The Elementary Spelling Book, being an Improvement on the American Spelling Book · Nos. 14–16 · Part 3: Short words

11. Short-vowel words: hem, gum, men, fin, lap, rip

Goal: Your child reads and spells more short-vowel words and reads easy sentences.

⏱ About 15 minutes · 7 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this table
  • A slate, small whiteboard, or paper and pencil

What's in the book

Nos. 14 to 16 are more three-letter words with short vowels: hem, gum, men, fin, win; rum, pan, fen, pin, bun; lap, rip, nip, mat, bat, pat, met, bit. Sentences follow: "It is in my lap. She has a new fan." "A cat can eat a rat."

The lesson, step by step

  1. Review

    Spell aloud five words from Nos. 12 and 13 (cab, lad, pig, mud, rug).

  2. The pattern

    Still three-letter words with a short vowel. Many of these end in m, n, p or t.

  3. Read the table aloud

    Read the table aloud together, a column at a time. You say a word, your child says it back while pointing to it. Then your child reads a column alone. Some of the words:

    hem, gum, men, fin, win

    rum, pan, fen, pin, bun

    lap, rip, nip, bat, pat, met, bit

  4. Spell aloud

    Now the old way: your child looks at a word, then spells it aloud and says it.

    Saym, e, n, men.

    Go down a column like this. Then cover the column, say a word, and have your child spell it aloud without looking.

  5. Read the sentences

    Read the sentences under these tables:

    It is in my lap.

    She has a new fan.

    A cat can eat a rat.

  6. Dictation

    Say each word, use it in a short sentence of your own, and say it again. Your child writes it. Try these: gum, men, win, pan, pin, lap, bat, met.

    Check together against the book. Any word that came out wrong goes on a card for tomorrow.

  7. Wrap up

    Your child reads a whole column without help. Praise it.

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