INFLUENCE OF READING MATERIALS ON RESPONSE TO PRINTED WORDS Rebecca Barr a University of Chicago MARYCREST COLLEGE THE CONE LIBRARY Davenport, Iowa Abstract. Beginning reading materials differ considerably in the characteristics of words included in stories. While many reading texts are characterized by a limited number of words that vary in length and pattern, reading materials for phonics or linguistic instruction tend to contain a greater number of words that are similar in length and pattern. Examination of materials indicates that those with particular characteristics support learning by particular methods. This investigation explores the effect of word characteristics in reading materials on children's responses to printed words. BACKGROUND Many investigations have studied the effectiveness of various reading methods in promoting reading achievement (Chall, 1967; Bond and Dykstra, 1967). Yet, despite continuing interest in methods, surprisingly little detailed study of their operationalization in classrooms or the nature of the materials has been undertaken. Though, methods and materials are often treated as a unit, they are conceptually and operationally distinct. Method is usually conceptualized as a scheme that guides the activity of teacher; a unit of print is focused upon, appropriate responses to particular units of print are taught, and certain behavior is encouraged when children read a story, especially when they encounter unknown words. Reading materials, by contrast, are described along certain stimulus dimensions: individual words, in terms of graphophonemic regularity, length, and aural referent; the word sample, in terms of the number of words and their repetition; and sentences, in terms of syntax and meaning. Operationally it is possible to separate method from materials, although it is rarely done in experimental work. Investigations of how instructional methods influence both general reading achievement (e.g., Chall, 1967) and word identificaa Reprints may be requested from Dr. Barr, Department of Education, University of Chicago, 5835 Kimbark Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60637.
124 Journal of Reading Behavior 1975 VII, 2 tion response characteristics (DeLawter, 1970; Elder, 1971; and Barr, 1972) have examined instructional method as confounded by materials but have limited their conclusions to the influence of method. A few investigators, nevertheless, have attempted to specify the effect of method and material by controlling one of the two or by manipulating both experimentally. MacKinnon (1959), for example, used different instructional materials with the same instructional method and found significant differences in response characteristics and reading achievement between children reading the two types of materials. However, one might argue that the effect was not solely a function of materials but rather of an optimal match between materials and method. Hartley (1970) counterbalanced method and word characteristics in a short-term word learning study and found that certain combinations of method and material (words) lead to significantly better results than others. Finally, Barr (1972) using the Mills Learning Method Tests selected words from a common pool so that those taught by the auditory phonics method and the visual sight word method were similar in length and pattern. Though pupils did not differ in number of words learned, they did differ in the nature of their responses to words. The phonics method resulted in a greater number of nonresponses, substitution of words other than those taught, and responses graphophonemically similar to the printed word than did the sight word method even though the characteristics of the words taught were similar. Method influence on response characteristics may be obtained without the supporting influence of materials that facilitate application of the method. In sum, methods and materials independently and in combination appear to influence the particular manner in which children respond to print and certain combinations of method and materials appear better than others in facilitating learning. PURPOSE The purpose of this exploratory study is to specify the influence of materials on children's learning to read. In this research, the influence of methods will not be controlled but rather accounted for by strategy determination. Strategy as used in this study refers to the systematic procedures that a child uses to identify printed words; strategies are assumed to depend on the expectations formed and the inferences made by children from their prior experience with print. Recent research (Barr, in press) has demonstrated that instructional method has a direct influence on the strategies that children evolve for identifying printed words. A synthetic phonics method appears to facilitate the following type word identification strategy, as inferred from substitution response characteristics: the child blends phonemes corresponding to letters and matches the synthesized sequence of phonemes with known words; failure to find a match leads either to the production of a nonword or no response. This strategy could be predicted from the instructional method, the unit of print identified by the teacher, the instructed
