The Elementary Spelling Book, being an Improvement on the American Spelling Book · Nos. 39–40 · Part 4: Accent, blends and new sounds
23. Words with r, and double f and l: barn, corn, staff, ball
Goal: Your child reads and spells words with ar, or, ir, ur, and words ending in ff and ll.
You'll need
- The book, open to this table
- A slate, small whiteboard, or paper and pencil
What's in the book
No. 39 has words like busk, snarl, barn, born, farm, corn, twirl, whirl, elm, arm, horn. No. 40 has gaff, scoff, puff, staff, call, wall, well, stuff, ball, stall.
The lesson, step by step
The pattern
In No. 39 an r follows the vowel and changes it: ar as in barn, or as in corn, ir and ur as in whirl and hurl.
In No. 40 the words end in a doubled f or l: staff, puff, ball, well. After a short vowel at the end of a short word, f and l are usually doubled. In "ball" and "call", the a sounds like aw. Look for the two dots under it.
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:
barn, born, farm, corn
twirl, whirl, elm, arm, horn
staff, puff, stuff, scoff
call, wall, ball, stall, well
Spell aloud
Now the old way: your child looks at a word, then spells it aloud and says it.
Says, t, a, f, f, staff.
Go down a column like this. Then cover the column, say a word, and have your child spell it aloud without looking.
Hear the r
Say pairs and let your child hear the change: bun / burn, ban / barn, cod / cord.
Dictation
Say each word, use it in a short sentence of your own, and say it again. Your child writes it. Try these: barn, farm, corn, horn, puff, stuff, ball, well.
Check together against the book. Any word that came out wrong goes on a card for tomorrow.
Wrap up
Your child reads a column of No. 40 and taps each double letter.