Part 4

“These little words at the bottom of the page are called key words,” said Miss Merlin. “Can any one tell why?”

The pupils thought for a moment. Then Tom said, “I know. Because they unlock the pronunciation of the new word.”

“Good,” said Miss Merlin, “pronounce the first syllable in our new word on the board, Tom, using the key word.”

Tom looked at the mark over the _o_ in the first syllable, found the same mark over the _o_ in _odd_, the key word at the bottom of the page, and said, “Odd—ǒ—brǒk.”

“Good!” said Miss Merlin. “That’s the way. Now, Jack, pronounce the second syllable.”

Jack looked at the mark over _o_, the only letter in the second syllable, found the same mark over the _o_ in the key word _obey_ at the bottom of the page, and said, “Obey—ō.”

In the same way Alice studied the last syllable, finding a mark like the one used over the _i_ in the key word _ill_ at the bottom of the page and said very clearly, “Ill—ĭ—lĭ.”

“Fine!” said Miss Merlin. “John, you may pronounce the whole word.” John did so, sounding the letters correctly but placing the accent on the second syllable, thus, “Brok-o´-li.”

“Not quite right,” said Miss Merlin. “I am going to pronounce the word correctly. As I speak it notice which syllable I accent or emphasize.” She then repeated the word, placing the accent correctly.

“You accented the first syllable,” said Alice.

“Yes,” answered Miss Merlin, “I did. Now look at the word as I have copied it on the board from the dictionary and see if you can discover anything that tells me which syllable should be accented.”

“Oh, I know,” cried John. “There is a little mark something like a slanting exclamation mark after the first syllable! Is that why you read it like an exclamation, Miss Merlin?”

Miss Merlin laughed and answered, “Well, we call the mark an accent. But it is something like an exclamation mark in looks, and an accented syllable sounds not unlike an exclamation, John. Now pronounce the word correctly.”

John did so, and then other pupils repeated it after him.

“Now I know how to pronounce the new word but I don’t know what it means,” said Miss Merlin. “The meaning of the word is written right after the correct pronunciation. Mary, will you read what is written?”

Mary looked at the printed page for a moment, then read aloud, “Broccoli. A hardy cauliflower.”

“How many know what a cauliflower is?” asked Miss Merlin. She looked at the upraised hands and added, “I see that you all know, but if any one didn’t know how could he find out from the dictionary?”

Eagerly the pupils told Miss Merlin how to find the word—“track it down,” John said—in the dictionary; how to learn to pronounce it; and how to find the meaning.

“Good,” said Miss Merlin. “What have you learned in this lesson?”

“I have learned that I can find the pronunciation and meaning of any new word in the dictionary,” said Alice.

“I have learned how to find any word I want,” said Tom.

“I have learned how to unlock the pronunciation of any word with the keys at the bottom of the page,” said Jack.

“I have learned how to accent the right syllable,” said Mary.

“I have learned where to look for the meaning of a word,” said Henry.

“Then you have learned almost all that is necessary for a helpful use of the dictionary,” said Miss Merlin. “Tomorrow we will have some dictionary practice.”

The teacher may read the above story to her pupils or make a similar introductory study of the dictionary with any word she may select.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FIFTH YEAR

USE OF STORY

At the beginning of Part II, the story of “The King’s Rules” was given to the children. This story should be reviewed for it emphasizes three important factors in learning to spell.

1. To _listen_ carefully when the word is spoken.

2. To _say_ it correctly when you speak it.

3. To _look_ at the word thoughtfully to get an exact picture of it in your mind.

The work of the fifth and sixth grades opens with another story to emphasize the same three points in a different way. The story of “The Two Scouts” emphasizes the fact that a good speller is a good speller because he

_Sees_ exactly _Hears_ exactly _Pronounces_ exactly

It is hoped that fifth and sixth grade teachers will continually emphasize these three fundamental principles.

DICTIONARY WORK

The new work of grade IV consisted in the presentation of the formal use of the dictionary. Many drill lessons were given in connection with language, reading, and spelling lessons. A good habit has been started. The children, however, have not become sufficiently familiar with the dictionary to make the finding of words easy. Much practice in searching for words needs to be given so that such searching becomes more or less automatic. They have little need outside of school to use the dictionary, and there are many matters which the fourth grade teacher did not have the time to teach, even if the children had been prepared for it. To give all the drill that is necessary without the work becoming a burden which the children will approach with little or no interest will tax the best ingenuity of the teacher.

