THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 

 
 Date Due 

 
 THE CHILD AND HIS 
 SPELLING
 
 THE CHILD AND 
 HIS SPELLING 
 
 AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PSYCHOLOGY 
 
 OF SPELLING. INDIVIDUAL AND SEX DIFFERENCES IN SPELLING 
 
 ABILITIES AND NEEDS. THE CHARACTER AND RANGE OF 
 
 THE SPELLING VOCABULARY. AND THE PRACTICAL 
 
 PROBLEMS OF TEACHING SPELLING 
 
 By 
 W. A. COOK 
 
 Of the University of Colorado 
 and 
 
 M. V. O'SHEA 
 
 Of the University of Wisconsin 
 
 CHILDa 
 
 JBS-MERRILL COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 COPYRIGHT 1914 
 THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY 
 
 - 
 
 PRESS OF 
 
 BRAUNWORTH * CO. 
 
 BOOKBINDERS AND PHINTCR8 
 
 BROOKLYN, h. *.
 
 Education 
 Library 
 
 L& 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS/ 5 * 
 
 PART I 
 LEARNING TO SPELL 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I INTRODUCTION ........ . 1 
 
 Present-day interest in spelling Conflicting 
 opinions and counsel The reason for differences 
 of opinion Why pupils find spelling hard and 
 uninteresting The purpose and scope of the 
 present volume The spelling vocabulary. 
 
 II RULES FOR SPELLING ........ 10 
 
 Present opinion and practise Material used 
 for the test The persons tested Conscious ver- 
 sus unconscious functioning of a rule Rule on 
 ie-ei, final e, final y, final consonant, final ie The 
 function of the ie-ei rule Value of rule on final 
 e Value of rule on final y Value of rule for 
 final consonant Value of rule for final ie Stu- 
 dents' attitude toward rules. 
 
 III SOURCES AND CAUSES OF ERRORS ..... 23 
 
 Need of determining causes of errors Preva- 
 lence of chance errors Slips of the pen Treat- 
 ment of lapses Is there a critical point in a 
 word? Crucial points often not covered by 
 rules Mispronunciation as a cause of error 
 Analogies in spelling Obscure or elided vow- 
 els Doubling letters Types of letters Syllabi- 
 cation Directing attention to the crucial point 
 in each word. 
 
 IV THE LIFE HISTORY OF CERTAIN SPELLINGS . . 48 
 
 Words assigned in experiments Methods of 
 presentation and study Methods of recitation 
 Methods of correction Capacity for improve- 
 ment Learning and retaining Persistence of 
 errors An apparent exception to the rule of per-' 
 sistence Why errors persist The life history 
 of certain words Errors eliminated one at a 
 time Four stages in word mastery When is a 
 word mastered? 
 
 843G61
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 V COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXTUAL SPELLING ... 74 
 
 Material and subjects Difficulties of the 
 plan Two methods of measuring loss by trans- 
 fer The conventional conclusion Genuine dy- 
 namic spelling Dispersion of attention Rela- 
 tive automatism in spelling Automatic execution 
 of the literal elements Oral spelling first Auto- 
 matic control of larger units Universality of 
 the principle Lack of transfer unavoidable 
 Conclusion. 
 
 VI METHODS OF PRESENTATION ...... 94 
 
 Variance of opinions Plan of the work 
 Four types of presentation Effectiveness of the 
 training Comparison of methods Processes in 
 graphic and oral spelling Advantages of each 
 method Showing a pupil his error. 
 
 VII SPELLING EFFICIENCY AND COMPOSITION ... 104 
 
 Plan of the work The data gathered Or- 
 ganization of ideas The spelling conscience At- 
 tention to technique Rapidity of writing The 
 results summarized. 
 
 VIII SOME SPECIAL FACTORS IN SPELLING ... 112 
 
 Learning to read in relation to learning to 
 spell Fear of making errors Seeing and hear- 
 ing mistakes Can one reason out a spelling? 
 Auditory and visual types No pure types Dom- 
 inant type of error Syllabication as an aid 
 Traits that make good spellers. 
 
 IX POPULAR VIEWS OF SPELLING NEEDS .... 125 
 
 Present theory and practise Purpose of spell- 
 ing Immediate versus ultimate values in spell- 
 ing Pruning word lists Reasons for opposition 
 to curtailment of vocabulary. 
 
 X DETERMINING THE WRITTEN VOCABULARY OF TYPI- 
 
 CAL AMERICANS 135 
 
 An experimental study of spelling needs 
 Ayres* study of spelling vocabularies How to
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 find the needs of the "common people" Declin- 
 ing importance of spelling No imminent danger 
 of hampering the child. 
 
 XI SOURCES AND CHARACTER OF DATA .... 144 
 
 Sources of data No consideration of test 
 lists Rules of procedure The arrangement of 
 words. 
 
 XII WORD LISTS DERIVED FROM CORRESPONDENCE . . 156 
 
 The method of classifying data Words used 
 by all the correspondents Words used by a ma- 
 jority of the correspondents Words used by less 
 than a majority of the correspondents Proper 
 names in the correspondence Separate tabula- 
 tion of foreign terms. 
 
 XIII SPELLING TEXTS AND SPELLING NEEDS . . . 225 
 
 Vocabularies of spelling-books Relation of 
 vocabularies of spellers and correspondents 
 Limitations of any speller Individual writing 
 vocabularies Vocabularies in family and other 
 correspondence Sex differences in spelling vo- 
 cabulary Relation of time economy to spelling 
 needs The words that do the work. 
 
 XIV RESUME' AND CONCLUSIONS 246 
 
 APPENDIX WORDS USED SPONTANEOUSLY BY PUPILS . 257 
 
 REFERENCES FOR FURTHER READING 267 
 
 INDEX ...... 275
 
 THE CHILD AND HIS 
 SPELLING
 
 PART I 
 
 LEARNING TO SPELL
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 IF one may judge by what otie reads in the news- 
 papers and magazines, the subject in the schools 
 of chief interest to the layman to-day is spelling. 
 Prc9nt-day inter- There is evidently a wide-spread 
 cst in spelling bdj e f that graduates of the ele- 
 mentary schools can not spell so Well now as they 
 did in earlier times. A number of investigators have 
 attempted to show that this belief is not founded 
 on fact, but the newspapers are incessantly repeat- 
 ing the statement that We are constantly losing 
 ground in spelling efficiency. Various explanations 
 are offered for this unhappy condition of affairs; 
 but the reason most frequently given is that the 
 energy of pupils is being dissipated by the study of 
 "fads," and that they are not in consequence being 
 drilled sufficiently in spelling. On the other hand, 
 one may read statements to the effect that it does 
 
 i
 
 2 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 not make much difference whether pupils are trained 
 in spelling or not, because "good spellers are born, 
 and not made." There seems to be a settled con- 
 viction in the minds of some persons that certain 
 types of pupils never can learn to spell well, be- 
 cause they do not possess the particular intellectual 
 "powers" required for success in this undertaking. 
 Meanwhile every one seems to feel competent to 
 give advice respecting the best methods of teaching 
 Conflicting opin- this study. It is apparently re- 
 ions and counsel garded by most laymen and some 
 educational people as a simple subject, so that any 
 sensible person can formulate sound opinions relat- 
 ing to the way in which pupils may be got to learn 
 it most readily and effectively. In consequence of 
 this attitude on the part of all sorts of people, with- 
 in and without the schools, teachers are much con- 
 fused because of the variety of counsel which is 
 being given them. They are advised now by this 
 person to give more attention in their daily pro- 
 grams to oral spelling; while another person tells 
 them they ought to abandon oral spelling altogether, 
 and concentrate wholly upon written work. Still 
 another person will advise that the text-book should 
 be discarded altogether, and that lists of words for 
 spelling should be taken from all the studies being 
 pursued by the pupil. There are those who main- 
 tain that if the spelling in the regular written ex- 
 ercises be properly looked after, it will not be nec- 
 essary to have any special period devoted solely to
 
 INTRODUCTION 3 
 
 drill in spelling. And so one might go on at length 
 along this line, giving evidence showing that there 
 appears to be slight agreement among laymen or 
 teachers respecting either the causes of our deficien- 
 cies in spelling, or the most efficient methods of 
 remedying them. 
 
 The chief reason why there is this disagreement 
 in regard to spelling is because we are dealing with 
 The reason for an extremely complex subject, 
 differences of though it has been generally 
 
 treated as if it were exceedingly 
 simple; and we have not thought it necessary to 
 investigate it thoroughly in order to discover the 
 factors which are operating to determine success 
 or failure in the way it is presented in the schools. 
 The layman can not, of course, give the time re- 
 quired for an analysis of this subject. He thinks 
 something is wrong; he feels pupils can not spell 
 as well as they ought to; and he concludes that 
 they should be subjected to more rigorous drill in 
 the school. The layman's remedy for all short- 
 comings of this sort is to give the pupil more of 
 the thing in which he is defective "drill on it 
 harder," he says. It is his conception that when a 
 thing is not properly learned so that it can be 
 used, it is because there has not been enough of 
 time spent on it. And the layman is not the only 
 one who can not take the time to look into the 
 mysteries of these things. The busy teacher, too, 
 is so overcrowded that he can not analyze these
 
 4 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 problems, because he must pass rapidly from one 
 task to another during the entire day. He often 
 realizes that the spelling problem is complicated, 
 that there are various factors cooperating to pro- 
 duce the results that concern us, and that the situa- 
 tion should be examined more critically than it ever 
 has been; and yet he is almost if not quite helpless 
 to do anything about it. He must go ahead and 
 teach the day's lesson the best he can, according 
 to the light that has come to him from one source 
 or another mainly the traditional belief in the way 
 the child learns. In this respect it is no more 
 different with spelling than it is with all the other 
 subjects in the program. 
 
 At the same time, some attempts have been made 
 to apply careful analytic methods to the problems 
 Why pupils find of spelling in order to discover, if 
 spelling hard and possible, the reasons why pupils 
 do not learn it more accurately 
 and readily. Recently much has been said about 
 the unphonetic character of our words, which makes 
 it practically impossible for a child to learn them 
 without supreme effort of memory. The men who 
 have been delving into this matter have been so 
 impressed with the difficulty of learning to spell 
 English words that they have determined to revise 
 many of them with a view to reducing them, as 
 far as possible, to a phonetic basis. But no matter 
 how sympathetic we may be toward this spelling 
 reform, we must appreciate, nevertheless, that for
 
 INTRODUCTION 5 
 
 many years to come children will have to be taught 
 to spell English words in their present forms, with 
 perhaps a dozen or two exceptions. In this con- 
 nection, it may be worth while to note that there 
 probably is no study in the curriculum which is 
 less attractive to pupils than spelling as it is ordi- 
 narily taught. In the course of the investigation 
 described in this volume, inquiry was frequently 
 made of teachers regarding the interest which their 
 pupils took in spelling, and the answer was always 
 the same in effect children almost hate their spell- 
 ing, except when they can make it an occasion for 
 a contest of some sort, as in "spelling down." There 
 seems to be little if anything about the memorizing 
 by main force of the form of a word which appeals 
 to the typical pupil anywhere in the schools. 
 
 With a view to contributing something to the so- 
 lution of these various problems, the authors of this 
 
 The purpose and y olume have cond cted a series of 
 scope of the pres- investigations extending over a 
 considerable period of time. The 
 problems which have been studied are those which 
 the teacher encounters in his every-day work in the 
 class room. The method of investigation has in- 
 cluded, first, an examination of the spelling history 
 and abilities of a large number of pupils in a rather 
 general way ; and, second, a study of a small group 
 in a very thoroughgoing manner. University and 
 high-school students have been tested to determine 
 their ability to spell a selected list of words, and
 
 6 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 an effort has been made to get from the students 
 themselves an explanation of their own processes 
 in attempting to spell the words given them, and 
 of their training in respect to all the matters that 
 might have a bearing on spelling efficiency. It be- 
 came apparent as the results of these inquiries were 
 gained that an investigation of this sort could not 
 do more than open up the real vital problems of 
 spelling ability, of method of teaching, and of the 
 range of one's spelling vocabulary. In order to get 
 at these problems in a more intimate way than 
 could be done in studying a large body of pupils, it 
 was necessary to have a limited group (it comprised 
 four boys in the seventh and eighth grades, one a 
 good speller, one an average speller, and two who 
 were inferior in spelling) who could be taught spell- 
 ing in a great variety of ways, and who could be fol- 
 lowed from day to day in every phase of their 
 reaction to the lessons given them and the tests 
 applied to them. The results of these investigations 
 are presented in Part I of this volume. Through- 
 out the work, it was the aim to trace the steps by 
 which each pupil mastered the words in the lists 
 used. A record was kept of every detail of each 
 pupil's experience in conquering new words, 
 whether easy or difficult. An analysis was made of 
 the structure of each word taught, to find out what 
 part of it occasioned the chief trouble, and whether 
 or not the crucial point was the same for all pupils. 
 Individual differences in method of attacking words,
 
 INTRODUCTION 7 
 
 in the types of errors made, in the readiness of 
 overcoming the errors, and in getting a mastery of 
 the correct forms were all carefully recorded, and 
 the results are presented in this volume. It is be- 
 lieved that in this way a rather interesting and 
 valuable body of material is brought together and 
 interpreted with respect to the practical problems 
 of teaching spelling economically and effectively to 
 pupils of different intellectual types. Suggestions 
 regarding the treatment of pupils in mass and as 
 individuals are made frequently throughout the dis- 
 cussion of the various topics which are considered. 
 The most important problem connected with the 
 teaching of spelling has reference, no doubt, to the 
 The spelling character and range of the vocab- 
 
 vocabulary u j ar y to ^ taught. How many 
 
 words and what ones should be presented in the 
 elementary and high schools? All sorts of answers 
 have been given to this question by various individ- 
 uals ; and these have been based almost wholly upon 
 individual opinion formed in one way or another. 
 But it has seemed to the authors of this volume that 
 the only rational way to determine the range of a 
 spelling vocabulary is to find out in some manner 
 what words people actually use in the communica- 
 tions of every-day life. So it was decided to exam- 
 ine a large amount of correspondence in order to see 
 what words were employed. This correspondence 
 was selected so as to represent various interests 
 and callings and occasions, and it is probable that
 
 8 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 it is quite typical of 'the needs of most American 
 people in these times. All the words used were 
 tabulated, and the frequency of the appearance of 
 each word was determined. The results of the in- 
 vestigation are presented in Part II of this book. 
 After this list had been worked out, and it seemed 
 apparent what words played the leading role in the 
 every-day writing of American people, it was de- 
 cided to test the list by an examination of fresh 
 correspondence, and by a study of the letters writ- 
 ten by people in newspapers, these letters having 
 reference to various topics, and produced by people 
 in different walks of life. The list secured by the 
 authors of this volume, which began to have the 
 appearance of a standard list, was then compared 
 With a list suggested by Ayres in an investigation 
 which he made of business correspondence. It 
 was found that the list derived from the family 
 correspondence, and applied to all sorts of every- 
 day writing, proved to be substantially a standard 
 list. So the authors feel confident that the lists 
 and tables as presented in Part II indicate quite 
 accurately the needs of the typical American to-day 
 in respect to written expression. 
 
 In order to throw further light on this matter, 
 there have been added as an Appendix to this vol- 
 ume several lists of the words that children use 
 more or less spontaneously in the different grades 
 of the schools. It was thought that a comparison 
 of these words with those which adults find neces-
 
 INTRODUCTION 9 
 
 sary in order to express themselves effectively in 
 every-day life might prove both interesting and 
 useful. 
 
 The lists that are presented in this volume may 
 be regarded as well adapted to the needs of Ameri- 
 can pupils who do not go into special pursuits, 
 wherein they will be required to use special tech- 
 nical terms that are rarely written by the great 
 majority of people. Specialists will have need for 
 this general standard list, if it may be so consid- 
 ered ; but they will need in addition a few technical 
 terms which can be acquired when the occasion for 
 using them arises.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE VALUE OF RULES FOR SPELLING 
 
 A~J examination of modern texts in spelling 
 reveals a striking lack of agreement regarding 
 the value of rules for the learner. The Natural 
 Present opinion Speller and Word Book does not 
 and practise contain a single rule, and there 
 
 are other spellers that omit rules almost entirely. 
 But The Normal Course in Spelling goes to the 
 }ther extreme, with eighteen rules presented in the 
 course of eighteen consecutive lessons, seven of 
 them having reference to plural formations alone. 
 The length and simplicity of rules in different texts 
 vary from "Nouns in o after a vowel add s for 
 the plural/' with no exceptions, to "In monosylla- 
 bles and words accented on the last syllable, a final 
 consonant after a single vowel doubles before a suf- 
 fix beginning with a vowel (x, k and 3? are never 
 doubled), except when, in the derivative, the accent 
 is thrown from the last syllable of the primitive," 
 followed by the usual "other exceptions." 
 
 In order to ascertain, if possible, the worth of 
 ordinary rules in spelling, the following list of fifty 
 words was submitted to certain classes of university 
 students and high-school pupils. This list was sup- 
 
 10
 
 THE VALUE OF RULES n 
 
 posed to be a fair test of spelling ability, since it con- 
 tained only such terms as are found in nearly all 
 typical spelling-books of the present day. Doubtless 
 most of the students examined had spelled all of 
 these words in their spelling lessons, at one time or 
 another, though it is not maintained that the list as 
 a whole is one of great service in ordinary written 
 communication. 
 
 1. ancient 
 
 18. courageous 
 
 35. concurrence 
 
 2. seizure 
 
 19. shoeing 
 
 36. regretted 
 
 3. foreign 
 
 20. singeing 
 
 37. conference 
 
 4. freight 
 
 21. mileage 
 
 38. rebellion 
 
 5. their 
 
 22. pitiable 
 
 39. gases 
 
 6. conceivable 
 
 23. furious 
 
 40. stoppage 
 
 7. piercing 
 
 24. greedier 
 
 41. quitting 
 
 8. thievish 
 
 25. fanciful 
 
 42. benefited 
 
 9. grievance 
 
 26. loveliest 
 
 43. quarreling 
 
 10. sieve 
 
 27. buried 
 
 44. potatoes 
 
 11. achievement 
 
 28. plenteous 
 
 45. folios 
 
 12. nervous 
 
 29. conveyance 
 
 46. music 
 
 13. encouragement 
 
 30. essayist 
 
 47. frolic 
 
 14. awful 
 
 31. betrayal 
 
 48. derrick 
 
 IS. argument 
 
 32. dismayed 
 
 49. tying 
 
 16. peaceable 
 
 33. paid 
 
 50. dying 
 
 17. changeable 
 
 34. daily 
 
 
 It should be noted that this list is composed of 
 words which exemplify seven rules, with their ex- 
 Material used for ceptions. The first eleven words 
 the test come under a rule which is often 
 
 expressed as "i before e except after c, or when 
 sounded like a, as in neighbor and weigh." The 
 words, piercing, thievish, grievance, sieve and 
 achievement, illustrate the first clause of the rule, 
 conceivable, the second, and freight and their the 
 third ; seizure and foreign are exceptions to the first
 
 12 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 clause, and ancient is an exception to the second 
 clause. 
 
 Seizure, conceivable, piercing, thievish, grievance, 
 achievement, nervous, encouragement, awful, argu- 
 ment, peaceable, changeable, courageous, shoeing, 
 singeing and mileage are designed to cover a rule 
 which may be stated thus : "Final e is dropped be- 
 fore a suffix beginning with a vowel; but it is re- 
 tained ( i ) when the suffix begins with a consonant, 
 
 (2) when a word in -ce or -ge adds -able or -ous, 
 
 (3) to keep the pronunciation of the word constant, 
 
 (4) to maintain the identity of a word." Seizure, 
 conceivable, piercing, thievish, grievance and ner- 
 vous illustrate the dropping of e; mileage is an ex- 
 ception; achievement and encouragement show re- 
 tention of e under case (i); aivful and argument 
 are exceptions to case ( i ) ; peaceable, changeable 
 and courageous come under case (2) ; shoeing and 
 singeing stand for cases (3) and (4) respectively. 
 
 Pitiable, furious, greedier, fanciful, loveliest, bur- 
 ied, plenteous, conveyance, essayist, betrayal, dis- 
 mayed, paid and daily come under the rule on final 
 y: "Final y after a consonant changes to * before 
 all suffixes not beginning with i; final y after a 
 vowel is usually retained." Furious, greedier, fan- 
 ciful, loveliest and buried illustrate the first part of 
 the rule, plenteous being an exception ; conveyance, 
 essayist, betrayal and dismayed illustrate the last 
 part of the rule, while paid and daily are exceptions. 
 
 Again, we have the rule: "Monosyllables and 
 words accented on the last syllable, ending in a
 
 THE VALUE OF RULES 13 
 
 consonant after a single vowel, double that con- 
 sonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel, un- 
 less the suffix changes the accent." This rule applies 
 to concurrence, regretted, conference, rebellion, 
 gases, stoppage, quitting and benefited. Gases is 
 an exception, conference shows the change of accent 
 on adding the suffix, and benefited is a word not 
 accented on the last. 
 
 Potatoes and folios were intended to bring out 
 the less familiar rule, "Nouns in o after a vowel 
 add s for the plural." Music and frolic, with der- 
 rick as an exception, show that "Polysyllables end- 
 ing in the sound of k, in which c follows i or ia, 
 do not add k" The last two words, tying and dying 
 illustrate the rule that "Words in -ie substitute for 
 these letters y before the ending ing" 
 
 It was intended in this test to include words 
 with only one authorized spelling ; but it seems that 
 some authorities allow two I's in quarreling. Ac- 
 cordingly, this word was left out of account in the 
 consideration of the rule for the final consonant. 
 Payed was marked incorrect, inasmuch as that word 
 was probably not the one meant by any person 
 tested. 
 
 This test was first made upon certain students 
 in the freshman class in the University of Wiscon- 
 The persons si n - These students, because of 
 
 teste< * deficient preparation, were a se- 
 
 mester behind their class in English. The chief 
 reason for giving them this test was the fact that 
 over fifty per cent, of the seventy papers submitted
 
 14 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 were from students who, in February preceding the 
 giving of the test, which occurred in November, 
 191 1, had completed the course known as "Subfresh- 
 man English," in which special emphasis is laid on 
 spelling, the rules in general being thoroughly taught 
 according to Wooley's MecJwnics of Writing* It 
 should be said, however, that no instruction in spell- 
 ing rules had been given during the semester in 
 which the examination was held, though individual 
 students had been referred to rules as their work 
 required. The instructors gave this exercise as a 
 part of the regular work of their classes, graded 
 the words and noted the results. 
 
 The written directions given each instructor for 
 his class were as follows : 
 
 I. Spell the following words, numbering them 
 from i through to 50. (Then followed the 
 list given above). 
 
 II. Without changing any spellings, write all 
 rules you consciously used in spelling this list, 
 and after each rule the number of the words 
 on which you used it, as 1st, I7th, etc. Do 
 not be troubled by apparent exceptions to any 
 rules you have in mind. Practically all have 
 their exceptions. 
 
 III. Write all rules you see exemplified by this 
 list, but which you did not think of while 
 spelling the words. If you can not give the 
 
 * Seventy-six papers were received in all, but those of four 
 foreigners, one person who came late to the test, and another 
 person evidently of very defective hearing, were thrown out. 
 In the other papers there was scarcely any difficulty due to 
 lack of understanding.
 
 THE VALUE OF RULES 15 
 
 rule for any case exactly, give its essence, or 
 tell what it is about, even in a vague way. 
 We want all you know about spelling rules. 
 IV. If you should be unable to give any data 
 under II or III, say whether any one has 
 ever tried to teach you rules for spelling. 
 
 A desire to please the instructor may have in- 
 duced some students to say that rules not consciously 
 used were so employed ; but all the evidence indicates 
 that the students were not writing for the benefit 
 of the instructors. One who fell somewhat below 
 the average in spelling ability said: "The writer 
 will admit that his spelling is not up to standard, 
 but when he has any literary work to do his trusty 
 Webster is always beside him." On the whole, the 
 students were frank in their statements concerning 
 their training and their attitude toward rules. 
 
 Practically the same test was given to thirty-nine 
 seniors and thirty freshmen in the Wisconsin High 
 School, a secondary school under the control of the 
 University. The word daily was replaced by so- 
 los, which comes under a different rule ; and quar- 
 reling by exhibition, which falls under the same rule. 
 The first four rules involved in the test had been 
 taught to these pupils about two months before, 
 though in simpler forms than those given above. 
 A list of ten to twenty words exemplifying these 
 rules had been worked through daily in the classes, 
 about ten successive days in the freshman class and 
 three in the senior class. The test was given nearly 
 six weeks after the learning of the rules had been
 
 16 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 dropped as a class exercise. The fourth clause of 
 the instructions to the university freshmen was 
 therefore left out in the directions to the high-school 
 pupils, though the seniors were asked to give their 
 opinion of the value of spelling rules to them, with- 
 out regard to the supposed views of their teachers 
 on the subject. 
 
 As each of the seven groups of words was cor- 
 rected separately, it resulted that the papers fell 
 into three classes, according as the writers ( I ) con- 
 sciously used a rule in writing any particular group 
 of words; (2) later recalled a rule governing a cer- 
 tain class of words, but did not consciously employ 
 it; and (3) could not remember any rule that ap- 
 plied to the words spelled. The records of these 
 three classes are compared for each rule separately, 
 since each rule needs to be considered independently 
 of all others, because one rule may be very helpful to 
 a learner, while another may not be of service to 
 him. 
 
 With reference to the first and second classes of 
 papers just mentioned, it seems impossible to sep- 
 
 Conscious versus arate the conscious from the auto- 
 unconscious func- matic use of a rule. A rule might 
 tioning of a rule , , , , , . 
 
 be used consciously and very help- 
 fully for a time, and then cease to be so employed, 
 though it might still be of advantage in determining 
 the spelling of certain words. It is for this reason 
 that the records of all those having any knowledge 
 of a rule are presented together. Some advocates
 
 THE VALUE OF RULES 
 
 of rules may go so far as to say that those unable 
 to cite any rule in spelling might nevertheless have 
 realized some benefit from it before it was forgotten. 
 This surely would not hold in the case of the students 
 who took this special test. The recency with which 
 they had been taught rules certainly gave the latter 
 every possible advantage. 
 
 The per cents, in the following table indicate the 
 amount of correct spelling only so far as this is gov- 
 erned by rules. For example, if the i and e are 
 correctly arranged in ancient, the word is consid- 
 ered correct in this table, even if there be elsewhere 
 an error, making wrong the word as a whole. This 
 method of recording is adopted necessarily because 
 our inquiry has to do only with the observance of 
 the rules. 
 
 TABLE I 
 
 OBSERVANCE OF THE RULES 
 
 RULE 
 
 Conscious 
 of Rule While 
 Writing 
 
 Uncouscious 
 of Rule While 
 Writing 
 
 Combination 
 of All Citing 
 a Rule 
 
 Unable to 
 Cite Any Rule 
 
 High 
 School 
 
 Univer- 
 sity 
 
 HIeh 
 
 School 
 
 Unirer- 
 ity 
 
 High 
 School 
 
 Univer- 
 sity 
 
 High 
 School 
 
 Univer- 
 sity 
 
 Students 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Average) 
 
 Students 
 
 Average) 
 
 Students 
 
 -. 
 u. 
 
