=How to Teach Phonics= By LIDA M. WILLIAMS Primary Supervisor and Instructor of Methods, Northern Normal and Industrial School, ABERDEEN, SOUTH DAKOTA HALL & MCCREARY COMPANY CHICAGO Copyright 1916, Hall & McCreary Company P 2143 Printed in the U. S. A. FOREWORD Phonics is not a method of teaching reading, but it is _a necessarypart_ of every good, modern method. It is the key to word mastery, andword mastery is one of the first essentials in learning to read. Aknowledge of the sounds of letters, and of the effect of the position ofthe letter upon its sound, is an essential means of mastering themechanics of reading, and of enabling children to become independentreaders. A knowledge of phonics not only gives power to pronounce new words, butit trains the ear, develops clear articulation and correct enunciation, and aids in spelling. Later, when diacritical marks are introduced, itaids in the use of the dictionary. The habit of attacking andpronouncing words of entirely new form, develops self-confidence in thechild, and the pleasure he experiences in mastering difficulties withouthelp, constantly leads to new effort. The little foreigner, greatly handicapped where reading is taught by theword and sentence methods only, begins on an equal basis with hisAmerican neighbor, when the "Alphabet by sound" is taught. In recent years only has the subject of phonics found a place on thedaily school program; and there is perhaps, no other subject on theprimary program so vaguely outlined in the average teacher's mind andtherefore taught with so little system and definite purpose. The present need is a systematic and comprehensive but simple method ofphonics teaching thruout the primary grades, that will enable anyteacher, using any good text in reading, to successfully teach thephonetic facts, carefully grading the difficulties by easy andconsecutive steps thus preparing the pupils for independent effort inthot getting, and opening for him the door to the literary treasures ofthe ages. It is with the hope of aiding the earnest teacher in the accomplishmentof this purpose that "How To Teach Phonics" is published. L. M. W. LEARNING TO READ Every sound and pedagogical method of teaching reading must include twobasic principles. 1. Reading must begin in the life of the child, with real thoughtcontent. Whether the thought unit be a word, a sentence, or a story, itmust represent some idea or image that appeals to the child's interestsand adjusts itself to his experience. 2. It must proceed with a mastery of not only words, but of the soundsymbols of which words are composed. The child's love for the story, his desire to satisfy a conscious need, gives him an immediate and compelling motive for mastering the symbols, which in themselves are of incidental and subordinate interest. While heis learning to read, he feels that he is reading to learn and "symbolsare turned into habit. " If the child is to understand from the beginning that reading is thotgetting, we must begin with the sentence, rhyme or other language unit. If a story is the initial step, a few well chosen sentences that tellthe heart of the story will constitute the first black board readinglesson. The next step is the analysis of the sentence, or the study andrecognition of the individual words therein. Finally the word is separated into its elementary sounds, the study ofthe sound symbols growing out of the stock of words learned first aspurely sight words. Following this phonic analysis comes the final step, the blending ofthese phonic elements to produce new words. Thus gradually increasingprominence is given to the discovery of new words by thisanalytic-synthetic process, and less time to sight word drills, untilthey are entirely omitted, except for the teaching of unphonetic words. There should be at least two ten-minute lessons in phonics each day. These lessons are not reading lessons and should not trespass on theregular reading period, when thot getting and thot giving are uppermost. While greater prominence is given to the thot phase in reading, thetechnical drill and active effort in mastering the mechanical phase isof equal importance as necessary preparation for good reading. FIRST YEAR 1. _Ear Training:_ From the first day a definite place on the program should be given tophonics. This period, at first very short, will gradually increase toten, fifteen or twenty minutes. To enable pupils to recognize words when separated into their elementarysounds, exercises in "listening and doing, " will constitute the firststep in phonics teaching. Words are sounded slowly and distinctly by theteacher and pronounced or acted out by the pupils. ACTION GAME (First Day. ) c-l-a-p s-w-ee-p f-l-y b-ow d-u-s-t r-u-n j-u-m-p s-i-t s-l-ee-p p-u-sh d-r-i-nk w-a-k-e m-a-r-ch s-t-a-n-d s-t-r-e-t-ch If at first children are not able to distinguish the words whenseparated thus; s-t-a-n-d, d-r-i-n-k, blend the sound less slowly thus:st-and, dr-ink, gradually increasing the difficulty to st-an-d, d-r-ink, and finally to the complete analysis. These ear training exercises should continue until a "phonetic sense" isestablished. Not all children can readily blend sounds and "hear theword. " Patient drill for weeks, even months, may be necessary before asense of phonetic values is attained. Haphazard and spasmodic work isfatal to progress; but a few minutes of brisk, lively drill, givenregularly each day will accomplish wonders. The exercises should be varied from day to day to insure active interestand effort. _Second Day:_ Touch your n-o-se; your ch-ee-k; your ch-i-n; l-i-p-s; k-n-ee; f-oo-t;b-oo-k; p-e-n-c-i-l; d-e-s-k; sh-o-e; d-r-e-ss, etc. _Third Day:_ Place a number of toys in a basket. Pupils find as the teacher soundsthe name of each, saying: "Find the t-o-p"; "the s-p-oo-l;" "thed-o-ll"; "the h-o-r-n"; etc. _Fourth Day:_ Sound the names of pupils in class; or names of animals; colors, fruits, places, etc. _Fifth Day:_ R-u-n to m-e. C-l-a-p your h-a-n-d-s. W-a-v-e the f-l-a-g. Cl-o-se the d-oo-r. F-o-l-d your a-r-m-s. B-r-i-n-g m-e a r-e-d b-a-ll. B-ou-n-ce the b-a-ll. Th-r-ow the b-a-ll to Fr-e-d. R-i-n-g the b-e-ll. H-o-p to m-e. S-i-t in m-y ch-air. R-u-n to the ch-ar-t. S-i-n-g a s-o-n-g. B-r-i-n-g me the p-oin-t-er. B-o-w to m-e. F-l-y a k-i-t-e. S-w-ee-p the fl-oo-r. R-o-c-k the b-a-b-y. W-a-sh your f-a-ce. D-u-s-t the ch-air-s. Sh-a-k-e the r-u-g. F-ee-d the h-e-n-s. C-a-ll the ch-i-ck-s. M-i-l-k the c-ow. Ch-o-p w-oo-d. R-ow a b-oa-t. B-l-ow the h-o-r-n. The pupil should now begin sounding words for himself, at first, if needbe, repeating the sounds after the teacher, then being encouraged toattempt them alone. He will soon be able to "spell by sound" names ofcommon objects in the room, as well as easy and familiar words dictatedby the teacher. II. _Teach the Single Consonant Sounds. _ b, d, f, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s (as in see), v, w, g (hard), c(hard), and qu as in queer. Teach but one sound for each letter at first. Nothing need be said atthis time about the fact that some letters have more than one sound. When words like "city" or "gem" occur simply explain that sometimes "c"or "g" has this sound, (giving the soft sound), but continue in thephonic drill to teach the sounds that will be needed first--those mostoften met in the early reading. The sounds of initial s and y are taughtfirst, rather than final y and s; q is taught with the u--qu (as inquiet, queer, quick) not q alone. The sounds must be given distinctly and correctly by the teacher, andshe should insist on perfect responses. Good reading is impossiblewithout clear and distinct articulation. 