The Elementary Spelling Book, being an Improvement on the American Spelling Book · No. 73 · Part 6: Where the accent falls
44. Two syllables with double consonants: ladder, fodder
Goal: Your child reads and spells two-syllable words with a doubled consonant in the middle.
You'll need
- The book, open to this table
- A slate, small whiteboard, or paper and pencil
What's in the book
Headed "Words of two syllables, accented on the first": ladder, bladder, madder, fodder, and many more, running onto the next page (offer, proctor, traveler, sexton, channel). Sentences follow, such as "Four quarts make a gallon."
The lesson, step by step
The pattern
Two beats, the first strong, and the first vowel short. When a short vowel comes before a syllable break, the consonant is often doubled: lad-der, fod-der. Spelling by syllables shows both letters.
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:
ladder, bladder, madder, fodder
offer, proctor, traveler, sexton, channel
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.
Sayl, a, d, lad; d, e, r, der; ladder.
Sayc, h, a, n, chan; n, e, l, nel; channel.
Do a column this way while looking, then cover it and spell a few from memory.
Read the sentences
Read the sentences on the next page:
Little boys and girls love to ride in a wagon.
Four quarts make a gallon.
Dictation
Say each word, use it in a short sentence of your own, and say it again. Your child writes it. Try these: ladder, fodder, offer, sexton, channel.
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.