The fifth grade teacher, therefore, must continue the good work begun in the fourth grade. She must attempt to make the habit more automatic. Children must be taught that they have a real need for the dictionary. The fourth grade was taught the use of the long and the short vowels in the word. The fifth grade completes this work by presenting the other sounds of the vowels and the use of the key at the bottom of the page in every dictionary. This work is presented in Lesson 7. Accompanying this lesson is a list of words which present some difficulty in pronunciation. Pupils are asked to look up the pronunciation in the dictionary. _This should be done under the immediate supervision of the teacher._ Directions are given the pupil as an aid in fixing this phase of the work in the memory, _not as a substitute for the teaching_.

Toward the latter part of the year a further phase of the use of the dictionary is presented. Lesson 145 deals with the subject of finding the spelling of a word of which the pupil is not quite sure.

Steps in finding the spelling of a word:

1. Think carefully how the word might be spelled.

(_a_) Note the syllables.

(_b_) Note the sound of vowels and consonants in each syllable.

(_c_) Note the possibilities to represent each sound.

2. Find the word in the dictionary.

(_a_) Call attention to the fact that the first two or three letters will approximately locate a short word.

(_b_) The first four or five letters will approximately locate nearly every word.

(_c_) Every word in the dictionary is arranged in exact alphabetical order.

Words in Lessons 3, 17, 39, and 40 illustrate a third phase with the development of root words and derivatives which will be taught formally in the seventh grade. These lessons bring together words which have a common root. The teacher should be continually on the watch for these common roots and call the attention of the children to them. In undertaking to develop a spelling consciousness there is probably nothing that will help so much as this phase of the work. In _agree_, _agreeable_, _disagreeable_, and _agreement_, _agree_ is the common part. Children do not always recognize this, as shown by the fact that children spell the derivative with a lower degree of accuracy than they spell the root word. (See page 19 of this manual.)

ENUNCIATION

Along with the teaching of the various sounds of the vowels and consonants should come at this time a strong effort to impress the need of clear enunciation. Great care should be taken that a vowel is given its true value, that all sounds are given, that silent letters are not sounded, and that the syllabication is correct.

Poor enunciation is a common source of error. Do not permit “in” for “ing,” final “ed” to be sounded like “t,” or “body” to be pronounced “buddy.” Remember that _a word correctly pronounced is half spelled_.

TEACHING OF RULES

In the text of the earlier grades, emphasis has been frequently directed toward the changes in words in forming plurals and adding suffixes and prefixes. Very little has been said when the only change has been the adding of “_s_.” This regular form causes no great trouble.

During the fifth year a few simple rules are presented. These have been frequently illustrated in earlier grades. The rules presented are those for which there is frequent use.

On pages 14, 17, and 19 the rule for writing derivatives of words ending in _y_ preceded by a consonant is given with many illustrations. Throughout the year’s work, however, these words are occurring. Such words will be found in Lessons 20, 32, 34, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 50, 59, 91, 114, 115, 156. On page 28 the rule for writing the plurals of nouns ending in _f_ or _fe_ is given with illustrations. After these rules are taught the teacher should take every advantage offered for fixing the rules.

SPELLING DEMONS

Spelling demons have been described as words which give trouble and need to be attacked as the knights of old attacked and overcame dragons and demons that brought trouble to mankind.

In Lessons 64 to 75 the hundred words described by Dr. Jones as the Hundred Demons of the English Language are given. Each of these words has been previously taught, some of them as early as the second grade. It is very probable, therefore, that for some children only a few of the words are “demons,” for a demon conquered is a demon no longer.

These lessons, therefore, should be used as a test to find out which children need further drill or new presentations of these difficult words. These words should have been fixed in previous grades, but if any pupil has _not_ mastered the word now is the time to attempt to master it. However, it is individual work, _not class work_, which is needed.

On page 42 have been collected 132 of the 1,000 commonest words as selected by Ayres. This list should be used in a similar way. All of these words have been taught. The method to follow, then, is to test first to see what words, if any, need to be taught again _to the class_, and then what words should be emphasized with individuals.

SUGGESTIONS FOR SIXTH YEAR

WORDS USED IN THE SCHOOLROOM

In many courses of study the formal teaching of history begins in the sixth grade. The spelling work of this grade gives many lessons directly, or indirectly, connected with the teaching of history. Lessons 1 to 17, and 104 to 109, have for their foundation lessons on the flag and government.

However, there are always special words in various subjects of the curriculum which should be learned because of their use in the school work of the year, rather than for their general use in the world at large. These words are not included in the spelling book and should be taught as supplementary words as occasion requires. This is also true of local and proper names. Proper names, with very few exceptions, are not taught in this text. The teacher should make up a list of such local names as her pupils need to know, and _teach_ the spelling of any that have spelling difficulty.