1. _Analyze Known Words in Teaching the Consonant Sounds. _ For the first lesson teach perhaps two consonant sounds. Suppose thewords "ball" and "red" are chosen to be analyzed as words familiar tothe class. (Selected from the reading lessons as the ones best known andmost easily remembered. ) Write "b all" on the board, and pointing to the separated parts, soundslowly several times. Pupils repeat. Teacher say, "Show the letter thatsays 'b. ' The part that says 'all. ' Write "b" under "ball" thus: b all b Pupil sound "b" several times, as it is written elsewhere on the blackboard. Proceed with "red" in the same way. Keep these two forms, b all r ed b r before the class, asking frequently for the sounds until thoroly fixedin mind. For the second lesson, review "b" and "r" and teach one or two newconsonants. It is better to have short and frequent lessons at first, than to present too many sounds at once, resulting in confusion. Suppose "c" is to be taught next and the type word chosen is "cup. " Itis not necessary to teach the consonants in the order in which theyoccur in the alphabet, --it will depend rather upon the occurrence in theprimer of the words chosen for type words. Write the word "cup. " Pupilsrecognize it at once as a sight word, and pronounce. Rewrite it, separating it thus, c up, and let the pupils make an effort to sound theparts alone. If they fail, sound it for them asking them to repeat itafter you. Proceed as with "ball" and "red, " being sure that each onegives the sound correctly. (1. ) After teaching "c" say, "Who can find a word on the chart beginningwith this sound?" "In your books?" "on the blackboard?" the pupilsounding the letter as he points to it. (2) Say, "I'm thinking of another word beginning with "c. " "It issomething Grandpa uses in walking. " (Cane. ) "I'm thinking of somethingsweet that you like to eat. " (Cake) (Candy) "Of the name of someone inthis class. " (Clara) (Carl) "A little yellow bird. " (Canary) "You thinkof a word beginning with that sound. " "Another. " "Another. " 2. _Begin At Once Applying Knowledge of the Sounds Learned. _ As new words are met containing known sounds, the pupils should applytheir knowledge of phonics. For example, if the word "catch" appears, the pupils sound "c, " the teacher pronouncing "atch" underlining thatpart of the word as she tells it, --the pupil puts these sounds togetherand discovers the new word for himself. If the new word is "cab, " theonly help from the teacher is the short sound of "a". This given thepupil sounds "a" and "b" slowly; then faster, until the result of theblended sounds is "ab. " Combine "c" with "ab" in the same manner untilby the blending of the sounds the word is recognized. Only such helpshould be given, as will enable the pupil to help himself. "Ball, " "red" and "cup" now become type words with which "b" "r" and "c"are associated respectively, and from which the pupil gets his "cue" ifhe fails to give the sound of the letter at sight. Thus all theconsonants are taught, from suitable sight words which the child hasalready learned. They need not however, be the ones given here, --for "b"it may be "baby, " "ball, " "boy, " or "box, " but let it be a word familiarto the class and easily remembered. For "d" it may be "doll, " "day, " or"dog;" for "y", "you", "yellow", etc. The teacher should previously go through the text and select the wordsshe wishes to use as type words in teaching the consonant sounds. 3. _First Steps in Writing and Spelling. _ As each consonant sound is taught its written form may be learned. Onrough manila paper, using waxed crayons, make copies of the lettersabout two inches in height, for each pupil. At his desk the child traceswith his fore finger, going over the smooth path again and again--thusdeveloping psycho-motor co-ordination. Each time the letter is traced, the pupil sounds it softly, and as soon as he is sure of the form, runsto the board and writes it. The writing at first may be entirely at the blackboard, where theteacher's copy may be reproduced. For the slower ones who havedifficulty with the form, a good practice is to "write it in the air, "the pupil pointing with index finger and following the teacher as shewrites, also tracing the teacher's copy with pointer, using free, rapidmovement. (Tracing with crayon or pencil tends to slow, cramped writing, and should not be encouraged. ) Thus when the forms of the letters arelearned and associated with the sound, the pupils are able to writephonetic words from dictation as well as to "spell by sound. " 4. _Consonant Drill. _ (1) With a rubber pen, a set of type, or with black crayola, andcardboard, a set of consonant cards may be made, one for each sound. Onone side of the card is written or printed the type word with theconsonant sound below; on the other side, the consonant alone, thus: -------- ----- |b all | | b | |b | | B | -------- ----- The number of cards will increase each day as new sounds are learned. Rapid daily drill with these cards is most valuable in associatinginstantly the sound with its symbol and should be continued until everychild knows every sound. After the analysis the side of the cardcontaining only the consonant should be used for the drill. But if thepupil fails to give the right sound, or is unable to give any sound atall, the card should be reversed and he readily gets the right soundfrom the word. Other devices for teaching the consonants are sometimes used bysuccessful teachers who do not use the type-words and cards. Forinstance, the letter may be associated with its sound in this way:--Theclock says "t"; the angry cat, "f"; the cow says "m"; etc. Thedifficulty here