 
 
 E 
 1 
 * 
 
 < 
 
 Students 
 
 Average) 
 
 Students 
 
 
 
 
 re 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 
 Students 
 
 a 
 u 
 
 CO 
 b 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 Students 
 
 Average) 
 
 Students 
 
 V 
 
 E 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 < 
 
 if.ei 
 
 tfl 
 
 31 
 11 
 IB 
 
 79 
 M 
 74 
 
 n 
 
 25 
 90 
 is 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 81 
 
 9t 
 
 N 
 
 in 
 
 21 
 1- 
 27 
 
 9 
 
 7a 
 
 t>- 
 72 
 
 1 
 
 
 l:i 
 1 
 
 87 
 94 
 95 
 87 
 
 31 
 52 
 
 j>y 
 
 42 
 5 
 
 n 
 
 80 
 70 
 74 
 NJ 
 
 30 
 
 M 
 
 n 
 
 34 
 la 
 
 81 
 M 
 
 94 
 to 
 
 95 
 
 3< 
 17 
 4D 
 
 27 
 01 
 
 73 
 
 n 
 
 73 
 
 n 
 
 (51 
 
 40 
 41 
 
 sy 
 a; 
 
 52 
 
 S8 
 
 8 
 
 91 
 
 M 
 
 n 
 
 Final e 
 
 Final y 
 
 Final consonant .. 
 Final ie 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 i8 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Curiously enough, most of the university students 
 who said they consciously used the ie-ei rule relied 
 The function of on mnemonic devices which gave 
 the ie-ei rule a c i ue to only one or two of the 
 
 eleven words. Of these devices the word "Alice" 
 was the most common. It is used to indicate that 
 when i and e occur as a diphthong after / and c, i 
 always follows directly after / and e follows di- 
 rectly after c. The slight superiority of those citing 
 a rule does not, therefore, seem to be due entirely 
 to the rule itself. Three subjects made one or more 
 errors by stating the wrong rule and following it; 
 while four made one or more errors by not follow- 
 ing the rules they gave. No high-school freshman 
 mentioned a rule as it had been taught to him, but 
 four gave it nearly correct. Several of them wrote 
 something about "When the word ends in ie or ei" 
 etc., plainly confusing it with two of the other rules. 
 Three seniors gave the rule substantially as they 
 learned it, but nearly all the others who cited any- 
 thing gave a version of something taught in earlier 
 years the "Alice" rule, ei al. 
 
 Sixteen different rules were stated by the twenty 
 university students who told how they solved the 
 Value of rule problem of final e. The most 
 
 on final e nearly complete statement of a 
 
 rule was "Drop final e before a suffix beginning 
 with a consonant or to preserve the identity of a 
 word." The rule seemed to be too complex for 
 most of the writers. They stated it in general
 
 THE VALUE OF RULES 19 
 
 outline, without any qualification, or gave only some 
 very special application of it. Several who had the 
 case of -ce and -ge in mind were far more success- 
 ful than the average. Three-fourths of the high- 
 school students said they remembered some part of 
 this rule. About a dozen had it very nearly exact 
 in the simple form in which it was recently taught 
 to them, but their grade in spelling was not above 
 the average. 
 
 Several university freshmen cited the rule for 
 final y in acceptable form. The high-school fresh- 
 Value of rule me n excelled the seniors in its re- 
 on final y ca u The latter seemed unable 
 either to use it or to recall it. It might be noted 
 here that while the observance of this rule was 
 easiest for the university group, and showed an 
 advantage of three per cent, with them, it was most 
 difficult for the high-school group, and showed with 
 them a disadvantage of three per cent. This seems 
 to show that something more than the use of the 
 rule is involved. Very probably this rule, and hence 
 the words to which it applies, had received rela- 
 tively less attention at the hands of the high-school 
 teacher and, on the contrary, relatively more atten- 
 tion in the carefully outlined work of the university 
 classes. 
 
 Several of the college students were able to give 
 more or less accurately the rule for doubling the 
 Value of rule for final consonant. In this case the 
 final consonant citations were not so much incor-
 
 20 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 rect as insufficient, i.e., they were so phrased as to 
 apply to only a very few of the cases which the 
 rule as a whole covers. There seemed little in the 
 rule itself to cause confusion or misapplication. 
 About fifteen of the high-school freshmen and three 
 of the seniors quoted the rule substantially as it 
 was taught to them, but they failed to show any 
 better average in their spelling than those who gave 
 insufficient or erroneous versions of the rule. The 
 correct application of the rule, as it had been given 
 them by their teacher a few weeks before, would 
 have enabled these students to attain an average of 
 about eighty-three per cent., instead of the seventy- 
 four per cent, which they actually attained. This 
 certainly offsets the value of the rule in the spelling 
 of the college students. 
 
 The rule relating to the spelling of the last two 
 words of the list appears to be more serviceable 
 Value of rule than the other rules. It applies 
 
 for final ie t o a c } ass o f WO rds without ex- 
 
 ceptions. Thirteen of the sixteen college students 
 who used it consciously stated it and applied it 
 correctly. The high-school students who had 
 learned it some time were less successful in ap- 
 plying it, though four of them quoted it correctly. 
 The rule relating to music, frolic and derrick was 
 not given by any one, so there was no chance for 
 comparison. A few who tried to formulate a rule 
 on plurals for potatoes, folios and soJrs, attained 
 a rank about twenty per cent, below their fellows 
 in their spelling.
 
 THE VALUE OF RULES 21 
 
 The attitude of the college freshmen seemed gen- 
 erally unfavorable to rules. Teachers were charged 
 Students' attitude with having laid but little stress 
 toward rules on t h ern> or w j t h having failed to 
 
 insist on their application until thoroughly mastered. 
 One writer said : "I knew most of the spelling rules, 
 but they have become so indefinite in my memory 
 that I am mixed up if I use them." Another said 
 that he "attempted to learn rules for spelling but 
 thought it added to the difficulty." Four others 
 declared, after giving one or more rules, that they 
 had decided that the way the word "looks" is the 
 best guide. One of them complained of the long 
 list of exceptions. Four who had been in the course 
 in Subfreshman English* reported that they had 
 lost almost all of the rules then taught them. One 
 gave this amusing but rather significant testimony: 
 "I was greatly helped, but because of lack of prac- 
 tise they have grew vague." This suggests that it 
 may be just as difficult after children have been 
 spelling somewhat automatically for several years 
 to get them to spell by rule, as it is in language 
 work to get them to base their expressions on 
 grammatical rules. The high-school seniors gave 
 testimony substantially the same as that given by 
 the college students. Only ten out of thirty-nine 
 ascribed any value to rules. 
 
 In summary, it may be said that no one rule was 
 quoted by as many as fifty per cent, of the university 
 students, though more than half of them had memo- 
 
 * See p. 14.
 
 22 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 rized all these rules, and others besides, only the win- 
 ter before; and many of the students had been over 
 all of the rules in the public school. A little less 
 than half the high-school students had the courage 
 to try to give the rules they had learned only six 
 weeks previously. In the university group, those 
 who gave some sort of rule to cover any part of 
 the list of words, averaged four per cent, higher 
 in general spelling efficiency than those who could 
 not give any rule. So it is fair to assume that 
 their better observance of the rules as shown by 
 Table I is the result of their better spelling ability 
 in general, and not to any conscious application of 
 the rules as such. Not a single rule tested proved 
 to be of real value, except the one for the last two 
 words of the list that relating to the final ie. In 
 later chapters we shall have much to say respecting 
 the way in which a pupil actually does learn to spell, 
 and this may help to explain why rules do not 
 play a very important part in the process.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 SOURCES AND CAUSES OF ERRORS 
 
 THERE have appeared in print from time to 
 time long lists of misspelled words selected 
 from civil service examinations or tests of public 
 school children by boards of education or others 
 who are inclined to think that spelling efficiency 
 has declined since the days of our forefathers. To 
 those engaged in teaching it is discouraging rather 
 than helpful to learn that a recent test of two 
 hundred thirty-seven university sophomores and 
 freshmen resulted in the misspelling of Macaiday 
 by one hundred eighty-one.* But the report of this 
 experiment goes further, and informs us that the 
 one hundred eighty-one students who failed to spell 
 the name of this well-known English author ex- 
 hibited only fifty-one different ways of missing the 
 word. It appears from this fact that some forms 
 of misspelling are repeated by different individuals, 
 which suggests that a few particular erroneous com- 
 binations may enjoy a certain kind of popularity 
 among those who take liberties in the matter of 
 spelling. 
 
 * Bulletin of Illinois Association of Teachers of English, 
 Vol. Ill, No. 8. 
 
 23
 
 24 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Now, for the better teaching of spelling it seems 
 important that teachers should know how various 
 
 x , , ... common words are most often 
 
 Need of deter- 
 mining causes misspelled ; yet one finds a general 
 
 lack of understanding on the part 
 of teachers relating to this matter. Some schools 
 are doing a valuable work, however, in compiling 
 lists of words misspelled in the upper grades, and 
 referring them to teachers in the lower grades to 
 be given some special attention. Where the schools 
 are well organized, certain portions of such a 
 list can be referred to the particular teacher who 
 is likely to be responsible for establishing the first 
 impressions of the words that give trouble. But 
 teachers ought to know, in order to be of greatest 
 service to their pupils, not simply that separate is 
 a commonly misspelled word, but they should know 
 also just where the mistake is likely to occur, and 
 why, so that attention may be effectively directed 
 to the source of trouble. While in many words, 
 of which separate is an illustration, most teachers 
 are aware of the point of special difficulty, there 
 are many other words presented in the schoolroom, 
 the difficult parts of which are not known to the 
 teacher in advance. The writers have been im- 
 pressed with this fact in the experimental work 
 performed on the group of boys spoken of in 
 Chapter I. The sources of error which the in- 
 structor tried to guard against in the teaching of 
 the lessons did not, he often found upon test, con-
 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 25 
 
 stitute the major difficulties at all; he had been 
 aiming at the wrong point. Any teacher can see 
 how subtle a matter it is to pick out the sources 
 of error, if he will give a list of common words 
 to his class, and then tabulate the frequency of the 
 various misspellings of each word. As a basis for 
 discussion of this problem, it will be advisable to 
 consult the tabulation of the misspellings of some 
 common words as they occurred in the one hundred 
 thirty-nine papers referred to in Chapter II. In the 
 interpretation of these data, it should be understood 
 that the writers are relying on observations of the 
 group of boys already spoken of. Without such 
 first-hand observation, it is impossible for an adult 
 to be reliable in his explanations and deductions 
 regarding a psychological experience remote in his 
 own past. 
 
 TABLE II 
 
 SPELLING 
 
 Frequency of Occurrence 
 
 University 
 Freshmen 
 
 , i m 
 
 l| 
 *%$ 
 
 High- 
 School 
 Freshmen 
 
 ancient 
 
 70 
 
 36 
 2 
 
 21 
 2 
 
 3 
 i 
 i 
 i 
 i 
 
 anceint 
 
 anciant 
 
 
 anscient 
 
 
 I 
 
 anchint 
 
 
 antient 
 
 
 
 anxsion 
 

 
 26 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 SPELLING 
 
 Frequency of Occurrence 
 
 University 
 Freshmen 
 
 *!! 
 
 *c*J 
 
 High- 
 School 
 Freshmen 
 
 foreign 
 
 64 
 4 
 
 33 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 
 foriegn 
 
 forgein 
 
 forgien 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 .... 
 
 foregin 
 
 foreighn 
 
 foriegm 
 
 
 
 foregien 
 
 
 
 forein 
 
 i 
 i 
 i 
 i 
 
 .... 
 
 f oren 
 
 f orhead 
 
 thorn 
 
 .... 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 9 
 6 
 6 
 ^ 
 
 thorm 
 
 pierciner . 
 
 66 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 3 1 
 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 
 peirciner . 
 
 pierceing 
 
 peirceing 
 
 pearcing 
 
 
 pircincr . 
 
 
 I 
 
 perciner 
 
 
 perssingf . 
 
 
 I 
 
 preicingf . 
 
 
 personly 
 
 
 
 sieve 
 
 45 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 21 
 IO 
 
 5 
 
 seive 
 
 sive 
 
 ceive
 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 
 
 27 
 
 SPELLING 
 
 Frequency of Occurrence 
 
 University 
 Freshmen 
 
 
 
 911 
 
 Ku <u 
 c/ic/i 
 
 High- 
 School 
 Freshmen 
 
 siv 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 seeve 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 
 17 
 
 5 
 i 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 16 
 
 4 
 6 
 i 
 i 
 i 
 I 
 
 scive 
 
 
 siev 
 
 
 sceve 
 
 
 
 seieve 
 
 
 
 cib 
 
 
 
 shaney 
 
 
 
 shafe 
 
 
 
 (omitted) 
 
 
 I 
 31 
 
 4 
 3 
 
 nervous 
 
 6 7 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 
 nerveous 
 
 nervious 
 
 nervice 
 
 nervess 
 
 nervase 
 
 
 i 
 
 neverous 
 
 
 nerivous 
 
 
 
 ( illegible ) 
 
 
 
 encouragement 
 
 64 
 
 6 
 
 33 
 6 
 
 encouragment 
 
 encourgement 
 
 engarrment 
 
 
 
 injurment 
 
 
 
 encoerrgement 
 
 
 
 encourement 
 

 
 28 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 SPELLING 
 
 Frequency of Occurrence 
 
 University 
 Freshmen 
 
 ' m 
 
 ill 
 
 M U > 
 
 Wc/Jyj 
 
 ^8 a 
 3fti| 
 
 "T 1 <-> ?J 
 
 w ^ 
 h 
 
 awful 
 
 65 
 I 
 
 32 
 
 3 
 I 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 22 
 I 
 2 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 
 22 
 
 4 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 awfull 
 
 auful 
 
 awefull 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 auwfull 
 
 awfle 
 
 awfful 
 
 
 auffell 
 
 
 affull 
 
 
 
 offel 
 
 
 I 
 
 offul 
 
 
 offull 
 
 
 
 ( illegible) 
 
 
 
 argument 
 
 59 
 II 
 
 32 
 
 6 
 
 arguement 
 
 aurguement 
 
 argement 
 
 
 
 argurment 
 
 
 
 hurnment 
 
 
 
 (omitted) 
 
 
 I 
 
 28 
 
 2 
 
 dismayed 
 
 69 
 
 dismade 
 
 dismaid 
 
 
 dismay 
 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 desmayed 
 
 I 
 
 desmaied 
 
 dismeved . 

 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 
 
 29 
 
 SPELLING 
 
 Frequency of Occurrence 
 
 University 
 Freshmen 
 
 .ill 
 
 W O J 
 
 ^WU2 
 
 High- 
 School 
 Freshmen 
 
 dismayence 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 8 
 i7 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 6 
 
 5 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 
 dismaided 
 
 
 
 dissmayed 
 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 24 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 ii 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 dimayed 
 
 
 betrayal 
 
 6 4 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 33 
 25 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 betrail 
 
 betrayel 
 
 (other purely individ- 
 ual errors) 
 
 benefited 
 
 benefitted 
 
 benifited 
 
 benifitted 
 
 benifit 
 
 benefitied 
 
 
 I 
 
 benafated 
 
 
 benifetted 
 
 
 
 benefitting 
 
 
 
 benfittin " 
 
 
 
 benfited 
 
 
 
 benififted 
 
 
 
 binefited . 
 
 
 I 
 
 The above eleven words, tabulated in their vari- 
 ous forms, were chosen at random from the list 
 of fifty given to the students; and they illustrate
 
 30 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 most, if not all, of the principles to be brought 
 out in this chapter. A few of the words, which 
 showed the greatest variety of odd misspellings, 
 were excluded from the eleven presented above in 
 order to save space. 
 
 A study of this table of misspellings reveals a 
 number of principles. In the first place, most read- 
 Prevalence of ers will be willing to admit that 
 chance errors j n respect to practically every 
 
 word there are evidences of chance errors due to 
 slips of the pen, misunderstanding of the word, or 
 both. Scarcely any one will maintain that the wri- 
 ters of such forms as anxsion, cib, slianey, shafe, 
 neverous, engarrment, injurment, humment, dismay- 
 ence, dismay, dismaided and benefifted were trying 
 to write the precise words they were asked to spell. 
 The misunderstanding may have been due to faulty 
 pronunciation by the teacher, or it may be that 
 the ear of the pupil was at fault. Again, it may 
 have been due to the apperceptive difficulty most 
 of us experience when we hear a name or isolated 
 word. In such spellings as forhcad and thorn (for 
 foreign), and personly (for piercing) it is evident 
 that the pupil read a wrong meaning into the sounds 
 which he thought he heard. 
 
 Slips of the pen are accountable for some 
 errors. Thorm shows the common occurrence 
 
 of m when n is intended; and 
 Slips of the pen 
 
 the reverse is as often true. 
 
 Dimayed represents another very common mis-
 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 31 
 
 take, the hand omitting a letter in order to 
 abbreviate the process of writing. There is strong 
 probability of the same thing being true for 
 argement, benfited and benfitting. Sometimes this 
 curtailment takes place at the end of a word, as 
 in siv, although this explanation is especially per- 
 tinent to such a form as freigh (for freight}, the 
 gh being so common a termination that it often 
 automatically asserts itself in wrong places. A let- 
 ter from a county superintendent recently received 
 by one of the writers contained three successive 
 words with the last letter omitted. Most students 
 in taking rapidly the notes for a lecture are liable 
 to use the for they, them, etc. What we call 
 "carelessness" accounts ordinarily for such lapses 
 in writing a spelling lesson in column, unless the 
 pupil is greatly hurried. 
 
 Preicing (for piercing} and mielage (for mile- 
 age} illustrate another sort of error in spelling, the 
 inversion of the order of the letters. But the 
 shifting about of the g in -foreign can hardly be 
 attributed to the same cause. The silent letter, by 
 virtue of the very fact that it is silent, is liable 
 to suffer all sorts of displacement. It is interesting 
 to note that the same trick, inversion of literal or- 
 der, is sometimes played by one's vocal organs, as 
 common observation shows, not only with reference 
 to oral spelling but also with reference to words 
 and expressions, such as the famous "Peter Piper" 
 jingle. Not only does a pupil change, the order of
 
 32 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 letters occasionally, or skip a letter or syllable in 
 order to facilitate execution, but the process is some- 
 times reversed, resulting in the repetition of a 
 phrase, word or portion of a word in the writing 
 of connected discourse. To this cause is due such 
 a spelling as convey anance (for conveyance). 
 
 Several of these types of mistakes have been 
 mentioned because they occur so frequently in every 
 Treatment schoolroom. A teacher should 
 
 of lapses regard them simply as lapses, 
 
 which may not occur the second time with the same 
 individual. Of course, if the same error does occur 
 again, the chances are that it is not a lapse; but 
 a wise teacher can not permit his attention to be 
 distracted by mere lapses from the real points at 
 issue in teaching a list of words. Teachers often 
 fail to differentiate these "pen-slips" from errors 
 due to lack of knowledge. Often, too, teachers 
 mark as absolutely wrong a word which, although 
 written incorrectly originally, was seen to be incor- 
 rect by the pupil, and voluntarily corrected before 
 the time for the submission of the work. Many 
 lapses are detected in this way by those who com- 
 mit them. On such a theory of grading, a con- 
 tractor would penalize one of his bricklayers just 
 as heavily for tearing down a defective portion of 
 a wall as for building the superstructure upon it 
 without remedying the defect. It is probable that 
 such lapses as have been described are in no way 
 related to real errors; and they can not be wholly
 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 33 
 
 overcome, unless facility in expression be seriously 
 interfered with by giving too much attention to the 
 technique of writing. 
 
 In the teaching of spelling in our public schools, 
 a distinction should be made between lapses and 
 real errors. Each must be penalized, but not in 
 equal measure. Certain forms of lapses may be- 
 come individual characteristics. One subject has 
 been observed in whose writing think tends always 
 to be written thing. A university student recently 
 complained that he had to fight constantly against 
 interchanging for each other d and g, both in pre- 
 paring manuscript and in typewriting. These in- 
 stances are given to show the likelihood that a 
 careful record of misspellings may enable a teacher 
 in time to detect the characteristic lapses of certain 
 pupils, so that the latter may be put on their guard, 
 and asked to go over their work in order to check 
 up on their special failings. Most teachers find 
 by experience that the vague unparticularized com- 
 mand, "Look over your work," can secure only 
 meager results at best. 
 
 Let us leave out of consideration the particular 
 misspellings which occur but a single time in the 
 lists of Table II, as being for the most part lapses, 
 and see whether or not among the other misspell- 
 ings, those due to lack of knowledge, the compara- 
 tive popularity of certain errors may not be clearly 
 established. In arranging the table, there was an 
 attempt made to place the misspellings in the gen-
 
 34 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 eral order of their frequency, the most common 
 ones standing first. One striking fact relates to 
 the great difference in relative number of the vari- 
 ous misspellings of a word, which must be due 
 to a marked tendency of pupils to commit some 
 particular error. Another suggestive fact is that the 
 order of frequency of the misspellings of any word 
 is almost exactly the same for all three groups 
 of students. There would appear, then, to be in 
 the constitution of certain words special difficulties 
 which are a source of trouble to a majority of 
 children learning to spell. 
 
 It is not always possible to tell just which mis- 
 takes are due to lack of knowledge and which to 
 
 Is there a critical lapse ; but taking the situation as 
 point in a word? we fj n( j j t> i et us see w hether a 
 
 study of the frequency of different errors will not 
 enable us to determine critical points, or perhaps 
 the critical point in a given word, so that if some 
 particular letter or brief combination of letters be 
 properly impressed, the misspelling of that word 
 will be likely to be corrected. Seven out of twelve 
 pupils who missed ancient did so because the com- 
 bination ie was not thoroughly familiar, and with 
 four of the seven it was merely a question of the 
 order of the two letters. Twenty-seven missed 
 foreign, four of them trying to spell something 
 else. Of the other twenty-three, the failure of ten 
 was due solely to the reversal of the letters ei. 
 Twenty-four students missed piercing, two of them
 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 35 
 
 probably by chance. Eight of the others failed 
 solely by reversing the letters ei, six by retaining 
 final e and three by combining the two forms of 
 error. Half of those missing sieve spelled it se'we, 
 and over a fourth made it slve. The other errors 
 were peculiar and exceptional, save for ceive, which 
 appeared three times. Again, of twenty- four errors 
 in writing nervous, ten made it ncrveous, and five 
 others wrote nervious, thus showing the difficulty 
 to be at the same place in the word in every case. 
 Out of twenty-six mistakes in writing encourage- 
 ment, sixteen were written encouragment. Argue- 
 ment is the only misspelling of argument that is 
 not strictly individual. These and similar cases 
 that could be cited 1 from the list of fifty words, 
 show that from one-third to two-thirds of all diffi- 
 culties in spelling lie at the point of a word covered 
 by some rule relating to it. 
 
 Underlying much of the belief in the value of 
 the teaching of rules has been the assumption that 
 
 they relate to the points of chief 
 Crucial points . 
 
 often not covered difficulty in the words to which 
 they refer. Some data bearing on 
 this matter may be gained from an examination of 
 the spelling of a number of the fifty words already 
 given. The retention of e, as in awe full, appeared 
 in only two of twenty cases of misspellings of 
 this word, but the much less commonly taught rule 
 (full does not occur as a suffix), was violated by 
 a majority of the twenty students. In benefited,
 
 36 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 tt appears in violation of the rule fifty-eight 
 times; but bent, in violation of no rule, occurs 
 thirty-five times. Thus the difficulties are some- 
 what evenly distributed. In buried the results are 
 quite different Twelve out of twenty-six doubled 
 the r, and eight others combined it with another 
 error. But only two violated the special rule re- 
 lating to the retaining of the y in bury. Out of 
 fifty-seven students who made errors in spelling 
 essayist, thirty wrote essay est, while only eighteen 
 violated the rule by omitting y. Eight of the 
 eighteen can hardly be said to have broken the rule, 
 since they did not write anything that could be 
 recognized by a person not knowing what word was 
 given out. Forty-two missed exhibition, but only 
 one did so by violating the rule covering the doub- 
 ling of the final consonant. Thirty-eight had no 
 h in their spelling. In foreign, on the other hand, 
 the omission of silent g was too unusual to create 
 a problem. In concurrence, ance is a markedly more 
 prevalent error than the failure to double the r as 
 required by the rule. So if one were to say that 
 the critical point in the spelling of those words that 
 come under some rule is always the point covered 
 by the rule, one would not be in accord with the 
 facts. 
 
 A few words in the list show a great diversity 
 of genuine misspellings, but the errors are usually 
 localized at one or two points in the words. Of 
 about twenty misspellings of grievance, there were
 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 37 
 
 only two that did not preserve the consonant skele- 
 ton gr-v-nce. In thirteen misspellings of pitiable 
 nearly all the trouble centered in the doubling of 
 the t, and following it with the wrong vowel. It 
 may be concluded that for ordinary words of three 
 or four syllables, there is a single letter or diphthong 
 that causes most of the trouble, and that it is 
 altogether unusual to find more than two crucial 
 points in a common word. It is plain that a 
 knowledge of rules simply does not inform the 
 teacher where the stress in teaching particular words 
 is to be laid ; nor does the presence of a silent letter 
 or the possible doubling of a consonant necessarily 
 lay bare the source of difficulty. Every word pre- 
 senting serious problems to the novice must be 
 studied by itself, and the teacher can deal with it 
 effectively only after examining the misspellings to 
 see where the crucial points are. This can be done 
 by any one who will tabulate the frequency of as 
 many as fifty cases of misspelling of a word, though 
 a smaller number will be suggestive. 
 
 The discovery of the causes of error in spelling 
 is the next step to be considered. This is an 
 Mispronunciation easier matter than to locate crucial 
 as a cause of error points. The cause of an error can 
 ordinarily be detected from its character by teachers 
 of experience. Few teachers need to be impressed 
 with the importance of correct pronunciation of 
 words to be spelled. The spelling exercise will al- 
 most daily bring to light some errors due to mispro-
 
 38 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 nunciation by the teacher, or by the pupils them- 
 selves. Anchint is very likely a phonetic spelling of a 
 mispronunciation of ancient. Outside of a few 
 words of French origin, ch almost never has the 
 sound sh. The same cause of error in spelling is seen 
 in percing and perssing, and probably in nerivous. 
 The spelling of encourgement six times and en- 
 conrgment once by the high-school freshmen shows 
 a lack of distinct articulation which among the 
 younger students is a common practise. Even 
 adults who give the a in courage a distinct value, 
 tend to slight it or wholly to elide it in the longer 
 forms, such as encouragement, discouragement, and 
 the variations of the verbs from which these two 
 nouns are derived. Des- in dismayed is another 
 error due to mispronunciation. Benafated and beni- 
 fetted illustrate the same principle, as disclosed by 
 the vowel after /. The easiest and surest method 
 for a teacher to test the question of pronunciation is 
 to ask a child to pronounce a misspelling just after 
 he has written it. Oral spelling, of course, offers 
 ready means of making such a test. 
 
 There can be no danger in insisting that all words 
 to be spelled by a pupil should be pronounced cor- 
 rectly by him as the first step in the lesson study. 
 Even then it will be found that errors such as 
 unaminous for unanimous will appear now and 
 again, because pupils can not or at least do not 
 hold the pronunciation faithfully in mind as they 
 write. Errors due to mispronunciation are not so
 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 39 
 
 numerous as those due to other causes which we 
 shall discuss later. They are, however, of much 
 greater frequency and importance in the lower 
 grades of the elementary school than in the high 
 school, for many of them have been acquired by 
 the child before school age. 
 