Barr 125 responses to particular units of print, and the encouragement of a particular strategy for determining words not known by the child during contextual reading. By contrast, the strategy that children evolve when initially introduced to sight words is more difficult to predict, other than that the word might be expected to be the unit of print around which children organize their word identification strategy. Study of the responses of children instructed by a sight word emphasis reveals several characteristics of a sight word strategy (Barr, 1975). Almost all substitution responses are from among the set of words introduced as sight words. Children remember some portion of a printed word and its aural associate. How these associations appear to be organized in memory does not simply reflect the properties of individual printed words but rather the relationship determined by the child among the set of reading words, specifically the length of words in the set, with initial and final graphic cues used for further discrimination within length. This organizational structure is developed by the child in response to the unique demands of sight word learning; at least in the beginning stages of reading it is a system separate from the set of lexical items previously acquired aurally by the child. In addition, these sight word and phonics strategy differences appear to be stable over time as indicated by the different response patterns of children, taught by a sight word or phonics emphasis, who were observed after two or more years of reading experience (DeLawter, 1970; Elder, 1971). In most cases, the strategy evolved by children is a reflection of the instructional method and materials used by their teacher (Barr, in press). Nevertheless, there is some small proportion of children who develop a strategy not in accord with the class method. Three factors'probably account for methodstrategy difference: (1) the child's having already evolved a strategy prior to first grade instruction; (2) the child's being instructed at home by a method that differs from the class method; and (3) immaturity in certain areas required for the strategy indicated by the class method and the consequent evolution of a different strategy. Barr (in press) found that method-strategy differences occurred more frequently for a phonics method than for a sight word emphasis. In that study, a group of children using a sight word strategy but reading from phonics materials and one child using a phonics strategy but" reading from sight word materials were identified. Because their strategies were different from their class method, it was inferred that not only is the effect of class method sometimes negligible, but, more important, that strategy maybe a better index of whatever most influenced their learning: home method, class method or in some cases, no method. A group of children reading from phonics material using a sight word strategy (PS), a group reading phonics materials using phonics strategy (PP), a group reading sight word materials using a sight word strategy (SS), and one child reading sight word materials using a phonics strategy (SP) were compared in this research to determine the relative influence of method as indexed by strategy and of materials
126 Journal of Reading Behavior 1975 VII, 2 on the frequency of response by children to two groups of words: words that were simple in pattern (composing most of the phonics materials but less than half of the sight word materials) and words that were complex in pattern. If material (word characteristics) were the main influence on response, the PS and PP groups would be expected to respond to printed words in a fashion similar to each other but different from the SS and SP groups. However, if strategy were the main influence, the PS and the SS groups would be similar in their response to printed words but different from the PP and SP groups. If both materials and strategy influence response, the four groups might be expected to differ from each other. DESIGN Several steps were required in order to determine the effect of instructional materials and strategy on children's response to printed words. First, instructional method and strategy were operationally defined. Second, the two sets of reading materials were examined to describe the characteristics of individual words and the word sample. Third, test items were selected and classified according to pattern and length. Fourth, first grade children were selected and classified according to strategy and instructional materials to form four groups. Finally, responses to test words administered to the children in December of first grade were analyzed in order to determine whether the four groups of children responded differently to words classified according to pattern (simple and complex) and length. Reading Methods and Strategies Phonics and sight word methods were used for reading instruction. The teacher of the phonics method adhered closely to recommendations in the teacher's manual, focusing on the teaching of letter-sound associations and the blending of phonemes to identify words, and emphasizing word analysis during contextual reading rather than comprehension. The two teachers using the sight word method also followed recommendations in the teacher's manual, beginning with sight word development, subsequently introducing phonics and structural analysis skills. Even though skills other than sight word development were included, because instruction focused on words as units and began with a sight word emphasis, it will be referred to in subsequent discussion as the sight word method. Whereas method refers to the instruction provided by the teacher, word identification strategy denotes the manner in which children identify words. Children learning to read organize their word identification strategies around a unit of print, either the letter in phonic synthesis or the word in sight word recognition, and although other units (e.g., syllable or phrase) are logically possible, instructional methods appear to constrain the unit selected. Barr (in press) found that most children taught by a sight word method organized their strategy for
