McGuffey's Eclectic Spelling-Book, Revised Edition · Lesson 1 · Part 1: Short and long vowels
1. Short sounds of a and e
Goal: Your child reads every word in the lesson aloud and spells most of them from dictation.
You'll need
- The book page for this lesson
- A slate, small whiteboard, or paper and pencil
- A card or notebook page for the hard-words list
What's in the book
The first lesson, “Short Sounds of Vowels.” Two groups of three-letter words in columns, under “Short Sound of A” and “Short Sound of E.” The tables of sounds and marks are a few pages earlier, at the front of the book.
The lesson, step by step
How the book marks sounds
Take a minute to learn the book's own signs before you start. You will see them on every page.
Syllables are printed with a space between them, and a small accent mark (') comes after the loud syllable.
Marks over the vowels show which sound they make. These are the dictionary marks of Webster's dictionary, which the preface says the book follows. A straight line over a vowel means the long sound (the letter says its name). A small curved cup means the short sound. Other marks (dots, a little hat, a wavy line) show the other sounds; the tables at the front of the book list every mark with a sample word.
Silent letters are printed crossed out, so your child can see that they are written but not said.
You don't need to teach every mark today. Lessons 36 to 57 go through them one at a time.
Look at the pattern
Every word here has one short vowel: the a in cat, or the e in bed. Short a and short e are the quick sounds, not the letter names.
Read the list aloud together
Open the book to the lesson. Read the words aloud together, one column at a time. Some of them:
am, cat, gap, ban, cap, an, bad, bag
bed, den, net, sell, tent, led, men, set
Then your child reads a column alone, pointing to each word.
Spell aloud
Your child looks at a word, says it, spells it aloud letter by letter, and says it again. Then close the book and try the same words from memory.
Do eight or ten words, a few from each column.
Write from dictation
Close the book. Read 10 words from the list, one at a time. Say each word clearly, use it in a short sentence of your own if it is unfamiliar, then say it again.
Your child writes each word on a slate or paper. No peeking at the book.
Check and correct
Open the book and check each word together, letter by letter. For each mistake, your child looks at the right spelling, says it, spells it aloud, and writes it correctly three times.
Add any word that was missed to a hard-words list.
Finish with something easy
End by having your child spell three words from today's list that came easily. Start a hard-words list on a card or in a notebook; it will be used at the start of each lesson.
Afterwards
Tomorrow, before the next lesson, dictate five words from this list again, including any your child missed.
Tip
Say the short vowel sound, not the letter's name: “a as in cat,” not “ay.” Keep the first lessons light and quick.