4. Ask what letters are found in every word. Teach the children to call
the common part the “family name” of the word and to spell it as a unit,
as, “sun—spell, s-_un_.”
5. Tell the children to look at the list of words and choose the
hardest. They may look at the word for a moment, then spell it without
looking at the book. In some such way arouse interest in the spelling of
each word in the lesson, as, “Who can find and spell the word that is
the name of something that makes a great noise?” “The one we all enjoy
at recess?” “The one that opens the flowers?” “The one we like to eat?”
6. Pronounce each word, give the family, and spell the word thus,
sun, -un, s-u-n. Have pupils emphasize the first letter—the part of each
word that is not common to the series—as, _s_un, _f_un, _b_un, _g_un,
_n_un.
7. Children place their books face down on their desks, while the
teacher dictates the words. Children spell orally. If a word is missed,
do not pass it to another child. The one who missed turns over his book
and studies the correct spelling while the teacher continues to dictate
words to the other pupils. After all the children have spelled, those
who missed have a chance to spell their words correctly. From the
beginning every child must feel a responsibility for every word dictated
to him. He must spell it correctly before the lesson is ended for him.
In all oral spelling, save time by having the children respond in turn
without being called upon by name. Perhaps the best way is to go up and
down the rows.