Barr 127 identifying print around the word unit; by contrast about two-thirds of those taught by a phonics method organized their strategy around the letter. The strategy classification undertaken in a previous study with the same groups of subjects was used in the present investigation. Two indices were used to decide whether children used a letter-based strategy (phonic synthesis) or a word-based strategy (sight-word recognition): (1) the number of nonwords produced; and (2) the percentage of substitution responses of words previously introduced in the basal materials. A phonics strategy was inferred from the production of nonwords with few real word substitutions from the set of previously-taught reading words. A sight-word strategy was inferred from the production of only real word substitutions mainly (75 percent or more) from the set of words previously taught as sight words. 1 Instructional Materials Two sets of instructional materials were used in the study, one supporting a sight-word strategy (Robinson et al., 1965), the other a phonics strategy (Harris, 1967). Words from each set of materials introduced in December of first grade were categorized according to length and pattern. For the purpose of the December analysis, the word patterns occurring in the phonics material were used to establish the operational definition of word pattern. Words of simple pattern contained no consonant blends or vowel dipthongs and were one syllable in length. Children in the phonics-instructed class had not been introduced to blends and dipthongs by December, nor had they experienced words containing them during their contextual reading. By contrast, the children in the sight word group had been exposed to words containing blends and diphthongs, words of several syllables, as well as, words that were simple in pattern. Table 1 shows the number of words categorized according to length and pattern introduced in the sight-word and phonics materials. Two differences between the two basal readers should be noted: (1) children reading the phonics materials were exposed to about three times as many words as children reading the sight-word materials, and (2) because of the manner in which words were classified, most phonics material words were simple in pattern, whereas less than half the sight-word material words were. Experience with word patterns differed for the two groups of children; as a consequence, words of complex pattern provide the test to determine whether experience with particular word patterns influences children's tendency to respond. Word Identification Tests As part of a related investigation, word-identification skills were tested in December during the first year of reading instruction. From 20 words included in 1 For further description of strategy delineation, the reader should consult the Barr report (in press).
128 Journal of Reading Behavior 1975 VII, 2 Table 1 Number and Percentage of Words Classified According to Length and Pattern Introduced to the Sight Word and Phonics Groups Words of Simple Pattern Words of Complex Pattern Total Word Length in letters: 2 or less 3 4 Total 3 or less 4 5 or more Total Phonics Text Number of Words Percent 7 7 47 49 33 35 89 91 0 0 6 6 3 3 9 9 96 100 Sight Word Text Number of Words Percent 8 24 5 16 2 6 15 46 4 12 12 36 2 6 18 54 33 100 the Word Learning Tasks (Barr, 1971) and the first 11 words from the Reading Section of the Wide Range Achievement Tests (Jastak et. al., 1965), a total of 17 words that had been introduced in neither of the two basal readers was identified. These words were then classified in terms of pattern and length. As in the analysis of instructional materials, words of simple pattern were identified as those containing no consonant blends or vowel diphthongs. Seven of the test words were classified as simple: 1 was 2 letters in length, 5 were 3 letters in length and 1 was 4 letters in length. Ten words were classified as complex: 3 were 3 letters in length, 4 were 4 letters in length, and 3 were 5 letters or more in length. Response to Printed Words Because the major focus in this study was on determining whether a child was willing to respond to a printed word arid not on the quality of the response all aural responses, whether correct or substitution errors, were used to index response to printed words. Frequency of response to test words classifed according to pattern was found for each child and the mean response rate for each group determined. Procedures Sample. The subjects were 32 first-grade children randomly selected from three classrooms of a suburban public elementary school in a lower-middle to upper-middle class white neighborhood. All came from the same neighborhood and
