Comprehension is stressed.
At a recent teacher training conference, Mrs. Wood emphasized that dynamic reading is nothing like the skimming techniques commonly used in speed reading courses. She said, "Skipping words is dangerous, as you don't know whether or not you have skipped a word which could change the whole meaning of the sentence."
"You read five times faster," she pointed out, "not by reading every fifth word, but by reading five times as many words in the same amount of time." Mrs. Wood emphasized that using her technique of rapid reading, every word on the page is noted.
No mechanical pacers.
She was also critical of reading courses that use a mechanical pacer, as students tend to revert to previous reading speeds once the pacer is not there to help them. When reading dynamically, the reader's hand is used as a pacer. Improvement by typical graduates In words per minute.** BOSTON AND PROVIDENCE Name Occupation Easy Beg. Easy End. Dif. Beg. Dif. End. Ackley, Frederick, Minister 467 1491 317 1112 Barry, Louise, Housewife 406 1392 433 1240 Bellin, Steven, Student 404 1015 406 2112 Cagle, Ralph, Graduate Student 672 1500 464 1584 Cembrola, Joe, Student 336 1120 257 900 Demers, Paula, Student 384 1015 320 960 Entwistle, Joan, Teacher 365 1160 290 1680 Fournier, Eva, Housewife 600 1305 310 960 Furman, Ruth, Student 358 1228 276 1440 Garant, Simone, Reg. Rep. 336 3120 290 912 Gilbane, Richard, Student 384 1500 363 1486 Gomez, Richard, Student 384 1160 293 1050 Powell, Steve, Student 400 816 292 1450 Rudd, Herbert, Constructor wkr. 316 864 252 1740 Schwartz, Stuart, Staff eng. 464 1152 290 638 Smith, Ellen, Cashier 284 1680 156 1450 Stewart, Robert, Student 293 880 208 769 Tracey, William, Self-employed 336 1760 285 1044 Viens, Dean, Student 317 1760 290 1044 Bergman, David, Student 545 1824 522 1856 Burrowes, Susan, Social worker 600 1250 522 1015 Babb, Joane, Teacher 317 1790 252 2021 Bowler, William, Student 268 1240 232 1000 Clark, Joyce, Student 341 2260 275 2000 Casey, Virginia, Typist 365 720 319 870-
**These are test rates only. The average student reads 1 1/2 to 3 times faster than his ending test rates
