in that uniform.
I liked the part when she wore the uniform.

(Student #8) She didn't like it cause it made
her sad when everybody was getting shot and killed
and stuff.

150

Literary Selection Number Two:

Mathis, Sharon Bell. The Hundred Penny Box. Illustrated
by Diane and Leo Dillon. New York: The Viking Press,
1972.

 

Date: December 2, 1977

This is the second tape recording of student responses
in a series of three. It was made approximately half way
through the project.

 

 

Q: Why do you think Aunt Dew liked to count those
pennies so well? (interpretive thinking)

A: (Student #14) She probably liked to reminisce.

A: (Student #3) It probably gave her something to do.

What do you think it would be like to be 100 years
old? (interpretive thinking)

 

A: (Student #11) Really old, and terrible; like
sometimes people don't agree with each other
and then they get all excited.

A: (Student #17) You get too old and you get too
weak.

A: (Student #8) You get old and grouchy.

Q: How did Michael's mother feel about that old

 

hundred penny box? (interpretive thinking)

 

A: (Student #8) It was so old and she wanted to
get rid of it because she didn't think there
was no use to it.

A: (Student #15) She wanted to give her a new box.

Why didn't Aunt Dew want Michael's mother to throw
the box out? (interpretive thinking)

 

A: (Student #8) Cause she had it all her life, and she
had her memories in it.

Q: Do you think Ruth, Michael's mother, knew how much
the box meant to Aunt Dew? (interpretive thinking)

 

151

(Student #8) She didn't understand how much she
liked it and how much Michael liked it.

(Student #6) She wanted to give her a new one.
She thought the old one was too broken up.

(Student #5) She liked Aunt Dew and knew that Aunt
Dew wanted her box, but she thought Aunt Dew was
like a little child.

Was Ruth being fair about Aunt Dew's box? (interpretive
thinking)

 

(Student #17) No, she was mean.

(Student #3) No, cause Aunt Dew had the box all
her life.

How did Aunt Dew feel about Ruth; did she like her?
(interpretive thinking)'

 

(Student #5) She liked Aunt Dew cause she went all
the way across town to get her ice cream, and she
tried to take good care of her.

(Student #12) The mother thought Aunt Dew didn't
like her, though.

How dopyou think Aunt Dew felt about leaving her
hOme in Atlanta and going to live with Michaells

family?

(Student #9) She didn't want to leave that old
house; she had all her stuff in it.

 

 

(Student #3) It's like getting rid of your dog
or something like that - you love your house so
much and you don't want to move.

(Student #11) It will make you sad.

(Student #9) It would make you sad. I don't see
how anybody could move out of that big house like
that.

(Student #4) She had her family there. Maybe
she would want to keep it for them.

(Student #3) She might not want to move away from
that big house with all those trees into a little
room like she had at Michael's house.

152

Could this story really have happened? (critical
thinking)

(Student #6) Somebody could really be that old.

(Student #5) My grandmother, she lives with my
father's family. She's about that old. She lived
in Alabama. She had a house of her own. They then
went down to get her and she didn't want to go, and
they had to pack her clothes and put them in the
car, and they had to take her out and put her

in it.

How did the author make theppeople in this story
seem like real people? (critical thinking)

(Student #5) Cause the way they acted. Michael
got mad at his mother and his mother got mad at
him.

(Student #11) She acted just like my mom.

(Student #6) It seems they acted just like real
people do when they got problems.

Would you like to be lOprears old? (critical
thinking)

(Student #3) No, cause it's too hard to do
anything.

(Student #13) No, cause you can't take care of
yourself.

Why did the author have Aunt Dew sing that "long
songfi so much?(critical thinking)

 

(Student #5) Maybe cause she was getting ready
to die and she wanted to go up to Heaven.

(Student #11) Maybe she wanted to sing something
to cheer her up or something.

153

Literary Selection Number Three:

Tate, Joan. Ben and Annie. Garden City, New York:
Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1974.

 

Date: January 20, 1978

This is the last of three tape recorded student
responses to literary selections. This book had an
extremely unusual ending which caught the subjects
by surprise. They did not think the story had really
ended as it did, and were obviously expecting a ”happy
ending."

Q3 Did this story have an ending that could really
have happened? (critical thinking)

 

 

(Student #9) Is that all there is to the book?
(Student #4) Didn't she get to walk in the end?
Q: Let me ask you this; have you ever been blamed for

something you didn‘t do, and then never got the
chance to explain what reallylhappened? (critical

 

 

 

 

thinking)

A: (Student #17) Yea, it happens to me all the time!

A: (Student #8) Sometimes people don't let kids tell
their side of it.

A: (Student #3) My dad blamed me for something my
sister did. I was really mad!

Q Was what happened to Ben and Annie fair? (interpretive
thinking)

A: (Student #17) That guy didn't even know them.

They could sue him for hitting Ben in the ear cause
he wouldn't even listen to Ben.

