A NEW GRADED SPELLING-BOOK, A COMPLETE COURSE IN SPELLING FOR SCHOOLS BY JOSEPH A. GRAVES, PH. D., PREFACE. So long as English Orthography retains its characteristic anomalies, the need of text-books and regular drill in this study will continue. The design of the book here presented is to apply to the study of English spelling the principles of modern educational science. Many valuable features found in the older books have been retained, and the innovations contained in this work are believed to be in the interest of real education. The ordinary difficulties of the study of spelling have been much increased by the common practice of including in the text-books great numbers of unfamiliar words which have no practical value to the majority of pupils, and still further by arbitrary methods of arrangement and classification. The vocabulary contained in this book includes as nearly as possible all words in common use which offer some difficulty in spelling. Words which are purely phonic have been largely excluded from these pages. It is believed that the principles of classification which have been followed will commend themselves to every practical teacher. The shortness and simplicity of each lesson and the careful grading of the whole work will conduce to a thorough mastery of every part within the time allotted. Each one of the five Parts into which the book is divided will furnish sufficient material for a year's work. Children should begin the use of a spelling-book as early as the fourth or fifth year of school life. This book is arranged to begin with the fourth year and be carried through the remainder of an eight years' course. Diacritical marks have been very little used, because they change the pictures of words as they are usually seen, and because it has been found in practice that pupils pay very slight attention to them. In the syllabication and pronunciation of the words found in this book reference has usually been made to Webster's Dictionary. Selections from Hawthorne's works are printed by permission of Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., of Boston. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. By way of preparation for the systematic study of the Spellingbook, children should have thorough drill in writing sentences from copy and from dictation during the first three or four years of school life. In the course of this work it will be unwise to have any spelling, either oral or written, of disconnected words. The design of this preparatory work is to render children thoroughly familiar with the sound, form, meaning, and use of the words included in the vocabulary of childhood. For the use of classes who have had insufficient practice in sentence writing, and by way of review for others, the opening pages of Part I. are devoted to script and sentence lessons. The sentences given here and throughout the book are designed both for actual use in the class and for illustration of what should be done by teacher and pupils with every list of disconnected words. A second element of preparation should be a careful drill on the sound values of the letters of the alphabet, taken singly and in combination with other letters. This phonic drill is of the utmost importance in spelling and its kindred study, reading. It should be commenced as soon as the child enters school, and continued systematically for at least five or six years. If this preparatory work has been carefully done, the task of learning to spell will be found much easier than it has usually been considered. The teacher should, however, bear in mind that a |