 It is peculiarly difficult to forecast what are the 
 probable mispronunciations that will occur in the 
 case of certain words, since two different sets of 
 influences produce these errors. On the one hand, 
 we have those individual associations made by each 
 child for himself, such as caused one child to call 
 a screen door "a scream door," because, as she 
 afterward stated, it made such a noise when it 
 closed. On the other hand, there are the peculiar 
 survivals of the nature of dialect in the speech of 
 every child, reflecting the idiosyncrasies in the 
 spoken language of his family and friends. 
 
 A most fruitful cause of errors in spelling is 
 phonetic analogy. Persons with whom the auditory 
 Analogies in factor predominates are much 
 
 spelling subject to this difficulty. Some- 
 
 times the analogy covers only a brief phonetic unit, 
 while at other times a word is taken over entire. 
 Antient shows the persistence of the common ele- 
 ment ti, phonetically equivalent to sh. Pearcing is 
 the result either of drawing an analogy from ear, 
 fear, dear, etc., or it comes directly from the proper 
 name Pearce. Words having the suffix -less or 
 -ness may have been the cause of the spelling of
 
 40 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 nervous as nervess; and novice and service may 
 explain nervice. A very special case is presented 
 by the like sounds of certain consonants or com- 
 binations of consonants, as in the case of anscient, 
 where sci is inferred from conscience. Likewise, 
 the various uses of c, s and sc produced considerable 
 confusion in sieve. The alternative of s or z is 
 troublesome in some words not noted above, as, for 
 example, seizure. 
 
 Another factor is introduced when a child 
 takes over a word as a whole on account of 
 phonetic analogy, as ceaseur (for seizure), piece- 
 able (for peaceable), berried (for buried), dis- 
 made and dismaid (for dismayed). The pu- 
 pil usually disregards the content of both the 
 word transferred, and of the word to which 
 he makes the transfer. This is not the case 
 with the writing of full in awful, since the signifi- 
 cance of awful is actually "full of awe" ; but it is 
 true of off in off nil (for awful). And when piece 
 enters into peaceable, maid or made into dismayed, 
 trail into betrayal, and fitted into benefited, we have 
 the incorporation into one word of another word 
 altogether extraneous to the situation in which it 
 is placed. Such mistakes tend to decrease with the 
 development of a critical attitude toward one's 
 language. When a student begins to diagnose his 
 mother tongue, the idea of coritent comes to dom- 
 inate in word composition, and he resists phonic 
 analogies which have no regard to content. The in-
 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 41 
 
 troduction of a foreign language, especially German, 
 into the elementary school should be helpful in giv- 
 ing students this attitude. Younger students can 
 not be placed on their guard too fully against think- 
 ing they may cite this or that word as a justification 
 for the spelling of another word in a particular 
 manner. There is only one real authority, and that 
 is the way the word is spelled. Inferences may be 
 drawn only from such other words as have a sim- 
 ilarity in content. 
 
 Many teachers have recognized as a cause of 
 error the obscure or elided vowel, i. e., the vowel 
 Obscure or which, though not silent, has its 
 
 elided vowels sound so slurred as to deprive it 
 
 of individuality. We see this in such words as 
 separate, infinite, and words terminating in -able or 
 -ible. The learner's tendency is to interchange 
 and a, or to substitute e for either of them. U may 
 sometimes interfere, but scarcely ever does o. In 
 some spelling-books, lists of words containing such 
 vowels are printed or written with the difficult 
 vowel in heavy or unique type. In the schoolroom 
 they are often written on the blackboard in chalk 
 of a different color from the body of the word. 
 But it is safe to assert that few teachers in the 
 elementary school recognize that the obscure vowel 
 is always a possible source of error. The writers 
 have found by experience that they can not detect 
 by a cursory examination all of these letters in lists 
 of words in spelling lessons ; they can be discovered
 
 42 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 only after painstaking search. One would hardly 
 think the second vowel in benefit would give trouble, 
 but the writers found it to be so in thirty-five out 
 of eighty- four misspellings of the word. Final e 
 in a number of monosyllables does not have any 
 sound whatever in itself, but it might be considered 
 as one type of elided vowel, because it modifies the 
 pronunciation of the word. It is not often omitted 
 by mistake, however, probably on account of the 
 prominence of its position. Every obscure vowel 
 ought to be presented with stress from the start; 
 either by positive means, such as fixing the impres- 
 sion by auditory and visual stimuli, intense and re- 
 peated, or by the negative method of warning 
 against the use of other letters which the pupil might 
 be inclined to employ in its place. The latter method 
 will further on be shown to have its dangers; and 
 if it be employed at all, it must be closely watched 
 for its effects. 
 
 The mistake of doubling a letter happens much 
 less frequently with the vowels than with the con- 
 
 _ ,,. , sonants, probably because the 
 
 Doubling letters . 
 
 doubled vowel has a distinct- 
 ive sound in the case of oo. The other vowels, except 
 e, are not commonly doubled. But most of the con- 
 sonants are frequently doubled, and the result is not 
 apparent from the pronunciation of a word. The 
 place where doubling is likely to occur is usually in 
 the middle of a word where a syllable stops or 
 begins with a certain consonant. The mistake arises
 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 43 
 
 in assigning the consonant to each of the two ad- 
 jacent syllables, as singging (for singeing), millage 
 (for mileage), pittiable (for pitiable), furrious (for 
 furious) and burried (for buried). Following the 
 same principle, one member of a double consonant 
 may be dropped under like circumstances, as der- 
 ick (for derrick), stopage (for stoppage} and re- 
 belion (for rebellion). 
 
 Just what corrective measures, if any, are espe- 
 cially adapted to counteracting this difficulty, can not 
 be stated with confidence. It is impossible to form- 
 ulate rules for doubling letters that shall cover any 
 large number of cases without numerous exceptions. 
 For a discussion of the efficacy of such rules the 
 reader is referred to Chapter II. Directing the at- 
 tention upon the crucial points is recommended, as 
 in the case of elided vowels. Special stress on 
 double combinations, by means of oral spelling with- 
 out regard to syllabication, might prove very helpful 
 as a means of fixing the doubled letter, especially 
 for those in whom auditory imagery is strong. The 
 method might be, for example, as follows: Have 
 pupils spell coffee "c-o- double /- double e" or 
 village "v-i double l-a-g-e," and so on. 
 
 This brings us to an important principle con- 
 nected with spelling that is closely related to 
 
 Types of letters SCVeral CaUSCS f em)r - J USt 
 half the letters of the al- 
 phabet are "single-space" letters. Six rise more 
 than one space above the base line, five pass below
 
 44 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 it but only a single space above it, while / and p 
 stretch both above and below the "single-space" let- 
 ters. In printing, / and p fall into one of the 
 three distinct classes, but the classification here has 
 regard only to writing. Considering the last two 
 letters as hybrids or combinations, we have the three 
 types of letters the "ascender," the "single-space" 
 and the "descender." Now, if any ordinary writing 
 be examined, two- thirds of the letters occurring 
 will be found to be of ,the single-space variety. 
 Most of the others will be "ascenders." But it is 
 plain that either the first or the third class of letters 
 will stand out more prominently than the second, 
 just as a pedestrian of uncommon color, garb or 
 language will be more marked than one who 
 is conventional in these respects. It is likewise true 
 that the further removed such a letter is from others 
 of its kind in a given word, the more prominently 
 it will stand forth. 
 
 This principle explains why, in the various mis- 
 spellings of such a word as ancient, most students 
 made mistakes which did not interfere seriously 
 with the visual image of the word, i. e., they 
 maintained the succession of single-space letters. 
 In foreign the visual impression made by g, rather 
 isolated from other unusual and striking letters, 
 causes it to be found, rightly or wrongly placed, 
 in nearly every misspelling of the word. On the 
 other hand, exhibition presents an alternating series 
 of short and tall letters, and the omission or mis-
 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 45 
 
 placing of h does not seriously affect the visual 
 image. This also accounts for the difficulty in 
 doubling or not doubling letters, the substitution of 
 one vowel for another when the sound is obscured, 
 and the confusion of c, s and sc, though it does 
 not explain the interchanging of j and z. To illus- 
 trate further, if ss were written old style, we should 
 be much less likely to find pasion (for passion), 
 or if e after n were a "descender," we should not 
 have found benifit thirty-five times in our list of 
 misspellings. 
 
 Dividing a word into syllables may act as 
 a preventive of error to the extent that it 
 
 secures correct pronunciation, 
 
 Syllabication . . . 
 
 and checks the omission or 
 
 syllables in long words. Yet it may well be 
 asked whether the short e in benefited, for 
 example, is more likely to be remembered because 
 ben- is recalled as the first syllable instead of be-, 
 or whether, as in the case of one of the writers, 
 ben- is recalled as constituting the first syllable be- 
 cause the correct pronunciation is remembered. This 
 difficulty would not exist if ben- were visually pre- 
 sented as a distinct syllable just as often as the 
 auditory element is repeated by speaking the word, 
 hearing it spoken, or writing it. But ben- as a 
 visual entity disappears from consciousness as soon 
 as the pupil turns from the spelling lesson, while 
 the word remains as a unit in audition, in content, 
 and most of all, in vision.
 
 46 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Whether this view is sound or not, it can not 
 be denied that syllabication is often merely arbitrary 
 as far as pronunciation is concerned, whereas it is 
 usually thought by adults to be fully in accord with 
 the phonetic character of words. To adults there 
 is no inconsistency in saying that such a combina- 
 tion as betrail consists of two syllables; while be- 
 trayal, of course, contains three. But a child can 
 write them interchangeably and see no violation of 
 phonetics, just as when a boy writes mechanisem 
 (for mechanism}. The almost universal resistance 
 of children's minds to proper syllabication indicates 
 that it is a matter of unusual psychological signifi- 
 cance and that it should be regarded with due cau- 
 tion as an aid to correct spelling. 
 
 If the propositions so far advanced have been 
 true in the main if each word presents a special 
 
 -.. complex of visual and auditory 
 
 Directing atten- . * 
 
 tion to the crucial elements, different from all other 
 point in each word words _ there will necessarily be 
 
 unique features or factors in the teaching of 
 each word. For example, in the teaching of 
 ancient one should call special attention to the 
 sh sound in pronunciation and note the spelling 
 in this case; ie also should be stressed. Foreign 
 will not be found hard to pronounce correctly, but 
 the ei should be made the stressing point, not simply 
 in itself, but in relation to the shifting g. In 
 benefited the second c must be presented with force 
 from the start. If this be done, probably the * will
 
 SOURCES OF ERRORS 47 
 
 never appear, for there are no common words in 
 beni-. But citing several common ones like benefi- 
 cial, benevolence and benediction might strengthen 
 the correct impression. The ft in benefitted can not 
 be so well dealt with on a visual or auditory basis, 
 but the element of content may be invoked by show- 
 ing the words fit, unfit, misfit, discussing their re- 
 lation to one another, bringing out the tt in the 
 appropriate form of each, and then dissociating the 
 content, hence the spelling of benefit from the con- 
 tent and spelling of these other words. Such is 
 the type of "word study" that must come to have 
 a place in every schoolroom in which spelling is 
 taught.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY OF CERTAIN SPELLINGS 
 
 IT is desired to show in this chapter just what 
 stages a group of boys passed through in learn- 
 ing a list of about seventy words chosen from a 
 Words assigned widely-used spelling text. The 
 in experiments subjects of this experiment were 
 the four boys mentioned in Chapter I. A daily 
 assignment was made for five successive days. The 
 experimenter wrote the words on the board in "fam- 
 ilies" as he called them, such as inspire, inspiration; 
 mechanism, mechanic, mechanical, and so on. There 
 were from six to twelve such groups in each day's 
 lesson. The original intention was to present a 
 series of twenty or twenty-five lessons by five dif- 
 ferent methods, following one another in a constant 
 order, as a basis for determining the comparative 
 merits of the different methods of presentation ; but 
 the text-book list was so far beyond the ability of 
 the class, and, it is believed, so far beyond that of 
 the ordinary child for whom it is designed, that 
 it was decided at the end of the fifth lesson to 
 concentrate upon these seventy-five words, and see 
 
 48
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 49 
 
 what experiences the pupils must have in order to 
 master them. 
 
 All preparation of spelling lessons was done dur- 
 ing the class hour. The first two lessons the experi- 
 menter pronounced and spelled 
 Methods of 
 
 presentation orally, the class spelling orally 
 
 and study anc j p ronouncm g a f ter him. For 
 
 the first lesson, sentences containing the words were 
 used in the study, and for the second, definitions 
 were given, but no words were used in sentences. 
 The third lesson was pronounced and spelled orally 
 by the experimenter, and the pupils were told to 
 study it as they pleased. All of them did as com- 
 mon observation shows most pupils do when left 
 to their own resources to prepare their spelling les- 
 sons they simply looked at the words on the board, 
 and presumably "said them over to themselves." 
 The content of the words was not referred to dur- 
 ing this lesson. For the fourth and fifth lessons 
 the pupils looked at the words and their definitions 
 and heard them pronounced, but they were not 
 asked to pronounce them themselves. They then 
 wrote the words on the board, using those in the 
 fourth lesson in sentences so far as time permitted. 
 The words of the fifth lesson were not written in 
 sentences. To sum up, the third lesson was a go- 
 as-you-please one of the old type, while the other 
 four were half of the contextual and half of the 
 column type. Two of them were recited orally and 
 two were written.
 
 50 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Each lesson was written in a test the day after 
 it was studied. The first lesson was written in sen- 
 Methods of tences constructed by the class, 
 recitation k u f- t h e other lessons were done 
 in columns. This interval of a day between study- 
 ing a lesson and reciting on it gave any well-defined 
 errors a chance to ripen in consciousness for twenty- 
 four hours before they were written ; though in the 
 study of the four lessons supervised, all errors were 
 instantly corrected. All the errors made in the 
 written test on each lesson remained undisturbed 
 for another twenty-four hours, or until the next 
 day. In teaching the lesson, points which the ex- 
 perimenter thought might prove difficult were 
 stressed in various ways. A vertical line was 
 drawn through words of the same "family" at the 
 point where their likeness ceased, as inspir\e, in- 
 spir\ation; mechan\ism, mechanic. Double or silent 
 letters or obscure vowels were underlined, as intelli- 
 gence, courageous, infinite; and the difference in 
 pronunciation and spelling of the first two syllables 
 of such words as mcchan\ical and machinist was 
 emphasized. 
 
 The next day after the test on each lesson, the 
 boys were called on to spell orally the words they 
 Methods of had missed. A tally was kept to 
 
 correction show whether, when a word had 
 
 been misspelled originally, the same incorrect form 
 was given now, or a different one, or whether the 
 correct spelling was given now or approved when
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 51 
 
 presented. Each word in its correct form was 
 placed on the board by the experimenter before it 
 was left for good. 
 
 When the five lessons had thus been corrected, 
 and it was determined to continue work at length 
 on the difficult words instead of presenting new 
 ones, the entire list was again written in columns 
 without any further study. A very thorough re- 
 view was then begun. The test papers were re- 
 turned to the boys, and every word that had been 
 missed by any one was written correctly on the 
 board by all. Each word was now for the first time 
 divided into syllables, all the boys showing some 
 skill in this. Correct pronunciation of each word 
 was required. The word was then written again 
 in a sentence suggested by the class. Every boy 
 was required to underline that part of any word 
 in which his mistake had occurred. The whole list 
 was next written in test for the third time. Only 
 contextual spelling was attempted. The meaning 
 of the words now seemed to be so clear to the class 
 that in the next review-study there was no context- 
 ual work. With their last papers in their hands, 
 the boys took each word missed by them individ- 
 ually, and wrote it on the board twice. If a word 
 was not written correctly on the board and without 
 much hesitation or apparent change of mind, the 
 boy who was writing it continued his efforts until 
 he could execute the whole word without a slip.
 
 52 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 After this the fourth and final test was made by 
 writing the words again in sentences. 
 
 Table III shows the general progress of the class 
 from start to finish as gaged by the number of 
 words missed on each test. 
 
 TABLE III 
 
 
 ISt 
 
 2nd 
 
 3rd 
 
 4th 
 
 Pupil 
 
 test 
 
 test 
 
 test 
 
 test 
 
 A 
 
 57 
 
 37 
 
 33 
 
 ii 
 
 B 
 
 34 
 
 ( abs 
 
 ent ) 
 
 17 
 
 C 
 
 18* 
 
 30 
 
 24 
 
 10 
 
 D 
 
 34 
 
 36 
 
 28 
 
 ii 
 
 Barring B, who missed the second and third 
 tests and all the training for them, the rank of the 
 Capacity for other three continued the same 
 
 improvement up to t h e last test. C had at 
 
 the beginning a feeling of superiority, which de- 
 clined as his fellows gained on him. Both C and 
 D showed an actual loss from the first to the sec- 
 ond test, but elsewhere there was a steady advance- 
 ment. A showed the greatest capacity for improve- 
 ment from intensive study of difficult words, and 
 C showed the least. This is the inverse order of 
 their abilities to spell in various tests which they 
 took later on. 
 
 The improvement occurred in two ways, by the 
 
 * For only four out of the five lessons
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 53 
 
 gaining of new words and by the retention of those 
 already spelled correctly. The latter shows great 
 variation from pupil to pupil. Table IV indicates 
 the number of words missed on any test, which had 
 been spelled correctly on the preceding test. 
 
 TABLE IV 
 
 Total 
 
 8 
 
 (as against first test) 
 22 
 18 
 
 The power of gaining new words and holding 
 the old ones seemed to be correlated closely in this 
 Learning and intensive training series. This 
 
 retaining raises the question, often debated, 
 
 as to whether the slowest learner is the best re- 
 tainer. In another series of lessons, discussed from 
 a different point of view in Chapter VI, very inten- 
 sive training in spelling was given these same four 
 subjects, with the result that there was practically 
 perfect immediate recall of all words. But the 
 course of lessons was extended until one hundred 
 sixty words were presented. Without any recall 
 one day of those missed the day before, and with 
 a considerably longer time elapsing between the first 
 (daily) test and the second (final) test, A showed 
 his power plainly on the immediate daily recall,
 
 54 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 and was superior to all the others ; but on the final 
 test, when the entire one hundred sixty words were 
 written without review, he turned out to be the 
 poorest retainer in the group. So it appears that 
 A, the best retainer according to the test of the 
 present chapter (as indicated by Table IV) is the 
 poorest retainer in the experiment of Chapter VI. 
 Evidently the different results in these tests are 
 due to the different conditions of the two experi- 
 ments. One set of conditions was just suited to 
 A's type of mind, while the other was not. He 
 illustrates a kind of pupil found in nearly every 
 class, the kind of pupil whose diligence brings sat- 
 isfactory, sometimes excellent, results in the daily 
 work, but who "never does well on examinations." 
 Students of this sort may correct any minor mis- 
 statement of the teacher in the daily geography or 
 history lesson, but show a woeful ignorance of the 
 same and other much more vital points at the time 
 of the monthly quiz. No answer as to the relation 
 of learning and retaining appears possible, as long 
 as we aim at a general formula that shall cover 
 all conditions and cases. Generalizations of this 
 character, as far as they relate to spelling, must 
 be accompanied by a statement of the intensiveness 
 of the study, the number of times of recall, and 
 the time elapsing between tests. 
 
 We may now look more closely into the question 
 of the persistence of certain mistakes in spelling
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 55 
 
 Persistence mad e by this group of boys, 
 
 of errors M o s t teachers doubtless have 
 
 noted how a misspelling will crop out again and 
 again in the work of a student, even though he may 
 have been reminded repeatedly of his mistake. The 
 same thing appears in the work of this group. In 
 Table V, all errors have been tabulated for each 
 individual so that a glance across the page will 
 suggest how a pupil worked out a certain word, 
 or at least attempted to do so, through the whole 
 four tests. The notes of the experimenter made 
 daily as to special difficulties served to verify the 
 general conclusions drawn below. All blanks indi- 
 cate correct spelling. Points of difficulty are itali- 
 cized as far as possible.
 
 56 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 /3 "^* ^1 " 
 
 c -a 
 &# 3 s 
 
 2 11 'ii ? i ! " I 
 
 -O.^.^EE a'a aj s 
 
 J-GCOO UrtC-S *S*7! 5 
 
 o tny= nc P 5 5 % -2 
 
 c 
 
 C *!^ L^ t-f^] Q 
 
 2 *5'5'3 sf '^"S'S'o"S : 5 : 5 
 
 . C 3 3 S ^ t( V V V t < *3 
 
 S.S.SP u b w 8 SSEEE.S.S o
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY $7 
 
 C C f 2 
 
 rt rt ."ti <3 
 
 00 & ft w 
 
 ill i i 
 
 a iS s | 
 
 |Sl.lM lliill-1 &* i Si 
 
 O^iS^^K rt-S 3 2 -0-0 . o> ;S.O 
 
 -;<U<4><^<us; <ug<CCC^4J<L) ->o <o crj^l 
 
 Sssssg ^^.s.sSss ss ^ s5 
 
 - 
 
 33 
 
 , p 
 
 Cisflrt C<+< 
 
 . 
 
 ' 
 
 "a "a *3 "a p ' '% ^ 'o q= en '> "2 *S "v 'C 'E 5 "w 1 " "'% '? 
 E E E E S && ^.S.S-S ES2S2SSS.cu 
 
 S.a fl M 9 (I
 
 58 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 
 E.S.S 
 
 **5 to to 
 
 g- C C 
 
 w <** ~ 
 
 I 1 f* I 
 
 c s a 'C 6 
 
 CM to to <j 
 
 .S.S .S o 
 
 - *** C ^ o ti re CT5 C 
 
 CK^'c-^*-*-* ^^riQ^G ^Soitj 4 ' C .SS'.SJ' 
 
 !s!s.lj!E EEEE .S88JoEE
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 59 
 
 ' r- 
 g 
 
 u _ 
 
 iJ e C e 
 
 E 9 J ora 
 
 t/3 ** w^ CTj 
 
 c c "o ti "C'C 
 
 t3 cG fll rt V 
 
 .S.S b E E S 
 
 5 1 lllliliilll 
 
 Q ? 5 C C C C.S; to. -8 M 
 
 - 03^ g S B 
 
 S!S*9 'es>. noo 
 
 i-i^,T3 uj^rs Sc"5 
 
 ^5 .|g *'g|
 
 6o THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 * 
 
 -S 
 
 ^ 
 
 .O V> 
 
 ;3 e c 
 
 n bo bo 
 
 *J 
 
 
 S E 
 
 "rt 
 
 S E 
 
 e 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 .2~ 
 
 e n-~ .2? 
 a o J3 ;=: 
 
 E E E E . S 
 
 C u I/! t/) "73 * *S 
 
 O rt 
 
 0,0 
 
 C C 
 <L> o 
 3 3 
 
 
 
 E EE * .S.S EEC 
 
 <J pq 
 
 W 
 
 ^> C C C ?J3 SCO 
 S bObOOCo j i^T3 ti 41 
 
 E E E S S.S.S 
 
 ^ U^J 
 
 SSifl' 
 
 o 8 a 
 
 E S 
 
 -' ** 
 
 rt *- 
 
 E.S 
 
 H O 9 I * I.ft.fl 
 
 Ugggwu^S^u:; 
 
 gfiuiUorttol/iSS 
 .S*O-O'OSa2OOCC 
 
 II 
 
 73 "rt 
 
 E E 
 
 >>' 
 
 11 
 
 c > 
 
 w i? 
 
 rt c 
 
 IS 
 gq= 
 5.C 
 
 C 3 
 
 <U o 
 
 fl 
 
 " fl) 
 
 O O 
 
 '5^ 
 
 Cl <u 
 
 E E 
 
 t>, *> 
 
 +-l -<H 
 
 . - <u w 
 
 u. V-, i_ 
 rt rt rj
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 61 
 
 to ,0 *J 
 
 g s 
 
 1 33 
 
 S.S . E.S 
 
 e 3t O /S cr; *** ^ ,z ^; <y 
 
 .S 1 S 8 EE.S 8 
 
 c E ~^2 
 
 n ^^ tn (n -Q *" 
 
 3 "" tn en ^ 
 
 s _ / -^ rrt .^ . 
 
 ^'^.' 
 
 .S.S.S? ES82S E.S-S 
 
 ceo S'-bt-'C'S "S^ S 
 
 trt <r!e M n 9 U ] tiJiLH 
 
 I s S S 
 
 % .5 o .2 o 
 
 g v S.SJ >>* S "v 
 
 I ill? 3 3 I 
 
 " 
 
 .5 .S.S.SP 
 
 .. 
 
 
 j- c E 
 
 ' 
 
 -- 
 
 w >>H . - 
 
 -i ii il'iif f llliii ii 
 
 11AB8 & E E s si E E s.s-s s s^
 
 62 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 c 
 >% 
 
 S t- i- o 
 
 u v 9 % 
 
 a 
 
 ^ .o 33 
 
 Q l-t T3t- . TJ 
 
 -r ^c _c w - " 
 
 gg-ll 1 -I^.I^s Sss jsl 
 slli il iiillil lil III sss 
 
 O o.^ 
 
 -s 
 
 y ii i s HI 
 
 ..2 ! ^"<u-= . 
 
 <L <U ~ ;S -^ -^ 
 
 ooEEo,o,^rt.S
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 63 
 
 The tenacity with which special misspellings per- 
 sist is evident from the following data relative to 
 those words which were missed on both the first 
 and the last tests. 
 
 TABLE VI 
 
 Total Identical Different 
 
 number mistakes on 1st and mistakes on 1st and 
 Pupil misspelled 4th tests 4th tests 
 
 A II 2 9 
 
 B ii 5 6 
 
 5 4 i 
 
 D 10 6 4 
 
 Total.. 37 17 20 
 
 Table VII, giving the results of the two inter- 
 mediate tests while B was absent, shows further 
 how misspellings tend to persist. 
 
 TABLE VII 
 
 A 15 words twice, 3 in the same way, 12 differently 
 
 A 15 words three times, none in the same way, 15 differently 
 
 A 11 words four times, none in the same way, 11 differently 
 
 C 10 words twice, 5 in the same way, 5 differently 
 
 C 12 words three times, 5 in the same way, 7 differently 
 
 C 1 word four times, none in the same way, 1 differently 
 
 D 17 words twice, 5 in the same way, 12 differently 
 
 D 9 words three times, 4 in the same way, 5 differently 
 
 D 9 words four times, 5 in the same way, 4 differently 
 
 Again, we may take only those words which were 
 missed on the first test, spelled correctly on a sub-
 
 64 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 sequent test, and then lost again before the conclu- 
 sion of the experiment. We may classify them ac- 
 cording as the later misspelling was or was not a 
 repetition of the first error. A's list of errors shows 
 five such words, in only one of which the original 
 error recurred; C's list shows five such words, in 
 four of which the original error recurs; D's list 
 shows a recurrence in one of three possible cases. 
 This evidence seems to leave no doubt respecting 
 the persistence of errors in spite of focalization up- 
 on them, and reaction by the pupil in various ways 
 calculated to eliminate them. A misspelling shows 
 a tendency to recur even when the correct spelling 
 has been gained, and it is usually the initial error 
 in spelling a word that persists. 
 