is to find suitable symbols for each sound. If, forexample, the sounds of "l", "v" and "sh" are represented by a spinningwheel, a buzz saw, and a water wheel respectively, and if the child isnot familiar with these symbols, they will not call up a definite soundin his mind; but if "l" is taught from "little, " "sh" from "sheep, " and"v" from "very", (or other familiar words, ) there can be no uncertaintyand no time need be spent by the child in laboring to retain andassociate the sounds with unfamiliar symbols. Not the method, but the motive, is the essential thing. What we want isthat every child should know the consonants thoroly. Get the _motive_, then use the method that brings the best results with the leastexpenditure of time and energy. (2) For variety in reviewing and fixing the consonant sounds, givefrequent dictation exercises. a. With all the consonants on the board, the teacher sounds anyconsonant, the pupil finds and repeats the sound as he points it out. Asthe teacher points, pupils sound, occasionally in concert, and inindividual recitation of the entire list. Individual work shouldpredominate, to make sure that the pupil is giving the correct sound andputting forth independent effort. b. Pupils write sounds as teacher dictates. If a pupil fails to recalland write the form, the teacher may pronounce the type word and ask thepupil to sound the initial consonant (tell the first sound in the word). To illustrate: The teacher pronounces "cup", pupils sound "c", thenwrite it. If they have mastered the written forms they will enjoy thisexercise. Children soon acquire the ability and become possessed of the desire towrite whole words. Then the teacher should direct this effort, teachingthe child to visualize (get a picture of the word as a whole) and writeshort, simple words. 5. _Blending. _ When a number of consonant sounds are mastered, practice in blending maybegin. When the need arises--when words are met which begin with acombination of consonants the blends are taught, e. G. , bright--b, r, --br, br ight, bright. F, l, --fl, fl ower, flower. Keep a separate setof cards for these blends--and drill upon them as the list grows. (br, pl, fl, sl, cr, gl, gr, bl, cl, fr, pr, st, tr, str, sp, sw, tw, sk. ) gr ow dr aw pl ay s ky sm all sl ay fl ower cr ow st ay st and cl ean fr ay gl ass pr ay tr ay br own sp in str ay bl ue sw ing sl ow st ore sl ack bl ow tr ack dw arf gl ow The teacher must pronounce the syllables that the children have, as yet, no power to master, e. G. , with the word "grow", (1) the children willblend g and r, gr; (2) teacher pronounces "ow"; (3) children blend "gr"and "ow" until they recognise "grow. " Teach also the digraphs sh, ch, th, wh, as they are met in the commonwords in use: when, they, chick, etc. sh eep ch ick wh at th at sh ell ch ild wh en th is sh y ch air wh y th ese sh ore ch ill wh ere th ose sh ine ch erry wh ich th ere sh ow ch ildren th en th eir sh e ch urch th ey th ey sh all ch ase sh ould ch est III. _Teach the Short Vowels. _ Since more than 60 per cent of the vowels are short, and since shortvowels outnumber long vowels by about four to one, they are taughtfirst. Teach one vowel at a time by combining with the known consonants. And what fun it is, when short "a" is introduced, to blend it with theconsonants and listen to discover "word sounds. " Henceforth the childrenwill take delight in "unlocking" new words, without the teacher's help. She will see to it, of course, that the words are simple and purelyphonetic at first; as: c-a-n, can h-a-d, had c-a-p, cap m-a-t, mat c-a-t, cat m-a-n, man r-a-t, rat f-a-n, fan h-a-t, hat s-a-t, sat Whole "families" are discovered by placing the vowel with the initial orthe final consonants, thus: ca n r at f an ca p h at an d ca t c at s an d ca b b at st an d ma t f at l an d ma n s at b an d The children will enjoy forming all the families possible with the knownsounds. _Short "a" Families or Phonograms. _ at an ap ad ack ag and r ang b ank b at c an c ap h ad b ack b ag b and s ang r ank c at m an g ap l ad h ack f ag h and b ang s ank f at p an l ap m ad J ack j ag l and h ang t ank m at t an m ap g ad l ack l ag s and f ang bl ank p at r an n ap b ad p ack n ag st and cl ang cr ank N at f an r ap c ad r ack r ag gr and spr ang dr ank s at b an s ap f ad s ack s ag br and Fr ank r at D an t ap p ad t ack t ag str and pl ank h at N an tr ap s ad st ack w ag th ank th at V an str ap gl ad sl ack st ag sn ap br ad tr ack br ag wr ap bl ack dr ag After a little drill in analyzing the words of a family, (sounding theconsonant and phonogram separately) they should be pronounced at sight, analyzing the word only when the pupil fails in pronunciation. The teacher's chart of phonograms as she works it out for herself may besomething like this. [(a] [)e] i [)o] [)u] at et it ot ut ack ed ick ock ub ad en id od uck ag est ig og ug an end im op um ap edge in ong un and ent ip oss uff ang ess ift ung ank ell ing unk ash ink ump amp ill ush ust While this gives the teacher a working chart, it is neither necessarynor advisable that the above order be always followed in teaching thephonograms and sounding series of words, nor that they be systematicallycompleted before other phonograms found in the words of the readinglessons are taught. Such phonograms as "ound" from "found", "un" from"run", "ight" from "bright", "est" from "nest", "ark" from "lark", etc. , may be taught as soon as these sight words are made a part of thechild's reading vocabulary. f ound r un br ight ound un ight s ound f un m ight r ound s un r ight gr ound b un f ight b ound g un fr ight p ound n un l ight f ound r un s ight h ound s un sl ight ar ound st un n ight n est l ark c atch est ark atch b est d ark h atch l est b ark m atch p est m ark m atch r est h ark b atch t est p ark l atch v est sp ark p atch w est st ark th atch cr est sh ark scr atch ch est sn atch gu est Attention is not called here to the various vowel sounds, but thecomplete phonogram is taught at sight. _Short "e" Phonograms. _ bed h en b end b ent fed d en l end c ent led p en m end d ent n ed m en s end l ent r ed B en t end s ent Fr ed t en bl end r ent sh ed wr en sp end t ent sl ed th en tr end w ent bl ed wh en sp ent gl en edge B ess b ell sh ell h edge l ess c ell sm ell l edge bl ess s ell sp ell s edge ch ess t ell sw ell w edge dr ess f ell dw ell pl edge pr ess n ell sl edge gu ess w ell _Short "i" Phonograms. _ D ick s ick cl ick th ick k ick t ick qu ick tr ick l ick w ick sl ick p ick br ick st ick b id p ig d im p in th in d id b ig h im t in tw in h id f ig J im b in k id d ig r im f in l id r ig T im s in r id w ig