4. The use of a theoretical, rather than the practical, vocabulary of
children and adults.
The teaching of spelling must be done from a spelling book in the hands
of the children, since the individual teacher does not have the time to
prepare lists of words which will produce as good results as the lists
given in a spelling book, the selection and preparation of which are
the result of years of special observation and testing.
A plan of teaching spelling to secure the best results should consist
of a thoughtful, systematic, and comprehensive presentation of the
words and spelling facts which every pupil must learn. It must contain
an adequate and simple system of phonics for the primary grades, since
a large percentage of the words in common use are purely phonetic and
present no spelling difficulties once a sane and practical phonetic
foundation is fixed. It must have a vocabulary selected and graded with
such care that it will give the child the ability to spell correctly
those words which he needs to use in his written work, and that it will
also develop and broaden his vocabulary for his future needs. It should
contain suitable directions and hints to the teacher, sufficiently
removed from the pupil’s text so that he may not be confused by them.
It may, and in many grades should, contain information and suggestions
to the pupil that will help him to master the many peculiarly
non-phonetic words which present their individual problems and must
be individually mastered. It should contain a very few of the most
important spelling rules simply stated. It should contain a large
variety of sentences for dictation, which may wisely take the form of
gems of thought. Such a plan, well taught, constantly supplemented by
the teacher with such words as the peculiar difficulties of individual
pupils and classes may require, will produce a maximum of ability to
spell correctly.
In the Aldine Speller the authors have presented a plan of teaching
which in actual results has proved singularly effective. The vocabulary
has been selected and graded with unusual care to meet the actual needs
of life and to develop a spelling sense. In its preparation a careful
comparison was made of the vocabularies of several of the most popular
spelling books of the day in respect to both gradation and selection.
Paralleling this, the various recent tests and investigations, notably
those of Ayres, Jones, and Cook and O’Shea, have been checked.
The resulting vocabulary is thought to represent the real writing
vocabulary of the average child of the grade in which it is taught.
Special and repeated drills are given on the real trouble makers--the
one hundred and more words that comprise four-fifths of the misspelled
words of the schoolroom.
In the primary grades use is made of exceptionally valuable phonetic
lists. Emphasis is placed upon this important and very practical
foundation for the development of a spelling sense, and its mastery in
the primary grades will do much to train children to spell correctly.
A few comparatively uncommon words are used in these lists chiefly for
the value of the phonetic drill.
As every error creates a tendency, and if repeated quickly establishes
a habit, it is important that the correct spelling of words be taught
before children have occasion to write them. Every worth-while test
and investigation shows the most common and most useful words in
our language to be the words used early by children. It is likewise
certain that very many of the misspelled words are one-syllable words
in very common use. It would, therefore, seem essential that the
real teaching of spelling should be done as early as possible in
the grades--somewhat earlier than has frequently been the case--that
correct habits, rather than incorrect ones, may be formed.
Obligation is expressed to Dr. Leonard P. Ayres of the Russell Sage
Foundation for kind permission to make use of his list of “The Thousand
Commonest Words.” These and some four thousand other very common and
important words constitute the Aldine vocabulary.
That the Aldine Speller may lead to some real teaching, and decrease
“lesson hearing,” is the hope of the authors.