 The reader has probably noted that A's records 
 do not agree in any large degree with those of the 
 
 An apparent ex- Other ^s. The original errors 
 ception to the rule were not reproduced by A as fre- 
 quently as were certain subsequent 
 ones. The reason for this is interesting. The ex- 
 perimenter's diary shows that A was often unable 
 to pronounce on one day what he had tried to spell 
 the day before, that he gave very curious and erro- 
 neous pronunciations of the real word, showing that 
 he was guided very largely by the phonetic elements 
 of what he had written, from which it is to be 
 inferred that he spelled pretty accurately what he 
 heard, but that he did not hear correctly. When 
 one repeats an error, one does so because of one's
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 65 
 
 habit of response to a stimulus already experienced. 
 But when a pupil has very little idea of the sound 
 of a word the first time he meets it, but keeps 
 on gradually working out the phonic elements of 
 it until he gets the true pronunciation of it in mind, 
 he is not subjected, as his learning proceeds, to 
 the same stimulus when the word is pronounced for 
 spelling. And so, if the stimulus has been changed, 
 the response naturally is different. Now, a detailed 
 study of A's lists shows just this general character- 
 istic a gradual growth toward the correct spelling. 
 Some of the words which he never did get right 
 were worked out of an unintelligible form into one 
 where it is plain to see what he was driving at. 
 Several words, such as sacrificial, influential and 
 susceptible, were missed four successive times, but 
 never in the same way. Rarely was there a word 
 missed four times that was not nearer right at the 
 finish than at the start. 
 
 In the face of these facts it seems reasonable to 
 conclude that if the original error in spelling can 
 Why errors ^ e avoided, much of the problem 
 
 P ersist of acquiring correct spelling will 
 
 be solved. But how may this be accomplished? 
 Manifestly its accomplishment depends on an ap- 
 preciation of the reasons for original errors, and 
 for the persistence of errors. Obviously two fac- 
 tors are of chief importance. First, there is the 
 actual source of error, as discussed in the preceding 
 chapter. Second, there is the "set" given by the
 
 66 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 graphic execution of an incorrect form. Teachers 
 of drawing, instrumental music and penmanship 
 attach importance to the persistence of motor habits ; 
 instructors in physical training and successful 
 coaches of athletics give much preliminary attention 
 to "form." In the demand that pupils rewrite a 
 specified number of times each word missed in spell- 
 ing, some teachers have shown their belief in the 
 permanence of impressions of hand-motor responses. 
 But at best this latter type of work is a sort of 
 locking the door after the theft has been committed. 
 A few graphic or oral repetitions of the lesson in 
 preparation are worth many repetitions after the 
 harm is done. 
 
 It is undoubtedly a mistake to permit a child to 
 write a spelling lesson he has not prepared. In 
 schools where there is no special time given for the 
 preparation of the spelling lesson, or where in high 
 schools the attainment of a certain grade in spell- 
 ing for a term excuses a pupil from further pursuit 
 of the branch, or in cases where the pupil is carer 
 less and receives no penalty for missing, except the 
 trifling one of writing the wrong words correctly 
 below the lesson under all such conditions there 
 are many who write without studying. Thus mis- 
 takes are made which a very little study would have 
 prevented; and if they are not corrected until the 
 next day, as often happens, there is incorporated 
 in the nervous system a response it will take many 
 times the energy to uproot that it would have taken
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 67 
 
 to get the thing right in the first place. No matter 
 how long we may work on words once misspelled, 
 we can hardly ever be sure that the fault will not 
 return. So instead of refusing to let children write 
 their spelling lessons because they have not the 
 regulation blank or have forgotten pen or ink, we 
 ought to apply a really fundamental test "Have 
 you faithfully studied this lesson?" keeping in 
 mind that while an unprepared pupil may possibly 
 attend other recitations to his profit, he may par- 
 ticipate in the written spelling class only to his own 
 harm. 
 
 The life history of a few individual words stud- 
 ied throughout these tests may be indicative of the 
 The life history factors entering into the spelling 
 of certain words process. Two words, machinist 
 and malignity, were never spelled correctly by any 
 one on any test, though perhaps few adults would 
 have designated them as the hardest of the list. 
 Machinist showed persistence of errors with B and 
 D, and identity of error twice between A and C. 
 The skeleton m-ch-n-st was always retained except 
 for A's peculiar mechanious, which appeared once. 
 Though A and D made some progress, B and C 
 did not. The three vowels, a, e and i, filled in the 
 spaces in all sorts of ways. The obscurity of the 
 vowels in the word prevented the proper arrange- 
 ment of a and i. Doubtless e crept in because the 
 word was taught as a member of the "family" of 
 words starting with mech-; and as might have been
 
 68 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 expected, it appeared more frequently in the first 
 syllable than elsewhere. 
 
 The efforts to spell malignity showed but little more 
 success than in the case of machinist. Great con- 
 fusion arose because of malignancy, leading to the 
 impression that the desired word was malignanty. 
 There was a strong persistence of the original error 
 with C and D; but A worked out everything cor- 
 rectly except the first vowel, ending finally with 
 indignity. It is interesting to note that he had to 
 pass through the -nanty stage on the way. Here 
 again it seems that the "family" grouping in the 
 presentation of the words was more of a hindrance 
 than a help. It is a well established principle in 
 psychology that two associations interfere less with 
 each other and are less likely to become confused, 
 if one is thoroughly mastered first than if both are 
 in the formative stage at the same time. If the 
 acquisition of a word is accelerated by associating 
 it with other members of its "family" when all 
 are new, why should it not be after certain mem- 
 bers of that "family" have become familiar? 
 
 A few other illustrations will show more plainly 
 the nature of the struggle which we are here con- 
 sidering. Take the work of A on intelligible. His 
 first rendering intellegable might have been ex- 
 pected, considering the obscured vowels ; and it was 
 so written a second time. Under instruction di- 
 rected upon the points of difficulty, one of the 
 vowels was fixed correctly, and, A wrote on the
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 69 
 
 third trial intelligeable. The troublesome e had 
 been displaced, but not eliminated. The stress was 
 now all shifted to the one point still needing change, 
 and the boy next wrote intelligiable. The i had 
 been forced in, the e forced out. Further instruc- 
 tion would probably have eliminated the superfluous 
 a. A greatly improved accessory on his second 
 writing, and would have had it correct on his third 
 trial, but one of his former difficulties returned, 
 viz., the substitution of an s for a c. The last time 
 he got rid of it again and held the rest securely. 
 While C was casting out one error in ostensible a 
 former one (substitution of c for s} returned. 
 
 Such are the vicissitudes in the conquest of a 
 hard word. The opposing forces sway back and 
 forth much as two battle lines fighting for a stra- 
 tegic point. Even if the teacher places equal stress 
 on all parts of the word, the pupil will feel a par- 
 ticular stress at the point of error. Adults feel 
 some such stress for years after being checked up 
 on a pronunciation, spelling, or date in history. 
 This stress may be just sufficient to break the old 
 association, or to establish the new one k In the 
 first case, the incorrect letter goes out, and its place 
 is left vacant, or more likely it is taken by some- 
 thing that to the pupil seems probable, as in several 
 of the spellings of machinist. This was C's state 
 of mind when, in answer to a question regarding 
 his mistake, he said, "I know -where it is, but I 
 don't know what it ought to be." In the second
 
 70 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 case, the proper letters are brought in, but the 
 erroneous ones may not be eliminated, hence the 
 former may be displaced considerably, and float 
 around as it were, like p in A's spelling of suscepti- 
 bility. His first three spellings of the second sylla- 
 ble were -pect-, -cept- and -pet-, but on the last 
 trial he had it correctly, -ccpt-, with all other mis- 
 takes corrected at the same time. 
 
 Two or three errors in a word are not likely to 
 be worked out at one and the same time, for the 
 Errors eliminated pupil probably does not feel suf- 
 one at a time ficient stress in two parts of a 
 
 word of ordinary length. If a public speaker should 
 emphasize every second or third word, proper em- 
 phasis would be destroyed for his hearers. After 
 a period of practise, the word may be written with 
 improvement in some respect, and when the attack 
 begins again the stress is no longer experienced at 
 the old point. Yet when the word is written again 
 and another error corrected, the former error may 
 recur. It is always situated at the youngest and 
 least stable part of the word-association, and may 
 be expected to assert itself now and then. Such 
 a recurrence should not be regarded as occasion 
 for discouragement and censure; the error will be 
 dispelled more easily this time than before, and it 
 will be less likely to return. 
 
 There may be designated then four principal 
 stages in the mastery of a word, instead of the two
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 71 
 
 Four stages in usually distinguished, right and 
 word mastery wrong. First, there is the stage 
 in which a word may be classed as well estab- 
 lished incorrectly. This is by far the most serious 
 stage. The pupil invariably uses the same misspell- 
 ing; and the first sign of improvement dates from 
 the moment when the misspellings begin to vary. 
 The word is now in the second stage, and may be 
 said to be partially established incorrectly. In 
 the face of further treatment a casual right spelling 
 may appear, but it may quickly disappear. The 
 third stage has now been reached, and the word is 
 imperfectly mastered correctly. Additional practise 
 will lead to the fourth stage well mastered cor- 
 rectly. Lapses then rarely occur. All children do 
 not pass through all these stages with reference to 
 every word they can spell. Most people never ex- 
 hibit the worst stage (well established incorrectly) 
 except with reference to a few words. Prolonged 
 practise between tests may even cause a certain 
 stage to be skipped as far as can be seen. The ad- 
 vantage of such an analysis is that it indicates what 
 teachers may expect from exceptionally poor spel- 
 lers, or from any who have made a bad start with 
 certain words. This sort of clinical practise can 
 be greatly diminished through improved technique 
 of presentation, and more accurate grading of 
 words. Then the weeds of original error will not 
 be permitted to grow so rank.
 
 72 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 There is need before this subject is left to take 
 some account of a phrase which teachers use very 
 When is a freely, viz., the "mastery of a 
 
 word mastered? word" (in the sense of spelling, 
 of course). It would be better if we interpreted 
 this expression in a relative rather than in an ab- 
 solute sense. Most adults have had the experience 
 of forgetting or becoming uncertain of the spelling 
 of a word, which for years has been perfectly under 
 command. This happens with simple and common, 
 as well as with complex and uncommon words. 
 Such evidence, together with the tests described in 
 this chapter and in the next, and the experience of 
 every teacher, indicates that we do not know just 
 when a child has fully mastered a difficult word, 
 so that it will always abide with him. But happily 
 we can generally tell when he is making progress 
 in its mastery. 
 
 In this connection it may be noted that mastery 
 of a word may be more complete and lasting in one 
 "modality" than in another. To illustrate: one of 
 the writers has the experience that under condi- 
 tions of fatigue he sometimes loses confidence in the 
 writing of certain words; but if he spells them 
 aloud, so that vocal and auditory familiarity are 
 brought in, he never fails to recall immediately the 
 correct spelling. Ordinarily there is no hesitation 
 in deciding whether or not words are spelled cor- 
 rectly by the way they look, or feel in writing ; but 
 mastery in these modes is less permanent than in
 
 THE LIFE HISTORY 73 
 
 the vocal and auditory modes. But with some per- 
 sons it appears to be just the other way; they rely 
 in times of doubt or stress upon visual or graphic 
 rather than upon auditory or vocal familiarity. 
 Still other persons who have been questioned in re- 
 gard to the matter by one of the writers declare that 
 one mode is not more secure or reliable than an- 
 other; uncertainty as to the writing of a word is 
 not relieved by spelling it vocally, or vice versa. 
 Probably people differ in this respect according as 
 they are predominantly of the visual or auditory or 
 motor-graphic or motor-vocal type, or as they have 
 through early training and use come to rely mainly 
 upon one mode or another in spelling.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXTUAL SPELLING 
 
 THE second experiment carried on with the 
 four boys already mentioned was undertaken 
 in the hope of gaining some data bearing on the 
 Material and problem of the outcome of spell- 
 
 subjects m g m sentences as compared with 
 
 spelling isolated words. Some easy portions of 
 Robinson Crusoe were dictated, and the boys were 
 asked to copy them. Two days after this dictation 
 work, the group was given a column test based on 
 the dictated material. Reversing the process, a test 
 was given on isolated words selected from an ac- 
 count of the Chicago fire. This was followed a 
 couple of days afterward by the dictation of an 
 account of the fire. 
 
 The words seemed simple enough, so that pupils 
 of grammar-school grade should be familiar with 
 Difficulties of them, yet there were a number in 
 the plan both selections that appeared 
 
 strange to all members of the class. They indicated 
 this by asking, for instance "Is the word 'desper- 
 
 74
 
 COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXT 75 
 
 ate'?" or by requesting the experimenter to "say 
 it slow." The latter tried his best to give the con- 
 ventional pronunciation, speaking all words plainly 
 and with moderate speed. In the column tests, it 
 was necessary to insure that the pupils understood 
 the words by having them defined, giving their 
 opposites, or illustrating their use with a brief sen- 
 tence. The purpose kept in mind in this work was 
 to determine ( i ) whether words might be spelled 
 correctly in column and missed when used in sen- 
 tences, or vice versa; and (2) whether the boys ex- 
 perienced greater difficulty with one kind of spell- 
 ing than with another. Much interest has been 
 taken in these problems during the last few years, 
 and many persons have freely expressed their opin- 
 ions regarding them; but so far as the writers are 
 aware, no tests have heretofore been made to get 
 precise data bearing upon the problems. 
 
 About sixty words were taken for the column 
 test each time, while the dictated selections included 
 about three hundred twenty-five words each. The 
 spellings given in Table VIII include only those 
 words of the column test which were missed by 
 some one either in column or dictation. All other 
 words are omitted to save space. Blanks denote 
 correct spellings. For the guidance of the reader, 
 the true word is sometimes inserted in parentheses 
 to aid in identifying the misspelling.
 
 76 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 
 
 fc 
 S 
 b 
 
 s* I 
 
 b 
 1 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 -C (O 
 
 . tj- 
 
 
 
 08 e 
 S3 3 
 
 3 "2 
 ^2 1 
 
 4> tfi 
 
 5 1 
 
 
 
 A< 
 
 
 2" 
 
 
 
 ? fc 'i 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 fc O -~' 
 
 "2 >> 
 
 < 
 
 H -6 D. 
 U S 01 
 
 < * nj 
 
 o 
 
 S 
 
 1 -g 
 
 CO V 
 
 w 
 
 tfrl 
 
 211 
 
 ^ g'j 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 
 w 
 
 B 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 H) 
 
 
 
 
 V) 
 
 u o 
 
 
 
 
 P 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 E 
 
 
 
 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 EC 
 
 
 
 HH 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 w 
 
 ROBINSO 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 S T3 
 
 S; ts 
 
 2 
 
 
 s 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 p> 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 IK 
 
 
 
 B 
 
 Oo. 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 u:^ 
 
 ** in r^t 
 
 
 H 
 
 PQ U 
 
 o fd 
 
 '5 43 * 
 
 
 O 
 
 <; 
 
 J 
 
 C " 
 
 ^s g >. 
 
 
 a 
 
 H 
 
 * 
 
 P, 
 
 ?! 
 
 *r^ co 
 
 
 
 W 
 
 H 
 
 "S ^4* 
 >- rt G ^'3 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 H 
 O 
 C 
 
 J C -^ ^ 
 
 t SB-g^g 
 
 o 
 
 '5 . 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 JJ .S.S^J 2 <D 
 
 w3 S 
 
 
 
 s: 
 
 ^. 
 x 
 
 
 
 
 a ~ 
 
 11 
 
 < u v 
 
 P 
 
 SKT *_ 
 
 o -o 
 
 U rt t. ^ 
 
 J>, 
 "a 
 
 5. 
 
 *-^ k4 
 
 
 
 d ^ 
 
 5 ^J to 
 
 vU "O 
 
 
 
 -5 S5 ^ 
 
 C 
 
 
 
 
 CL, O '"*' 
 
 _o 
 
 
 
 
 ** JH o 
 
 -*- >-. 'S- 
 
 
 
 
 5 "? I 
 
 I 2 ~. 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 e ? ! 
 
 r ; - --^ j_i 
 
 = S ^g 
 
 2 
 
 -Z V 
 
 
 
 
 * 8 *3 
 
 rr ca 
 
 
 
 a= j 
 
 
 43 a 
 
 X 
 
 5 *? 
 
 E 8- 
 
 41 i- 
 
 w a, 
 
 were (whe 
 grout (gou 
 cir 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 chamb 
 
 rously 
 
 ca 
 
 4J ^^ 
 
 '1 
 
 C8 <- 
 
 K o 
 ^S t> 
 
 _ O. bo 
 
 'S&.s 
 aSss 
 
 (X'C 
 
 52 
 
 W O.
 
 COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXT 77 
 
 "2 -^ 
 
 rt u <n 
 
 o'^ 
 in rt 3 
 
 ess 
 
 r. c 
 <- 
 
 I W (30 
 
 i.sa 
 
 L. (fl 4) 
 
 H 
 
 s 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 o, 
 
 Q. 
 
 a 
 
 OT *^3 
 
 & - ^S ; 
 
 ? I Ja 
 
 xi g -o M 
 
 1 
 
 .2 
 
 "8 
 
 > 
 
 p 
 
 r .S 
 
 t> f* 
 
 E 
 
 0. 
 
 o S 
 >. 
 '5 
 | 
 
 - a 
 
 a, 
 
 
 
 .S 
 
 a o. 
 
 8 bo 
 
 c C 
 
 _>, 
 a 
 
 S ^ S S 
 v 5 *!s 9 
 
 o C u *O oa 
 
 a 
 Bi 
 
 o 
 
 2 cu 
 > 
 
 e-S 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 g 
 
 o 
 
 "1 
 o 
 
 el 
 
 > bOG 
 
 a w o 
 
 
 O.'O w 
 
 & 
 
 Q. 
 
 C 
 
 o S 
 
 v 
 
 a m 
 
 s J 
 
 e 
 
 jpa 
 
 JiTJ 
 
 C 
 
 tfl 
 
 <u 
 
 I 
 
 G.'2fc ; u..4;> 
 a> boa = S |* 
 

 
 78 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 
 55 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 4, *T3 
 
 tn 
 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 s 
 
 ffl 
 
 
 
 O "^3 4) 
 
 in 
 
 
 
 
 
 2- "3 
 
 
 3 
 
 2 s 
 
 3 
 O 
 
 <u 
 
 to 
 
 rt 
 
 *O w 
 
 2 c 
 
 o. . 
 
 2 2 
 
 
 C C to OiS 
 
 O O 4) "<U 
 
 o 0*0 iii 
 
 egerne 
 
 
 
 
 be 
 . 
 
 0-2 
 
 
 K 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 (k o 
 
 
 
 
 c -^**O 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 C 
 
 
 DICTATI 
 
 ! 
 
 T) 
 4> 
 
 "H, 
 2 
 
 
 O *"* 4) 
 G Ji >> ""* 
 
 4) Q. O"y 
 
 S S 
 0.2 
 
 O 0*9 
 
 forhead 
 
 
 
 
 hundere 
 
 appeare 
 picturesi 
 
 
 
 
 >, 
 
 rt 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cS 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 3 
 
 rt 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 >- 3 
 
 
 i 
 CK 
 
 "8 
 J 
 
 O 
 
 a 
 
 4> 
 
 5 
 
 O jj 
 
 
 c 
 
 c 
 o 
 u 
 
 
 'S 
 
 
 
 
 4> 
 
 rt'S, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 Z 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 _3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^S 
 
 '2 
 
 
 
 OT 
 
 < 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 4J 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 4> 
 
 ' CHIC 
 
 LVXDia 
 
 
 4) "3 T3 
 
 Hj 
 
 
 8 s 
 s ~ 
 
 O 4) 
 U >- 
 
 
 a 
 
 | 
 o 
 
 min. is 
 
 
 
 1^ 
 U 
 
 '5. 
 
 A 
 O 
 
 
 
 4) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 55 
 
 O 
 
 I 1 
 
 H 
 
 DLUMN 
 
 _>, 
 3 
 
 y 
 
 -o 
 
 4> 
 
 .12 
 
 
 4) 
 U 
 
 G 
 C 
 
 erniss 
 
 
 n 
 
 Z 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 S 
 
 CQ u 
 
 | 
 
 rt 
 
 rt 
 
 a 
 
 
 O 
 O 
 
 bo 
 c 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 *S 
 
 U 
 
 HH 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 t/) 
 
 & z 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 pi 
 
 DICTATIO 
 
 affectually 
 
 onsumed) 
 
 
 V 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 minace 
 
 S 
 
 
 oicturesk 
 
 
 
 
 jj, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "a 
 
 *~* 
 
 
 
 z 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 X-. 
 
 
 
 
 ti 
 
 U) 
 
 4) 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 
 rt 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 
 
 r^ 
 
 
 & 
 H) 
 O 
 
 < u 
 
 r 
 
 
 4) 
 
 a 
 
 i |s 
 
 a ?3 C 
 
 8 8.2 
 
 j^ 
 
 (J~4 
 V: 
 
 
 
 
 e 
 
 w .S 
 
 8 ^ 
 
 .j- 
 
 .52 
 U 
 
 w * 
 
 egermou 
 
 4) 
 U 
 
 ^"^ ! 
 *^ ** 
 
 ^^ g w 
 
 mines 
 
 
 !/. 
 
 rt 
 
 
 
 "E 
 
 u 
 
 T3'>, 
 
 fcs 
 
 2 
 
 ' 3.5 
 
 C= 
 
 appearei 
 picture** 
 
 
 
 v 
 
 
 
 
 
 JU y( 
 
 
 
 
 4> 
 
 
 Pi 
 DICTATIO 
 
 affectional 
 
 runse 
 
 reclessely 
 
 4) S^ 
 
 O *W 
 OT^> 
 
 U 4> 
 
 U n u 
 
 egerness 
 
 ^C W 
 111 
 
 ^ bcm 
 
 minest 
 
 
 hunderds 
 
 appearenc 
 pisturesk
 
 COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXT 79 
 
 f 
 
 .? 5 o 1 a 
 
 C S -2 !>.rt *> 'C-2 ^ 
 
 t> a, *g a a *j 
 
 s'o a *ss a s^ 2 
 
 4i J3 4) HiS S >3 6 
 
 II sill s 
 
 s S ^ i J I 
 
 H *j *-> X t 'r 1 
 
 58 SloSak, 8 
 
 it! . i i! U 
 
 Se*- 1 
 
 
 -sr a 
 
 , 
 
 a a 
 
 tt a 
 
 a s 
 
 & 
 
 
 r:8 ,c^ "2 g 1 
 
 c S^ Ho a^^'s 
 
 4) Qi t> tv C *^ 
 
 ^ "38 ^S 'c 3 a 
 
 o3 ^;u *3 9 w B * ** 
 
 bo 
 
 (4 
 
 O 4J 
 
 O m_ M 
 
 I VJ . <-* 
 
 O C x fl 
 
 TO ^ tj Q U <l> J1J 2 ^ J3 *^ D '** 
 
 j Sugg's ii II I? ^ t ii^i 
 
 o ra b 2 o 2X1 c e S c fe C ^^ w d 
 
 A C ViQ Oi .t:couc.::- ex M <O>Q 
 
 
 
 
 tiiii 
 
 51" iJS ag-.aeJTS S = s 
 
 ' x o rt S 3 o^3 S- 6 'S S
 
 80 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 The errors given above have been tabulated in 
 Table IX. The columns are headed in Roman nu- 
 merals, Column I including those words which a sub- 
 ject misspelled in the same manner on both column 
 and dictation tests. Column II includes words 
 spelled differently in the two tests, but missed in 
 both. Column III shows words spelled rightly in 
 the dictation test, but wrongly in the column test, 
 while Column IV presents just the opposite record, 
 i. e., the number wrong in dictation but right in 
 column. So Column III shows cases of apparent 
 superiority of the dictation method, while Column 
 IV shows cases of apparent superiority of the col- 
 umn method. In the last two columns have been 
 noted the number of words which, right in one 
 test, were wrong in the other, the mistake consisting 
 of the omission of a single letter. The presumption 
 is that nearly all of those in Columns V and VI 
 show a mere lapse, not genuine misspelling. Col- 
 umn V gives those right in dictation but wrong in 
 column, Column VI gives those wrong in dictation 
 but right in column. 
 
 Each figure in the first column exceeds the corre- 
 sponding one in the second, except for pupil A, 
 who reverses this order for both selections. Slightly 
 more than half of the one hundred three words 
 missed in both column and dictation were repeated 
 errors ; and if A's record be ignored, over two-thirds 
 were repetitions. 
 
 In only one case is a figure in Column III larger
 
 COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXT 81 
 TABLE IX 
 
 Pupil and Selection 
 
 T 
 
 II 
 
 TIT 
 
 TV 
 
 V 
 
 VT 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A Robinson Crusoe ... . 
 
 4 
 
 17 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 
 3 
 
 Chicago Fire 
 
 11 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 B Robinson Crusoe 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 R 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 Chicago Fire. ..... 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 2 
 
 C Robinson Crusoe . . 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 
 8 
 
 Chicago Fire 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 11 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 D. Robinson Crusoe 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Chicago Fire. . 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Totals 
 
 53 
 
 50 
 
 36 
 
 62 
 
 10 
 
 19 
 
 Subtracting Columns V and 
 III and IV respectively 
 
 VI fr 
 
 Dm 
 
 10 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 43 
 
 
 
 than the corresponding figure in Column IV. The 
 T d f ^ rst i m P ress i n made in reviewing 
 
 measuring loss 
 by transfer 
 
 these results is that the tendency 
 to miss words in column which 
 were right in dictation is to the tendency to do the 
 reverse as 36 to 62. Thus column spelling appears 
 to have an advantage as to accuracy. But the words 
 in Columns V and VI should first be subtracted from 
 the totals of Columns III and IV respectively be- 
 fore we may say that we have any real measure of 
 the tendency of actual errors to be committed. 
 The standard of spelling on the whole seems to 
 have been influenced somewhat by the change from
 
 82 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 contextual to isolated spelling. This is most truly 
 represented by the difference between twenty-six 
 and forty-three, or seventeen words. This difference 
 of seventeen words is what we may call the actual 
 loss in efficiency, which, when compared with the 
 total number of test words, sixty for each selection, 
 or four hundred eighty for all the group, is three 
 and fifty- four hundredths per cent. Or we may 
 measure the same thing by another criterion. If the 
 loss is seventeen words, there has been an increase 
 of about ten per cent, in the frequency of errors, 
 since the total number of words missed by all the 
 class was one hundred seventy-two. 
 
 The data presented thus far would be held by 
 many as illustrative of the principle that a word 
 The conventional spelled in column may be more or 
 conclusion j ess use less in actual writing, and 
 
 that therefore the formal spelling of isolated words 
 does not insure their correct spelling when the child 
 tries to use them in expressing his thoughts. Those 
 taking this view would insist that the difference 
 in the two situations, one of them formal, the other 
 dynamic, is so wide that transfer can not take place. 
 
 It may with equal validity be urged that the con- 
 text dictated to a child may be just as formal as 
 Genuine dynamic the words taken from it and 
 spelling spelled in column, and that the 
 
 situation becomes dynamic only when he writes to 
 express himself. Special effort was made in the ex- 
 periment just described to choose material that
 
 COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXT 83 
 
 would be appreciated by the group, but A showed 
 by what he said that the writing of the dictation 
 was for him a "grind," and the reactions of the 
 others indicated that they regarded it in the same 
 light. For this reason another test was planned. 
 