tr im w in sl id tw ig br im ch in sk id sk im gr in sl im sk in sw im sp in d ip l ift s ing p ink b ill h ip g ift k ing l ink f ill l ip s ift r ing m ink h ill n ip dr ift w ing s ink J ill r ip sh ift br ing w ink k ill s ip sw ift cl ing bl ink m ill t ip thr ift sl ing br ink p ill ch ip st ing dr ink t ill cl ip str ing ch ink w ill sl ip spr ing cl ink ch ill dr ip sw ing shr ink sp ill gr ip th ing th ink st ill sh ip wr ing tr ill sk ip tr ip str ip wh ip _Short "o" Phonograms. _ B ob n od c ock d og c ob p od l ock h og r ob r od r ock l og s ob h od s ock f og m ob c od m ock fr og j ob cl od bl ock c og f ob pl od cl ock j og kn ob tr od cr ock cl og thr ob sh od fl ock kn ock st ock h op t op sh op m op st op sl op l op dr op pr op s op cr op s ong l oss l ong t oss d ong R oss g ong m oss str ong b oss wr ong cr oss pr ong fl oss thr ong gl oss _Phonograms Containing Short "u". _ r ub d uck b ug r un t ub l uck h ug s un c ub t uck j ug f un h ub cl uck l ug b un cl ub pl uck m ug g un gr ub sh uck p ug sp un scr ub tr uck r ug st un st ub str uck t ug sh un sn ub dr ug pl ug sn ug dr um c uff r ung pl um m uff s ung ch um p uff h ung g um h uff l ung h um b uff cl ung sc um bl uff fl ung gl um gr uff sl ung st uff st ung spr ung sw ung str ung b unk j ump h ush m ust h unk b ump m ush j ust j unk l ump r ush r ust ch unk h ump g ush d ust dr unk p ump br ush cr ust sk unk d ump cr ush tr ust sp unk st ump bl ush thr ust tr unk th ump pl ush thr ush From the beginning review daily the phonograms taught. Thus by means of these daily drills in pronunciation, the pupil gainspower in mastering new words. He constantly makes intelligent andpractical application of the knowledge he has gained in pronouncing aletter or a combination of letters in a certain way, under certainconditions. _Diacritical Marks_ The child has no need of diacritical marks at this time; indeed he haslittle need for them until the fourth year, when the use of thedictionary is taught. The new dictionaries greatly simplify the matterof mastering the diacritical marks, and lessen the number needed, byre-writing unphonetic words in simple phonetic spelling. During the first three years do not retard the child's progress, andweaken his power to apply the knowledge which his previous experiencehas given him, by marking words to aid him in pronunciation. At best, the marks are artificial and questionable aids. PHONIC PLAYS Much necessary drill can be made interesting by infusing the _spirit_ ofplay into an exercise that would otherwise be formal. 1. _"Hide and Seek"_ "Hide and Seek" at once suggests a game. The teacher introduces itsimply by saying: "We'll play these sounds are hiding from us. Who canfind them?" Place the consonant cards on the blackboard ledge. The teacher writesany consonant on the board and immediately erases it. A pupil finds thecard containing the same consonant, sounds it, and replaces the card. Teacher writes several sounds on the board, then erases them. Pupilfinds corresponding sounds on cards, in the order written. 2. _"Fishing"_ (Fish in pond. ) Cards placed in a row on black board ledge. (Catchingfish. ) Pupil takes as many as he can sound correctly. Single and blended consonants, and digraphs written on cardboard cut inform of fish, and put into the mirror lake on the sand table. Children"catch fish" in turn. 3. _"Guess. "_ A pupil thinks of a word containing a known phonogram, which iscommunicated to the teacher. The child standing before the class thensays, "I am thinking of a word belonging to the "an" family. " The word, we will say, is "fan. " A child who is called on asks, "Is it c an?" Thefirst child replies, "It is not can. " Another asks, "Is it m an?" etc. , until the correct word is discovered. 4. _"Run Home. "_ For reviewing phonograms and fixing the vowel sounds as well, thefollowing game is used. Draw pictures of several houses on the board, writing a differentphonogram in each, explaining that these are the names of the familiesliving there, as, "ed, " "eg, " "est, " "en, " etc. Distribute to the classcards containing a word with one of these endings, and let "the childrenrun home. " Those holding the words ten, pen, men and hen, will run tothe house where "en" lives. The children holding rest, best, nest, etc. , will group themselves at the house of "est. " Again let several children represent mothers and stand before the classholding phonograms. As Mother "ed" calls her children, those holdingcards containing red, led, fed, Fred, and bed, will run to her. If achild belonging to the "est" family should come, she will send back thestray child, saying pleasantly, "You do not belong in my family. " Alittle voice drill as practiced in the music lesson may be used here. The mother calls "Children" on 1 and 8 of the scale (low and high dothus: 1-8 8-1 child-dren), the children replying as they come, "We're here. " For individual tests let the mother call out all her children from theother families, the children coming to her as she calls their cardnames. RHYME STORIES Enliven the phonic drills occasionally by originating little rhymes, using the words of the series to be reviewed. Write the words on theboard in columns, or upon cards. As the teacher repeats a line of thejingle, she pauses for the children to supply the rhyme words. Grandma was taking a cozy nap Her hands were folded in her (lap) When she wakened she heard a (tap) In the maple tree that was full of (sap. ) She soon spied the tapper--he wore a red (cap) White vest and black coat, and his wings gave a (flap) As he hopped about with a rap-a-tap-(tap) What did he want--was he looking for (sap)? Ah no, but for grubs, which he ate quick as (snap) Can you name this gay drummer who wears a red (cap)? II. As soon as possible introduce a number of phonograms into the samestory. I have a little pet Who is as black as (jet) She sits upon a mat And watches for a (rat. ) Her coat is smooth as silk, She likes to drink sweet (milk) She grows so fast and fat That soon she'll be a (cat) Can't you guess? Now what a pity 'Tis the dearest little ( ). SPELLING BY SOUND An easy step now, which the children will enjoy is the writing of thewords of given families as a dictation exercise, followed by sentencesas soon as the use of the capital and period have been taught. Suchsentences as the following may be given after a number of short "a"phonograms are mastered: The cat sat on a mat. Nan has a fan. The cat is fat. The cat can see the pan. The man has a hat. Dan has a bat. Dan has a hat and a cap. The bag is in the cab. When phonograms containing the other short vowels are known, words maybe pronounced