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.