THE
ALDINE SPELLER
PART ONE
FOR GRADES ONE AND TWO
BY
CATHERINE T. BRYCE
ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
AND
FRANK J. SHERMAN
FORMERLY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
MONSON, MASS.
NEW YORK
NEWSON & COMPANY
Copyright, 1916, by
NEWSON & COMPANY.
All rights reserved.
To teachers and the public alike, probably no subjecttaught in the public schools has been more disappointingthan spelling. This disappointment is undoubtedly due to:
1. Defective material for study and poor methods ofteaching;
2. Too much testing and too little teaching;
3. Finding errors rather than preventing them;
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 bookin the hands of the children, since the individual teacherdoes not have the time to prepare lists of words which willproduce as good results as the lists given in a spelling book,the selection and preparation of which are the result ofyears of special observation and testing.
A plan of teaching spelling to secure the best results shouldconsist of a thoughtful, systematic, and comprehensive presentationof the words and spelling facts which every pupilmust learn. It must contain an adequate and simplesystem of phonics for the primary grades, since a large percentage[iv]of the words in common use are purely phoneticand present no spelling difficulties once a sane and practicalphonetic foundation is fixed. It must have a vocabularyselected and graded with such care that it will give thechild the ability to spell correctly those words which heneeds to use in his written work, and that it will also developand broaden his vocabulary for his future needs. It shouldcontain suitable directions and hints to the teacher, sufficientlyremoved from the pupil’s text so that he may notbe confused by them. It may, and in many grades should,contain information and suggestions to the pupil that willhelp him to master the many peculiarly non-phonetic wordswhich present their individual problems and must be individuallymastered. It should contain a very few of themost important spelling rules simply stated. It shouldcontain a large variety of sentences for dictation, whichmay wisely take the form of gems of thought. Such a plan,well taught, constantly supplemented by the teacher withsuch words as the peculiar difficulties of individual pupilsand classes may require, will produce a maximum of abilityto spell correctly.
In the Aldine Speller the authors have presented a planof teaching which in actual results has proved singularlyeffective. The vocabulary has been selected and gradedwith unusual care to meet the actual needs of life and todevelop a spelling sense. In its preparation a careful comparison[v]was made of the vocabularies of several of the mostpopular spelling bo