miscellaneously from different series or families; as, run, cap, pet, ran, pin, top, followed by sentences made up ofmiscellaneous words, as, -- "Run red hen. " "Nan has a fan. " "Get the hat pin. " "Ned can spin a top. " "Nat set the trap. " "Jack run back and get the sack. " "A fat man got in the hack. " "Can Sam get the hat?" THE ALPHABET AND ORAL SPELLING The names of letters should not be formally taught until their soundsare thoroly fixed in mind; otherwise the names and sounds will beconfused. Pupils who begin by "learning their letters" will be foundspelling out a word (naming over the letters) in order to arrive at thepronunciation. Attention must be focused on the _sounds only_, at first. When the consonant sounds are mastered by every member of the class, andthey have gained some proficiency in pronouncing words by blending thesewith the short and long vowel sounds, the _names_ of the letters may betaught, and the alphabet committed to memory in order. While as a rule, most children learn the majority of the lettersincidentally by the end of the first year, it often happens that someremain ignorant of the alphabetical order until they come to use thedictionary, and are greatly handicapped. _To Associate the Name of the Letter With Its Sound. _ (1) The teacher names the letter as she points to it and the childrengive the corresponding sound; (2) As the teacher sounds the letter, pupils name the letter sounded. (3) Repeat with the letters erased fromthe board. Oral spelling may begin _after_ the sounds have first been mastered--andas soon as the names of the letters are taught. Spell only the phoneticwords at first. The lists of families of words which have been writtenfrom dictation may now be spelled orally. The spelling recitation may be both oral and written, but writtenspelling should predominate the first year. Unphonetic words should betaught by visualizing--getting the form of the word as a whole. Theteacher writes the word on the board in free rapid hand, pupils observefor a moment, getting a mental picture of the form; the word is erasedby the teacher, and reproduced on the board by the pupil. While oral spelling aids the "ear-minded" pupil and gives variety in therecitation, written spelling should predominate for the reasons that (1)in practical life, spelling is used almost wholly in expressing thoughtin writing; (2) the eye and hand should be trained equally with the ear. It is often true that good oral spellers will fail in writing the samewords for want of practice. (3) In the written recitation each pupil canspell a greater number of words and in less time than is possible inoral spelling. SEAT WORK 1. Distribute pages from magazines or old readers and let pupilsunderline words beginning with a certain consonant (the one beingtaught). If different colored pencils are used, the same pages can beused a number of times. When the "m" sound is being taught let all wordsbeginning with that sound be marked with black; at another seat workperiod, words beginning with "b" are marked with "green;" and again, words beginning with "f" sound are marked with blue pencils, etc. Underline digraphs, blended consonants, and phonograms. 2. The teacher writes a phonogram on the board and below it all theconsonant sounds from which words may be built. Pupils write the entirewords. 3. Phonograms are written on the board; pupils supply consonants andwrite out the words. 4. Have a number of phonograms and three or four sets of consonants inenvelopes. Give an envelope to each child and let him build the words onhis desk. Duplicate copies can be made on a hectograph, one set for eachlesson; then if one envelope from each set is preserved, thosemiscellaneous lessons can be used in review for a long time, each childusing a different set each time. 5. Write on the board lists of words ending in various phonograms andlet the children re-write them, arranging in columns according tophonograms. 6. Write families from memory. GENERAL SUGGESTIONS 1. At least two daily periods should be given to phonics. The firstlessons will be short, but after some advance has been made, ten tofifteen minutes should be given. 2. As far as possible let the words for phonic drill be those that willoccur in the new reading lessons. 3. Constantly review all familiar sounds, phonograms, digraphs, blends, etc. , when met in new words, and so teach pupils to apply theirknowledge of phonics. 4. Teaching them to "pantomime" the sounds--representing them mutely bymovement of the lips, tongue and palate, will aid them in silent studyat their seats. 5. By the end of the first year the pupil's phonetic knowledge, combinedwith his vocabulary of sight words and his power to discover a new word, either phonetically or by the context, ought to enable him to readindependently any primer, and to read during the year from eight totwelve or more primers and first readers. 6. In reading, pupils should be taught to get the meaning chiefly bycontext--by the parts which precede or follow the difficult word and areso associated with it as to throw light upon its meaning. 7. When a word cannot be pronounced phonetically, the teacher shouldassist by giving the sound needed, but the pupil will soon discover thatby using his wits in phonics as in other things, he can get the new wordfor himself by the sense of what he is reading, e. G. , in the sentence, "The farmer came into the field" he meets the new word "field. "Naturally a second year pupil, who has learned the reasons for soundingwill apply the long sound of "i;"--as he reads it does not make sense, so he tries short "i. " Still the sentence is meaningless, so he triesagain with "e" and reads a sentence which satisfies him, because themeaning is clear. If the first year pupil pronounces the word "coat" as co-at (recognizingthe last combination as a member of the "at" family) the teacher willunderline and call his attention to the digraph "oa" which he hasalready learned to pronounce as long "o. " Most pupils however, meetingthe word in a sentence--as, "The caterpillar's coat is green"--would, ifreading thotfully recognize the word by the context. 8. Drill on obscure sounds should be omitted the first year. Unphoneticwords should be taught as sight words: as: one, many, been, said, they, ought, eight. 