 After a period of seven weeks during which the 
 group had not met with the experimenter, two of 
 them, C and D, were secured for a series of exer- 
 cises. To throw them off their guard, it was ex- 
 plained that the old matter of spelling would be 
 laid aside, and attention would be given to facility 
 of expression. Subjects for composition were as- 
 signed and outlined somewhat in detail. Both boys 
 expressed themselves as better able to write on the 
 topics presented than on anything they could sug- 
 gest. Then they were allowed a certain amount 
 of time, and told to write as easily and rapidly as 
 possible. When the papers were received, lists of 
 words misspelled were selected from them, and 
 others correctly spelled were added to such lists. 
 These were spelled in column, with the explicit 
 statement that while some of them had been missed 
 in the compositions, others had not. Table X shows 
 misspellings taken from the themes of C and D 
 on six different subjects (totaling nine hundred 
 one and fifteen hundred ninety-two running words 
 respectively), and the subsequent column tests based 
 on the themes. All words passing from right on 
 one test to wrong on the other by the omission 
 of a single letter or the substitution of n for m, are
 
 84 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 italicized, to indicate mere lapse rather than genuine 
 error as the probable cause of the trouble. 
 
 TABLE X 
 
 PUPIL C 
 
 Composition. 
 
 
 launchs 
 
 '(launches)^ 
 
 fishs 
 
 (fishes) 
 
 minows 
 
 (minnows) 
 
 inchs 
 
 (inches) 
 
 pricaple 
 
 (principle) 
 
 companyS 
 
 (companies) 
 
 sledes 
 
 (sleds) 
 
 bublcs 
 
 (bubbles) 
 
 tu'drds 
 
 (towards) 
 
 succesful 
 
 (successful) 
 
 hocky 
 
 (hockey) 
 
 frezes 
 
 (freezes) 
 
 thich 
 
 '(thick) 
 
 allready 
 
 (already) 
 
 birth 
 
 (berth) 
 
 bigest 
 
 (biggest)' 
 
 
 !( steamers y 
 
 
 (pickerel) 
 
 
 .'(minutes) 
 
 Column. 
 
 succesful 
 
 hocky 
 
 frezes 
 
 thich 
 
 bigest 
 steammers 
 pickeral 
 rninites 
 
 Composition, 
 tipy 
 peir 
 minnoe 
 too 
 
 '(tippy)' 
 
 (pier) 
 
 (minnow) 
 
 !(to) 
 
 Column. 
 
 mmoe
 
 COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXT 
 
 Composition. 
 
 
 Column. 
 
 tobogan 
 
 (toboggan) 
 
 tobogan 
 
 bottum 
 
 (bottom) 
 
 
 freazes 
 
 (freezes) 
 
 
 fruquently 
 
 i( frequently) 
 
 
 amunition 
 
 (ammunition) 
 
 amunition 
 
 / ruble 
 
 (trouble) 
 
 
 throwen 
 
 (thrown) 
 
 
 squarly 
 
 (squarely) 
 
 squarly 
 
 deceve 
 
 (deceive) 
 
 
 a f read 
 
 (afraid) 
 
 a f read 
 
 excitting 
 
 (exciting) 
 
 excitting 
 
 stopcd 
 
 (stopped) 
 
 
 veiw 
 
 (view) 
 
 
 pickeral 
 
 (pickerel) 
 
 
 acrouse 
 
 (across) 
 
 acrouse 
 
 swiming 
 
 i( swimming) 
 
 
 universitty 
 
 (university) 
 
 
 slott 
 
 (slot) 
 
 
 minuetes 
 
 (minutes) 
 
 
 interurbeen 
 
 i(interurban) 
 
 intererban 
 
 tellephoned 
 
 .(telephoned) 
 
 telaphoned 
 
 domb 
 
 (dome) 
 
 
 
 (smooth) 
 
 smoth 
 
 
 (courses) 
 
 coarces 
 
 
 ; ( commonly) 
 
 connonly 
 
 
 (steered) 
 
 steared 
 
 
 (angleworm) 
 
 angleworn 
 
 
 (either) 
 
 earther 
 
 
 (railing) 
 
 railling 
 
 
 (squirt) 
 
 squrt 
 
 
 (firecrackers) 
 
 firecrakers 
 
 
 (following) 
 
 fowlling 
 
 Summarizing the data of Table X we have Table
 
 86 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 XI. The Roman numerals at the heads of the col- 
 umns have the same significance as they did in 
 Table IX. 
 
 TABLE XI 
 
 Pupil 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 V 
 
 VI 
 
 C . 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 17 
 
 
 6 
 5 
 
 D 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 
 Totals 
 
 11 
 
 9 V an 
 aspect 
 
 3 
 
 d VI 
 
 vely 
 
 13 
 5 
 
 28 
 11 
 
 5 
 
 11 
 
 Subtracting Column 
 from III and IV i 
 
 8 
 
 17 
 
 C shows a difference of two words against the 
 transfer of column to contextual spelling in a vo- 
 cabulary of two hundred sixty-three words and a 
 total of nine hundred one running words of com- 
 position; D shows a similar difference of seven 
 words in a vocabulary of three hundred ninety- 
 three occurring in a total of fifteen hundred ninety- 
 two running words of composition. The very small 
 loss in transfer by C on this test is due to his 
 great care in composition, and the fact that he is 
 always much more careful than D in his spelling. 
 The decrease in frequency of errors in column over 
 contextual writing, as derived from Table XI, is 
 twenty-four per cent., counting no word twice for 
 the same individual, a method of figuring which 
 gave slightly under ten per cent, in the earlier ex-
 
 COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXT 87 
 
 periment with the four subjects (see Table IX). 
 The loss in efficiency, nine words, as compared with 
 the total number of test words fifty-five is six- 
 teen per cent, as against three and fifty-four hun- 
 dredths per cent, in the former experiment. The 
 smaller figures for the first experiment are doubt- 
 less the result of the formal character of material 
 dictated by the teacher. The writers would insist 
 that the figures for the later experiment reflect more 
 nearly the actual difference between the formal sit- 
 uation in column spelling and the dynamic situation 
 in ordinary written expression. 
 
 The cause of this loss in transfer is the next 
 thing that must engage our attention. If the two 
 Dispersion of activities isolated as contrasted 
 
 attention with contextual spelling be ana- 
 
 lyzed, certain differences appear. In the case of 
 the former, the attention is concentrated on a few 
 words, while in the latter it is distributed over a 
 much larger number. Hence we should expect the 
 mistakes to be increased in contextual writing. 
 Suppose a boy can repeat perfectly the addition 
 and multiplication tables. No one doubts that if 
 he is required to multiply, for example, thirteen 
 by twenty- four he will be more likely to give a 
 correct answer than if he tries to add thirteen twen- 
 ty-fours together. The processes in the last prob- 
 lem may not from one point of view be more diffi- 
 cult than those of the first, but the attention is 
 distributed over a larger area, or rather is acting
 
 88 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 for a longer time; hence the possibilities of its 
 wandering are increased. So in the problem of 
 spelling before us the attention is not only called 
 to a larger number of words; it is directed to the 
 maintenance of a proper order of the words. They 
 are dictated, by another or mentally by the subject, 
 in groups, and the entire remainder of each group 
 must be carried in consciousness while any word 
 of such group is being written. Then there is the 
 matter of punctuation and capitalization to be cared 
 for. Further, the context is likely to present a 
 line of thought to the pupil, and this may distract 
 his attention. The greater rapidity of writing in 
 ordinary dictated exercises also prevents the review 
 of each word immediately after it is written, though 
 such a practise is possible and customary in column 
 writing. 
 
 But if a child is to spell correctly in his con- 
 textual writing, and at the same time execute suc- 
 Relative automa- cess fully all these other matters, 
 tism in spelling j t j s necessary that many of the 
 processes should become relatively automatic. 
 Otherwise he will never acquire sufficient facility 
 in these operations to meet properly the demands 
 of later life. Let us waive all academic discussion 
 of the question of complete automatism in spelling, 
 for its existence is disproved by the constant oc- 
 currence of lapses in the writing of all sorts of 
 people. The matter of prime concern to teachers 
 is the method by which the novice may be made
 
 COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXT 89 
 
 to pass from his habit of giving attention to the 
 elements of words to the point where the formal 
 processes in writing no longer occupy a focal posi- 
 tion in consciousness. 
 
 Since the learner can apprehend visually a larger 
 unit than he can execute mechanically, the sentence 
 
 . . method, though applicable in 
 
 Automatic execu- , 
 
 tion of the literal teaching reading, would be ut- 
 clements tedy unsuited to a child j n h i s 
 
 writing. He begins by executing only the very 
 shortest and simplest words, or even more fre- 
 quently the isolated letters. But modern educa- 
 tional theory maintains that in teaching writing we 
 should begin with the largest unit that can be ex- 
 ecuted effectively, so that an analysis of letters into 
 their component parts should follow rather than 
 precede the writing of the letter as a whole. Thus 
 it comes about that the mere thought of a letter 
 will call forth its complete execution much sooner 
 than could possibly be the case if the elements of 
 the letter were first mastered in isolation and then 
 combined. 
 
 While the pupil is gaining this facility prerequi- 
 site to written spelling, he has supposedly been ac- 
 Oral spell- quiring a fairly ready command 
 
 ingfirst of the literal elements of many 
 
 short words by means of oral spelling. This 
 knowledge should come through practise on the 
 words as wholes, with only minor emphasis on syl- 
 labic elements of words of more than one syllable.
 
 po THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Some teachers insist on keeping the written spelling 
 up with the oral spelling from the start, but the 
 possibility of such procedure is somewhat doubtful, 
 and its economy is still more so. 
 
 When the new problem arises of combining oral 
 knowledge and graphic knowledge into successful 
 Automatic control written spelling, there will be for 
 of larger umts a tj me considerable hesitation 
 and a profusion of errors. Teachers now need 
 to be both painstaking and patient. Work of 
 a contextual character, however, must soon be- 
 gin, or the child will not come upon the neces- 
 sity of thinking in larger units than single 
 words. In fact, some persons grow up unable 
 to compose and write at the same time with 
 any degree of effectiveness, and a major reason 
 for such an unhappy condition is probably the 
 fact that they were not put to the preparation 
 of free spontaneous composition at a sufficiently 
 early age. Nevertheless, throughout the period 
 when the pupil spells mainly in written composition 
 new words should first be introduced separately in 
 order to secure some degree of familiarity with 
 them. Even adults who have become highly profi- 
 cient in written expression must usually consider a 
 new word carefully before they can run it off easily 
 in their writing. The same principle must be eco- 
 nomical as well as psychological for a child. At the 
 same time, if should be said that only by building
 
 COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXT 91 
 
 up in the child practically automatic series of the 
 greatest possible length can we release consciousness 
 for the performance of functions that never can 
 become automatic. 
 
 Before closing this sketch of the development of 
 habit in spelling, we should perhaps observe that 
 Universality of tne principles mentioned apply in 
 the principle many fields of work. As the 
 
 eye of the musician becomes trained, it takes 
 in a constantly increasing number of notes at a 
 single "pulse" of attention. The typist progresses 
 from a mastery of literal, through syllabic and 
 verbal, to phrase unities. But the evidence gained 
 from the learning of telegraphy is the most con- 
 crete and convincing of all. The curve of improve- 
 ment of students of this art and their personal tes- 
 timony as regards both sending and receiving, show 
 that the succession of clicks which indicate a letter 
 is at first their problem. Later, they begin to think 
 of the word transmitted. Finally they send and 
 interpret in phrases, and cease to attend to separate 
 clicks. Moreover, between each of these stages 
 there is almost invariably a more or less extended 
 period of no apparent improvement. 
 
 To resume in the matter of the difference in 
 efficiency between contextual and isolated spelling, 
 Lack of transfer it is apparent that a pupil will 
 unavoidable generally spell more accurately in 
 
 column, even though his entire training has been
 
 92 THE CfrlLD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 on contextual spelling. Spelling of long and diffi- 
 cult words especially demands so much conscious 
 attention that in the third stage of mastery they 
 will be executed incorrectly more often in context- 
 ual than in column spelling; while the number of 
 lapses in words in the fourth stage of mastery will 
 always be greater in the former than in the latter 
 mode of spelling. 
 
 Since spelling is not usually recognized as a stan- 
 dard high-school subject, and since many defective 
 
 spellers are annually promoted 
 Conclusion . . . , 
 
 into our high schools, it has be- 
 come customary to give all freshmen a spelling test 
 (in column, of course) at the earliest practicable 
 date. Those who are not able to make a certain 
 grade on this test are assigned to the "spelling 
 hospital," as some have termed it, where they lan- 
 guish until they prove able to meet certain require- 
 ments. The most common prerequisite for discharge 
 from the "hospital" is the attainment of a certain 
 grade in the spelling lessons for the term. Colleges 
 and universities very often honor similar customs 
 by observing them. Promotions from year to year 
 in the elementary school depend on the "averages" 
 shown by the "spelling blank" and possibly the pass- 
 ing of the "final," which consists of fifty to a 
 hundred words. A better method would be to base 
 decisions in these matters on the showing a student 
 makes in the written papers he submits in all his
 
 COLUMN VERSUS CONTEXT 93 
 
 work. It will be granted certainly that the proof 
 of spelling efficiency is found in correct writing 
 of words in their usual contextual relation. Words 
 should not be left until this can be done; it is the 
 clenching of the whole process.
 
 METHODS OF PRESENTATION 
 
 VARIOUS studies have recently been made by 
 American, French and German psychologists 
 of the relation between presentation and memoriza- 
 Variance of tion.* All sorts of materials have 
 
 opinions fo^ use d. - Most of the tests 
 
 have been made on only a few subjects, and the 
 conclusions have been conflicting to some extent. 
 This might have been predicted for several reasons. 
 Learning to spell involves association between 
 sounds and letters in all 'the phonetic combinations; 
 second, it involves pure memorizing in the case of 
 non-phonetic combinations, such as those containing 
 silent letters or elided vowels; third, it involves 
 relatively permanent retention, which is a very dif- 
 ferent thing from immediate recall in all learning 
 processes, as was seen in a discussion of this mat- 
 ter in Chapter IV. The different experimenters 
 have used materials which varied in these respects. 
 If the foreign pronunciation is used, learning to 
 
 * The work in this field has been reviewed by Henmon, The 
 Relation Between Mode of Presentation and Retention, Psy- 
 chological Review, XIX, 79-96. See also Burnham, The 
 Hygiene and Psychology of Spelling, Pedagogical Seminary, 
 XIII, 474. 
 
 94
 
 METHODS OF PRESENTATION 95 
 
 spell foreign words evidently violates the rules of 
 phonics already familiar to the pupil; but if he be 
 permitted to formulate his own rules of phonics 
 for an exercise, the non-phonetic element disappears, 
 thus introducing a wholly artificial situation as far 
 as English spelling is concerned. Nonsense sylla- 
 bles are all phonetic, and nouns and numbers are 
 learned without the operation of the phonic element, 
 the associations consisting of quite vivid imagery 
 entirely aside from the visual form or the sound 
 of the words memorized. Then, too, many of the 
 experimenters measured only immediate recall. 
 While all of these activities are more or less similar 
 to spelling, none of them, therefore, is spelling. 
 
 The study of this problem, as stated in Chapter 
 IV, was the first one designed to be taken up with 
 
 the group of four pupils men- 
 Plan of the work . _ 
 
 tioned above. But since the first 
 
 experiment developed in another direction, it now 
 became necessary to plan a new start. The third 
 experiment with the boys is representative of the 
 type of work that must be done over and over 
 again in order to answer the question of retention 
 and recall as related to mode of presentation in 
 spelling. A series of sixteen lessons was given by 
 four different methods, each method being employed 
 four times. The four types of presentation oc- 
 curred in an invariable order, so that no particular 
 type came always on the same day of the week. 
 Absence of one pupil or another resulted in ex-
 
 96 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 tending the sixteen lessons over twenty-four school- 
 days. The lesson studied each day was written 
 at the close of that day's exercise, and mistakes 
 were corrected before adjournment. The ordinary 
 period for studying and writing a lesson was be- 
 tween twenty-five and thirty minutes. The words 
 were selected just as they came in a certain mod- 
 ern speller. On the eleventh and twelfth days after 
 the last lesson was presented, the whole list was 
 spelled in column. 
 
 The ten words for each day were always written 
 on the board in syllables, and with the accent 
 Four types of marked ; a brief definition was 
 presentation p ut a ft e r each; the experimenter 
 
 pronounced the list, and had each boy pronounce 
 it after him. So far all lessons were uniform in 
 presentation, but thereafter they began to diverge. 
 On one day the boys wrote at the board, while the 
 next day they memorized the words at their seats* 
 This method gave an opportunity to test graphic 
 versus oral methods of study. Then for half of 
 the lessons studied both graphically and orally, the 
 words were written or spoken in sentences only, 
 and so written on the test at the close of the hour. 
 During the rest of the time isolated words were 
 studied, and they were written in column as the 
 test for the day. So the four types of study might 
 be termed graphic-contextual, graphic-column, oral- 
 contextual and oral -column. The class was not so 
 well pleased with the contextual as with the column
 
 METHODS OF PRESENTATION 97 
 
 lessons. Often they would ask "We don't have 
 to write them in sentences to-day, do we?" The 
 contextual work seemed to conflict with their idea 
 of studying spelling, and there is no doubt it ran 
 in opposition to their school "spelling habit." Con- 
 sequently a boy would sometimes be observed prac- 
 tising on the test word contained in a given sen- 
 tence, instead of writing the sentences as given him. 
 The boys' dislike for this sort of work made the 
 experimenter feel that the contextual method did 
 not get a fair trial. This shows, for one thing, 
 how wide is the gap in the mind of the typical boy 
 between learning and using spelling. 
 
 In Table XII is shown the number of errors on 
 both the daily tests and the final test. 
 
 TABLE XII 
 
 DAILY TESTS 
 
 Lesson type Lesson type 
 
 Graphic Oral 
 Contextual Column Contextual Column Total 
 
 Pupil A 3 .. .. .. 3 
 
 Pupil B 6 : . 5 1 12 
 
 Pupil C 1 .. 2 2 5 
 
 Pupil D 4 .. 1 .. 5 
 
 Total 14 8 3 25 
 
 FINAL TEST 
 
 Pupil A 24 31 25 19 99 
 
 Pupil B 9 8 12 12 41 
 
 Pupil C 6 11 6 10 33 
 
 Pupil D 9 12 11 10 42 
 
 Total . . 48 62 54 51 215
 
 98 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 The astonishing increase of errors on the final 
 test may be thought to demonstrate that all the 
 Effectiveness of teaching had been ineffective. It 
 the training ma y b e sa {^ ma ^ the group if 
 
 given the final test without preliminary training 
 would scarcely have missed a greater proportion of 
 the one hundred sixty words. But there are at least 
 two reasons for believing that the training had a 
 beneficial effect. In the first place, a large number 
 of words shown by the experimenter's diary to have 
 given trouble in the daily study were spelled cor- 
 rectly on the daily tests, and many of them were still 
 spelled correctly on the final test. The influence of 
 the immediate correction of errors also was evident, 
 since of the twenty-five words missed on the daily 
 tests only fifteen were missed by the same persons on 
 the final test, and of these fifteen only one was mis- 
 spelled the same way both times. 
 
 Comparing now the results of daily and final tests, 
 we find that the efficiency of the different types of 
 Comparison presentation in the daily tests is 
 
 of methods almost exactly the reverse of that 
 
 in the final test. The graphic-contextual type 
 changes from fourth to first place, and the graphic- 
 oral from first to fourth place. In the daily tests 
 the contextual appears inferior to the column 
 method in the ratio of twenty-two to three errors. 
 But this large number of errors in the graphic- 
 contextual and oral-contextual should hardly be re- 
 garded as the inevitable accompaniment of context-
 
 METHODS OF PRESENTATION 99 
 
 ual spelling, because no such striking relation was 
 shown in the experiments described in the previous 
 chapter, and because the class recognized clearly 
 in the context the words on which they had been 
 drilled, and doubtless wrote them with all the care 
 usually taken with words in isolation. Their care- 
 lessness in the study of the contextual lesson must 
 have been the cause of the errors. However, on 
 the final test the contextual presentation was slightly 
 superior. 
 
 The reason for the "slump" on the final test is 
 not far to seek. It seems plain that intensive study 
 of ten fairly difficult words, terminating in prac- 
 tically perfect immediate recall, is no criterion of 
 real learning for spelling purposes. The pupil holds 
 the words for the moment almost as in a memory 
 span, and is tested on his receptivity rather than 
 his retentivity. Yet a large part of all spelling 
 work in the schools is apparently of this snap-shot 
 order. Thus the boy A is an excellent speller in 
 the spelling class, but not elsewhere. All the ex- 
 periments show it, and his teacher confirms it.* 
 The other boys show the same tendency, but not 
 so markedly. Two weeks seem a sufficiently long 
 period for pupils to lose a spelling lesson as fully 
 
 *One of the writers often thinks of the German girl in a 
 district school who exceeded him in "headmarks" in the 
 course of the term. But on examination day his turn came. 
 The artificial daily superiority of his competitor had vanished, 
 and he counted two or three "headmarks" in a single recita- 
 tion while she shed bitter tears.
 
 ioo THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 as they are likely to lose it in a much longer time. 
 Such a view is upheld by the division of the lessons 
 shown in Table XIII, in which it is shown that 
 the final test occurred from forty-five to forty-nine 
 days after the original presentation of lessons one to 
 
 forty words comprising 
 ed twenty-seven on the 
 ; and so on with all the 
 
 I XIII 
 
 &-12 inclusive 
 
 13-16 inclusive 
 
 1- 8 inclusive 
 
 9-16 inclusive 
 
 1-28 
 12-19 
 -49 
 12-28 
 
 ERRORS 
 
 D Tool 
 
 27 
 31 
 18 
 23 
 
 58 
 41 
 
 10 
 13 
 12 
 6 
 23 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 19 
 
 6 
 14 
 11 
 11 
 20 
 22 
 
 50 
 
 65 
 
 54 
 
 46 
 
 115 
 
 100 
 
 It is evident that the method of presentation is 
 not the determining factor, but that it is subordi- 
 nate to the vital element of time. This problem 
 is doubtless to be solved by the proper use of the 
 review. 
 
 The oral presentation showed temporary results 
 in its favor, and retained on the final count also the 
 
 _. . slender advantage of one hundred 
 
 Processes in 
 
 graphic and five to one hundred ten. But an 
 
 analysis of results indicates that 
 
 the superiority of the oral over the graphic is an in-
 
 METHODS OF PRESENTATION 101 
 
 dividual matter rather than a general one. For A the 
 oral is far better ; for B the graphic clearly excels ; 
 for C and D there seems to be no choice. This 
 does not consider the visual element; for provided 
 the study is from script, the visual factor is the 
 same in both cases. The contrast is between two 
 types of motor activity, the hand-motor and the 
 articulatory, though the auditory element is neces- 
 sarily involved in oral spelling. Some children, 
 however, spell almost constantly with their lips 
 while writing, even when, for purposes of experi- 
 ment, they are forbidden to do so. B does this 
 a great deal. That there may be so small a dif- 
 ference between the actual processes in oral and 
 written spelling has not been generally recognized. 
 All investigations of absolutely pure types of pres- 
 entation have interest only for the psychologist; 
 for the teacher they have little significance, since 
 apparently no child will ever use a pure type in 
 study unless blindfolded, bound or gagged. 
 
 The point that has been urged in favor of the 
 oral method is the fact that an error is detected 
 Advantages of as soon as made, a point which 
 each method our discussion thus far has more 
 
 than once emphasized. This advantage can not be 
 gained in written spelling except when there is ade- 
 quate and careful supervision of study. We have 
 already said, however, that written spelling is the 
 final test of spelling efficiency, and it is certain that 
 there is not full transfer from oral to written
 
 102 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 ability to spell. It may further be said to the disad- 
 vantage of oral spelling that it confines the pupil 
 practically to the column as against the contextual 
 method. 
 
 It should not be forgotten that in neither the 
 graphic nor the oral methods of teaching spelling is 
 Showing a pupil it certain that a child will on his 
 his error own initiative become conscious of 
 
 his errors and remove them. The boys in these ex- 
 periments proved this repeatedly. When one boy 
 misspelled a word orally and another spelled it cor- 
 rectly after him, the first often could not state 
 what his error was or even where it was. When 
 one on being asked to respell a word missed at 
 first spelled it correctly, he could not tell what was 
 the trouble with his first spelling. When a word 
 was written incorrectly, by accident perhaps, and 
 the writer of it and others who had written it cor- 
 rectly were called upon to locate the error, they 
 were exceedingly slow in finding it, or they failed 
 altogether. This was probably due to the fact that 
 they examined the word as a whole, just as adults 
 do in reading. 
 
 The only sure way for a pupil to correct an error 
 V is for him to do the thing himself, under guidance 
 when necessary. Too much- of our attempted cor- 
 rection of spelling errors has been based on the as- 
 sumption that one pupil, or perhaps the teacher, can 
 correct the errors of another pupil. One can correct 
 only one's own errors, not those of another. In writ-
 
 METHODS OF PRESENTATION 103 
 
 ten spelling, teachers ought to require that each 
 pupil should correct his own error by rewriting the 
 word correctly from the first. Errors in oral spell- 
 ing must be treated in the same way. Pupils, too, 
 should always show where their errors lie; but it 
 is not insisted that they should reproduce the in- 
 correct forms. By the exercise of care in certain 
 directions, it should be possible to utilize oral spell- 
 ing occasionally all the way up through the grades. 
 It may release erroneous associations without de- 
 lay, break the monotony of the written lesson, and 
 become a device for the arousing of some healthy 
 rivalry of a kind that does not always impress one 
 as he views the class writing its lesson.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 SPELLING EFFICIENCY AND COMPOSITION 
 
 IT has been more or less generally believed that 
 spelling ability bears a direct relation to the 
 quality and the quantity of one's writing. To 
 ascertain the relation between spelling and com- 
 position, a concluding experiment was undertaken 
 with C and D. Facility in composition was held 
 out as the aim of the work, in order to insure free- 
 dom on the part of the boys, and to eliminate the 
 effect which the personality of the experimenter 
 might have on the subjects' consciousness of spell- 
 ing. 
 
 For eight days the boys were met a half -hour 
 each morning, and six compositions were prepared, 
 Plan of the the topics being "Boating on Lake 
 
 work Mendota," "Fishing Around 
 
 Madison," "Coasting in Our Town," "Other Win- 
 ter Sports" (principally skating, snowballing and 
 hockey), "How I Spent the Fourth" (of July), 
 and "Our Trip to Colorado." These boys had 
 grown up in the hilly city of Madison, which is 
 surrounded by lakes; their own home is on the 
 shore of Lake Mendota ; and their experiences had 
 
 104
 
 COMPOSITION 105 
 
 been much the same. The composition on the 
 "Fourth" was written July tenth, so all details were 
 still fresh in their minds. The trip to Colorado 
 had been taken by both boys together the preceding 
 summer. Each boy said more than once that his 
 subject was larger than he could exhaust in the 
 given time. To reduce the delay in getting started 
 in writing, and to increase spontaneity, there was 
 a brief discussion of each topic in advance; and 
 this resulted in a short outline being placed on the 
 board. To illustrate: in the first composition the 
 writers were urged to put themselves in the place 
 of a boy living in a flat prairie country at a distance 
 from any body of water, except the creek or com- 
 munity "swimming hole," and to describe all those 
 things very; familiar to them, but new and interest- 
 ing to the imaginary correspondent. They were 
 directed also to describe the different kinds of boats 
 on Mendota, the structure and motive power, and 
 the advantages and disadvantages of each for spe- 
 cial purposes. 
 
