A GRADED TEST SPELLING-BOOK. TO WHICH ARE ADDED SENTENCES FOR ANALYSIS AND PARSING. BY J. H. GILBERT. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY ROBERT S. DAVIS & CO. PHILADELPHIA: KEYSTONE SCHOOL AND CHURCH FURNITURE CO. ST. LOUIS: GRAY, BAKER, & CO. 1877. 4424 WRVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY CHARLES HERBERT THURBEK Jul 27, 1926 COPYRIGHT, 1877, BY J. H. GILBERT. RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY. PREFACE. THE plan presented in this book is the outgrowth of twenty-five years' experience in teaching. The compiler hopes that it may prove of service to some of the multitude in our schools who spell badly, and whom the old methods do not seem to reach. Many spelling books contain a great number of words, selected indiscriminately, and spread at random over the page, or arranged according to some vowel sound, or similar termination. The most of these require but little study, and hence the pupil often forms habits of carelessness and inattention, which are ruinous to further progress. This book contains only such words as require close study and application. The first eighty lessons consist of words in common use, likely to be misspelled; the remaining lessons are more difficult. All these are classified in groups, beginning with the easiest; this arrangement is intended to meet the wants of a closely graded school. As the pupil learns to spell more by sight than by sound, the words are here printed exactly as they appear in his every day reading. Accordingly, all divisions into syllables, and all diacritical and accent marks are omitted. The dictionary, but especially the teacher, should teach pronunciation. The words are numbered to facilitate written exercises in spelling. The "geographical names" may be made serviceable, both in the department of spelling and geography. At the request of many teachers, a collection of SENTENCES FOR ANALYSIS AND PARSING has been added to the book. The first ten lessons consist of easy sentences showing the relation of subject and predicate, and giving modifiers of each. In the eleventh lesson, the relative clause is first introduced, and it is repeated in each of the following pages. The last twelve lessons contain much that is quite difficult. Almost every line being taken from some well known author, quotation marks are omitted. J. H. GILBERT. GRAMMAR SCHOOL NO. 11, ALBANY, N. Y., May, 1877. TO TEACHERS. IT is recommended that, at the close of each reading exercise, the teacher should require the class to spell many of the words read. This will tend to produce a habit of attention to their form, and, in the primary classes, will be the only spelling-book needed. As the pupil becomes more advanced, he can each day, in addition to the above, take a few words from this book, but no more should be attempted than can be thoroughly learned. Frequent reviews will fix these in his memory, till in time he will have mastered the entire list. If it is possible, there should be a spelling exercise, by writing from dictation, at least four times a week, which should be followed on the fifth day by an oral review. After each recitation it will be well to have the class pronounce the words of the next day's lesson. The teacher should give all needful definitions, and illustrations by sentences, which the pupil should lay up for future use. |