9. Begin to combine words and syllables into longer words as soon aspossible: door-step, in-deed, hand-some, be-fore, ham-mer-ing, in-no-cent, for-get-ful, car-pen-ter, side-walk, mis-take. 10. Give time increasingly to analytic-synthetic word study, e. G. --"eight" and "rain" are taught as sight words. eigh t r ain Analysis: eigh ain w eigh p ain w eight pl ain Synthesis: n eigh com plain n eigh bor com plain ing ARTICULATION Exercises to correct faulty articulation and secure flexibility shouldbe given frequently. Constant vigilance is necessary in overcoming thecommon errors shown in the following examples. "I will eat you, " said the troll. (not "e-chew") Dear little baby, close your eye. (not "clo-zhure eye") "I will then, " said Red Hen, and she did. (not "an' she did. ") Put your right hand in. (not "put chure") --you, and you, and you. (an' Jew. ) Father will meet you (meat chew) at the station. The leaves turned to red and gold. (red Dan gold) "No matter what you hear, (what chew) no matter what you see, Raggylug, don't you move. " (don't chew) Tender flowers come forth to greet her. (gree-ter) It is not at all (a-tall) like the mother bird. Have the pupils practice such exercises as:-- Did you? Don't you? Would you? Should you? Could you? (Not "did Jew, " "don't chew" etc. ) Where shall I meet you? (not meat chew) When shall I meet you? She sells sea shells. Pupils usually have difficulty with words ending in sts, dth, pth. Listsof such words should be drilled upon:-- Nests, vests, posts, hosts, boasts, fists, mists, frosts, length, breadth, depth. "He thrusts his fists against the posts, And still insists he sees the ghosts. " (If necessary show the pupils how to adjust the vocal organs to make thedifferent sounds. ) m, n, ng (nasal) p, b, w, m (lips) f, v (lips and teeth) t, d, s, z, n (tongue and hard palate. ) j, ch, (tongue and hard palate-back) k, g, ng (tongue and soft palate. ) y, l (tongue, hard palate and soft palate. ) p, b, d, t, j, k, h, g, ch (momentary) w, f, v, s, l, r, y, th, sh (continuous) The majority of children learn the sounds by imitation and repetition. The above is to help the teacher in giving the sounds correctly. SECOND YEAR _I. Review Single and Blended Consonants, Digraphs, Short and LongVowels, and All Phonograms. _ _II. Continue Pronouncing Exercises, Teaching New Phonograms. _ Continue word study by the analytic-synthetic process. These phonicdrills will deal largely with the new words that occur in the dailyreading lessons. _III. Syllabication. _ In mastering the pronunciation of new words, pupils should acquire thehabit of analyzing them into syllables. The ear must be trained to _hear_ syllables, they should be _separatelypronounced_, and _clearly imaged_. This makes for effective spellinglater. Most of the difficulties in spelling are removed when the habitof breaking up a complex word into its elements is acquired. re mem ber ther mom e ter sep a rate in de pen dence dan de lion mul ti pli ca tion beau ti ful re frig er a tor _IV. Teach the Long Vowel Sounds. _ We have found that the short vowels predominate in the English language. The long vowel sounds come next in frequency. When the child hasmastered the letters and combinations representing these two sounds, heis able to recognize a large majority of the phonetic words in ourlanguage. Phonetic words follow definite rules of pronunciation. These rules arenot to be formally taught in the first and second years, but pointed outby examples, so that the visual and auditory image may be associated. To illustrate: When there are two or more vowels in a word of onesyllable, the first vowel is long, and the last silent, as: came, leaf, coat, rain. "When there is one vowel in the word and it is the last, it is long, "as: me, he, fly. All vowels are short unless modified by position. Have the children notice the effect of final "e" upon some of theirshort vowel words. These lists will furnish good pronunciation drills. mat mate bit bite tap tape pan pane rod rode fad fade fat fate hat hate mad made can cane pin pine rat rate not note rob robe pet Pete man mane din dine dim dime cap cape fin fine spin spine hid hide mop mope kit kite hop hope plum plume rip ripe tub tube cub cube cut cute tun tune Call attention to the vowel digraphs in the same way: ea, ai, oa, ay. deaf seat bean neat leaves meat heat peach lean please eagle clean eat seam teach mean stream glean read squeal wean While there are exceptions, as in the words "head" and "bread, " thedigraph "ea" has the sound of long "e" in nearly three-fourths of thewords in which it occurs and should be so taught. The visual image "ea"should call up the auditory image of long "e. " When the child meets theexceptions the context must be relied on to aid him. Likewise in the following list, the new fact to be taught is the digraph"ai" having the long sound of "a. " Blending the initial and finalconsonants with this, the pupil pronounces the new list of words withoutfurther aid. rain chain faith daisy wait main paint daily nail brain faint plainly pail drain snail waist pain claim frail complain pain train praise sailor aim plain quail raise maid braid sprain trail mail The digraph "oa" and "ay" may be taught with equal ease the first year. There is no reason for deferring them; they should be taught as soon asthe children have need for them. coat toast roar load goat roam float road moan toad roam throat oar boat oat meal croak soar foam loaf soap coarse loaves groan board goal boast cloak coach poach roast say day may gay hay play slay pray lay clay dray gray nay bray way stay pay tray sway spray ray stray jay stray LONG VOWEL PHONOGRAMS (These lists are for rapid pronunciation drills. ) c ame f ade f ace sh ape l ame m ade l ace gr ape g ame w ade p ace m ate n ame bl ade r ace d ate s ame gr ade br ace f ate t ame sh ade Gr ace g ate bl ame sp ade pl ace h ate fl ame gl ade sp ace K ate sh ame tr ade tr ace c age b ake s ale l ate p age c ake b ale r ate r age l ake p ale cr ate s age m ake t ale gr ate w age r ake sc ale pl ate st age s ake st ale sk ate t ake wh ale st ate w ake g ale g ave c ane dr ake d ale s ave l ane fl ake c ape c ave m ane qu ake t ape p ave p ane sh ake cr ape r ave v ane sn ake dr ape w ave cr ane st ake scr ape br ave pl ane br ake gr ave sh ave sl ave st ave cr ave b e h eed s eek h e s eed m eek m e w eed w eek w e r eed ch eek sh e bl eed cr eek th e br eed sl eek tr ee gr eed p eek s ee sp eed Gr eek b ee st eed f eet th ee fr eed b eet fl ee f eel m eet kn ee p eel fl eet fr ee h eel gr eet thr ee r eel sh eet gl ee kn eel sl eet sk ee st eel str eet d eed wh eel sw eet n eed f eed p eep d eem d eep s eem k eep t eem ch eep br eeze w eep fr eeze cr eep sn eeze sh eep squ eeze sl eep wh eeze st eep sw eep d eer m ice pr ide kn ife ch eer n ice gl ide str ife qu eer r ice gu ide h igh sh eer pr ice sl ide s igh st eer sl ice str ide n igh sn eer sp ice d ie th igh gr een tr ice t ie l ight qu een tw ice l ie m ight pr een r ide d