Categorical Sound System by Barbara J. CraneReview by: Alden J. MoeThe Reading Teacher, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Nov., 1973), p. 205Published by: Wiley on behalf of the International Reading AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20193443 .

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jectives which the staff has selected as most important, thus re

moving much of the fear now associated with "accountability," a

fear which arises from any kind of measurement not specifically re lated to local emphases.

The tests, being criterion-referenced, should have many ad

vantages over standardized tests. The most obvious of these ad

vantages relates to the fact that in curriculum development and se

lection of materials, as well as in teaching procedures, data from an

instrument which measures specific outcomes are far more

valuable than the highly generalized results of most standardized achievement tests.

~????????^?_? Materials

Categorical Sound System, by Barbara J. Crane. Readers,

workbooks, games, teacher's editions of readers, puzzles, a record, and flannelboard cards; prices available upon request, copyright 1972. Motivational Learning Programs, Inc., 1301 Hamilton

Avenue, Trenton, New Jersey 08629. Reviewed by Alden J. Moe, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana.

The materials, intended to be started in kindergarten or grade one, are designed to serve as a total beginning reading program which takes students from the prereading stages to the 2.7 reading level.

The basic components include eleven reading readiness puzzles, one record, ten paperback readers, and ten practice workbooks.

Also available are "Skill-booklets" for students who need practice in auditory discrimination. Each reader and workbook is accom

panied by an annotated teacher's edition. In addition, there is a 154 page spiral bound teacher's manual for the set.

The eleven large puzzles, all colorfully designed, provide students with practice in letter-name learning and visual discrimi nation; they might well be used at the prereading stages inde pendent of other program components.

The readers feature "Me," the main character of the stories, who is supposed to be "representative of the universal child" and as such, any child?regardless of sex, race, or socioeconomic back

ground?is supposed to be able to easily identify with "Me." In this reviewer's opinion, however, "Me" looks and acts suspiciously like a boy.

The readers and accompanying workbooks contain rather sim

ple but interesting illustrations. The text and illustrations of each reader are generally printed in a single color whereas the

workbooks are considerably more colorful. The teacher's manual states that "when the program is started in

the first grade almost all of the children will complete the program in one year's time." This claim appears overly optimistic in view of the fact that over 1500 different words are introduced in the program and the reading level of the most difficult book is reported to be at the 2.7 reading level. And while the program relies heavily upon the use of phonics, it is doubtful that the teacher's manual and annotated student editions provide the kind of directions

most teachers desire.

Nevertheless, for possible use as a total program or as a sup

plement to an existing program, the materials do merit the at tention of those concerned with the teaching of reading at the beginning levels.

This column is offered to aid readers in keeping abreast of new instructional and

professional materials as they become available. Materials reviewed or listed are in no way advocated or endorsed by RT or the IRA. Opinions expressed are those of the reviewers whose names appear with their reviews.

Critically speaking 205

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