The Elementary Spelling Book, being an Improvement on the American Spelling Book · No. 149 · Part 10: Words alike and irregular spellings
126. More odd spellings: calm, psalm; dungeon; tongue; ought, brought
Goal: Your child reads and spells words with silent l before m, -geon, -gue and -ought.
You'll need
- The book, open to this table
- A slate, small whiteboard, or paper and pencil
- A few index cards or slips of paper (optional)
What's in the book
The last page of No. 149: words where l before m is silent (calm, balm, psalm, qualm, almshouse), words where geon and gion are pronounced "jun" (bludgeon, dudgeon, sturgeon, dungeon), words ending in -gue (plague, vague, league, brogue, vogue, tongue), and words where ou is pronounced aw and gh is mute (bought, ought, brought, fought, sought).
The lesson, step by step
The pattern
More groups that must be learned by sight. calm and psalm: silent l. dungeon: "dun-jun". tongue, league: the ue is silent. bought, brought, fought: ough says "aw".
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:
calm, balm, psalm, qualm
bludgeon, sturgeon, dungeon
plague, vague, league, tongue
bought, ought, brought, fought, sought
Spell aloud
Now the old way: your child looks at a word, then spells it aloud and says it.
Sayb, r, o, u, g, h, t, brought.
Go down a column like this. Then cover the column, say a word, and have your child spell it aloud without looking.
Rhyme families
Write "ought" on the slate. Your child adds a letter in front to make b-ought, f-ought, s-ought, br-ought. The hard part is learned once for the whole family.
Dictation
Say each word, use it in a short sentence of your own, and say it again. Your child writes it. Try these: calm, psalm, dungeon, tongue, league, bought, brought, fought.
Check together against the book. Any word that came out wrong goes on a card for tomorrow.
Review
Finish with the cards from earlier days: your child reads and spells each one. Put a card away after three right days in a row.