Barr 129 most experienced the same kindergarten program. Half were taught by a phonics method, the rest by a sight-word method. The word identification strategies of individuals were determined through an analysis of substitution responses to thirty words tested in December of first grade. Of the 16 children instructed by a phonics method, 10 were classified as using a phonics strategy and 6 as using a sight-word strategy. Of the 16 children instructed with the sight word emphasis, 15 were classified as using a sight-word strategy and one as using a phonics strategy. The influence of instructional materials on reading was determined by comparing the responses of three groups of children: 10 reading phonics material using a phonics strategy (PP), 6 reading phonics material using a sight-word strategy (PS), and 15 reading sight-word material using a sight-word strategy (SS), and a single case reading sight-word material using a phonics strategy (SP). Data Collection. The sample of 17 words, used to test the responses of children to unfamiliar words, was administered to children on an individual basis during the first week of December after they had received approximately two months of reading instruction. Data Analysis. Responses to each of the 17 test words by the 32 children were classified as correct, substitution, or nonresponse. The majority of the 17 words were not responded to (mean = 12.1). For the remainder, the frequency of correct response (mean = 2.2) was similar to the frequency of substitution response (mean = 2.4). The three groups (PP, PS, and SS) did not differ significantly on the mean number of correct responses, substitutions or nonresponses. The fourth case represented by one child showed a higher number of nonresponses (14) and lower number of correct (1) and substitution (2) responses than the three groups. Correct and substitution responses were combined and used to index response to simple and complex test words by individuals and groups. In order to determine whether the difference between rate of response to simple and complex word patterns was significantly different among the three groups an analysis of covariance (Finn, 1968) was performed. The probability level of.10 was accepted in this exploratory study as indicating a significant difference. In addition, the difference in response rate according to word pattern for individuals was found in order to determine whether group' differences characterized most individuals. Further descriptive analysis was undertaken in order to examine the effect of word length on response to simple and complex words. FINDINGS If the characteristics of the words contained in the instructional material influence response to printed words, it could be expected that the groups of children reading from phonics materials would respond more often to simple than complex test words. By contrast, children reading from sight-word materials would be expected to distribute themselves equally in their responses to simple and
130 Journal of Reading Behavior 1975 VII, 2 complex test words. Table 2 shows the proportion of responses to simple and complex test words and the difference in response between the two. As anticipated, children reading from the phonics material responded more frequently to simple than complex words, although the difference in response was significantly greater for the children using the phonics strategy (PP) than for those using the sight-word strategy (PS) (F = 3.18; d.f. 1,27; p =.086). This significant difference suggests that strategy influences the frequency of response to simple and complex test words. Also as predicted, the group reading from the sight-word materials responded with about equal frequency to simple and complex test words. When the two groups using a sight-word strategy but reading different materials (SS, PS) were compared, the mean difference between their responses to simple and complex words was significant (F = 5.50; d.f. 1,27; p =.027). This significant difference indicates that materials influence the frequency of response to simple and complex test words. Contrary to expectation, the child reading sight-word materials using a phonics strategy (SP) showed a higher frequency of response to simple than to complex words. Apparently, materials containing complex as well as simple words did not dispose this child to respond with equal frequency to both types. The mean frequency of response for groups also characterizes the response differences for most individuals comprising the groups. All but one of the PP children showed a higher frequency of response to simple than to complex words. Five of the six PS individuals showed the same response bias, whereas the sixth showed a higher response to complex words. Five of the SS individuals showed a higher response to simple than to complex words whereas five others showed a higher response to complex words; the remaining five children responded neither to simple nor complex words. Because test word pattern is confounded by length (longer words tended to be more complex in pattern as defined in this study), the proportion of responses Table 2 Percentage of Response to Simple Test Words and Complex Test Words and the Difference Between the Two Response Rates Simple Words Complex Words Difference Phonics Material Phonics Strategy (PP) N=10 49 21 28 Instructional Material, Strategy Groups Phonics Material Sight-Word Strategy (PS) n=6 40 15 25 Sight-Word Material Phonics Strategy (SP) N=l 29 10 19 Sight-Word Material Sight-Word Strategy (SS)N=15 25 24 1