Q: How about the way Annie's parents acted. Why do
you think they acted the way they did at the end?
(interpretive thinking)

 

 

A: (Student #9) Because they thought they were hurting
her.

A: (Student #8) They loved her.

154

(Student #9) They was afraid she could of got killed.

(Student #5) They, her parents, they were trusting
Ben. They thought Ben was doing what they asked him
to do. Then they thought Ben was hurting Annie.

How did Annie's parents act toward their daughter
all)through the story? Could you tell how they felt
about Annie as a person? (interpretive thinking)

(Student #9) They were always afraid something would
happen to her.

How did Ben feel about Annie as a person?
(interpretive thinking)

(Student #8) He thought she could do more things
than her parents did like when he took her to
Woolworth's and stuff.

(Student #3) He wanted her to have some fun.
(Student #5) If she stayed in the house all the
time, she wouldn't even know about the outside.

She would just be layin' in bed doing the work
the teacher brought her.

What do you think the author was saying about
handicapped people? (critical thinking)

(Student #9) Almost everybody has some kind of
handicap.

(Student #4) I was born with a club foot.

(Student #8) Ben didn't like people to feel
sorry for Annie.

If you could read another book about Ben and Annie,
what would you have happen? (critical thinking)

(Student #8) I'd have 'em get to be friends again.

APPENDIX C
CRITICAL LISTENING LESSONS

Skill Number One: To distinguish fact from fancy in a
literary selection

Lesson #2

Literary Selection: Mendoza, George. The Hunter, The
Tick and the Gumberoo. New York:
Cowles Book Company, 1971.

 

In the book I am going to read to you today, you
will have to listen very carefully because the factual part
and the fanciful part are not easily separated. You will
have to think carefully about what you think is really
happening in the story, because the author will surprise
you at the end.

 

Q: What do on think the Gumberoo was? (interpretive
thinking
Q: Can you be absolutely sure that the tick was

talking to the hunter? Explain what you think the
tick was - real or fanciful. (interpretive thinking)

Q: Why do you think the hunter killed the rabbit and
the quail? (interpretive thinking)

Q: Explain why you think the author wrote this book.
(interpretive thinking)

Q: (Read the dedication to the students)
What do you think the author means by his
dedication? (interpretive thinking)

Q: How do you think the author feels about hunting and
hunters? (interpretive thinking)

155

APPENDIX C

CRITICAL LISTENING LESSONS

156

Q: Was this example of fanciful writing an effective
way for the author to tell his story? Explain.
(critical thinking)

Q: Did the author change your mind about hunting and
hunters? Explain (critical thinking)

Lesson # 3 To distinguish fact from fancy
in science fiction.

Literary Selection: Beatty, Jerome, Jr. Matthew
Looney's Voyage to the Earth.
Reading, MassaEhusetts: Addison
Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
96 .

The book I am going to read to you over the next few
days is called science fiction because parts of it are
scientifically correct, while other parts of it are
fanciful, or written from the author's imagination. Listen
as I read today's chapters to you and see if you can tell
which parts are factual and which parts are fancy.

(read chapters one and two)

 

Q: Was what happened to Maria when she went sailing up
into the atmosphere true about life on the moon, or
was it fancy? How do you know? (critical thinking)

Q: When the author said that everyone is always happy
on the moon because of the moon's atmosphere, do
you think that is fact or fancy? If you could talk
to an astronaut who has been to the moon, what do
you think he would say about that statement?
(critical thinking)

Q: Name some examples of facts the author has given
in today's chapters? (If students do not respond,
refer to pages 10, 18, 18).

(read chapters three and four)

 

Q: In this chapter you met Professor Ploozer of the Moon—
iversity. When Professor Ploozer spoke it was with
a strange accent. He would say "genice," or "gesee"
or "gefriend." Why do you think the author had him
talk this way? (critical thinking)

157

Have you ever heard of the word stereotype? (explain
stereotype) Did the author use any other stereotypes
in this book? (literal comprehension)

Do you think the author believes that all professors
who are scientists talk like Professor Ploozer?
(interpretive thinking)

In chapter five after Hector "spills the beans,"
what do you think will happen to Matthew and Ronald
the Murtle? (interpretive thinking)

(read chapters five, six, seven)

 

What facts did the author have the character Wondervon
Brown tell the reader about the earth? (literal
comprehension)

Were the facts that the author stated about gravity
on earth correct when he described how the moon
scientists walked on earth as compared to the moon?
(critical thinking)

Name an example of fancy in chapter five that the
author has Matthew believe. (critical thinking)

From what you have heard of the story so far, what
do you think will happen in the last two chapters?
(interpretive thinking)

(read chapters eight and nine)

 

Could this story really happen? Why or why not?
(critical thinking)

The United States recently sent a rocket to explore
Mars to see if there is life on Mars. How is Matthew
Looney's voyage to earth something like the exploration
of Mars? (critical thinking)

Do you think science fiction can ever become science
fact? Explain. (critical thinking)

If this book were scientifically correct, what
changes do you think would happen in our lives?
(critical thinking)

158

Lesson # 3 To distinguish fact from fancy in a
literary selection.

