A review of Turkish rental books in terms of reading education

The aim of this research is to determine the features of Turkish reading books created in terms of reading instruction from the Tanzimat Period (3 November 1839) until the Alphabet Revolution (1 November 1928). Turkish reading books, which were used in primary schools approved by the Ministry of Education, were examined using the documentary scanning method in this study. The study's material consists of selected recitation books utilized at all levels of education ranging from the Tanzimat to the Alphabet Reform. The sample includes of Turkish reading books used as textbooks in elementary schools, including the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th classes. At that stated period 250 Turkish reading books had been read and of these forty-four of them were thoroughly scrutinized. The study's model is a qualitative investigation in which existing documents are analyzed utilizing the documentary scanning approach. Through descriptive analysis, the data acquired in the research were interpreted in light of the questions in the sub-problems and categorised within itself. At the end of the research, it was determined that the reading books were prepared according to the characteristics of the children studying in primary schools, considering the region they live in, the settlement (city, rural and village), gender, belief group, ethnic community (tribe), and grade (class level). According to the examinations, it has been determined that the narrative texts are concentrated in Turkish recitation books. At the same time, positive information is often given in narrative text types by being fictionalized. The texts are given in sections. It is aimed to arouse the reader's curiosity and interest in reading. In relation to this, great importance was attached to the preparation of visuals and visual reading. Activities like story creation were carried out to improve speaking and writing skills with visuals. It is seen that Turkish reading books are specifically designed for children to recite in the study. In the first pages of some recitation books, it is generally recommended that teachers encourage students to talk through appropriate questions and objections. The questions under the text or between the texts improve metacognitive and affective skills. Questions and texts have been prepared for children's real lives. In order to bring literary pleasure to children at every grade level, texts of poetry have been memorized. This shows that the emphasis was placed on the memorization method. It has also been observed that teaching of proverbs, idioms and aphorisms that gradually increase at each grade level are given in Turkish reading books. In order to develop vocabulary in relation to this gradual development, in the first grades, while teaching word definitions or new words that the words evoke semantically, or directly presented to the child; in the upper grades the child was asked to derive the words, to find the word family or to find different words from the same root. At the end of the study, the following recommendations were made: The study supports the view that considering the features mentioned in Turkish reading books while preparing current Turkish teaching programs and textbooks can be effective in instilling a love and habit of reading in children. Additionally, the presence of visual activities in Turkish textbooks used today will contribute kids improve their capacity for metacognitive thought. The selection of effective and beautiful texts in Turkish reading books and their translation into today's modern Turkish and including them in children's books, magazines or Turkish textbooks can create a variety of resources that children can read with pleasure. Key Words: Recitation, recitation book, reading, curriculum, text types, theme.