 The following tables show certain facts with re- 
 gard to the six compositions. In the first two col- 
 The data umns of Table XIV are given the 
 
 gathered total number of words in each 
 
 composition. In the second two appear the addi- 
 tions to the vocabulary previously employed by each 
 writer in this series of compositions. Columns V 
 and VI were secured by dividing Columns III and 
 IV by Columns I and II respectively, and multiply-
 
 io6 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 ing the result by one hundred. Thus they represent 
 the addition per hundred running words of com- 
 position to the vocabulary previously used in this 
 series. The top figure in Columns III-VI inclusive 
 is high, of course, because no words whatever are 
 left out of consideration. In the other figures the 
 common words already used are eliminated, and the 
 effect is steadily intensified. 
 
 TABLE XIV 
 
 AMOUNT OF COMPOSITION VERSUS BREADTH OP 
 VOCABULARY 
 
 Composition 
 
 Running words 
 
 Addition to vocab- 
 ulary previously 
 employed 
 
 Addition per 100 run. 
 ning words to vocab. 
 previously employed 
 
 C | D 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 First 
 
 141 
 127 
 137 
 181 
 116 
 199 
 
 199 
 132 
 143 
 370 
 327 
 421 
 
 66 
 43 
 28 
 52 
 37 
 37 
 
 77 
 42 
 38 
 92 
 67 
 77 
 
 47 
 34 
 
 20 
 29 
 32 
 19 
 
 39 
 32 
 27 
 25 
 20 
 18 
 
 Second . . . 
 Third 
 Fourth*.. . 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth* .... 
 
 Total... 
 
 901 
 
 1592 
 
 263 
 
 393 
 
 29 
 
 25 
 
 In Table XV an attempt has been made to com- 
 pare accuracy in writing with the amount written. 
 In the first column are listed for the entire series 
 the number of mechanical errors, such as omission 
 of words and the use of the wrong word, as a for as 
 
 * Fifty minutes were given to compositions four and six. In tallying 
 the vocabulary, all forms of a verb were regarded as one word; also both 
 numbers of a noun. All compound words of doubtful unity were reck- 
 oned as two words; likewise all adjectives and the adverbs to which 
 they give rise. All proper names were discarded.
 
 COMPOSITION 
 
 107 
 
 or an, the for them, and other lapses. In Column 
 II the same data are given, but with reference to 
 the length of the compositions. In Column III 
 the total number of genuine misspellings in the 
 compositions is given, followed in Column IV by 
 the relation of misspellings to breadth of vocabulary 
 used. But there may have been a number of lapses 
 included here still, especially when a word did not 
 occur elsewhere in the entire series of compositions 
 to give the writer an opportunity to set himself 
 right. Such is probably the case; otherwise the 
 figures of Columns V and VI would not be so 
 much less than those of Columns III and IV re- 
 spectively. The table can not be derived, of course, 
 without employing the totals of the first four col- 
 umns in Table XIV. 
 
 TABLE XV 
 
 AMOUNT OF COMPOSITION AND BREADTH OF VOCAB- 
 ULARY IN RELATION TO LAPSES AND 
 MISSPELLINGS 
 
 Pupi ] 
 
 Lapses 
 
 Different words 
 misspelled in 
 compositions 
 
 Different words 
 misspelled in 
 both the compo- 
 sitions and subse- 
 quent column test 
 
 ~rt 
 1 
 
 Per 100 running 
 words of comp. 
 
 r: 
 
 o 
 H 
 
 Per 100 words 
 of vocabulary 
 
 ct 
 
 1 
 
 Per 100 words 
 of vocabulary 
 
 C 
 D 
 
 18 
 49 
 
 2. 
 3.08 
 
 19 
 
 28 
 
 7.22* 
 7.12 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 1.90 
 2.54 
 
 * C's slight inferiority here is due to the fact that many of his occa- 
 sional misspellings were probably lapses. Note his marked superiority the 
 rest of the way through the table.
 
 io8 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 The first fact to attract the investigator's atten- 
 tion in the course of the tests was the delay of C 
 Organization each day in starting to write. Of 
 
 of ideas course, D showed some hesitancy, 
 
 too, a characteristic even of older students when 
 they are called on to write upon any new theme. 
 There is always a preliminary pause for the or- 
 ganization of ideas. But even with previous dis- 
 cussion of the general subjects treated, and ex- 
 hortation "just to tell it right off," this delay in 
 C's case amounted to from five to eight minutes 
 each day. For this reason, the last two topics 
 were chosen with a view to offering a change from 
 description to narration in writing. But the ad- 
 vantage of the change was not evident; the dis- 
 parity between the two boys seemed to be widened. 
 The investigator was confident that when the "Trip 
 to Colorado" was carried over to the second day, 
 C, being right in medias res, would get readily to 
 work ; but the usual pause was observed. This, the 
 first of several factors, will account for from ten 
 to fifteen per cent, of D's broader vocabulary. 
 
 Again, C, as related in Chapter VIII, was trou- 
 bled by his spelling conscience. In the entire course 
 The spelling of the experiment, D never once 
 
 conscience asked how to spell a word. He 
 
 simply wrote it as he thought it ought to be, or, as 
 he once put it, "without doing any thinking at all." 
 This, by the way, has been his attitude throughout. 
 He writes down a word the first way it comes into
 
 COMPOSITION 109 
 
 his mind, and does not often make a change. C, 
 on the other hand, deliberates and worries over 
 many words, and he can often see two or more 
 ways in which a word may be spelled after 
 he has written it. While C spends time in serious 
 reflection, D goes swiftly along expressing his 
 thoughts without much regard to spelling. 
 
 A third factor which interfered with C's writing 
 was his attention to good form and exactness of 
 Attention to statement. He would object, for 
 
 technique instance, to saying two feet if 
 
 three would seem to be nearer the truth. But though 
 D did not bother about exactness, still his state- 
 ments appeared to be just as exact as C's> possibly 
 because he had a better command of number, or 
 more vivid imagery. The best proof that D did 
 not stop to consider these matters was his failure 
 to ask questions of the investigator, which C often 
 did. C in oral expression showed the same ten- 
 dency to consider carefully before he spoke. When- 
 ever he made an error in his composition or formed 
 a letter wrongly, he had to erase; but D would 
 write the correct form over the incorrect with little 
 regard for appearances. At the close of the ex- 
 periment, each boy was asked to write in his ex- 
 ercise book, "This is my best handwriting." This 
 effort, contrasted with the legibility of their general 
 writing, made it plain that C executed up to his 
 standard more closely than did D. D's composi- 
 tions would be illegible in high degree, if one should
 
 i io THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 try to make out isolated words, while C's were 
 perfectly and easily legible. 
 
 Another factor closely connected with the last 
 one mentioned is writing tempo. Copies of a sim- 
 Rapidity of P^ e extract from Stanley's Trav- 
 
 wntm els in Africa were given the boys, 
 
 and they were directed to copy it for twenty-five 
 minutes as fast as the requirements of legibility 
 would warrant. The quality of writing submitted 
 by the boys on this occasion was much the same 
 as that appearing in their compositions; but the 
 words on the average were considerably longer. C 
 copied two hundred eleven words and D two hun- 
 dred ninety-one words in the twenty-five minutes. 
 It does not seem probable that in any composition 
 period, C ever wrote over half as many words as he 
 could have copied; but D did somewhat better. 
 Probably neither would have felt in his composi- 
 tion writing the limitation of his speed in hand- 
 writing, except for the lack of automatism in 
 spelling. 
 
 In actual spelling efficiency, as noted in this test 
 and numerous others, C is plainly superior to D, 
 The results whether the method be oral or 
 
 summarized written, isolated or contextual. 
 
 D's errors are from twenty-five to one hundred 
 per cent, more frequent. D wrote seventy-five per 
 cent, more than C in a given period of time, and 
 used a vocabulary about fifty per cent, richer. If 
 we take the first nine hundred running words
 
 COMPOSITION ill 
 
 of D's compositions, we find a vocabulary of just 
 four words less than the total for C, though the 
 latter has the advantage of one more subject in 
 such a reckoning. D is far superior in both facility 
 and variety of expression. There also appears to 
 be greater initiative, individuality and life in his 
 work, greater sincerity in his treatment of a theme, 
 more of concrete statement, and more interest felt 
 by the writer in what he writes. In respect to form 
 alone is he inferior to C. 
 
 It therefore does not appear, so far as C and D 
 are concerned, that actual spelling efficiency is a 
 dominant factor in producing facile and effective 
 writing, or that it introduces variety by enriching 
 the vocabulary. Time lost in organizing ideas, con- 
 sciousness of spelling difficulties and pitfalls, and 
 unnecessary stickling for form and exactness, are 
 far more important forces in determining effective 
 written expression, or the reverse.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 SOME SPECIAL FACTORS IN SPELLING 
 
 IT is proposed to bring together in this chapter 
 a number of facts gathered in the entire course 
 of the experiments and not mentioned in the pre- 
 Learning to read cedin S chapters. Incidental to 
 in relation to the collection of the spelling pa- 
 pers and other information which 
 formed the basis of Chapter II, the university and 
 the high-school students were asked to describe the 
 method by which they had learned to read. In- 
 structors were told how to explain the question. 
 The answers were as follows : 
 
 TABLE XVI 
 
 Method of learning 
 to read 
 Alphabetic 
 
 No. of cases Average on spelling test 
 H.S. Univ. H. S. Univ. 
 32 25 68 85 
 6 10 65 83 
 15 9 59 81 
 
 4 11 83 89 
 12 15 56 86 
 
 Word or sentence.... 
 Phonic 
 
 Combination of meth- 
 ods 
 
 Answers indefinite 
 or lackinc: .. 
 
 The frequency with which the alphabet is taught 
 at home at an early age, and the combination of 
 
 112
 
 SOME SPECIAL FACTORS 113 
 
 methods in school may be responsible for the con- 
 fusion and uncertainty in the answers of some of 
 the students. Many older people can sympathize 
 with the one who wrote: "I do not remember how 
 I learned to read. It seems as if I have always 
 known how." 
 
 To the adult who will take time for introspection, 
 it will be apparent that he does not grasp a new word 
 as a whole, but proceeds analytically from the start. 
 He sees it not as a complex unit but as a compound 
 of essential elements. These he unites to form the 
 word ; but the syllable may be an intervening unity 
 with some. But is this the experience of one who is 
 well advanced in reading before he learns his let- 
 ters ? Will not one so taught always tend to acquire 
 new words as wholes, which may do very well for 
 reading but not for spelling? The troubles en- 
 countered by one who takes an habitually phonetic 
 attitude toward words, most of them so unphonetic 
 as they are in English, are surely very great. What- 
 ever be the best method of teaching reading, we 
 must assume that spelling is going to be hampered 
 by any method which does not train a child at first 
 to see the various letters in a word and to execute 
 them in their proper order regardless of their 
 sounds. The students examined in this investiga- 
 tion who worked from the phonic or the word-sen- 
 tence over to the alphabetic method in reading at an 
 early stage made the best showing of all in their 
 spelling. Their rapid progress in their reading had
 
 ii4 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 evidently promoted the acquisition of an effective 
 vocabulary, their sense of phonics had been devel- 
 oped, and they had learned to resolve words into 
 letters. 
 
 The extent to which fear of making errors affects 
 one in spelling is interesting and important. In the 
 Fear of making group of four boys already re- 
 error8 ferred to, C was much the best 
 
 speller of the group in the beginning, and he pos- 
 sessed a high degree of self-confidence. But his 
 own mistakes, and the numerous and grotesque ones 
 of his fellows observed by him at every exercise, 
 gradually undermined his assurance, and seemed to 
 interfere with his efficiency. At the last, he was only 
 slightly superior to B and D, in contrast with his 
 marked superiority at the start. In his compositions, 
 he came to ask aid in spelling easier and easier 
 words. One of the writers has felt the same sort 
 of disturbing influence as a result, apparently, of 
 the continued examination and comparison of mis- 
 spellings in the course of the present work. Both 
 C and the experimenter came out of the series of 
 tests injured rather than benefited in their spelling, 
 as far as freedom and self-confidence are concerned. 
 A, B and D did not seem to anticipate trouble as 
 C finally came to. They appeared not to have de- 
 veloped a fear of a misstep that might happen at 
 any time, as C did. 
 
 A special precaution should be referred to here. 
 Work on the correction of mistakes should be a
 
 SOME SPECIAL FACTORS 115 
 
 Seeing and hear- matter of individual instruction 
 ing mistakes whenever possible. It is serious 
 
 enough for one to have to look over his own errors, 
 without having to see those of others. B was 
 peculiarly susceptible to mistakes made in his hear- 
 ing. In his study of a lesson, he might not have 
 any trouble with a given word, but in the test a 
 little later he might produce the same misspelling 
 as that made by another in the study period. Of 
 this trait he seemed wholly unconscious. But in 
 contrast with C, he appeared able to recognize this 
 as a personal weakness, when he was reminded of 
 it, and to labor consciously and efficiently for its 
 eradication. 
 
 B and C showed that they both often attempted 
 to "reason out" their spelling. They tried to decide 
 Can one reason on e word on the basis of others, 
 out a spelling? saying "It seems as if it would 
 be spelled like this word or this one." B once 
 asked how the order of i and e in a certain word 
 could be remembered. The investigator explained 
 that it was just the reverse of a similar word, and 
 an exception to the rule. D suggested that one 
 ought "just remember it." As a result of this 
 attitude, B and C drew many analogies from other 
 words. B wrote, for example, prcstidge (suggest- 
 ing bridge}, dishartencd (using hart}, inborne (us- 
 ing borne], and holesail (showing double confusion 
 of homonyms). The other boys did the same thing, 
 but to a less extent.
 
 n6 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Auditory similarities between words do not appeal 
 to some persons at all, though such similarities are 
 Auditory and prominent with others. B and C 
 
 visual types would often in a joking way 
 
 make clever rhymes of the words of the lesson, 
 and others. Any spelling device based on the mean- 
 ing of words did not appeal to B, because he spelled 
 in terms of sound. To illustrate, he spelled frus- 
 trate without the first r. He was shown the differ- 
 ence in the pronunciation of what he had written 
 and what he should have written. The mistake 
 seemed to amuse him greatly, and after class he 
 ran about writing on the board "fuss straight." 
 Few would have thought of such a combination. 
 When some of the class had trouble with the first 
 two syllables of malefactor, it was suggested, in 
 harmony with the meaning of the word, that most 
 malefactors were of the male sex. This device, B 
 pointed out, might lead to mail/actor. Hence he 
 missed malefactor on the final test. To remedy 
 derth, it was suggested that he think of the word 
 made by leaving off d, earth. This stuck by him, 
 because it was based on sound. In respect to audi- 
 tory spelling, A works in contrast to B and C. A 
 never relies on mere sound in spelling, unless the 
 word seems wholly strange and he has nothing but 
 the sound to guide him. Three times each, C and D 
 spelled malign as maline. Although A could not 
 spell the word correctly, he never once omitted the
 
 SOME SPECIAL FACTORS 117 
 
 g. Unlike B, he never spelled with his lips when 
 he wrote. 
 
 We must not from this description of differences 
 infer that there are spellers who rely wholly on one 
 
 sort of imagery. Dominance of 
 No pure types 
 
 certain types must be recognized, 
 
 but that is as far as one may go. People frequently 
 talk of Vy?-spellers" and 'Var-spellers." But there 
 was no pure type in the group studied in these 
 experiments. When A spelled weaver for neither 
 and was asked what he had written, he pronounced 
 meauer as any good speller would have done. There 
 is probably no such thing as a strict unphonetic 
 speller. When a word is strange, one will always 
 spell as it "sounds." Again, B and C have both 
 said time and again that "it doesn't look right." 
 One of the writers knows of one peculiar case which 
 must have approximated the pure visual type. A 
 foreign schoolmate who spoke English very well 
 became much interested in spelling, and studied her 
 lessons diligently. If the teacher should pronounce 
 first to her the second word of the lesson, she would 
 probably spell the first. And this was in an oral 
 spelling class. The fact that the class was being 
 conducted according to the auditory-articulatory 
 method did not affect the pupil's exclusive reliance 
 on visual imagery. 
 
 In Chapter III several typical sources of error 
 were discussed with respect to their cause and fre-
 
 n8 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Dominant type quency. Continued work with a 
 of error f ew subjects reveals the fact that 
 
 the frequency of occurrence of any type of error 
 varies widely for different persons. The disposi- 
 tion of some to rely largely on analogies has been 
 mentioned. Other cases in point are the mistakes 
 due to failure to double a consonant, and those 
 resulting from the unnecessary doubling of a 
 consonant. A, B and C are much more likely 
 to make an error by not doubling the conso- 
 nant than the opposite, while D does just the 
 reverse. A has a way of catching the wrong 
 pronunciation of the word, perhaps leaving out 
 syllables; and he will invert the order of two 
 successive letters in either oral or written spelling. 
 Another failing of his is the frequent interchang- 
 ing of s and c when they have the same sound. 
 The elided vowel is a constant source of difficulty, 
 and made trouble for each member of this group. 
 The old-fashioned oral spelling made a fetish 
 of syllabication, while the new-fashioned written 
 Syllabication spelling in many schools often 
 
 as an aid ignores syllables completely. 
 
 Words are written as wholes in the spelling lesson, 
 because they are to function as wholes in actual 
 use in the future. Some of the spelling text-books 
 do not present words syllabicated for study. The 
 useful purposes which syllabication may serve have 
 already been pointed out'; but the question arises 
 whether the visual images of words are not con-
 
 SOME SPECIAL FACTORS 119 
 
 fused by having the words chopped up into pieces, 
 in which form they will not be used in real life. 
 C did not seem to have any preference in the matter, 
 but there was some complaint from A and B to 
 the effect that words studied orally with the sylla- 
 bles written apart did not look familiar when finally 
 written as wholes. Probably the advantages of syl- 
 labication may be gained without any of its dis- 
 advantages, if the words are presented in syllables, 
 but written at least once as wholes before any test 
 is imposed. For unless he is a pure audile, if 
 there is such a type, the, pupil needs while studying 
 a word to see it as it is finally to appear. 
 
 In the course of these experiments some effort 
 was directed toward ascertaining the correlation of 
 Traits that make spelling ability with other simple 
 good spellers traits. This was prompted by the 
 
 desire to discover the cause of A's curious spellings 
 of the more difficult words, and his failures with 
 the more simple ones. It had been suspected that 
 this boy had defective vision, since he had been 
 observed frequently rubbing his eyes. He was 
 strong in all his school work except spelling and 
 oral reading, though his articulation in conversation 
 was defective. An optician had pronounced his vis- 
 ion normal. The Snellen test showed A, C and D to 
 have both eyes of normal acuity, but B's right eye 
 was below normal. The simple test for astigmatism 
 indicated that B has some trouble with his left eye 
 and C some trouble with both. This may assist
 
 120 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 in explaining C's frequent omission of a letter here 
 and there in a word. The "A" test the simple 
 canceling of all A's on a page of letters with the 
 pupil working at maximum speed placed B first, 
 C second and D third, with respect to both speed 
 and accuracy. A was fourth in speed, but ranked 
 between B and C in accuracy. 
 
 Attention was then directed to the hearing of 
 the boys. A had written in an early lesson inprove 
 for improve. After some questioning it was found 
 that, though the word had long been familiar to him 
 and had been used by him, he had always thought it 
 was inprove. This, coupled with his phonetic pro- 
 nunciation of his misspellings of various new 
 words, suggested that he had some degree of deaf- 
 ness. But in a test with Seashore's audiometer, 
 an instrument for grading very delicately the loud- 
 ness of sounds, he was apparently able to detect 
 a fainter sound than any of the other boys. This 
 was preceded and followed by several tests on ability 
 to discriminate or identify the sound heard. Both 
 letters and simple words were tried' The general 
 result indicated that A's discrimination was only 
 slightly inferior when the proper apperceptive basis 
 was laid. For instance, if it were announced that 
 the choice were to be made from the letters of the 
 alphabet or from a specified list of simple words, 
 he would hold his own ; but if the choice were made 
 from a wide range of simple words, and he were 
 given no cue beforehand, he would fall behind the
 
 SOME SPECIAL FACTORS 121 
 
 others. Memory span for letters and for words, 
 viz., ability to reproduce accurately a series im- 
 mediately after it is presented, did not vary much 
 between the members of this group not enough 
 to explain spelling differences. In fact, the series 
 of psychological tests on simple traits demonstrated 
 nothing for this group that correlated at all highly 
 with spelling ability, except possibly A's defective 
 auditory discrimination.
 
 PART II 
 THE SPELLING VOCABULARY
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 POPULAR VIEWS OF SPELLING NEEDS 
 
 WE may now turn from the problems of learn- 
 ing to spell to the question of what should 
 be taught in spelling. The typical layman, were 
 Present theory ne compelled to select a speller 
 and practise f or his children, would probably 
 
 give preference to that text which presented word 
 lists composed of the more difficult and unusual 
 terms. Evidence of this may be seen in the keen 
 interest and appreciation shown by many adults in 
 the successful mastery of "hard" words by the 
 young. Within the last few months, observations 
 have been made in different schools with special 
 reference to the word lists of the spelling lessons. 
 A number of lists used for tests or spelling matches 
 in different parts of the country have been collected, 
 and educational literature has been searched for 
 opinions as to what constitutes a fair attainment 
 in spelling for graduates of the elementary school. 
 Public school-teachers and administrators of long 
 experience have been interviewed, and the opinions 
 of university professors engaged in studying the 
 problems of education have been gathered. The 
 
 125
 
 126 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 question put to all these persons was: How many 
 words should a child be able to spell when he fin- 
 ishes the eighth grade ? Estimates made by the vari- 
 ous persons mentioned ran all the way from five 
 hundred to fifteen thousand words. 
 
 The basis for making an estimate was learned 
 in a number of cases. One person said one thou- 
 sand words, because of his conviction that this num- 
 ber is considerably beyond the ability of many 
 eighth-grade pupils as taught at present; and so 
 we should be satisfied with one thousand. Two 
 others gave an answer based on the assumption that 
 one word per day with its inflected forms is as 
 much as a child can learn. Another calculated about 
 twice as many on the principle that a child can 
 learn two words per day. Two men estimated from 
 eight thousand to ten thousand words, one of them 
 on the theory that the child should be able to spell 
 from two-thirds to three-fourths of his reading vo- 
 cabulary, the latter having been calculated by ex- 
 periment. The principle implied in most of these 
 estimates appears to be that a child needs to know 
 the spelling of an enormous number of words, and 
 that it is the duty of the school to have him mas- 
 ter as many as possible. Some fairly close canvass- 
 ing indicates that the average elementary speller 
 contains upward of six thousand words, though 
 there is great variation, as will be seen later. In 
 most of our larger public schools, the spelling-book 
 is supplemented by words selected from the child's
 
 POPULAR VIEWS 127 
 
 regular studies. A rough estimate of the number 
 of words presented to the typical pupil of a first- 
 class elementary school, for purposes of spelling, 
 gives from eight thousand to ten thousand. It 
 should be added that those school men who said 
 that four thousand words or less would be a rea- 
 sonable requirement had nevertheless made a prac- 
 tise of using in the schools under their supervision 
 spellers containing the usual number of words. 
 This is merely an additional indication of the lack 
 of a critical attitude toward the problem. 
 
 Before proceeding to any examination or criti- 
 cism of the content of these long spelling lists, it 
 Purpose of mav be said that the purpose of 
 
 spelling teaching spelling should be to 
 
 give the pupil the ability to write readily such words 
 as he may have occasion to use in the typical sit- 
 uations of real life. We should keep clearly dis- 
 tinct at all times the three sorts of vocabularies 
 the reading, writing and oral vocabularies. Now, 
 spelling relates to the mastery of the second of 
 these the writing vocabulary. Some reader may 
 be inclined to hold that it is of value for a person 
 to know how to spell all the words of his reading 
 vocabulary. This would assuredly be true if there 
 were any necessary connection between knowing 
 how to spell a word, and recognizing that word 
 when again presented, or recalling its significance. 
 But there is no evidence to show that such a con- 
 nection exists; indeed, plenty of evidence to the
 
 128 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 contrary can be gained by any observant teacher 
 any day in the schoolroom. For example, 
 every experienced teacher knows well the con- 
 stant struggle which is necessary to prevent 
 children learning glibly the spelling of many 
 words which mean nothing to them, while poor 
 spellers often have no trouble in getting the 
 meaning of the words of their text-books. Many 
 people, too, become intelligent readers of a for- 
 eign language without learning its spelling to 
 any extent. As to the oral vocabulary, it is no 
 doubt much nearer the writing vocabulary in 
 scope than is the reading vocabulary. But it is 
 perfectly obvious that efficiency in the oral use of 
 a word does not arise from a knowledge of its 
 spelling. It is possibly true that if an individual 
 mispronounces a word he will be helped sometimes 
 if he be given its spelling; but if the word be 
 unphonetic, and the spelling be impressed upon him, 
 he is more likely to be hindered than helped in its 
 pronunciation. 
 
 It is sometimes asked whether the brief focusing 
 of a child's attention on the spelling of a word, 
 even though he does not halt long enough thor- 
 oughly to master it, may not help in transferring 
 it from his reading to his oral vocabulary. There 
 are probably but two factors that determine the 
 effective adoption of a word into one's oral vo- 
 cabulary. They are the content and the pronun- 
 ciation of the word. The content, however, must
 
 POPULAR VIEWS 129 
 
 come, not from the mechanical arrangement of the 
 letters to form the word, or its spelling, but from 
 its relation to other familiar words in the context. 
 The pronunciation may be gained by the child from 
 his knowledge of phonics, or it may come by imi- 
 tating the pronunciation of another person. But 
 attention given to the literal elements of a word 
 in order to make out its correct pronunciation will 
 ordinarily fall short of what is necessary in order 
 to insure its correct spelling, except in the case of 
 words so thoroughly phonetic that neither spelling 
 nor pronunciation is at all difficult. Before the 
 child can fluently use a word orally, he must grow 
 accustomed to its sound as a whole, by hearing 
 others pronounce it, and by pronouncing it him- 
 self, first in reading, then in conversation, so that 
 he may come to feel at home with the word. 
 
 The foregoing statement of the purpose of teach- 
 ing spelling should not be let pass without an addi- 
 
 T .. . tional word of explanation or 
 
 Immediate versus 
 
 ultimate values qualification. By "words which 
 the pupil will have occasion to 
 write in the typical situations of real life," is meant 
 only those which he will have need for after his 
 school-days are over. The proper names found in 
 Scott's Lady of the Lake and in the early chapters 
 of United States history were a part of the spelling 
 work in one class room which the investigator vis- 
 ited, yet none of the names in the list, with the 
 exception of a few Christian names, is likely ever
 
 130 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 to be written by more than five per cent, of the 
 members of that class in later life. Practically 
 all of the comparatively few who will make use of 
 these words are those who will continue their study 
 along special lines, or who will enter teaching. 
 When the instructor of this class was asked re- 
 garding the motive in this work, she remarked, with 
 some show of surprise at such a question, that 
 "otherwise the class would not spell accurately in 
 their papers on United States history and the writ- 
 ten language work based on the Lady of the Lake." 
 Now there is no support for the notion that appre- 
 ciation of either history or literature is in any way 
 linked up with the spelling of the proper names in- 
 volved ; indeed there is much evidence on the other 
 side. One of the chief dangers in the "incidental" 
 teaching of spelling is to be found in the disposi- 
 tion to bring in more or less technical terms from 
 the various studies, as in the case of history and 
 literature. Of course, no one would countenance 
 the conscious misspelling of any words by pupils. 
 It would be advisable for them to come to feel 
 that any word, no matter how rare, should be spelled 
 correctly. On the other hand, the teacher should 
 give the children the privilege of using the diction- 
 ary, or should inform them outright of the spelling 
 of infrequent words, instead of including such in 
 the regular spelling lists. 
 
