Kitty Burton
Kitty explains the way
that she taught children to read:
"We used Janet and John
as our basic reader.
When the children first came to school
we started to teach them to read
by showing them
a large picture of Janet and John
and talking about them.
For instance we talked about
the colour of Janet's dress
and John's pullover.
Then we would count
the girls in the class with blue dresses
or the boys with red pullovers.
Then I would say
'This little girl has a name,
I wonder what it is?'
The children would make suggestions.
Then I would say
'This girl's name is Janet'.
I would write 'THIS IS JANET'
under the picture.
In this way the children had
a little colour matching,
a little counting,
a little reading
and a lot of conversation.
We would do the same
with the pictures of John,
and ask
'What's he doing?
I think he is helping his daddy.
Do any of you
help your daddy and mummy?'
We would talk about each picture
and I would tell them a story about it,
encouraging the children
to be imaginative,
and gradually introducing the reading
applicable to each one.
We would play word games,
such as musical flash cards."
"The children would
pass flash cards around to music.
When the music stopped,
if the children
could read the word on their card,
they would be rewarded with a Smartie."
I never had less than forty children
in any of my classes.
The children were never bored
and some of them went home
and taught their parents to read.
Having all the degrees in the world
won't make a teacher.
Teaching is a gift.
A teacher has to
be able to impart knowledge
and make the children want to learn."
