The Elementary Spelling Book, being an Improvement on the American Spelling Book · Nos. 65–66 · Part 5: Vowel pairs and light syllables
40. Unmarked vowels that are not full: senate, palate, private
Goal: Your child learns that in unaccented syllables a vowel is often said lightly, and reads words ending in -ate where the a is not a full long a.
You'll need
- The book, open to this table
- A slate, small whiteboard, or paper and pencil
What's in the book
No. 65 has the rule: "The unmarked vowels (except e final) in this lesson have a sound approaching that of short u." No. 66 has the rule: "a in ate, unmarked, does not have the full sound of long a", with words such as senate, stagnate, prelate, palate, pirate, private. Sentences at the top of the page belong to No. 64.
The lesson, step by step
Review
Read three -ish words from No. 64.
A new idea: light syllables
Read the rule above No. 65 together:
The unmarked vowels (except e final) in this lesson have a sound approaching that of short u.
SayIn a syllable that is not stressed, we say the vowel quickly, and it sounds a little like "uh". That is why the book does not mark it.
Read the rule for No. 66
a in ate, unmarked, does not have the full sound of long a.
Say "senate" and "palate" naturally. The ending sounds like "-it" or "-ut", not "-ate" as in "late". Compare "late" (a full long a, accented) with "palate".
Read the table aloud
Read No. 66 aloud, saying the endings lightly:
senate, stagnate, prelate, palate
pirate, private
Spell aloud by syllables
Spell each word a syllable at a time, the way Webster's pupils did: spell the first syllable and say it, spell the next and say it, then say the whole word.
Sayp, a, l, pal; a, t, e, ate; palate.
Sayp, r, i, pri; v, a, t, e, vate; private.
Do a column this way while looking, then cover it and spell a few from memory.
Spelling by syllables matters most here, because the light vowel is hard to hear.
Read the sentences
Read the sentences at the top of the page (they go with No. 64):
Washington was not a selfish man.
In China, thousands sometimes famish with hunger.
Dictation
Say each word, use it in a short sentence of your own, and say it again. Your child writes it. Try these: senate, palate, pirate, private.
Check together against the book. Any word that came out wrong goes on a card for tomorrow.
Tip
This is one of the most useful ideas in the book: spoken English blurs unaccented vowels, so we spell them by thinking of the syllables, not by sound alone.