DICTIONARY WORK

The dictionary work of the sixth year aims to establish the dictionary habit. Lesson 30 is the beginning of the use of the synonym, although this word is not used in the pupil’s text at this point. This lesson should be worked out very carefully under the immediate supervision of the teacher. The formal work on synonyms is presented in the seventh grade, but this preliminary work is of very great importance.

The rule for forming the plurals of nouns ending in _o_ is given in Lesson 35, and for nouns ending in _s_, _sh_, _ch_, and _x_, is given in Lesson 36.

On pages 63 and 64 are presented lessons consisting of words having _i_ before _e_, or _e_ before _i_. After teaching Lessons 45 to 50 inclusive, the words of these lessons should be reviewed as a whole. Other reviews of them should be frequent enough to be sure that the rule is fixed in the child’s mind and is being followed. There is no greater cause for misspelling than the confusion existing because of these two combinations of letters. Careful teaching at this point means much. Lessons 51 to 54, inclusive, are exceptions to the rule and should be carefully noted.

Individual words are constantly occurring which well illustrate the rules that have been taught. Teachers should not fail to take advantage of these opportunities in the teaching part of the lesson.

BUILDING A VOCABULARY

Throughout the book every possible opportunity to present root words and derivatives together has been taken. Lessons 6, 8, 9, 13, 20, 30, 55, 67, and many others illustrate this feature. It was not possible to present derivatives in all cases, or to present all that might well be discussed with each root word. A great opportunity for splendid word building exists in connection with the spelling lesson. The resourceful teacher will supply additional words of this class at every opportunity, calling especial attention to any changes of form because of the formation of the derivative. This will mean not only a larger spelling vocabulary but a larger speaking vocabulary.

Teaching synonyms also furnishes a chance to greatly increase the speaking vocabulary.

DEMON AND REVIEW WORDS

On page 65 is given another list of “demons” prepared by the authors. The sixth grade teacher should hold herself responsible for this list. Keep on urging and testing until each child has mastered _his particular demons_. Remember that they are an individual affair and that no two pupils have the same difficulties.

A special review list of common words is also given on pages 84 and 85. This list should be tested from time to time, and a very high percentage of accuracy may reasonably be expected.

VOCABULARY

The vocabulary at the end of the work for the grade serves four purposes:

1. It shows the teacher all the words which are in the text.

2. It enables the pupil to find the word which has occurred in the year’s work.

3. The asterisk shows which words have been previously taught.

4. It gives a list of words with which to test the pupils at the end of the year’s work.

SUGGESTIONS FOR SEVENTH YEAR

THE STORY

The work of each book begins with a story intended to impress the children with the importance of _seeing_ the word exactly, _hearing_ the word correctly, and _pronouncing_ the word accurately. “The Efficient Guide” emphasizes these points together with the necessity of learning to spell the word correctly the first time. The right use of the story will help to impress upon the children the fact that in spelling, as in the industrial world, there is no second chance. A thing is right or it is wrong.

ROOTS AND DERIVATIVES

The ALDINE SPELLER has emphasized throughout its text the importance of developing a “spelling consciousness.” A simple list of words is inadequate to accomplish this. The work of the seventh grade continues this development by emphasizing the importance of roots and derivatives. Teachers have been repeatedly urged to present all derivatives whenever the root word has been given. The formal study of roots and derivatives is a large part of the work of the seventh grade. Emphasis should always be given to the part which is already familiar, at the same time calling attention to any changes in the vowel or in the consonant through the formation of the derivative.

TROUBLESOME ENDINGS

On page 15 will be found a group of words ending in _or_, _er_, and _ar_. These should be taught in groups until they are thoroughly fixed. Mnemonics may help to establish the correct form. Remind the pupil of the spelling and pronunciation of _authority_ and he will remember that _author_ ends in _or_. Likewise _factory_, _inventory_, _oratory_, _similarity_, etc., help to show him the correct spelling of the shorter word. Following this drill review the entire page.

SYNONYMS

Much of the work of the seventh grade consists of a careful study of synonyms. Spelling is closely correlated with language and one of the results of good spelling teaching should be not only an ability to spell common words correctly, but a normal and continuous growth in the written and spoken vocabularies of the children. This growth can be increased very materially by the study of derivatives and synonyms. This study also furnishes the very best exercises in the use of the dictionary for which the pupils have been prepared in preceding grades.

DICTIONARY WORK

Not only does the work in synonyms in this grade provide excellent dictionary work, but there are still other opportunities for the teacher to give the right kind of practice in the use of that book. No lessons on antonyms have been given, but it is an excellent practice to have pupils look up antonyms as well as synonyms. Many additional paragraphs may be dictated by the teacher and the pupils required to look up both synonyms and antonyms.

