The Elementary Spelling Book, being an Improvement on the American Spelling Book · No. 105 · Part 7: Long words and common endings

74. Five syllables, accented on the third: opportunity, probability

Goal: Your child reads and spells five-syllable words ending in -ity, accented on the third syllable.

⏱ About 15 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this table
  • A slate, small whiteboard, or paper and pencil

What's in the book

The top of the page finishes No. 104 (sycophant, indolent, similar, petulant, turbulent, popular, adamant, succulent). No. 105, "Words of five syllables, accented on the third": ambiguity, importunity, contiguity, opportunity, perpetuity, continuing on the next page (superfluity, punctuality, incredulity, insecurity, infidelity, probability).

The lesson, step by step

  1. The pattern

    Five beats, the third strong: "op-por-TU-ni-ty", "punc-tu-AL-i-ty". Again the -ity ending, two syllables from the end, with the strong beat just before it.

  2. Read the table aloud

    Read the end of No. 104 at the top first (similar, popular, turbulent). Then No. 105, which runs onto the next page:

    ambiguity, importunity, opportunity

    perpetuity, superfluity, punctuality

    insecurity, infidelity, probability

  3. 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, p, op; p, o, r, por; t, u, tu; n, i, ni; t, y, ty; opportunity.

    Do a column this way while looking, then cover it and spell a few from memory.

  4. Hear the pattern

    Say the -ity words from No. 101 (se-VER-i-ty) and No. 105 (op-por-TU-ni-ty). In both, the strong beat comes right before -ity. Your child tries: "prob-a-BIL-i-ty".

  5. Dictation

    Say each word, use it in a short sentence of your own, and say it again. Your child writes it. Try these: similar, popular, opportunity, punctuality, probability.

    Check together against the book. Any word that came out wrong goes on a card for tomorrow.

  6. 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.

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