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child's mind is giving him power as
an adult.
Helping Your Johnny or Susie to
Read Better
If your child is behind his grade
leve! in reading, you can now put
both your
examp!e
and
direct-aid
app roach to work he lping him re–
gai n the lost ground.
The he lp is based on the prin–
cipie: Take him back to his present
reading leve!, and Jet him enjoy suc–
cess at that leve! before try ing to
move ahead. The defeating thing
for a child is to fail at material that
is too hard for him, when he knows
his class is succeeding a t it. He
thinks it's hopeless and simply stops
try ing.
So your strategy is this. l f he is in
the 6th or 8th grade, but bis reading
comprehen s ion is really so rne
grades back, say, the 4th or 5th
grade leve!, then go to the children 's
section of your public library and
ask the libra rí an for a n assortment
of books tha t your chi ld will enjoy
in subject matter. Ask for books ata
leve! o r two
be/ow
where you think
he is,
at
the leve!, a nd perhaps one
o r two above.
Then read wit h him a litt le while
each evening, beginning with the
eas iest leve l. Relax and read. You
read a loud, a nd let the child sit by
you and just fo llow silently with his
eyes. When he sees he can read it a ll
and th at it's a n interesting story,
he'll continue r ight on. Don ' t blame
or exhort him to do bette r, o r push
or demand. Le t him read his fill of
interesting. exci ting stories at the
leve ! in which he can comprehend
a ll the vocabul ary. Be ready to an–
swer any questions o r discuss it, if
need be, a nd have a d ictionary
handy.
When you r children tas te success
a t that leve!, they'll be motiva ted to
read other good stories a t the next
level.
It may keep you busy go ing back
to the library for awhi le; but the
process should only take a ce rta in
definite time, for they'll soone r o r
later be up to the proper leve!, and
your tutorin g help can resume a
more norma l pace. And remember.
every minut e you spend he lping
you r child lo read is a worthwhile
investment in his future.
The
PLAIN TRUTH September 1976
Mental Growth and Development
Through Reading
How does reading contribute to
your chi ld 's cha racter development,
we ll -being, and education ? The
lopic has filled many books, a nd a
few basic principies should be men–
tioned.
Most adults tend to think of read–
ing only as rec realional. We use it lo
get our minds off our problems, as
an escape from the pressures of
everyday living, o r as a refreshlng
change of pace, as any recreal ional
ac ti vily is. Bul reading plays a far
more importan! role
in
ch ild ren's
live s, especially during their
you nge r , more impressionable
years.
Through reading we ll-chosen
books, your chi ldren will be learn–
ing and improving language skills.
Slory content will be acquainting
them with life in a ll its aspects.
R eading will teach them history and
introduce them to lhe people of
o ther lands and cultures. The illus–
trations will , without their even
knowing it, create in them an aware–
ness of color, line, mass, form, and
composition . Your children will
lea rn of architecture, costumes, sce–
nery, and customs of other times
and places.
As you read to them a vari e ty of
books with pictures, they will a lso
become aware that each artist's style
is d itferent. This no l only deve lops
their own personal tastes - for sorne
they will like better than o thers -
but it a lso shows them that a llhough
eve rybody is different, there's still
room for a ll. Thus begins to le ra nce
and accepta nce o f others.
Equa lly important is the fact that
reading the right kinds of books is
useful in character tra ining a nd vo–
ca tiona l gu idance. Maybe you're a
bricklayer , doc tor, or personnel
manager. But your child wants to be
a teacher , architect, or storekee pe r.
Th e parent as model no longer ap–
plies fo r vocat iona l training, so
books ca n he lp supply the missing
image.
In
Chi!dren and Books,
May Hill
Arbuthnot and Zena Sutherland,
state that your "child 's needs are at
first intense ly a nd na rrowly pe r–
sona l, but, . as he matures, th ey
should broaden and become more
widely <>ocia lized. . . Struggling to
sa tisfy his needs. thc child is forever
seeking to
maintC~in
th e- precarious
ba lance be tween pe rsonal ha ppiness
and social approva l. af!d th at is no
easy lask."
Growing chi ldren a lso have even
emot ional needs th at need to he me t
as they deve lop into adu lt . Good
books can he lp supply all o f th ese
vital emotional needs:
l.
Th e need for physical security
(books in wh ich the theme srrongly
in volves food, shelte r, and clothing).
2 . The need to !ove and be loved
(fami ly, pets, fri ends).
3. The need to belong. (This in–
volves the ch ild's growth from expe–
riences which are " m crely
egocentric extensions of the child 's
self-love," to the awa reness of fam–
ily, neighborhood, a nd the commu–
nity a t la rge -
ibid.,
p. 11 .)
4. The need to know. (Books sa t–
isfy a ch ild's insat iable curiosity.)
5. The need to ach ieve . (The com–
pelling need for competence begins
with the infant's struggles to g rasp
and move and "grows into the com–
plex physica l or inte llectual perfor–
mances of the expert man o r woma n
at hlete, mathema ticia n, musicia n , or
scient ist" -
ibid.,
p. 13 .)
6. The need for change. (A imost
any book will fill the need for play,
libera tion , fun . va ri ety. la ughter,
and even inspiration .)
7. The need fo r beauty and o rder
(aesthetic satisfaction of va rying
kinds a nd degrees, inclu ding pie–
tu res).
Sorne books wi ll answer severa ! of
these needs a t once. For insta nce,
Al con 's
Lillle Women
will deal most
strongly with family life, including
the need for physica l security. to
love and be loved, but will also re–
la te to "change" by showing life in
a nother cenlury. Biographies and
autobiographies will acquaint the
child wi th how notable women a nd
men met life's problems ancl ha n–
dled its cha llenges.
Why teach Johnny to read? Why
encourage him to explore the r ich
treasure house of the printed word?
Because if we don't, we're robbing
him of one of the grcatest opportu–
nities ava ilable for life- long edu ca–
tion and success. For if Johnny can't
read as a ch ild. he wi ll be severely
ha ndicapped asan adu lt. n
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