Nothing more wooden or deadening can be conceived than the practice of requiring the pupils to look up every word in the dictionary and to write a definition for each and every one. This monotonous practice should never be followed. Put life and interest into the lesson by variety, and let the children see that the building up of a vocabulary can be an exciting game.

THE TEACHER’S OPPORTUNITY

Perhaps with no class has the seventh grade teacher a greater opportunity for a fine and helpful influence than she has with the spelling class. Her pupils will be judged, in later years, by their speech. She may, by careful teaching, expand their vocabularies so that they have a broad range, and she may likewise secure an accuracy in enunciation which will reflect great credit on her teaching. However, this training must carry over into all other class work in the grade to attain its greatest effectiveness.

REVIEWS

A review of many troublesome words previously taught is given at the beginning. Many reviews should be given during the year. These should be determined by the teacher and should emphasize all words that have presented difficulty to the class or to individuals.

PROPER NAMES

In the class work in Geography and History the pupil is confronted with a great many proper names. Fortunately most of these are spelled as they sound. For a pupil who has been properly taught such words present no difficulties. The important point is to see that they are correctly pronounced when first used. There are, however, many proper names that have spelling peculiarities. The great importance of impressing these upon the pupil’s mind is quite obvious. This should be done in connection with the regular class work as they have occasion to use the names. The seventh grade teacher should be especially vigilant and see that all proper names are correctly spelled, particularly with regard to the capital letter.

VOCABULARY

The alphabetical vocabulary may be used for review lessons and for looking up words. Its use helps to encourage the dictionary habit.

SUGGESTIONS FOR EIGHTH YEAR

REVIEW

The eighth grade teacher should read carefully the directions for the seventh grade. She should know what has been done and what has been left undone. In many schools she completes the teaching of spelling. While wasting no time in unnecessary reviews, she may wisely give a careful test at the beginning and learn her problems. The work in word building, by means of synonyms and derivatives, should be continued.

PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

The work of the eighth grade continues the work of the seventh grade in word building by a careful study of prefixes and suffixes. The addition of a prefix or a suffix makes a longer word and, because it is longer, the word becomes harder to visualize as a whole. It is highly important that the root part of the word should be pointed out, and it will be found that in most cases it is a familiar word. When this is true the prefix or the suffix becomes the part which needs to be drilled upon and emphasized. On pages 48 to 54 are given a list of words having troublesome endings. On pages 48, 49, and 50, for example, are words ending in _ent_, _ant_, _ence_, and _ance_. These should be taught by groups and, after the whole page has been carefully taught and studied, drill lessons and reviews should be given until the pupil has the endings learned. These reviews will tax the ingenuity of the teacher that they may be interesting and not merely a mechanical word drill. Attention may well be called to the fact that the plural of nouns ending in _ant_ and _ent_ have the same pronunciation as the corresponding words ending in _ance_ and _ence_. If given in a sentence the meaning will clearly show him which one is meant. Care must be used that confusion does not result. Thoughtful teaching is important.

REVIEW OF RULES

During the work of the preceding grades the important rules for spelling have been developed. On pages 54, 56, and 57, they are given for review with many illustrations. In addition, Lessons 30, 38, and 39, give some exceptions to these rules. These lessons should be thoroughly reviewed until the correct spelling is established.

WORDS HAVING TWO PRONUNCIATIONS

At the close of the year’s work is given a list of 28 words spelled alike but accented differently. The difference in meaning should be emphasized, each word used in a sentence to impress the correct pronunciation, and the pupils taught to discriminate as to the form that should be used.

VOCABULARY

As in previous grades much use may be made of the alphabetical vocabulary for purposes of review and reference.

APPENDIX

Following the vocabulary the teacher will find some special lists, placed there for reference. They will provide some very interesting supplementary lessons. They are:

1. A list of words used in medicine, and the names of diseases. Many of these present difficulties. Their teaching is optional with the teacher.

2. A list of words having more than one correct spelling. The simpler spelling is usually the one to be preferred.

3. A list of words frequently mispronounced. The teacher should know this list and by it check the pupil’s pronunciation.

4. A list of foreign words which have come into more or less frequent use in our language. The correct pronunciation should be noted.

5. Two lists of foreign words and phrases, chiefly from the French and Latin. Though only a small percentage of the pupils will use these in writing they occur with such frequency in the books which they will read that it is desirable that they shall have access to them.

6. A list of common abbreviations. These need to be learned since their use is frequent.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. 2. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.