 

Literary Selection: Haley, Gail E. The Abominable
Swamp Man. New York: The Viking
Press, 1975.

 

In the book we are going to begin today, the fanciful
writing will be fairly easy to spot. However, there will
be some parts of the story which will portray, or picture,
people acting and talking in ways that may or may not be
the way you think real people should behave. Listen as I
read to you and see if you can find examples of fanciful
writing.

 

Q: Name some examples of fanciful writing in this
story. (critical thinking)

Q: In the book we just finished, Matthe Looney's Voyage
to the Earth, we talked about stereotypes. Do you
think there were any stereotypes in the Swamp Man?
(interpretive thinking)

 

 

 

Q: Why do you think the author had the sheriff, the
minister, and the lady with the pie act the way
they did? (interpretive thinking)

Q: Was it important to the author's main idea in the
book to have the stereotypes of these people? Do
you feel the stereotypes helped make her point
clear? (critical thinking)

Q: Do you think real people sometimes act the way the
characters in this story acted toward a stranger,
or someone who was different? Explain. (critical

thinking)

Q: How do you think Edwina felt when she went into
the woods to find the Swamp Man? (interpretive
thinking)

Q: How would you have felt if you had been Edwina?

(interpretive thinking)

Q: If you could talk to Ms. Haley, what questions
would you ask her about why she wrote this book?
(critical thinking)

Q: Name some parts of this story that you think were
especially well written. (critical thinking)

159

Lesson # 4 To distinguish fact from fancy in a
literary selection.

 

Literary Selection: Philipe, Anne. Atom: The Little
Moon Monkey. New York: Harlin
Quist, I970.

 

In the book I am going to read to you today, the last
one in the skills on factual and fanciful writing, there
is a mixture of fact and fancy. You should be able to
distinguish, or separate, the two quite easily. Listen
carefully as the ending may bring a surprise.

 

Q: Why did the author name the monkey Atom, and not Adam?
Do you think the spelling of his name had any special
meaning? Explain (interpretive thinking)

Q: Was it fact or fancy, do you think, that the animals
in the lab could be made into miniature and then
returned to normal size? Explain. (critical thinking)

Q: Do you think that it could ever be possible that a
pill could change animals into minature and then
another pill return them to normal size? Explain.
(critical thinking)

Q: Why is this book called science fiction? (interpretive
thinking)
Q: Do you believe that monkeys can really communicate

the way Atom and Etna did in this story? Explain
your answer. (critical thinking)

Q: Where do you think the monkeys landed after the
accident in space? (interpretive thinking)

Q: Does the author really ever tell you where they
are? (literal comprehension)

Q: If you were writing the ending to this story, how
would you have had the story end? (critical thinking)

Q: Name some examples from the book that you think
are fanciful, or made-up, from the author's imagination.
(critical thinking)

Q: Could any of the fancy in the story ever become fact
at some future time? Why or why not? (critical
thinking)

Skill Number Two: To determine whether a statement is
based on fact, opinion, or judgment.

 

Lesson # 2 To distinguish fact from opinion
in biography.

Literary Selection: Rudeen, Kenneth. Wilt Chamberlain.
Thomas Y. Crowell Company,’l970.

 

In the biography I am going to read today we will
want to decide which things the author tells us about
Wilt Chamberlain are facts and which are the author's
opinions.

Let me give you an example. If I tell you that there
are four seasons in the year, spring, summer, autumn, and
winter, am I telling you something that is a fact or my
Opinion? We know that it is a fact because we could go to
science books which are written about weather, or to
encylopedias, or almanac to check to see if my facts are
correct. Now, if I tell you that winter is too long a
season, I am giving you my opinion about winter. I cannot
prove what I said, and someone else might say that they
think winter is not long enough. Can they prove what they
say? Now you give me some examples of what you think are
facts and opinions.

Authors sometimes give us facts that we can verify,
or check. Sometimes they give us their opinion. How
can we tell when a statement is an opinion and not a fact?
One way is to look at the words the author uses. For
instance, an author may begin the statement with one of
these words: a arentl , it seems as though, I believe,
many people think. When you hear or read one of these
phrases or words, you can tell that an author is stating
an opinion.

In the biography of Wilt Chamberlain listen for
statements you think are faCtual about his life; things
that we could check in other books. When you hear what
you think is an example of a fact, raise your hand and I
will stop reading. Be prepared to tell us why you think
the statement is a fact. (read pages one and two)

 

 

Now I will read pages one and two again, and this time
I want you to listen for statements you think might be
an author's opinion. Remember, an author may use one of
the phrases we talked about such as"many people think,"
or an author may say that something is the best, or the
greatest, but if he does not tell you why this is so, he
is probably giving you his opinion.

