The Elementary Spelling Book, being an Improvement on the American Spelling Book · Nos. 50–51 · Part 5: Vowel pairs and light syllables
30. Vowel pairs: sea, read, aid, loaf, teach, coach
Goal: Your child reads and spells words where two vowels together make one long sound (ea, ai, oa).
You'll need
- The book, open to this table
- A slate, small whiteboard, or paper and pencil
What's in the book
No. 50 has words like sea, read, aid, peace, heave, pea, goad. No. 51 has loaf, each, teach, bleak, beach, coach, with sentences such as "Few men can afford to keep a coach." (This page could not be fetched on its own when these guides were made. The words here come from the full text of the same scan, and the page shown is our best estimate; if it does not match, turn a page forward or back.)
The lesson, step by step
Review
Read a column from No. 49 (ou and ow words).
The pattern
When two vowels stand together, often only the first one is heard, and it says its name: in "sea" you hear long e, in "aid" long a, in "loaf" long o. The second vowel is silent. (The book's key says the same: ea and ai, unmarked, have the long sound.)
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:
sea, read, aid, peace, heave, pea
loaf, each, teach, bleak, beach, coach
Spell aloud
Now the old way: your child looks at a word, then spells it aloud and says it.
Sayc, o, a, c, h, coach.
Go down a column like this. Then cover the column, say a word, and have your child spell it aloud without looking.
Which vowel speaks?
For each word, your child points to the vowel that is heard and puts a finger over the silent one: s-E-(a), (a)... Play it as a quick game with five words.
Read the sentences
Under the table are short reading lessons that use its words. Your child reads them aloud, pointing to each word. Help with any word not yet learned. Two of them:
Few men can afford to keep a coach.
Dictation
Say each word, use it in a short sentence of your own, and say it again. Your child writes it. Try these: sea, read, aid, peace, loaf, teach, beach, coach.
Check together against the book. Any word that came out wrong goes on a card for tomorrow.