 Let us now turn to a consideration of the lists 
 of words found in spelling text-books. While every
 
 POPULAR VIEWS 131 
 
 Pruning one is likely to agree to the gen- 
 
 word hsts era j roosition t h at such lists as 
 
 are at present taught contain some useless words, 
 there is still a lack of agreement as to what should 
 be omitted. For instance, a distinguished educator 
 has recently said "I have on file a very carefully 
 selected list of twenty thousand words, no one of 
 which a grammar-school graduate should miss. . . . 
 It includes only forty-five salt and fresh water 
 fishes." He is apparently counting as separate 
 words all standard variations of the various parts 
 of speech, except those adding s, so his list would 
 probably shrink to sixteen thousand or seventeen 
 thousand words if reduced to a dictionary basis by 
 eliminating all these standard variations. Yet it 
 is to some inconceivable that a grammar-school 
 graduate will ever write the names of forty-five 
 fishes, unless he becomes a catcher or raiser of 
 fish, or an ichthyologist. What about the millions 
 of our people who live far from the seas and the 
 lakes? The same author writes a little later, "A 
 good standard dictionary to-day contains over four 
 hundred thousand words, not counting plurals of 
 nouns and other standard variations. Of these a 
 quarter would be useful to average men if they 
 could learn them, which is, however, obviously im- 
 possible." We can not but regard this number of 
 words as altogether beyond reason. One hundred 
 thousand words useful to the "average" man! 
 Shakespeare appealed to all sorts of men, irrespec-
 
 132 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 tive of race, with only fifteen thousand; and Milton 
 with a modest eight thousand was able to express 
 himself in a wide range of literature of permanent 
 value. Life, to be sure, is more complex to-day 
 than ever before; but the limits of the ordinary 
 man's mind still are set, and year by year increas- 
 ing specialization decreases the range within which 
 a modern man must make his adjustments. In 
 addition to this, one may be led to very erroneous 
 conclusions by comparing an "average" man of the 
 twentieth century or any other time, with the Mil- 
 tons or the Shakespeares who have played so promi- 
 nent a role in building our language. 
 
 There are two fundamental objections, implicit 
 or explicit, that one will meet in attempting to cut 
 
 down our spelling lists. The first 
 Reasons for op- ,, j , 
 
 position to cur- 1S the exaggerated notion, just 
 
 tailment of vo- alluded to, of the use an "aver- 
 cabulary 
 
 age" man has for a big vocabu- 
 lary. This arises partly from the fact that in pass- 
 ing on the eligibility of a word for a place in the 
 spelling lists of an elementary school, one almost 
 habitually bases his judgment upon his feeling as 
 to whether he personally has ever used that 
 word in written communication. This is not to be 
 wondered at, since to each of us our own experi- 
 ence is easily accessible, and that of others is usually 
 remote or unknown. 
 
 The second difficulty encountered in pruning 
 word lists lies in the prevailing domination of our
 
 POPULAR VIEWS 133 
 
 elementary by our secondary schools, and our sec- 
 ondary by our higher institutions. Each higher 
 institution has felt justified, until very recently at 
 least, in prescribing for the lower school the sub- 
 ject-matter which is thought necessary to prepare a 
 small portion of its membership for the superior 
 school. The new movement to make courses of 
 study adapted to the needs of the majority rather 
 than the minority of pupils in the schools has thus 
 far had no effect worth noting on spelling. In the 
 pursuit of an inquiry relative to the spelling needs of 
 elementary-school pupils, the writers have met with 
 such suggestions as that they should cover the corre- 
 spondence of an ex-senator, or study a newspaper 
 of national reputation, whose columns are filled 
 by highly trained writers. An intelligent lady 
 argued tenaciously that the term Mukden (of 
 recent military significance) should be taught be- 
 cause the child "may have to write it some time." 
 No one has proposed that Cherokee or Apache, or 
 even Spanish, Igorrote, Chinese or Hindu be made 
 a compulsory study in the elementary school be- 
 cause some of the children may become interpreters 
 or missionaries; yet the probability of the latter is 
 surely much greater than that a considerable num- 
 ber of future United States senators, metropolitan 
 newspaper correspondents, or writers of world his- 
 tory are sitting in every schoolroom in the land. 
 
 Of course, in all education of whatever grade, 
 we must take some chances. If one be given a
 
 134 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 special education he may prove a misfit, and may 
 harm rather than help society ; or the child or youth 
 may die before he reaches his productive years, 
 thus entailing not only a heavy family loss, but 
 a large social one as well. On the sociological 
 side, at any rate, education can never become an 
 exact science. There is nothing we can teach a 
 child and be certain that it will function later. The 
 best we can do is to select our materials in such 
 a way that there will be a high degree of proba- 
 bility that they will all be of service in the later 
 life of nearly all the pupils. This is the more true 
 since one hears constantly the complaint that the 
 program of study is overcrowded, and that many 
 subjects really worth while have to be omitted. No 
 one of special vocational or professional aptitude 
 or inclination should ask to have the course for all 
 distorted in order to minister to his peculiar needs. 
 But if it becomes apparent that a large percentage of 
 the pupils of a school are destined to enter a par- 
 ticular calling, classes may be formed for instruc- 
 tion in the essentials of this special business; and 
 among those essentials may well be included the 
 spelling of a number of technical words relating 
 to this calling.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 DETERMINING THE WRITTEN VOCABULARY OF TYPI- 
 CAL AMERICANS 
 
 HAVING in view the matters discussed in the 
 last chapter, the writers have undertaken an 
 investigation of the spelling needs of American 
 An experimental children. Not many attempts of 
 study of spelling this character have yet been 
 made; but recently a survey 
 was made of the word list employed in the issues 
 of several Buffalo Sunday papers.* It was discov- 
 ered that in about forty-four thousand running 
 words of composition taken from the newspapers 
 in question, about six thousand different words and 
 forms of words were used. This number would 
 shrink perhaps a thousand or more if reduced to 
 a dictionary basis, as already defined. The astound- 
 ing fact appeared that seven words constituted over 
 one- fourth of the whole number. Chancellor at- 
 tempted to ascertain from a number of letters that 
 came to his desk the one thousand most important 
 words.f This when reduced to a dictionary basis 
 
 * Eldridge, Six Thousand Common English Words. Ni- 
 agara Falls, N. Y. 
 t Journal of Education, May 26, 1910. 
 
 135
 
 T 36 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 \ 
 
 shrinks to eight hundred eighty-three words. No de- 
 tailed statement, however, is made as to the manner 
 in which the study was conducted, or as to the busi- 
 ness and education of the correspondents. The list 
 is not arranged in a strictly alphabetical order, 
 consequently about a dozen words are repeated. 
 No note is made of the comparative frequency of 
 the different words, so that one is left in doubt as 
 to whether frequency was actually studied at all. 
 An interesting study of this matter was made 
 recently by the Russell Sage Foundation.* The 
 
 , , results were published in Febru- 
 Ayres study 
 
 of spelling ary, 1913, within about a week 
 
 vocabularies of the time that ^ writers con . 
 
 eluded, the task of tallying the frequency of occur- 
 rence of all words in over two hundred thousand 
 running words of correspondence according to a 
 method to be described presently. Doctor Ayres se- 
 lected the first word of each line in two thousand 
 letters chosen from a variety of sources. In this 
 way twenty-three thousand six hundred twenty-nine 
 words were tallied out of a total of one hundred ten 
 thousand one hundred sixty. The total number of 
 different words and different forms of words oc- 
 curring one or more times was found to be two 
 thousand one. Of these, the five hundred forty- 
 two occurring six or more times were published in 
 the order of their frequency. Seven hundred fifty- 
 
 * Ayres, The Spelling Vocabularies of Personal and Busi- 
 ness Letters.
 
 THE WRITTEN VOCABULARY 137 
 
 one of the two thousand one occurred but a 
 single time. Although the present study is in sev- 
 eral respects different from that of Ayres, his data 
 will be used as a check and basis of comparison 
 at a number of points. 
 
 In searching for a standard to employ in esti- 
 mating the writing vocabularies of typical individu- 
 als in American life, and in dis- 
 How to find the . . 
 
 needs of the "com- covering what words are found 
 mon people" most common i y j n t he written ex- 
 
 pression of ordinary people, it was finally decided to 
 use the family correspondence of a group of adults. 
 It would be a safe guess, probably, to say that most 
 of the spelling needs of nine-tenths of our people 
 relate to correspondence of a varied nature with 
 relatives and friends. Ordinary business corre- 
 spondence is attended to by stenographers, or is 
 almost a negligible quantity as far as spelling is 
 concerned. It is moreover of a stereotyped and 
 usually quite technical character. For every kind 
 of business and for every profession there are spe- 
 cial needs; but in these we are not interested, since 
 it is spelling for the common school that we are 
 considering. It is likely that Ayres' lists do not 
 quite indicate the needs of most people, because it 
 is probable that in his study family correspondence 
 was neglected, to the exaggeration of the import- 
 ance of business letters. Sincerely shows a fre- 
 quency of one hundred forty-two, truly of one hun- 
 dred sixty-six, respectfully of sixty-three and love
 
 138 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 of only sixteen. Since the average length of the 
 letters examined was only fifty-five words, surely 
 no great proportion could have been of a family 
 character, and only a very few could have dealt 
 with the "tender emotion." 
 
 In the present investigation it was determined 
 not to include a large amount of correspondence 
 between particular friends, because they often have 
 only a single line of interest. The vocabulary of 
 such correspondence would therefore tend to be 
 highly specialized. For a like reason, the corre- 
 spondence of immature persons has not been used 
 in this study to any great extent. The child's 
 interests are not those of an adult. Many of the 
 responsibilities of the latter are not felt until one's 
 majority is reached. No doubt the framing of a 
 course in spelling for elementary pupils should in- 
 clude a number of words which an examination of 
 the spontaneous compositions of children of differ- 
 ent ages shows to be useful in child life, but which 
 plays only a small part in the average adult's con- 
 sciousness. This matter is discussed fully later on. 
 
 But after all it is family letters that tend 
 more than any other form of correspondence to call 
 out a vocabulary dealing with the whole range of hu- 
 man interests. Family correspondence is not open 
 to the usual valid objection to composition tests of 
 spelling, viz., that the writer avoids some words, 
 the spelling of which is uncertain, and selects others 
 whose spelling is known. The errors which the
 
 THE WRITTEN VOCABULARY 139 
 
 investigators found in much of the correspondence 
 examined were not calculated to betray reserve or 
 embarrassment over spelling. When a word was 
 needed, the correspondent proceeded to spell at it, 
 if it were unfamiliar. On the other hand, there 
 is in adult family correspondence no endeavor to 
 diversify one's vocabulary for the production of 
 special literary effects, such as characterizes all 
 writing for publication, and renders it valueless for 
 our present purpose. 
 
 In collecting the material for investigation, the 
 conclusion has been reached that spelling has dis- 
 tinctly declined in importance in 
 Declining im- 
 portance of the last generation, and is still 
 
 declining. It is entirely possible 
 that if the present tendency continues for another 
 century, the spelling reformers and their opponents 
 will have only a skeleton to fight over. This result 
 has followed from the decay of letter- writing, which 
 in turn is the result of various social changes. Any 
 one who will take the pains to make personal ob- 
 servations can verify every point that is made here- 
 after relating to the decay of spelling needs. 
 
 Among the conditions that have produced the 
 changes referred to may be mentioned first the plen- 
 ti fulness of newspapers, magazines and books. 
 Books and magazines supply the intellectual stimu^ 
 lation which the daily, weekly or monthly mail once 
 furnished. Those who migrate to a new home, 
 leaving behind acquaintances, friends and relatives,
 
 140 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 often have the local paper follow them at a nominal 
 cost. Or if they do not subscribe, the "home- folks" 
 bundle up the papers occasionally and forward them, 
 naturally without writing, because that would en- 
 tail additional expense for postage. Those in the 
 new home may not send their own local papers 
 regularly to the "home- f oiks" ; but any items of 
 special interest they clip out and enclose in a letter. 
 Or if anything in the way of a story or witticism 
 impresses them as unusually good, it is cut out and 
 sent along too. The clippings often constitute the 
 bulk of the letter. 
 
 In the second place, there is vast improvement 
 and greater freedom in means of communication. 
 Postal rates have been lowered, not for first-class 
 matter only, but for all classes of mailable matter. 
 The use of telegraph and telephone is coming 
 within the reach of more and more people. With- 
 out cost, or for a few cents at most, people can 
 telephone some distance across country or from 
 town to town, transact business, or reach decisions 
 that by correspondence would require several let- 
 ters. Travel is increasing out of all proportion to 
 population. Annual vacations, holiday rates and 
 all sorts of excursions are substituting visiting and 
 personal conference for letter-writing. Friends a 
 hundred miles or two apart may not write for 
 months; but once or twice a year they may come 
 together and visit over their joys and sorrows. 
 
 Again, the changing status of women in the home
 
 THE WRITTEN VOCABULARY 141 
 
 and new business methods, are shifting the burden 
 of letter-writing. Though the mother was in the 
 early days the teacher and intellectual leader of the 
 family, her other responsibilities were much heavier 
 than to-day. She no longer goes into the fields to 
 work; much of the family raiment is purchased 
 ready-made; and more or less of the food is pre- 
 pared outside of the home. With these changes, 
 women have become to some extent a leisure class. 
 They still do most of the reading and practically 
 all of the writing for the family. A rather ex- 
 tensive inquiry among friends and acquaintances 
 has shown it to be impossible to secure more than 
 perhaps one-tenth as much written matter in gen- 
 eral from the pens of men as from those of women. 
 In this inquiry, households were found where men, 
 perfectly able to write, do not, from pure disin- 
 clination to undertake the task, produce a letter 
 from one year's end to the other. They confine 
 themselves to signing legal papers. Professional 
 men, possibly from their greater facility in expres- 
 sion, are less derelict in this connection. Yet as 
 many of them as can afford it are known by sten- 
 ographers to dictate much of their most private 
 correspondence as well as their business letters. In 
 these times a scholar can write a book without 
 doing any spelling himself. 
 
 Lastly, the development of the post-card as a 
 means of communication has proved highly destruc- 
 tive of letter-writing. Special cards are issued for
 
 142 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's 
 Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter and so on. At such 
 times it is the custom to "remember everybody." 
 If the intervals are unduly long, the "remembrance" 
 comes to hand in the form of some local view or 
 comic card. The most novel and extreme form is 
 the short letter already written for the correspond- 
 ent. "Arrived at Kalamazoo on the . . . inst." 
 The writer fills in the date. Then follow a number 
 of statements, such as "Like the town," "Am well," 
 "Having a good time," "The boys (or girls) are 
 good-lookers," "Remember me to the rest." After 
 each statement is a place for "Yes" or "No," or 
 check for "Yes," leaving the other spaces blank. 
 
 Many people, of course, are bound to be seriously 
 disturbed at any movement that would tend to limit 
 
 No imminent dan- a P 6 " 011 ' 8 knowledge of spelling 
 ger of hampering to the demonstrated demands of 
 those living a generation ahead of 
 him. It will be asserted that if the art of written 
 expression is on the decline, we should strive to 
 train our children in the opposite direction, and 
 not hamper them by reducing their writing vocab- 
 ulary. All such persons should recall the fact that 
 the decline of letter-writing is traceable to social 
 factors, as has been shown. In no sense has it 
 resulted from teaching the spelling of too few 
 words. The truth of the whole matter is that 
 every one who has finished the elementary school 
 is carrying around in his head for years afterward
 
 THE WRITTEN VOCABULARY 143 
 
 hundreds, if not thousands, of words that he never 
 writes. And is it not possible that the learning of 
 these words extracted from his short school-days 
 valuable time which should have been devoted to 
 really vital instruction that he failed to get because 
 there was "not enough time" ? Moreover, this large 
 expenditure of time and energy in learning to spell 
 has not apparently produced good spellers. If we 
 want good spelling, shall we not put the pressure 
 on the most vital words, instead of on the less vital, 
 or non-vital ones? 
 
 Suppose that by a restriction of spelling lists a 
 child should later find himself hampered with ref- 
 erence to a few words. They are all in the diction- 
 aries, pocket editions of which are easily secured. 
 Further, why can he not learn to spell a few words 
 after he leaves the elementary school? Why not 
 carry spelling through the high school and even the 
 university if necessary? As a matter of fact all 
 intelligent adults are learning to spell every now and 
 then. Many words commonly written to-day were 
 found twenty years ago in the supplement of the 
 unabridged dictionary. It should be remembered 
 that the business of the common school is to pre- 
 pare children for the life of two decades hence, 
 while school texts, more especially spellers, are apt 
 to reflect the needs of many decades past.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 SOURCES AND CHARACTER OF DATA 
 
 IT has been the aim in this investigation to study 
 individual needs rather than to secure a com- 
 posite of the vocabularies of many persons, so the 
 Sources of writers confined their request for 
 
 the data correspondence to a limited num- 
 
 ber of persons thirteen in all. Five of these per- 
 sons were men and the other eight were women. 
 Various degrees of academic training are repre- 
 sented, ranging from schooling equivalent to three, 
 grades of the present elementary school perhaps, 
 up to a year of graduate work in a state university. 
 Different sorts of interest and vocation are sam- 
 pled in a fairly typical way. That the correspond- 
 ence examined was not local or sectional in its 
 character may be inferred from the statement that 
 it bore not fewer than forty different postmarks 
 from widely separated portions of our own country 
 and from some foreign lands. This variety of en- 
 vironments should be of assistance in gaging de- 
 mands for the spelling of proper names, though 
 travel plays slightly too important a part to make 
 the letters truly typical. Of course, it is under- 
 
 144
 
 SOURCES OF DATA 145 
 
 stood that no person knew at the time of writing 
 that any of his work was to be utilized in this study. 
 
 For the sake of completeness and definiteness, 
 the following brief account is given of each of the 
 thirteen persons at the time they produced the let- 
 ters used by the writers : 
 
 S., fifty-six years of age, mother of a family. 
 Her education was probably equivalent to the 
 course of an ordinary elementary school. She con- 
 tributed twelve thousand running words, written 
 to her adult children and their families. 
 
 P., daughter of S., aged twenty-seven, mother of 
 a family. Attended high school and took one year 
 of university work. A voluminous letter-writer, 
 accustomed to recount all the details of family life. 
 Contributed forty thousand running words, taken 
 from her letters to her mother, husband, brother 
 and other near relatives. 
 
 C, husband of P., aged thirty. Had high-school 
 education and completed a technical course at the 
 university, now a civil engineer managing a factory. 
 Contributed five thousand running words, taken in 
 about equal portions from letters to his wife and 
 her relatives on the occasion of a trip to California. 
 
 W., son of S., brother of P., aged twenty to 
 twenty-five. Graduate in state university, teacher 
 in public high school. Contributed forty thousand 
 running words, written to his wife mainly before, 
 but in part after, marriage. 
 
 H., wife of W., aged nineteen to twenty-four,
 
 I 4 6 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 graduate of elementary school. Contributed forty 
 thousand running words, written to W. mainly be- 
 fore, but in part after, marriage. 
 
 E., sister of H., aged twenty-seven, graduate of 
 elementary school. Bookkeeper and stenographer. 
 Contributed five thousand running words, written 
 to her mother and sister. 
 
 N., mother of H. and E., aged sixty-four. Had 
 meager educational opportunities. She says she 
 never finished the third reader. Contributed five 
 thousand words,, written to her daughters. 
 
 A., aged sixty, mother of a family. Attended 
 the academy of an earlier day, then spent three 
 years in a seminary of good standing, afterward 
 taught for several years. Contributed twenty- four 
 thousand words, written to her sisters from her 
 Connecticut home, later from England, France and 
 Germany. 
 
 G., aged twenty-five, postgraduate in classical 
 languages in state university of Middle West. 
 Teacher in girls' private school. Contributed five 
 thousand words, written to her mother, mostly with 
 regard to social life and personal matters outside 
 of school. 
 
 O., aged eighteen, high-school graduate, from 
 a home of unusual intellectual and social opportuni- 
 ties and stimulation. Contributed eight thousand 
 words, written to her parents while at home and 
 away from home. 
 
 J., aged about forty, lawyer and public man in
 
 SOURCES OF DATA 147 
 
 a small city. Graduated from state normal school, 
 and spent two years in law school. Contributed 
 six thousand words, written to a public-school su- 
 perintendent, on whose board J. once served. The 
 letters were written before and after the two men 
 had severed their official connections. 
 
 M., aged about twenty-three, graduate of state 
 normal school, spent one year tutoring at Washing- 
 ton, then became principal of a city elementary 
 school. Contributed five thousand words, written 
 while serving in the two capacities above named. 
 They were addressed to an older brother, also a 
 teacher, but contained little "shop talk." 
 
 B., aged twenty-eight, spent two years in high 
 school, and then took a course in the business col- 
 lege, is now a bookkeeper and stenographer in a 
 wholesale grocery house. Contributed five thou- 
 sand words, addressed to a brother, along business 
 and personal lines. 
 
 Another kind of material utilized in this investi- 
 gation came from three spelling-books described 
 below. Their vocabularies were arranged alpha- 
 betically that they might be checked up with the 
 vocabularies of the correspondents, and with one 
 another, in order to discover the underlying prin- 
 ciple, if any were followed, in the selection of ma- 
 terials for the spelling text-books of to-day, and 
 to test readily the validity of such principles by 
 the concrete material derived from the correspond- 
 ence. Two of these spelling texts appeared in 1908,
 
 148 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 and one in 1912. They are published by two lead- 
 ing text-book companies, and one of the books 
 might, perhaps, be considered the most-used ele- 
 mentary spelling-book in the country. These three 
 texts were chosen because it was believed that they 
 exemplified the better, not the poorer, attempts in 
 modern text-book construction. They will here- 
 after be referred to as Spellers A, B and C. 
 
 Speller A is divided into two books, giving work 
 stated to be for grades III-VIII inclusive. "A 
 large number of English words that present no diffi- 
 culty have been excluded" (Preface). The 
 
 publishers make the following claim for this book : 
 "Only those words have been admitted which be- 
 long to the writing vocabulary of the average per- 
 son. The many words that are known in reading, 
 but that are seldom if ever used by the average man 
 in writing, have been excluded. Words that pre- 
 sent no spelling difficulty and need no study have 
 also been omitted." 
 
 Speller B is divided into seven books. Just how 
 it is intended that the work of these should be ad- 
 justed to the eight grades is not stated ; perhaps the 
 most reasonable assumption is that no book is allot- 
 ted to Grade I. The feature of this book is the use 
 in adjacent sentences of the words presented in 
 
 the column lessons. " About six thousand 
 
 words, not counting different forms of verbs and 
 nouns, are thus presented in use. Excepting a few 
 of the most simple words used in Books I and II,
 
 SOURCES OF DATA 149 
 
 no word is used in a sentence before it is given in 
 
 the column About six thousand more words, 
 
 classified as 'additional' and 'less common' words 
 
 are given in columns following the regular 
 
 sentence presentation" (Preface). 
 
 Speller C outlines work for the entire elementary 
 course, except the first half of the first year. A 
 large number of dictation and completion exercises 
 are presented. Many of the former are selected 
 from literary masterpieces, and contain large num- 
 bers of more or less uncommon words. A state- 
 ment made in the introduction as to not requiring 
 pupils to learn uncommon words evidently meant 
 that any unusual literary names (those applied to 
 literary characters, not the names of the authors 
 themselves) should be omitted. Everything save 
 directions to pupils has been included in cal- 
 culating the vocabulary of this text. However, 
 in the case of word-building exercises, the words 
 actually found in the book, and not those built by 
 the pupil, have been taken into account. The 
 French and Latin words and phrases are marked 
 in the text, "For reference only." 
 
 Test lists used in different parts of the country 
 on important spelling occasions would not be of 
 No consideration much value in this investigation. 
 of test lists if judged by the criterion of their 
 
 frequency of use in after life, they would be found 
 wanting. However, one must not forget that the 
 purpose of these competitions is not normally to
 
 150 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 teach pupils how to spell, but to make them fail 
 to spell, so that the question. of personal superiority 
 can be settled. Hence it is to be expected that 
 comparatively rare words must be drawn in very 
 largely before a decision can be reached. No one 
 can doubt, though, that special test lists for every- 
 day purposes in the regular school work should be 
 graded carefully, that they should consist of words 
 that people often use, and that a pupil's promotion 
 in spelling should depend on his capacity for spell- 
 ing words that he is later to use in expressing him- 
 self. 
 
 In the arrangement of vocabularies in this in- 
 vestigation, several rules of procedure have been 
 Rules of kept in mind, and followed as 
 
 procedure consistently as possible. First of 
 
 all, the dictionary basis has been adhered to. This 
 has resulted in the appearance in every list of nouns 
 in the singular number and nominative case only, 
 though a few plurals appear in cases where the 
 plural is the form habitually employed. The sin- 
 gular of no such word is then permitted in the list. 
 The same policy is followed relative to another 
 group of words, such as news, afterwards, besides, 
 etc. But the various forms of the personal pro- 
 nouns are so highly disparate that all variant forms 
 are included, except ours, yours and theirs. Like- 
 wise only the positive degree of adjectives is in- 
 cluded, except that the comparative or superlative 
 occurs for the few which lack a positive form. So
 
 SOURCES OF DATA 151 
 
 also of verbs; the present infinitive is considered 
 the root form. To illustrate, for the verb to be, 
 the forms, is, are, was, were, being, been, are al- 
 ways checked as be. The justification for such 
 procedure is, first, that it simplifies the problem; 
 and, second, that an individual who has any real 
 use for a root word will doubtless have also a real 
 use for its inflected forms, though of course some 
 of the derivatives may have a very different fre- 
 quency of use from the root word itself. 
 
 In the second place, words of identical spelling 
 and like pronunciation are not differentiated in the 
 lists. For instance, might is always referred to 
 may, whether it be the past tense of the latter, 
 or the noun meaning power or strength. As far as 
 dealing with the lists in spelling texts goes, it is 
 impossible to tell, when we see might in a column, 
 whether it is a noun or a verb. Hence we need to 
 act similarly in dealing with correspondence. And 
 while from some points of view it would perhaps 
 be desirable to know whether in spelling we should 
 stress might as a noun or as a verb, it is probable 
 that as long as the phonic elements are the same, if 
 the child learns to spell the word merely as one 
 part of speech, he will spell it correctly in its other 
 forms, barring a homonymic interference. Many 
 simple words, like hoe (noun and verb), pin (noun 
 and verb), etc., come under the principle just men- 
 tioned. 
 
 In the third place, words of identical spelling but
 
 152 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 dissimilar pronunciation are included but gnce. 
 This, too, was necessitated by the fact that words 
 like grease and canon do not always have their pro- 
 nunciation indicated in the columns of the spelling- 
 book. Difficulty with or confusion in the use of 
 such words can be obviated by teaching them with 
 both their meanings and their appropriate pronun- 
 ciations. This need not often involve the teaching 
 of an uncommon word, or a common word with 
 an uncommon signification, unless the teacher is 
 injudicious enough to go outside his own reading 
 vocabulary. 
 