Now I will finish reading the biography to you.
160

161

Listen carefully to see if you can find facts or opinions
about Wilt Chamberlain.

 

Q: What examples can you name about Wilt Chamberlain
that you think are facts? (critical thinking)

Q: On page five, the author states that Wilt probably
didn't dream of being rich and famous when he was
a young boy. Would you say this is a statement of
fact or opinion? Why? (critical thinking)

Q: The author told us that no other player is as
skillful at shooting baskets or dunking as Wilt.
This book was published in 1970. Do you think that
this statement is still true today? Could this
fact have changed? Explain? (critical thinking)

Q: If you were to read this book ten years from now,
do you think some of the author's statements about
Wilt's performance would have to be changed in any
way? Why or why not? (critical thinking)

Q: Do you think this book is well written? That is,
do you think the author gave more factual than
non-factual information? (critical thinking)

Q: In writing a biography, do you think it is
important for the author to give his opinion, or
do you think the author should just report facts?
Explain. (critical thinking)

Lesson # 3 To distinguish fact from opinion in biography
Literary Selection: Walker, Barbara J. The Picture Life

of Jimmy Carter. New York:
Franklin Watts, 1977.

 

 

Again today, we will be listening to a biography,
and you will be asked to listen for factual information
about Jimmy Carter. Listen carefully for words that will
give you a clue as to when the author is stating an
opinion.

 

Q: The author makes the statement that now everybody
knows Jimmy Carter. Would you say this was an
example of a fact or an opinion? Why? (critical
thinking).

162

The author tells us that President Carter's father
was a hard working farmer. What evidence does the
author give you that would make you believe this is
a fact? Would you say this statement is a fact or
an opinion? (critical thinking)

What evidence did the author give you that Jimmy
worked hard on the farm as a boy? Was that statement
fact or opinion, would you say? (critical thinking)

The author told us that Jimmy was good at business.
Did she give us any evidence to prove that statement?
(critical thinking)

How would you write that statement as a fact instead
of an opinion? (critical thinking)

The author states that when Jimmy Carter was governor
of Georgia, he said he saved the people $53 million
in one year. How does the author let the reader
know that this is Mr. Carter's opinion rather than

a fact? (critical thinking)

Compare this biography to the biography of Wilt
Chamberlain. Which book did you think had more
factual information. Tell us why. (critical
thinking)

Which book was a better biography from the standpoint
of giving fewer opinions and more facts? Tell us why
you think as you do. (critical thinking)

163

Lesson # 4 To recognize fact from opinion in
historical fiction.

 

Literary Selection: Monjo, F. N. Getpysburg: Tad
Lincoln's Story. New York:
Windmill Books, Inc., and
E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc.,l976.

 

 

In this book I am going to read today, you will be
hearing historical fiction. The book is based on facts
which can be verified by reading other books written by
experts who have studied this particular time in history.
It is fiction because the author is telling the story as
though Lincoln's young son, Tad, were the author. Listen
carefully to see if you can tell how the author combines
historical fact with fiction.

(read to page 18)

 

I have stopped reading at this particular spot in
the story to see if you can name an example of what we
have called fiction, and an example of what is factual
information. (critical thinking)

Q: I will read page 16 again, and see if you can
give me an example of a fact the author states?
(critical thinking)

Q: How could we check to determine if what the
author said about Black people being hidden from
the Southern army truly happened? (critical
thinking)

Q: Let me read to you from another page where Tad is
telling how he wondered what it would be like to
be a Southern boy instead of a Northern boy. (page 18)
How do you know from what the author said that this
is not necessarily a factual account of what Tad
said? Did the author give you any clues? (critical
thinking)

Q: Why do you think the author put this particular
passage in the book? (interpretive thinking)

Q: In your opinion, is historical fiction a good way
to learn about history? Why or why not? (interpretive
thinking)

Q: What parts of this book did you think were especially
well written? (critical thinking)

Skill Number Three: To distinguish relevant from
irrelevant statements

 

 

Lesson #2 To recognize irrelevant statements
in historical fiction.

Literary Selection: Fritz, Jean. Will You Sign Here,
John Hancock? New York: Coward,
McCann and Geoghegan, Inc., 1976.

 

Jean Fritz, the author of the book I am going to
read today, uses many descriptions of places and things and
people in her books. All of these details are very
interesting and help to make the book enjoyable. Some of
the details, however, are not absolutely necessary to the
telling of the story. If they were not included, the main
idea of the story would not be lost. Listen and see if
you can hear any irrelevant statements in this book. Stop
me when you do, and we will discuss them.

(read to page 22)

 

Q: What was the main idea of this particular page?
(literal comprehension)

Q: What statements on page twenty-two do you think
are examples of irrelevant details? (critical
thinking)

Q: If you were to write this same paragraph on
page twenty-two, how would you change it? (critical
thinking)

Q: Does the author need to include so much detail
about John Hancock's carriages in order to tell
the story? Explain. (critical thinking)

Q: Why do you think the author put so many details
in this paragraph? (interpretive thinking)

(read to page 40)

 

Q: In your opinion, were there any irrelevant
details on the last page I read to you? (critical
thinking)

Q: Would you have understood the author's point that

John Hancock was a very extravagant person even

if she had left out all the sentences that named

the items he bought after he became governor?