ied r ight scr een s ide dr ied br ight w een h ide fr ied f ight spl een t ide sp ied n ight s een w ide l ife s ight k een br ide w ife f ife t ight f ind t ire fr ight m ind w ire sl ight b ind f ire kn ight r ind h ire w ind m ire l ike bl ind sp ire d ike gr ind squ ire p ike h ike f ine k ite t ike d ine b ite sp ike m ine m ite str ike n ine qu ite p ine sm ite p ile v ine sp ite t ile br ine spr ite m ile sh ine wh ite N ile sp ine wr ite f ile sw ine sm ile th ine f ive st ile tw ine h ive wh ile wh ine d ive l ive d ime r ipe dr ive l ime p ipe str ive t ime w ipe thr ive ch ime sn ipe sl ime tr ipe m y pr ime str ipe b y fl y cr y dr y c old b one ch ose fr y s old dr one th ose pr y b old ph one cl ose sh y m old sh one w ove sk y t old thr one dr ove sl y f old gr ove sp y g old r ope cl ove spr y h old h ope st ove st y sc old d ope tr y sl ope h oe wh y h ole t oe p ole c ore J oe r obe m ole m ore f oe gl obe s ole p ore w oe r ode st ole t ore j oke wh ole w ore d oor p oke r oll s ore fl oor w oke tr oll ch ore br oke str oll sh ore m ow ch oke sn ore r ow sm oke c olt st ore s ow sp oke b olt b ow str oke j olt t orn bl ow v olt w orn sl ow sh orn sn ow h ome cr ow t one r ose fl ow st one n ose gl ow h ose gr ow p ose kn ow sh ow thr ow t ube bl ue s own c ube d ue bl own m ule h ue gr own f ume c ue fl own pl ume gl ue thr own J une fl ue t une c ure p ure The Diphthongs oi, oy, ou, ow. oi oy m ound ow b oil b oy gr ound c ow s oil j oy c ount n ow t oil t oy m ount h ow c oil R oy h our b ow br oil tr oy fl our br ow sp oil ou h ouse f owl m ouse h owl v oice l oud bl ouse gr owl ch oice cl oud p out sc owl c oin pr oud sh out d own j oin c ouch sp out g own j oint p ouch spr out t own p oint s ound st out br own n oise b ound tr out cl own m oist r ound m outh cr own f ound s outh dr own w ound fr own DIGRAPHS (For rapid pronunciation drills. ) sh ch th wh th sh eep ch ick bath wh en then sh ell ch ild both wh y they sh y ch air doth wh ere these sh ore ch ill mirth wh ich those sh ine ch erry worth wh at the sh ow ch ildren birth wh ile thy sh e ch urch tooth wh ose that sh all ch ase loth wh ite this sh ould ch est girth wh ale thus sh ake ch ange thin wh eat thine sh ame ch alk thick wh eel there sh ape ch ain think wh ack their sh are ch ance throat wh ip them sh ark ch arge thorn wh irl though sh arp ch ap three wh et thou sh awl ch apel third wh ey sh ed ch apter thaw wh isper sh ear ch arm wh istle sh epherd ch eck THIRD YEAR _I. Rules or Reasons for Sounds. _ (The effect of the position of the letter upon its sound. ) _II. Effect of "r" Upon Vowels. _ _III. Equivalents. _ _IV. Teach Vowel Sounds Other Than Long and Short Sounds, by AnalyzingKnown Words and Phonograms. _ Pupils know the phonogram "ark, " learned when the following list ofwords was pronounced: bark, dark, hark, lark, mark, park, shark, etc. Attention is now called to the long Italian "a" sound (two dots above)and other lists pronounced; as, farm, barn, sharp, charm. Broad "a" (twodots below) is taught by recalling the familiar phonogram "all" and theseries: ball, fall, call, tall, small, etc. , pronounced. Also otherlists containing this sound: as, walk, salt, caught, chalk, haul, claw, cause. (The rules for sounds apply to the individual syllables in words of morethan one syllable as well as to monosyllables. ) HOW TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN VOWELS AND CONSONANTS Before the rules for the sounds are taken up, it will be necessary thatthe pupils know how to distinguish the vowels from the consonants. Have the vowels on the board, also lists of words, and drill on findingthe vowels in the lists. The teacher says, "These letters are calledvowels. " "How many vowels are there?" "Find a vowel in thisword"--pointing to one of the words in the lists. As the pupil finds ithe says, "This is a vowel. " Find the vowels in all the words in thelists. PHONICS AND LANGUAGE When the vowels and consonants can be distinguished, pupils can betaught the use of the articles "a" and "an". "An" is used before words beginning with vowels; "a" before wordsbeginning with consonants. Lists of words are placed on the board to becopied, and the proper article supplied. apple ball stem eye peach owl orange flower table uncle ink-stand Use the article "the" with the same list of words in oral expression, pronouncing "the" with the long sound of "e" before words beginning withvowels, as "The apple, " "The ink-stand. " _The_ apple is on the table. The peach is ripe. The flower and _the_ orange are for you. _The_ owl has bright eyes. _The_ ice is smooth and hard. Grandfather sits in _the_ arm chair. Is _the_ envelope sealed? _The_ old man leans on the cane. RULES OR REASONS FOR SOUNDS The real difficulty in phonics lies in the fact that the pronunciationof the English language abounds in inconsistencies. Its letters have nofixed values and represent different sounds in different words. While there are but twenty-six letters in the English alphabet there areforty-four elementary sounds in the English language. Thus far but one sound for each consonant has been taught andemphasized. Incidentally the fact that some of the letters have morethan one sound has been discovered, as c in city, g in gentle, --but nowdefinite teaching is given concerning them. The new sound is taught withits diacritical mark and the reason given, e. G. "c before e, i, or y issoft. " When a reason or rule for marking is given, lists of words illustratingthe rule should be sounded and pronounced. The teacher marks the word asthe reason is given. Lists of words may be marked by the pupils as adictation exercise. The above use of _diacritical marks_ does not apply to the perniciouspractice of marking words to aid in pronunciation, but to show thepurpose of marks, which is merely to indicate the sound. _Teach that the sound of the letter depends upon its position in theword, and not upon the diacritical marks. _ REASONS FOR SOUNDS 1. When there is one vowel in the word and it is at the last, it islong. me he my sky be the by cry we she fly try 2. One vowel in the word, not at the last, is short; as, mat, nest, pond. (Refer to short vowel lists to test this rule. ) 3. When there are two or more vowels in a syllable, or a word of onesyllable the first vowel is long, and the last are silent; as: mate, sneeze, day. (Teacher marks the long and silent vowels as the reason forthe sound is given. ) Children mark these words and give reason: game, kite, make, coat, meat, wait. After rules (1 to 3) are clearly developed, apply them by marking andpronouncing these words and giving reasons. coat man neat he nine