The main purpose of any spelling course is to teach pupils how to spell words correctly. Earlier books in this series seek to accomplish that purpose by focusing on phonetic patterns. In grades 7 and 8, the focus shifts to word elements--the roots, prefixes, and suffixes that make up words. Studying these elements will help students understand why words are spelled as they are.
The study of word elements can be fascinating. Who would have guessed, for instance, that ample and plenteous have the same root, or that trifling and trivial are not related? Knowing the meanings of roots and affixes will also help to expand the students' vocabularies.
The teacher should remember, however, that learning to spell must always have the primary emphasis in this course. Spelling test scores should carry the most weight in report card grades. If a student misspells a word on a spelling test, he should write it correctly at least ten times. Any spelling word misspelled in an exercise should be counted wrong. These and other means will help to keep the focus on learning to spell.
A large percentage of our common vocabulary is made of word elements that come from Latin and Greek. Therefore, the lessons in this book teach the meanings of numerous Latin and Greek roots, prefixes, and suffixes. This is the purpose of Parts A and B of the lessons.
Each lesson also has two other parts. Part C is a review section that exercises phonetic and word-building concepts that are taught in earlier years of this course. (There is no Part C in the six-week review lessons.) Part D is a section on the history of the English language. This part of each lesson explains some of the reasons for the modern spellings, pronunciations, and meanings of many English words.
In addition to Parts A, B, C, and D, a Speller Dictionary has been included. This specialized dictionary has been condensed to fit the needs of the students as they do the exercises throughout the book; however, a classroom dictionary will also be needed.
A good understanding of phonics, word elements, and the history of the English language should make a significant contribution to the spelling ability of the students.
Day 1 Study Spelling Words
Parts A and B
Day 2 Test 1
Day 3 Part C
Day 4 Test 2
Day 1 Study Spelling Words
Parts A and B
Day 2 Part C
Test 1
Day 3 Test 2
Day 1 Study Spelling Words
Parts A and B
Test 1
Day 2 Part C
Test 2
The pupils can do part D when they have time throughout the week, or the teacher can assign that part on a certain day. The more able pupils in particular should be required to complete part D.
The weekly lesson plans suggest two tests for each lesson.
For test 1, the new and review words should be tested in the order they are listed in each lesson. You will need to supply your own sentences for this test. Following test 1, the pupils can easily exchange papers and check each other's tests. Record no scores from test 1. The purpose of this test is to give practice in spelling the words and to see where the pupils need more drill.
For test 2, the order of the spelling words should be scrambled, and you may use the oral test sentences that are provided for each lesson. You will likely want to check and score test 2 yourself. The results of test 2 should be recorded.
Every sixth lesson reviews the words from the preceding five lessons. Fifty test words are provided for each of these review lessons. These words are selected from the preceding lessons to illustrate the phonetic and structure patterns taught in those lessons. Test words were selected to cover a wide difficulty range.
Page 220 gives a suggested list of fifty words to use as a final test at the end of the year. These words were selected from most of the lessons in the book and also cover a wide difficulty range.
If you complete the lessons in this book before the school year has ended and you want additional spelling lessons, these suggestions may help you.
Words for the Lessons
From the categories listed here, select ten, fifteen, or twenty words for each lesson and write them on the board. For each lesson you could also choose a few words to review from previous lessons.
Exercises for the Lessons
The pupils should first copy the words correctly on paper. Then assign any or all of the following.
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Click on a book to see sample pages.
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