Do you think those details were necessary? (critical
thinking)

164

165

Skill Number Four: To examine, contrast and evaluate
ideas.

 

Lesson # 2 To evaluate ways in which people
of different cultures approach a
common human problem.

 

 

 

Literary Selections: Blue, Rose. Grandma Didn't Wave
Back. New York: Franklin Watts,
Inc., 1972.

 

Mathis, Sharon Bell. The Hundred
Penny Box. New York: The Viking
Press, 1975.

 

 

Miles, Miska. Annie and the Old
One. Boston: Little Brown and
Company, 1971.

 

In the next three books I will read to you, each of
the main characters faces a similar problem that happens
to everyone; the growing old and approaching death of a
beloved relative. As you listen to these stories, try
to decide how the three children in these stories are alike
in their feelings even though each comes from a different
ethnic background. First I will read The Hundred Penny Box.

 

 

Q: Why was the hundred penny box so important to Micahel?
Why was it so important to Aunt Dew? (interpretive
thinking)

Q: How did Michael's mother feel about the hundred
penny box? What did it mean to her? (interpretive

thinking)

Q: From what you heard in the story, did Michael's mmther
love Aunt Dew? Did Aunt Dew love her? (interpretive
thinking)

Q: What did Aunt Dew mean when she said that Ruth, who
was Michael's mother, didn't know what she, Aunt
Dew and Michael's father knew about each other?
(interpretive thinking)

Q: How did the author make Ruth seem like a real mother?
(critical thinking)

Q: Do you think Ruth was unfair to Aunt Dew when she
wanted to get rid of the old hundred penny box?
Explain (interpretive thinking)

166

Why do you think Aunt Dew always sang her "long song?”
(interpretive thinking)

What parts of this story did you think were especially
good? (critical thinking)

How did the author make the reader understand Aunt
Dew's feelings about growing old and death?
(critical thinking)

How did you feel, or how do you think you might
feel, if you had an Aunt Dew? (critical thinking)

(Read Annie and the Old One)

 

How was the rug that Annie's mother and grandmother
were weaving similar, or something like, the
hundred penny box that belonged to Aunt Dew?

What did each symbol mean to the characters in
these two stories? (critical thinking)

How did Annie's grandmother help Annie accept the
grandmother's approaching death? (interpretive
thinking)

Could you tell from this story how Annie's
grandmother felt about death? Was she afraid?
Explain. (interpretive thinking)

What kind of memories do you think Michael and
Annie will have of their beloved relatives in
the future? (interpretive thinking)

Do you think that Michael and Annie had changed
or grown, from the way they were in the beginning
of the book to the end of the book? Explain.
(critical thinking)

How did the author make the reader understand that
even though people come from very different
backgrounds, and have different cultural heritages,
that people share common problems in life? (critical
thinking)

(Read Grandma Didn't Wave Back)

 

 

What was happening to Debbie's grandmother?
(literal comprehension)

Who helped Debbie understand the changes in her

167

grandmother that were happening as she grew older?
(literal comprehension)

Q: Why was it in this story that was an important
symbol of the grandmother? Remember, in The
Hundred Penny Box, it was the old box itsEIf
and the pennies that were important to Aunt
Dew, and would remain as a reminder to her
family of Aunt Dew even after her death. In
Annie and the Old One, it was the weaving that
Debbie would carry on in place of her grandmother
that was an important symbol. What symbol, or
reminder would Debbie have of her grandmother?
(literal comprehension)

 

 

Q: Did the authors of these books make the stories
seem sad? (critical thinking)

Q: What did the authors do in these books that gave the
reader relief from saddness? (critical thinking)

Q: How did the adults try to help the children understand
death? (interpretive thinking)

Q: What do you think all three authors wanted the
readers to understand about how families love and
help each other through difficult times? (interpretive
thinking)

Q: Explain why you think these stories could really
happen to real people. (critical thinking)

Q: How could reading these books possibly help you
learn some important things about life and death?
(critical thinking)

Q: What parts of these books did you think were especially
well written? (critical thinking)

Lesson # 3 To examine how various authors picture
war.

Literary Selection: Carmer, Carl. The Boy Drummer of
Vincennes. New York: Harvey House,
I972.

 

The book I am going to read today is written as a
poem, called a narrative poem. It is based on a true
story of a battle that took place during the Revolutionary
War, the same war that was written about in the books on
Deborah Sampson. In the books about Deborah Sampson,

168

we learned a great deal about the saddness and suffering of
war. In the Bay Drummer of Vincennes, see if you can tell
how this author feels about this particular battle. Can
you tell what kind of mood the soldiers must have been in
during this battle?

