The Modern Speller, Book One by Van Wagenen

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Teaching Spelling by the Dictation Method. It is a well-known fact that children write a word correctly in a list, and write the same word incorrectly in a sentence. This difficulty exists ‘because the sentence form is strange. When a pupil learns this, see, ball, as a list, the spelling of these three words constitutes the sum of the information gained in that lesson; but if he writes, See this ball, he has taken the first step in composition. It is because ‘of this great gain that in all modern schools, teachers are beginning to recognize the advantages of teaching spelling by the dictation method.

Grading. The exercises are carefully graded so that the vocabulary, the context, and the punctuation marks are suited to the needs and abilities of the pupils. In addition, each new lesson contains but a few new words, which are placed in the margin. Every other word in the lesson is a review word.

Reviews. The dictation method, requiring the constant repetition of small, troublesome words, linked with the close grading mentioned above, constitutes a natural review. In addition, reviews are inserted in the earlier years at the close of every fourth lesson.