box sun feel kite she run me take we seam heat bit tan bite mad made take cape the mane cap lake Rule 4. When double consonants occur, the last is silent; tel_l_, bac_k_. back bell kill dress duck Jack fell till Jess tack pack Nell fill less press lack Bell pill neck luck sack sell will Bess still tack tell hill block stick shall well mill peck trill shell yell rock clock struck Rule 5. T before ch is silent: ca_t_ch. hatch switch ditch match stretch pitch latch thatch stitch patch sketch fetch hitch scratch match watch snatch crutch Rule 6. N before g, the sound of ng ([n=]): sing, also n beforek--[n=]g, --i[n=]k. bang song lank rang long bank sang strong sank hang thing tank wink cling sung sink swing lung think sing swung brink sting stung Rule 7. Initial k before n is silent--_k_nife. knee knew know knack knot knock knob knell knife knelt known kneel Rule 8. Initial w before r is silent--_w_rite. wry wren written wring wreak wrist wrong wrote wriggle write wretch wrench wrap wreath writing Rule 9. Initial g before n is silent--_g_naw. gnat gnarl gnu gnaw gneiss gnome Rule 10. C before e, i or y is soft. --cent, city, cypress. face cent nice lace cell price place ice slice race rice twice Grace mice cypress cylinder cyclone (Hard c is found before a, o, and u or a consonant. ) Rule 11. G before e, i or y is soft, --gentle, giant, gypsy. (Get and give arecommon exceptions. ) age gentle gem cage gin gypsy page gill giraffe rage ginger wage sage giant gipsy Exercise--Pronounce and mark the following words, and tell whether theycontain the soft or hard sounds of g. go gay gate globe dog bag garden glass gentle cage general forge geese gather wagon glove gem game George forget germ Gill Grace grain Note effect of final e on hard g. rag rage sag sage wag wage stag stage Rule 12. I before gh--i is long and gh silent--ni_gh_t. light right fight night bright fright sight high slight might thigh flight tight sigh plight Rule 13. Final y in words of more than one syllable is short, --cherry. dainty pity ferry plainly city lightly rainy naughty berry daisy thirty merry daily dreary cherry Rule 14. Final e in words of more than one syllable is silent. --gentl_e_, Nelli_e_. Rule 15. Effect of r upon vowels. [~er] [~ir] [~or] [~ur] her bird work urn fern sir word turn term stir worm hurt herd girl world purr jerk first worst burn ever chirp worth churn serve whirl worse burst perch thirst worship church kernel fir worthy curve verse firm worry curb verb third fur germ birth blur herb birch curd stern thirty curl OTHER EQUIVALENTS a==e [(a]==[(e] they eight care heir obey weight bare their prey freight fare there weigh neigh hair where sleigh veins fair stair reign whey chair pear skein rein pair a==[)o] a==[(o] au==aw==ou what not call nor haul ought was odd raw for fault bought watch cot want corn cause sought wasp got walk cord pause caw wash hop salt short caught saw drop dog hall storm naught paw spot fog draw horse naughty draw talk morn thought thaw ou==ow [=ew]==[=u] our how dew due out now few hue hour cow mew blue flour bow new June trout plow Jew tune shout owl pew plume mouth growl hue pure sound brown glue flute mouse crowd ground flower house drown ew==[=oo]==o==[u.. ] o==oo==[u.. ] grew do poor rude wolf wool chew you soon rule could foot crew to noon tool would good brew shoe whom school should hood drew prove food spool woman wood threw broad whose roof shook stood screw moon tomb broom crook pull strew goose stoop roost hook bush shrewd took full brook put book puss look o==[)u] oy==oi come fun boy oil none gun joy soil son run Roy voice dove sup toy spoil love cup troy joint some sun join point ton hum coin choice won drum noise noise does plum toil moist touch nut glove shut month much none must FOURTH YEAR I. Review and continue to apply the principles of pronunciation, with amore complete mastery of the vowel and consonant sounds as found inWebster's dictionary. II. Teach the diacritical marks found in the dictionary to be used. Themarks needed will be found at the foot of each page of the dictionary. III. Teach the use of the dictionary. (1) See that every child owns, if possible, one of the new dictionaries, in which unphonetic words are respelled phonetically. (2) See that all know the alphabet in order. (3) Pupils practice finding names in the telephone directory, catalogs, reference books, etc. (4) Practice arranging lists of words in alphabetical order, as in thefollowing dictation exercise. Rewrite these words in the order in which they would occur in thedictionary. chance value alarm hurdle green evergreen window feather indeed leave sapwood monkey bruise kernel double jelly Also lists like these:--a step more difficult. arbor angry alarm after artist age afford apron apple appear athletic approve assist answer always anchor After teaching the alphabetical order, with dictionary in hand, have thepupil trace the word to its letter, then to its page. Having found his way to the word, he must now learn to read what thedictionary has to tell him about it. His attention is called tosyllabification as well as to diacritical marks. (Those found at thefoot of the page will furnish the key to pronunciation. ) He finds that his dictionary is a means of learning not only thepronunciation of words, but their meaning and spelling. Later, as soonas the parts of speech are known, he should learn the various uses ofwords--their grammatical uses, derivation, etc. , and come to regard thedictionary as one of his commonest tools, as necessary as other books ofreference. But here the teacher's task is not done. Provided with the key to themastery of symbols, her pupils may still fail to use this key to unlockthe vast literary treasures in store for them. They must be taught _whatto read_, as well as _how to read_. They must be introduced to theschool library and if possible to the public library. Dr. Elliot hassaid: "The uplifting of the democratic masses depends upon theimplanting at school of the taste for good reading. " Moreover that teacher does her pupils the most important and lastingservice who develops in them not only _an appreciation of goodliterature_, but _the habit of reading it_. Transcriber's note: Non-ascii diacritical marks represented as follows: [(a] a below inverted breve [)e] e below breve [(e] e below inverted breve [)o] o below breve [(o] o below inverted breve [)u] u below breve [=u] u below macron [n=] n above macron [u.. ] u above diaresis [~er] er below tilde [~ir] ir below tilde [~or] or below tilde [~ur] ur below tilde [=ew] ew below macron [=oo] oo below macron Words such as thot, thotfully and thoroly are spelt as per original.