 

 

Q: Does this author tell a sad or a happy story of war?
(interpretive thinking)

Q: How did the poet make ou feel about the battle?
(interpretive thinking)

Q: Did the author express the idea that war can have
any happy moments? Explain (interpretive thinking)

Q: How did the author use the rhythm of the poetry,
and the old songs and chants, to help create the
feeling of happiness? (critical thinking)

Q: How did you feel when this book ended? (critical
thinking)

Q: Compare the feelings you had about war from the
books about Deborah Sampson with the poet's version
of the battle at Vincennes. (critical thinking)

Q: In your opinion, could both accounts of what war
is like be correct? Explain your answer.
(interpretive thinking)

Q: What lines would you think would be especially
good to read aloud? (critical thinking)

Q: If you could talk to the drummer boy in this poem,
what questions would you ask him about the battle
of Vincennes? (critical thinking)

Q: Why do you think the poet wrote this book as a
narrative poem. How do you think poetry helped
to make this an enjoyable book? (critical thinking)

Lesson # 4 To view life from the point of view of
an animal who is generally feared or
diSliked by man.

 

 

 

Literary Selection: Miles, Miska. Wharf Rat. Boston:
Little, Brown and Company, 1972.

 

Q: When do you think this book might have been written?
(critical thinking)

169

Q: Did the author change your mind about animals who
hunt other animals, or steal from humans in order
to live? Explain. (critical thinking)

Q: Why do you think the author wrote this book?
(interpretive thinking)

Q: Did the author convince you that it is important to
know more about nature, especially about how animals
live and take care of their young? Explain. (critical
thinking)

Q: Did the author let the reader know how he feels
about rats? Explain (interpretive thinking)

Lesson # 5 To view life from the point of view of
an animal who is generally feared and
disliked by man.

 

 

 

Literary Selection: Schoenherr, John. The Barn.
Boston: Little, Brown and
Company, 1968.

Q: Why do you think this author wrote a book about a
skunk and an owl? (interpretive thinking)

Q: From the way the book was written, do you believe
that this author knows a great deal about nature?
How can you tell? (critical thinking)

Q: How is this book about animals different from many
books that you have read in which there is a skunk
and an owl as main characters? (critical thinking)

Q: Why are books like The Barn and The Wharf Rat
interesting to read? (interpretive thinking)’

 

Q: How did The Barn change your thinking about animal
life? (critical thinking)

Lesson # 6 To examine and contrast ideas and how
people'skideas can Ehange with the passing

of years.

Literary Selection: Monjo, F. N. The Jezebel Wolf.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1971.

 

 

 

The book I am going to read today really happened.
It is historical fiction because it is based on a true
event from history, but the author has created parts of

170

the story from his imagination to make an exciting and
interesting book. The events that happened in this story
probably could not happen today because the wolf is no longer
the danger to farmers as it once was. Also, man's ideas
about hunting animals have changed some, too, now that there
are fewer and fewer wild animals roaming the land. Man now
must protect animals so that they will not all die out.

 

Q: How did you feel when the wolf killed all the farm
animals? (interpretive thinking)

Q: Why do you think there was such a celebration after
the wolf was killed? (interpretive thinking)

Q: Would people celebrate like that today over the
killing of a wolf? Explain. (critical thinking)

Q: Why was it important for the author to write another
chapter at the end of the book to explain about the
story and the historical facts? What was he telling
the reader about the past and the present? (critical
thinking)

Q: Could this story take place today? Why or why not?
(critical thinking)

Q: Would you have enjoyed living during the time in
which this story took place? Explain. (critical
thinking)

Q: Can you name another time in history when people's

ideas about something were very different than today?
(critical thinking)

Q: Why do you think it is important to have a special
season for hunting, such as deer season? (critical
thinking)

Q: Should all wild animals be protected from killing?

Explain. (critical thinking)

Q: If you could talk to Israel Putnam, what questions
would you ask him about this famous wolf hunt?
(critical thinking)

Skill Number Five: To recognize appeal to emotional
or controversial issues, or the
use of persuasion to influence the
listener.

 

Lesson # 2 To recognize how imagery in poetry
may be used to appeal to emotions
or to persuade the listener.

Literary Selection: Chen, Tony. Run, Zebra, Run. New
York: Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard
Company, 1972

 

In the book you will listen to today, the author has
used narrative poetry to tell his story. He has a message
to share with his readers that he feels is especially
urgent. Your job is to listen to the way the poet uses
words and word pictures to help the reader understand his
message.

 

Q: What do you think the title of this book, Run, Zebra,
Run, means? (interpretive thinking)

 

Q: What is the message that the author wants his reader
to understand from this poem? (interpretive thinking)

Q: Why do you think Mr. Chen wrote this book for boys
and girls? (interpretive thinking)

Q: I am going to read the poem again. This time, I want
you to listen carefully for words that you think are
especially persuasive; ways in which the author uses
words to express his feelings. Can you name an
example from this book? (critical thinking)

When you hear passages that you think are especially
good examples of persuasion, raise your hand and I
will stop reading so we can talk about how you think
the author is trying to convince the reader.

