The Elementary Spelling Book, being an Improvement on the American Spelling Book · No. 99 · Part 7: Long words and common endings
69. Two syllables: seizure, treatise, likewise, oatmeal
Goal: Your child reads and spells two-syllable words with vowel pairs.
You'll need
- The book, open to this table
- A slate, small whiteboard, or paper and pencil
What's in the book
No. 99 is headed "Words of two syllables" (accented on the first): seizure, treatise, likewise, bridal, feudal, oatmeal, and more, continuing on the next page (conjure, fracture, perjure, culture, practice, frigate). Sentences come first: "Tallow is the fat of oxen, cows, and sheep." "The bull bellows and paws the ground."
The lesson, step by step
The pattern
Two beats, the first strong. Look for vowel pairs in the first syllable: ei in seizure, ea in treatise, eu in feudal, oa in oatmeal.
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:
seizure, treatise, likewise
bridal, feudal, oatmeal
fracture, culture, practice
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.
Sayo, a, t, oat; m, e, a, l, meal; oatmeal.
Sayc, u, l, cul; t, u, r, e, ture; culture.
Do a column this way while looking, then cover it and spell a few from memory.
Read the sentences
The sentences at the top of the page go with No. 98:
Tallow is the fat of oxen, cows, and sheep.
The bull bellows and paws the ground.
Dictation
Say each word, use it in a short sentence of your own, and say it again. Your child writes it. Try these: seizure, likewise, bridal, oatmeal, culture, practice.
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.