Barr 131 to test words classified according to pattern and length was compared for the four groups as shown in Figure 1. Length does not appear to influence responses to simple test words except for the one child reading from sight-word materials who used a phonics strategy (SP). Length does appear to have a significant effect on response to complex words that interacts with strategy. Children using a phonics strategy showed a marked decline in response to complex words of increasing length. By contrast children reading from the phonics material but using a sight-word strategy (PS) responded to the longer, complex words but at a lower response rate than the SS group. SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION In this investigation an attempt has been made to separate the influence of word identification strategy on children's responses to printed words from the influence of their experience with a particular type of reading material. Rather than showing that one or the other affects response, the results of this investigation suggest that both strategy and prior experience with certain word patterns influence the frequency of response to printed words. The significant difference in response to words of simple and complex patterns between the two groups reading the phonics materials (PP and PS) shows that, even when experience with word patterns is similar, strategy differences result in a greater difference between response to simple and complex words for children using a phonics strategy (PP) than for those using a sight-word strategy (PS). The PP groups responded to a higher proportion of simple words and a slightly higher proportion of complex words than did the PS group. In addition, the PP and PS groups showed marked differences in their response to complex words of different lengths. The decline in response to complex words increasing in length shown by the PP group but not by the PS group may reflect difficulty experienced by the PP group in applying their phonics strategy to longer, complex words. At the same time, the two groups are similar in their higher rate of response to simple than to complex words; this similarity reflects the influence of materials on response. The significant difference between children using the same word-identification strategy but reading from different materials (PS and SS) shows that prior experience with particular word patterns also influences rate of response to simple and complex words. The group reading the phonics material (PS) responded to a higher proportion of simple words and to a lower proportion of complex words than did the group reading the sight-word materials (SS). However, in spite of these differences, the two groups both responded to the longest complex words, suggesting that long, complex words do not pose a problem for children using a sight-word strategy even when they have been mainly exposed to shorter, regular words. Strategy and experience with materials interact to influence response to words. In speculating about the nature of the interaction between materials and
132 Journal of Reading Behavior 1975 VII, 2 Figure 1: Probability of Response to Test Words Classified According to Pattern and Length for Four Groups of Subjects Probability of Response 100 i 80 90-70- 60-50 40 30 20 10 Word Length in Letters Simple Test Words 4 5 Complex Test Words Phonics Material, Phonics Strategy (PP) N=10 Phonics Material, Sight Word Strategy (PS) N=6 Sight Word Materials, Phonics Strategy (SP) N=l Sight Word Materials, Sight Word Strategy (SS) N=15 strategy, such interaction could be viewed as a developmental process, with word characteristics affecting the nature of strategy evolution. The observed response differences between the two groups of children using the sight-word strategy but reading different materials might be explained in terms of the words they have experienced; instructional materials appear to have their effect by way of the specific sample of words learned. Children using a sight-word
Barr 133 strategy remember the set of words learned as reading words and guess at unfamiliar words on the basis of features shared with previously learned words. What characterizes a sight-word strategy is the nature of the generalizations inferred: those pertaining to the length and the form of the initial and final portions of words. The form and length characteristics identified by children using a sight-word strategy reflect differences among words in the reading sample they experience. Whereas both length and form are useful in distinguishing the highly varied words contained in the sight-word materials, minimal difference in initial and final form would serve to distinguish the phonics-material word sample. Not only the stored set of words, but also the nature and content of the form and length generalizations of the two groups differ. The generalizations are constrained by the data from which they were inferred and thereby bias response towards unfamiliar words that are similar to previously learned words. Rather than inferring generalizations from experience with words, children using a phonics strategy have been presented with phonics generalizations through direct instruction. For them, the reading task is learning how to apply these generalizations, and the influence of materials on the development and implementation of their phonics strategy is less clear. Children using a phonics strategy to read phonics materials show a greater response to regular than to irregular words and to shorter irregular words than to longer irregular ones. There are at least two possible explanations for this pattern; both assume that implementation of the phonics strategy accounts for the different rate of response to regular and irregular words. First, it is proposed that children try to identify all words presented to them and that a correct or substitution response occurs when the