(If students do not respond, go through each page
and discuss persuasive words)

Q: What solution does the author offer on the last page?
(literal comprehension)

Q: Do you think that the poetry was helpful in forming
pictures in your mind? Explain. (critical thinking)

Q: What lines of the poem did you think were especially
beautiful? (interpretive thinking)

171

172

There seemed to be two separate parts to this poem.
Could you tell when the author began to change his

word pictures from describing the animals to giving
his warning? Explain. (critical thinking)

What lines are especially expressive of the author's
warning to the animals? (critical thinking)

Has the author changed your mind, or made you think
about hunting animals for sport? Explain (critical
thinking)

Do you think that everyone would agree with Mr.
Chen's views about hunting? Why or why not?
(interpretative thinking)

What solutions can you offer to the problems of
people's right to hunt, and the animal's right
to be safe? (critical thinking)

Skill Number Six: To evaluate ways in which the speaker's
ideas might be applied to another
situation.

 

Lesson #2 To relate an experience in literary
material to real life experience.

Literary Material: Carrick, Carol. The Accident. New York:
The Seabury Press, 1976.

 

As you listen to the book I am going to read, try
to decide how ideas that the author presents in the story
could be used in your own life, or in the life of someone
you know.

 

Q: Why was Christopher so angry with the man who hit
Bodger? After all, it was an accident.
(interpretive thinking)

Q: Do you think Christopher was really angry at the
man? Explain why you think Christopher acted the
way he did toward the man in the truck.(interpretive
(thinking)

Q: Explain how you think Christopher felt about his
parents. Have you ever felt so hurt that you were
angry at everyone? (interpretive thinking)

Q: Why was it a good solution to ChristOpher's grief
to pick out a stone for Bodger's grave? (critical
thinking)

Q: Have you ever lost a pet? What did you do that
helped you feel better? (critical thinking)

Q: How did the author make the characters in this
story behave like real people? (critical thinking)

Q: Why did Bodger die in the story? (interpretive
thinking)

Q: In your opinion, was the ending a good one? Would

you have had Bodger die? (critical thinking)

Q: Why do you think this book was written?
(interpretive thinking)

Q: If you were to write this story, how would you
change it? (critical thinking)

173

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
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Chambers, Aidan. The Reluctant Reader. Oxford:
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Cianciolo, Patricia J. Picture Books for Children.
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, and Jean M. LePere. The Literary Time Line
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deStefano, Johanna, and Sharon E. Fox, eds. Lan ua e
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Dieterich, Daniel, ed. Teaching,About Doublespeak.
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Duffy, Gerald G., and George B. Sherman. Systematic
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Durkin, Dolores. Children Who Read Early. New York:
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Durr, William K., ed. Reading Instruction: Dimensions
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Fader, Daniel. The Naked Children. New York:
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King, Martha L., Robert Emans, and Patricia J. Cianciolo,
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Lundsteen, Sara W. Listening: Its Impact on Reading
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Mellon, John C. The National Assessment and the
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Merritt, John E., ed. New Horizons in Reading.
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Moffett, James, and Betty Jane Wagner. A Student Centered
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Reid, Virginia M., ed. Reading Ladders for Human
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Russell, David. H. Children's Thinking. Boston: Ginn
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Schell, Leo M., and Paul M. Burns, eds. Remedial Reading:
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Smith, E. Brooks, Kenneth S. Goodman, and Robert Meredith.
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Toffler, Alvin. Future Shock. New York: Random
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Children's Books

 

Beatty, Jerome, Jr. Matthew Looney's Voyage to the Earth.
Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing
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Bulla, Clyde Robert. Joseph the Dreamer. Illustrated
by Gordon Laite. New York: Crowell Book Company, 1971.

 

Blue, Rose. Grandma Didn't Wave Back. New York: Franklin
Watts, Inc., 1972.

 

Carmer, Carl. The Boy Drummer of Vincennes.
New York: Harvey House, 1972.

 

Carrick, Carol. The Accident. New York: The Seabury
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Chen, Tony. Run, Zebra, Run. New York: Lothrop, Lee,
and Shepard Company, 1972.

