The Elementary Spelling Book, being an Improvement on the American Spelling Book · No. 151 · Part 11: Rules for spelling, numbers and marks
137. Capital letters; q; and silent t: listen, often
Goal: Your child knows when to use a capital letter, reads words with qu, and spells words with a silent t.
You'll need
- The book, open to this table
- A slate, small whiteboard, or paper and pencil
What's in the book
"Capital Letters" gives the rules: "A capital letter should be used at the beginning of a sentence," and for proper names. Then No. 151: "The letter q is equivalent to k", with notes on the u after it (aqueduct, liquid, liquidate, aquiline), and "In the following words, t is not sounded": chasten, glisten, moisten, hasten, fasten, often.
The lesson, step by step
Capitals
Read the rules together:
A capital letter should be used at the beginning of a sentence.
The next rule lists proper names: persons, cities, towns, villages, seas, rivers and more. Your child names one of each and says why it gets a capital.
The letter q
Read the rule for No. 151:
The letter q is equivalent to k.
The u after q usually sounds like w: liquid (lik-wid). The book prints a silent u in italics.
Read the table aloud
Read the q words, then the silent-t list:
aqueduct, liquid, liquidate
chasten, glisten, moisten
hasten, fasten, often
Spell aloud
Your child spells fasten, listen (your example), often, liquid by syllables, saying the silent t as they spell it.
Dictation
Dictate a sentence with capitals: "On Monday, Mary and John went to Boston." Then the words: fasten, often, glisten, liquid.
Wrap up
Your child checks their sentence: every name and the first word capitalized?