children are able to blend the phonemes associated with the letter sequence into a response', whereas no response occurs when they have difficulty either in associating phonemes with letters or in blending them. Or, second, it is proposed, as an alternative explanation, that strategy implementation is only part of the process; that in addition, children, through their experience in identifying words, infer the characteristics of words to which their strategy can be applied. Through repeated exposure to certain word types, they develop a set for words that can be identified through phonics synthesis. A correct or substitution response, then results from a two-step procedure: a word is tested to determine whether it conforms to previously experienced patterns that were identified, and if it passes the test, the word-indentification strategy is applied. If the word being tested is found not to conform, no identification attempt will be made. The evidence presented for children using a phonics strategy reading phonics materials can be accounted for by either of these two explanations. Indeed, both processes may occur for different children or even for the same child responding to different words. One piece of evidence is suggestive, supporting the possibility of a screening test as a part of strategy implementation: the response pattern of the one child using a phonics strategy reading sight-word materials (SP). This child showed
134 Journal of Reading Behavior 1975 VII, 2 greater response to simple than to complex words, but within both types, responded only to words two and three letters in length. Because the sight-word materials contained such a large number of words to which a phonics strategy could not be applied, perhaps the child evolved a system for delimiting words to which his strategy could be applied, that of screening words on the basis of length. Possibly, because of the varied composition of the sight-word sample, development of a generalization pertaining to word patterns would be difficult for the child to infer from the number of instances available in the sight-word materials, whereas length would be a more obvious hypothesis that would be difficult to reject once established since the overlooked cases (simple words, four letters in length) would never be attempted by the child. This investigation was undertaken after children had approximately two months of reading instruction. The influence of word characteristics on strategy development during this period of time appears to influence the nature of the strategy developed but not its effectiveness with unfamiliar words as indicated by the comparability of the three groups (PP, PS, and SS) in frequency of correct responses. Nevertheless, a large phonics word sample might be expected to have a negative effect on the subsequent development of a sight-word strategy and the complexity and length of the sight-word sample might limit application of the phonics strategy so that less than normal reading skill development would occur during the remainder of first grade. Further research is needed to confirm the results from this study and to explore the consequence of word samples on the further development of word identification strategies. The contribution of this exploratory investigation is two-fold. Substantively, the results of the study suggest the extent and manner in which the word characteristics of materials may be separated from and contribute to the strategies children evolve for word identification. The methodological contribution consists in the use of strategy definition to control for the effect of method in assessing the influence of materials on reading skill acquisition. REFERENCES BARR, REBECCA C. Development of a word learning task to predict success and identify methods by which kindergarten children learn to read. (Final report of Project No. 9-E-125) United States Office of Education, Chicago: University of Chicago, 1971. BARR, REBECCA C. The influence of instructional conditions on word recognition errors. Reading Research Quarterly, Spring 1972, 7 (3), 509-529. BARR, REBECCA C. Processes underlying the learning of printed words. Elementary School Journal, January 1975, 75 (4), 258-268. BARR, REBECCA C. Case study of the effect of instruction on pupil reading strategies. Reading Research Quarterly, in press.
Ban 135 BOND, G. S., & DYKSTRA, R. The cooperative research program in first-grade reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 1967, 2 (entire issue). CHALL, JEANNE. Learning to read: the great debate. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. DeLAWTER, JAYNE. Oral reading errors of second grade children exposed to two different reading approaches. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1970. ELDER, RICHARD D. Oral reading achievement of Scottish and American children. Elementary School Journal, January 1971, 71 (4),216-230. FINN, J. D. Multivariance univariate and multivariate analysis of variance and covariance: a Fortran IV program. Version 4. Unpublished manuscript, 1968. HARRIS, THEODORE. Phonetic Keys to Reading. Oklahoma: Economy, 1967. HARTLEY, R. N. Effects of list types and cues on the learning of word list. Reading Research Quarterly, 1970, 6 (1), 97-121. JASTAK, J. F., & JASTAK, S. R. Wide Range Achievement Tests. Wilmington, Delaware: Guidance Associates, 1965. MACKINNON, A. R. How do children learn to read? Ontario, Canada: Copp Clark, 1959. ROBINSON, HELEN M. Et. al. New Basic Reading Program. Chicago: Scott- Foresman, 1965.