 

Clapp, Patricia. I'm Deborah Sampson: Soldier in the
War of the Revolution. New York: Lothrop, Lee,
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Clymer, Eleanor. How I Went Shopping and What I Got.
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dePaola, Tomi. The Qpicksand Book. New York: Holiday
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Fritz, Jean. George Washington's Breakfast. Illustrated
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. Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? Illustrated
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Haley, Gail E. The Abominable Swamp Man. New York: The
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Halliburton, Warrne. The Picture Life of Jesse Jackson.
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Mathis, Sharon Bell. Ray Charles. Illustrated by George
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176

177

. The Hundred Penny Box. Illustrated by Leo and
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McGovern, Ann. The Secret Soldier. The Story of Deborah
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Mendoza, George. The Hunter, The Tick and the Gumberoo.
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Miles, Miska. Annie and the Old One. Illustrated by
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. The Wharf Rat. Illustrated by John Schoenherr.
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Monjo, F. N. Gettysburg: Tad Lincoln's Story. Illustrated
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O'Brien, Robert. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM.
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Parnall, Peter. The Mountain. Illustrated by Peter
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Peet, Bill. The Gnats of KnottymPine. Illustrated by
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Philipe, Anne. Atom: The Little Moon Monkey. Pictures
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Rudeen, Kenneth. Wilt Chamberlain. Illustrated by
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Sachs, Marilyn. The Bears' House. Illustrated by Louis
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Schoenherr, John. The Barn. Illustrated by John
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178

Tate, Joan. Ben and Annie. Illustrated by Judith Gwyn

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Walker, Barbara J. The Picture Life of Jimmy Carter.
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Periodicals

 

Allington, Richard L. "If They Don't Read Much, How
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Chambers, Aidan. "Letters from England: Talking About
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Cianciolo, Patricia. "Discriminating Readers are
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(Summer 1969), 170-180.

 

Devine, Thomas G. "Listening: What Do We Know After

Fifty Years of Research and Theorizing?" Journal
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Durrell, Donald and J. Richard Chambers. "Research
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Education Commission of the States. NAEP Newsletter,
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Gentile, Lance M., and Merna M. McMillan. "Why Won't
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(1977), 649-652.

 

Olson, Arthur V. "Teaching Critical Reading Skills."
Reading Improvement, 4, No. 1 (Fall 1966), p-4.

 

Smith, Frank. "Making Sense of Reading - And of Reading
Instruction." Harvard Educational Review, 47, No.3
(1977), 386-395.

 

Smith, Nila Banton. "Reading in Depth at the Middle
Grades." The Instructor, 74 (March, 1965), 103—7.

 

Strike, Kenneth A. "What Is a 'Competent' High School
Graduate?" Educational Leadership, 35, No. 2

(1977), 95-99.

 

179

Tovey, Duane R. "Children's Perceptions of Reading."
The Reading Teacher, 29, No. 6 (1976), 536-40.

 

Veatch, Jeannette. "Let's Put the Joy Back Into Reading."
School Library Journal, 95, No. 10 (May 15, 1970), 29-
31.

 

Dissertations

 

Burgdorf, Arlene B. "A Study of the Ability of Intermediate
Grade Children to Draw Inferences from Selections of
Children's Literature." Doctoral dissertation,

Ball State University, 1966.

Cohen, Dorothy H. "The Effect of Literature on Vocabulary
and Reading Achievement.” Doctoral dissertation,
New York University, 1967.

Cook, Jimmie Ellis. "A Study in Critical Listening Using
Eight and Ten Year Olds in an Analysis of Commercial
Propaganda Emanating from Television." Doctoral
dissertation, University of California, 1963.

Devine, Thomas Gerald. "The Development and Evaluation
of a Series of Recordings for Teaching Certain Critical
Listening Abilities." Doctoral dissertation, Boston
University School of Education, 1961.

Johnson, Gwen Parrot. "An Investigation of Growth in
Critical Reading—Listening Ability in Grades Two
and Three." Doctoral dissertation, Florida State
University, 1974.

Kellogg, Ralph Edward” "A Study of the Effect of a First-
Grade Listening Instructional Program Upon Achievement
in Listening and Reading." Doctoral dissertation,
State University of New York at Buffalo, 1972.

Lundsteen, Sara W. "Teaching Abilities in Critical
Listening in the Fifth and Sixth Grades." Doctoral
dissertation, University of California, 1963.

Porter, Edith Jane. "The Effect of a Program of Reading
Aloud to Middle Grade Children In the Inner City."
Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1969.

Raftery, S. C. Sister Francis. "The Effect of a Quality
Literature Program Conducted by Elementary Education
Majors on the Reading Achievement of Second-Grade
Students." Doctoral dissertation, New York University,
1974.

180

Sawyer, Walter Edward. "Critical Listening Abilities as
A Function of General Listening Ability and
Conditional Reasoning Ability in the Sixth Grade."
Doctoral dissertation, State University of New York
at Albany, 1974.

Strickland, Dorothy Salley. "The Effect of a Special
Literature Program on the Oral Language Expansion
of Linguistically Different Negro Kindergarten
Children." Doctoral dissertation, New York
University, 1971.

Uydi, Guillaume T. "Field Articulation and Critical

Reading and Listening.” Doctoral dissertation,
University of Toronto, 1974.

ERIC Document

 

Iverson, William J. "What Has Happened to Children's
Literature?" (paper presented at the Sixty-first
Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers
of English, November 1971). ERIC Document ED 085 768.