 /, a and o have been excluded from consideration, 
 for while they are technically words, they are also 
 mere letters, and the question of spelling obviously 
 does not enter in. All syncopations are entered as 
 though written in full, except the single one, 
 o'clock, which is standard and preferable to the 
 full form on all occasions. A few of the more 
 common apostrophized forms would have been in- 
 cluded, had it been possible to tell where to stop; 
 but I'll leads on to I'd, and you'd, and finally 
 who'd, so all such forms were regarded as if the 
 words had been written in full. In dealing with 
 the correspondence, all abbreviations are treated as 
 if written in full, except Mr., Mrs., etc. and O. K., 
 and the initials of persons. These latter are totally 
 disregarded. The reason is that aside from o'clock, 
 and the abbreviations just mentioned, the knowl- 
 edge of the spelling of a word may be presumed
 
 SOURCES OF DATA 153 
 
 to have preceded the knowledge of its abbreviation, 
 and for the additional reason, that the abbrevia- 
 tion in all except the most familiar correspondence 
 is not yet recognized as good form. Baby talk 
 is excluded, but large numbers of colloquial ex- 
 pressions, if justified by the dictionary, are in- 
 cluded. The Standard Dictionary has been used 
 in determining the eligibility of such words. 
 
 Some arbitrary standard had to be recognized 
 in the treatment of numbers, so it was decided to 
 exclude from consideration all dates, all street 
 numbers, all quantities of money expressed in deci- 
 mal fashion, all hours of the day when in the 
 standard form (e.g., 5:45), all numbers over one 
 hundred, except round numbers like a thousand, 
 ten thousand, or a million. Such a course seems 
 advisable, because the exemptions made are properly 
 expressed by figures. 
 
 All words with hyphens have been considered as 
 two words. Foreign words and expressions scarcely 
 naturalized have been kept in a segregated list in 
 the examination of both spelling texts and corre- 
 spondence. Proper names of every sort have also 
 been segregated into a special list. They are noted 
 as to frequency in all the correspondence, but not 
 considered a part of the vocabulary of any person, 
 since changing associations in the local environment 
 will constantly introduce new names. Consequently 
 proper terms are skipped in counting off the two 
 hundred thousand words of correspondence. Words
 
 154 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 which become proper names only in specific connec- 
 tions, as seen in the expressions, Kansas City, or 
 Franklin Street, and even there retain their general 
 significance, are not considered as proper names. 
 
 The vocabulary found in the correspondence of 
 each person has been kept entirely separate from 
 The arrangement everything else, so that, as ex- 
 of words plained above, we might gain 
 
 some view of the extent of individual needs, and, 
 what is still more important from the point of 
 view of the public school, we might examine the 
 general agreement or community of needs. 
 Though the frequency of each word is given in the 
 lists of this study, the words are not arranged ac- 
 cording to frequency because, in the first place, if 
 one examines a "frequency" list one finds it diffi- 
 cult to tell whether a particular word is present, 
 to say nothing of the probability of clerical mis- 
 takes leading to duplications. With Ayres' list no 
 doubt extraordinary care was exercised, yet in the 
 published portions at least three words are repeated, 
 which alters more or less seriously their position 
 in the list. Second, a word which has a given fre- 
 quency and is universally used should be given a 
 more prominent position in the list than one which 
 occurs somewhat more frequently but serves only 
 three- fourths as many persons, showing that its idea 
 is less universalized or permits of ready expression 
 in other ways. In the present study, the word 
 big has almost exactly twice the frequency of busy,
 
 SOURCES OF DATA 155 
 
 yet it does not occur in the letters of two of the 
 thirteen correspondents, because its idea can be ex- 
 pressed by large. Neither of these two persons is 
 among the three who fail to use large. But busy, 
 for which no ready substitute seems to be offered, 
 is employed by every subject. Illustrations could 
 be multiplied ad libitum. Third, where the corre- 
 spondence of a limited number of persons is studied 
 in detail, as in the present case, the prominence 
 given to a somewhat unusual word by two or even 
 one of the subjects might place it in an entirely 
 false light if frequency were the basis of arrange- 
 ment.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 WORD LISTS DERIVED FROM CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 THE plan followed in tabulating the data of 
 this investigation has been to divide the total 
 vocabulary of the thirteen correspondents into four 
 The method of alphabetical lists. List I con- 
 classifying data ta j ns W ords used by all the corre- 
 spondents; List II, those used by a majority of 
 them; List III, those used by more than one but 
 less than a majority; List IV, those used by one 
 writer only. Immediately after each word is placed 
 its frequency in the two hundred thousand running 
 words. In the third column is noted how many 
 of the three spelling-books, A, B and C, contain 
 it. In the fourth column stands the list in which 
 the given word comes if only the women corre- 
 spondents be considered. In the fifth column the 
 same information is given from the standpoint of 
 the men correspondents. All vacant spaces in Col- 
 umns III, IV and V signify non-occurrence. In 
 Column VI the letters A and C indicate respectively 
 whether found in Ayres' published list of the five 
 hundred forty-two most frequent words, or in Chan- 
 cellor's list of the thousand most common words 
 
 156
 
 WORD LISTS 157 
 
 in every-day use. Columns IV and V are omitted 
 in List I, since they would be simply a succession 
 of I's. 
 
 LIST I 
 
 1 86 WORDS WORDS USED BY ALL THE CORRE- 
 SPONDENTS 
 
 I II. Ill IV 
 
 about 889 2 AC 
 
 after 365 2 AC 
 
 afternoon 389 2 A 
 
 again 256 3 AC 
 
 all 1369 2 A 
 
 almost 153 3 C 
 
 also 166 3 A 
 
 an 346 1 AC 
 
 and 8252 2 AC 
 
 another 166 2 A 
 
 any 530 2 AC 
 
 around 143 2 C 
 
 as 1368 1 A 
 
 ask 186 2 A 
 
 at 1240 1 A 
 
 away 193 2 A 
 
 back 299 2 AC 
 
 be .....9711 2 AC 
 
 before 361 2 AC 
 
 boy 171 2 AC 
 
 build 89 3 AC 
 
 busy 71 3 AC 
 
 but 1771 2 AC 
 
 by 439 2 A 
 
 can 1190 3 AC 
 
 cannot 392 1 
 
 church 159 2 A 
 
 come 946 2 AC 
 
 course 202 3 A 
 
 day 916 2 AC 
 
 dear 481 2 AC 
 
 do 2498 3 AC 
 
 down 384 AC 
 
 enough 158 3 A 
 
 even 360 2 AC 
 
 ever. . . 222 2 AC
 
 158 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II ill IV 
 
 every 232 3 C 
 
 far 96 2 C 
 
 feel 473 2 AC 
 
 few 156 2 AC 
 
 find 217 2 AC 
 
 first 237 2 A 
 
 for 2263 1 A 
 
 four 172 3 AC 
 
 friend 90 3 AC 
 
 from 895 1 A 
 
 get 1667 2 AC 
 
 give ' 309 2 AC 
 
 glad 235 2 AC 
 
 go 1981 1 AC 
 
 good 837 2 AC 
 
 guess 128 3 
 
 have 4562 3 AC 
 
 he 1166 2 AC 
 
 hear 279 3 AC 
 
 help 224 2 AC 
 
 her 1061 2 AC 
 
 here : 613 3 A 
 
 him 459 1 AC 
 
 his 441 1 A 
 
 home 496 2 A 
 
 hope 259 3 AC 
 
 hour 170 3 A 
 
 house 367 3 AC 
 
 how 433 2 AC 
 
 if 1050 1 AC 
 
 in 2511 A 
 
 it 3607 2 A 
 
 just 763 2 A 
 
 keep 205 3 AC 
 
 know 790 3 AC 
 
 last 531 2 AC 
 
 late 102 2 AC 
 
 leave 348 2 AC 
 
 let 208 2 AC 
 
 letter .... 800 2 AC 
 
 like 553 2 AC 
 
 little 778 2 AC 
 
 live 117 3 
 
 long 279 2 AC 
 
 look... 386 2 A 
 
 make 633 3 AC 
 
 man 206 2 AC 
 
 many 314 3 AC
 
 WORD LISTS 159 
 
 i ii m iv 
 
 me 1377 1 AC 
 
 mine 57 2 C 
 
 morning 478 2 AC 
 
 much 947 2 AC 
 
 must 399 1 AC 
 
 my 1457 2 A 
 
 need 114 3 AC 
 
 never 247 2 AC 
 
 new 220 2 AC 
 
 next 302 2 AC 
 
 nice 198 2 AC 
 
 night 547 2 AC 
 
 no 335 1 AC 
 
 not 2878 2 AC 
 
 nothing 71 2 AC 
 
 now 489 2 AC 
 
 of 3252 1 AC 
 
 off 175 2 AC 
 
 old 294 2 AC 
 
 on 1175 1 AC 
 
 one 1117 2 AC 
 
 only 419 3 AC 
 
 or 680 1 A 
 
 other 344 2 AC 
 
 ought 97 3 C 
 
 out 703 2 AC 
 
 over 427 2 AC 
 
 own 176 2 C 
 
 part 109 2 AC 
 
 pay 168 3 AC 
 
 people 160 3 AC 
 
 place 217 2 AC 
 
 pretty 249 3 A 
 
 put 254 2 AC 
 
 quite 159 3 AC 
 
 rest 125 1 C 
 
 right 242 3 AC 
 
 run 101 2 C 
 
 same 110 1 AC 
 
 say 906 2 AC 
 
 see 789 3 AC 
 
 seven 66 2 C 
 
 several 56 2 AC 
 
 she 1542 2 AC 
 
 show 71 3 AC 
 
 six 124 2 C 
 
 BO 1729 1 AC 
 
 some.. .750 2 AC
 
 160 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II ill IV 
 
 soon 196 2 AC 
 
 spend 103 2 C 
 
 start 143 2 A 
 
 such 224 2 A 
 
 suppose 164 2 
 
 sure 179 3 A 
 
 take 535 2 AC 
 
 talk 149 3 AC 
 
 tell 669 2 AC 
 
 than 321 2 AC 
 
 that 2514 2 AC 
 
 the 7606 2 AC 
 
 their 210 3 AC 
 
 them 636 2 AC 
 
 then 456 2 AC 
 
 there 852 3 AC 
 
 they 925 2 AC 
 
 thing 414 2 AC 
 
 think 1178 2 AC 
 
 this 1236 2 AC 
 
 though 148 1 AC 
 
 three 251 2 AC 
 
 through 160 3 A 
 
 time 893 2 AC 
 
 to 7553 2 AC 
 
 too 408 3 A 
 
 town 165 2 C 
 
 train 148 3 AC 
 
 try 199 3 AC 
 
 two 501 3 AC 
 
 up 782 1 AC 
 
 us 368 2 A 
 
 use 160 3 AC 
 
 very 644 3 AC 
 
 visit 102 3 A 
 
 want 543 2 A 
 
 way 271 2 AC 
 
 we 2218 2 AC 
 
 week 505 3 AC 
 
 well 672 2 AC 
 
 what 479 2 AC 
 
 when 766 2 AC 
 
 where 162 2 AC 
 
 which 255 3 AC 
 
 while 204 3 A 
 
 will 3058 3 AC 
 
 wish 252 2 A 
 
 with.. ..1314 2 AC
 
 WORD LISTS 
 
 161 
 
 I II III IV 
 
 write ................................ 867 3 AC 
 
 year ................................. 254 2 AC 
 
 yesterday ............................ 317 2 AC 
 
 yet .................................. 180 2 C 
 
 you .................................. 4099 1 AC 
 
 your ................................. 1117 2 AC 
 
 LIST II 
 
 577 WORDS WORDS USED BY A MAJORITY OF THE 
 CORRESPONDENTS 
 
 i ii in iv r v vi 
 
 able 100 2 II 1C 
 
 above 25 2 III I 
 
 accept 12 3 III I A 
 
 account 31 2 II I A 
 
 across 36 3 II 1C 
 
 act 27 2 III II C 
 
 add 15 2 III 1C 
 
 address 35 3 II II A 
 
 advantage 15 2 III I 
 
 afraid 79 3 II IV C 
 
 afterward 12 1 II II 
 
 against 25 2 III II C 
 
 age 32 2 II II 
 
 ago 81 1 II I A 
 
 ahead 23 2 II II 
 
 air 21 2 II II 
 
 allow 18 3 II III A 
 
 alone 43 3 II III A 
 
 along 91 1 I II 
 
 already 45 2 II II C 
 
 always 153 3 II II AC 
 
 among 23 3 II II AC 
 
 amount 28 2 II II 
 
 answer , 108 3 II II A 
 
 anxious 29 3 II III 
 
 anything 190 1 I II A 
 
 anyway 33 II III 
 
 appreciate 17 2 III II A 
 
 arrive 75 2 II I A 
 
 asleep 20 3 II IV 
 
 attempt 13 1 II III 
 
 attend 42 2 III I A 
 
 aunt 170 3 I II C 
 
 automobile.. 47 2 II III
 
 162 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 avenue 32 2 II III 
 
 awful 91 3 II III 
 
 awfully 26 II III 
 
 baby 39 2 II III AC 
 
 bad 244 2 II I AC 
 
 badly 23 1 II II C 
 
 bank 30 2 II II C 
 
 basket 16 3 II III 
 
 bath 35 2 II III 
 
 beat 36 3 III II C 
 
 beautiful 67 3 II II 
 
 because 263 2 I II A 
 
 become 36 1 II II A 
 
 bed 170 2 I II AC 
 
 begin 97 2 II II AC 
 
 believe 168 3 II II AC 
 
 beside 48 2 II III 
 
 between 40 3 II I 
 
 big 141 2 II II C 
 
 bill 38 2 II III C 
 
 birthday 31 2 I IV 
 
 bite 67 2 II II 
 
 black 32 2 II IV C 
 
 blame 12 2 II III C 
 
 block 33 2 II II 
 
 blood 18 2 II III C 
 
 blow 21 2 II III C 
 
 blue 43 2 II III C 
 
 board 125 3 II II AC 
 
 body 15 1 II III C 
 
 book 104 2 II II AC 
 
 both 140 2 II I A 
 
 bottle 12 3 II 
 
 bottom 12 3 III II 
 
 box 95 2 I II A 
 
 bread 30 3 II IV C 
 
 break 45 3 I II C 
 
 breakfast 62 3 I III C 
 
 bring 91 2 II II C 
 
 brother 74 3 II II 
 
 brown 21 2 II III C 
 
 burn 28 2 II III 
 
 business 99 2 II I AC 
 
 butter 22 1 II IV C 
 
 buy 122 3 II 1C 
 
 cake 39 2 II IV 
 
 call 151 2 I II A 
 
 car.. 77 1 II II C
 
 WORD LISTS 163 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 card 95 2 I II A 
 
 care 119 2 II II C 
 
 careful 25 3 II II 
 
 carry 47 2 II II C 
 
 case 27 2 II II A 
 
 catch 38 3 II II C 
 
 cause 25 3 II II AC 
 
 cent 118 3 II II AC 
 
 certain 20 3 III II A 
 
 certainly 71 2 II II 
 
 chair 36 2 II II C 
 
 chance 39 2 II II 
 
 change 86 2 II I AC 
 
 charge 29 2 II II 
 
 cheap 22 3 II III 
 
 cheese 11 3 II IV 
 
 chicken 25 2 II IV C 
 
 child 160 3 II II AC 
 
 chop 11 2 II III 
 
 city... 77 2 II I A 
 
 class 74 2 II I A 
 
 clean 117 2 I II C 
 
 clear 50 2 II III C 
 
 clock 10 2 II III 
 
 close 129 2 II I C 
 
 cloth 18 3 II 
 
 clothe 70 2 I III C 
 
 coat 46 2 II II 
 
 coffee 24 3 III II 
 
 cold 167 2 I II AC 
 
 color 26 3 II II C 
 
 comfort 16 3 II III 
 
 comfortable 14 2 II III C 
 
 common 15 2 III II C 
 
 company 69 3 I II A 
 
 compare 13 1 II II 
 
 concern 11 3 III II 
 
 condition 21 2 II II 
 
 continue 11 3 III II 
 
 cook 36 2 II C 
 
 cool 41 2 II III 
 
 copy 19 3 III II A 
 
 corn 15 2 II III C 
 
 cost 78 2 II II AC 
 
 count 24 2 II III C 
 
 country 36 3 II I AC 
 
 couple 37 2 II II 
 
 cover 35 2 II II A
 
 1 64 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 crazy 29 II IV 
 
 cross 27 2 II III 
 
 cup 12 2 III II C 
 
 cure 13 2 II IV 
 
 cut 81 2 II II 
 
 dance 38 2 II III 
 
 dark 36 2 II III C 
 
 date 24 2 II II AC 
 
 daughter 12 3 II III AC 
 
 dead 24 3 II III C 
 
 deal 63 2 II II 
 
 death 27 2 II III C 
 
 decide 65 3 II II A 
 
 degree 11 2 II II 
 
 die 27 3 II IV C 
 
 difference 19 2 III II C 
 
 different 45 2 II II AC 
 
 dinner 182 2 I II C 
 
 direct 13 2 III II AC 
 
 disappoint 34 3 III II 
 
 dish 31 2 II III C 
 
 divide 9 3 II III C 
 
 doctor 152 3 II II AC 
 
 dollar 37 2 I II C 
 
 door 53 2 II III C 
 
 doubt 22 3 II 1C 
 
 dress 174 2 I II C 
 
 drive 39 2 II II C 
 
 drop 31 2 II II 
 
 dry 33 2 II II 
 
 during 47 1 III II A 
 
 dust 29 2 II III C 
 
 duty 24 3 II II C 
 
 each 93 3 II II A 
 
 early 55 3 II II AC 
 
 earth 10 2 II III C 
 
 eat 126 2 I II C 
 
 effect... 13 2 II 1C 
 
 eight 66 3 I II C 
 
 either 62 2 I II A 
 
 electric 10 2 III II 
 
 eleven 31 3 II II 
 
 else 67 3 I II A 
 
 enclose 30 2 II II A 
 
 end 57 2 II II C 
 
 enjoy 107 2 II I AC 
 
 equal 14 3 III II 
 
 especially 37 1 III I A
 
 WORD LISTS 165 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 everybody 37 2 II II 
 
 everything 105 I 
 
 examination 26 1 III II A 
 
 except 78 2 II II 
 
 excuse 15 3 II III 
 
 expect 147 3 I II A 
 
 expense 19 3 III II A 
 
 experience 13 2 II II A 
 
 express 20 2 II III 
 
 extra 33 2 II II 
 
 eye 66 2 II II C 
 
 face 58 2 II II C 
 
 fact 40 1 III 1C 
 
 fail 23 3 III II C 
 
 fair 35 3 II II C 
 
 fall 68 2 II II C 
 
 family 84 3 II II C 
 
 fast 35 2 II III 
 
 fat 15 1 II IV 
 
 father 87 2 II III AC 
 
 fear 20 2 II III C 
 
 fellow 63 2 II 1C 
 
 fifteen 40 3 II III 
 
 fifty 30 2 III II C 
 
 fight 16 3 III 1C 
 
 fill 38 2 I III A 
 
 fine 170 2 I II AC 
 
 finish 150 2 II II 
 
 fire 51 3 II III 
 
 fit 33 2 II II 
 
 five 161 2 I II C 
 
 fix 47 1 II II C 
 
 flat 21 2 II II 
 
 floor 42 2 II II C 
 
 folk 157 2 II II 
 
 follow 28 2 III I AC 
 
 foot 58 2 II II C 
 
 forenoon 123 2 II III 
 
 forget 75 2 II II 
 
 fourth 16 1 III I 
 
 free 27 2 III II C 
 
 front 37 2 II II C 
 
 full 51 2 II I 
 
 fun 28 2 II III 
 
 funny 31 2 II II 
 
 further 22 3 III II A 
 
 game 64 2 I III C 
 
 gate 13 3 III II
 
 i66 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 gather 12 2 II III C 
 
 general 11 3 III II AC 
 
 girl 410 2 I II AC 
 
 glass 26 2 II II AC 
 
 grade 24 2 III II 
 
 grand 22 2 II II C 
 
 great 168 3 II I AC 
 
 green 29 2 II III C 
 
 grind 33 2 II II C 
 
 grip 13 1 II IV 
 
 grow 38 3 II II C 
 
 hair 46 3 II IV C 
 
 half 120 3 II II AC 
 
 hall 24 2 II II C 
 
 hand 90 2 II I AC 
 
 hang 43 2 II III 
 
 happen 45 2 II II C 
 
 happy 92 2 II II C 
 
 hard 186 2 I II AC 
 
 hardly 65 1 II II 
 
 hat 45 2 II III AC 
 
 hate 18 1 II II C 
 
 head 74 3 I III C 
 
 health 13 3 II III 
 
 heart 51 3 III II C 
 
 heat 27 2 III II C 
 
 heavy 38 3 II II C 
 
 herself 36 1 II II 
 
 high 101 2 II I C 
 
 himself 28 2 II II 
 
 hold 72 1 II II A 
 
 hole 17 2 II II 
 
 horse 21 3 II II C 
 
 hot 81 2 II III C 
 
 hotel 52 2 II II 
 
 however 37 1 III II AC 
 
 hurry 36 2 II II 
 
 hurt 60 2 II III C 
 
 idea 28 2 
 
 imagine 52 3 II II 
 
 impossible 17 2 III A 
 
 improve 17 3 II II 
 
 inside 16 2 II II C 
 
 insist 17 2 III II 
 
 instead 50 2 II II A 
 
 intend 44 2 II II A 
 
 interest 68 2 II I A 
 
 into.. .125 2 II I C
 
 .WORD . LISTS 167 
 
 v-y y 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 invite 54 2 II II C 
 
 iron 71 3 II III C 
 
 job 60 II II 
 
 join 13 x 1 II III 
 
 kid 47 1 II II 
 
 kill 13 3 II IV 
 
 kind 100 2 II I AC 
 
 kiss 84 2 II III 
 
 kitchen 38 2 II III C 
 
 lady 65 2 II II A 
 
 land 23 2 III II AC 
 
 large 65 2 II II AC 
 
 lately 10 III II 
 
 learn 56 3 II II C 
 
 lesson 17 2 II III A 
 
 library 11 3 III II 
 
 life 70 3 II 1C 
 
 light 52 3 II II C 
 
 line 82 2 II I AC 
 
 listen 11 3 III II 
 
 lose 52 2 II II 
 
 lot 162 1IIIC 
 
 love 526 3 I II AC 
 
 lovely 47 1 I 
 
 low 32 2 II III C 
 
 lunch 43 2 II II 
 
 machine 15 3 II II C 
 
 mail 105 3 II III A 
 
 manage 23 3 III II 
 
 matter 56 2 II II AC 
 
 may 288 3 II II AC 
 
 maybe 64 II IV 
 
 meal 23 3 III II 
 
 mean 106 3 II I AC 
 
 meet 173 3 II II AC 
 
 mention 33 3 III I A 
 
 mighty 21 1 II II 
 
 mile 65 2 II II C 
 
 mind 83 1 II II 
 
 minute 79 3 I II C 
 
 miss 45 2 II II 
 
 moment 16 2 III II C 
 
 money 98 3 II I AC 
 
 month 124 2 I II AC 
 
 mother 275 2 I II AC 
 
 move 78 2 II II AC 
 
 music 22 3 III II 
 
 myself 80 1 I II
 
 i68 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 name 62 2 II I A 
 
 nature 10 2 III 1C 
 
 near 54 2 II 1C 
 
 nearly 38 1 II II 
 
 necessary 32 3 III I A 
 
 neck 48 2 II III C 
 
 neither 12 3 III II 
 
 nerve 11 3 III II 
 
 nine 58 2 II II C 
 
 noise 11 3 II III C 
 
 none 33 2 II II AC 
 
 noon 76 2 I II C 
 
 north 132 2 II II 
 
 note 35 2 II I AC 
 
 notice 22 2 II II 
 
 number 55 2 II II AC 
 
 o'clock 162 2 I II A 
 
 offer 27 3 II II AC 
 
 office 72 3 II I AC 
 
 often 70 2 II II C 
 
 oh 54 1 II II 
 
 once 96 3 I II A 
 
 open 56 2 II II AC 
 
 order 63 2 II I , AC 
 
 otherwise 16 III II 
 
 our 401 2 II I AC 
 
 ourselves 26 1 II III 
 
 outside 12 1 II III C 
 
 owe 22 3 II II 
 
 pa 137 III II 
 
 pack 30 2 II III 
 
 package 20 2 II IV 
 
 paint 9 3 III II C 
 
 paper 105 2 II II AC 
 
 park 32 1 III II 
 
 parlor 30 3 II III 
 
 party 47 2 II II 
 
 pass 60 2 II I A 
 
 past 53 2 II 1C 
 
 pen 17 2 II III C 
 
 per 38 III II 
 
 perhaps 110 3 II II A 
 
 person 34 2 II III AC 
 
 piano 18 3 III II 
 
 pick 17 2 II III 
 
 picture 95 3 II III AC 
 
 pie 30 2 II II C 
 
 piece 62 3 II II C
 
 WORD LISTS 169 
 
 I II HI iv v vi 
 
 pillow 28 3 II IV 
 
 pin 18 2 II IV C 
 
 plan 70 2 II I AC 
 
 play 172 2 II II 
 
 pleasant 61 3 II II AC 
 
 please 89 2 II II AC 
 
 plenty 21 2 II III C 
 
 point 18 2 III II C 
 
 poor 84 2 II II C 
 
 porch 27 2 II III 
 
 possible 48 3 II II A 
 
 post 29 3 II II A 
 
 postscript 57 2 II II 
 
 potato 33 3 II III C 
 
 power 8 2 III II C 
 
 prepare 18 3 III II 
 
 present 60 3 II II AC 
 
 price 43 3 III II C 
 
 probably 85 1 II II AC 
 
 professor 13 2 II III 
 
 promise 33 3 II II AC 
 
 pull 30 2 II III 
 
 quarter 25 3 II II C 
 
 question 52 3 II II AC 
 
 quick 17 2 II III C 
 
 quiet 26 3 III II C 
 
 quit 36 1 III II 
 
 rain 104 3 I II AC 
 
 raise 22 3 II II C 
 
 rather 101 2 II II C 
 
 reach 64 2 III I AC 
 
 read 179 2 II II AC 
 
 ready 100 3 I II AC 
 
 real 59 3 II II C 
 
 realize 26 2 III II 
 
 really 79 3 II II C 
 
 reason 46 3 II II A 
 
 receive 148 3 II II AC 
 
 red 39 2 II III AC 
 
 regard 38 2 II II A 
 
 remain 19 2 III I AC 
 
 remember 98 2 II I AC 
 
 rent 62 2 II II C 
 
 report 18 2 III II A 
 
 request 9 1 III II A 
 
 return 72 2 II I A 
 
 rich 14 1 III II C 
 
 ride.. 84 3 II II C
 
 1 70 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 ring 16 3 III II AC 
 
 road 16 3 II III C 
 
 rock 26 2 II II 
 
 roll 14 2 II III 
 
 roof 13 3 II II 
 
 room 240 2 I II AC 
 
 safe 13 1 II III C 
 
 satisfy 29 3 II III 
 
 save 46 2 III II 
 
 scare 10 2 II III 
 
 school 231 2 I II AC 
 
 seat 34 2 II III 
 
 second 47 2 II I AC 
 
 seem 274 2 II II AC 
 
 select 9 2 III II A 
 
 sell 29 3 III II C 
 
 send 385 3 I II AC 
 
 serve 30 2 II II C 
 
 service 45 3 III I A 
 
 set 38 2 II II A 
 
 settle 39 2 II II C 
 
 seventy 22 1 II III C 
 
 sew 69 3 II C 
 
 shall 612 3 II I AC 
 
 shop 31 2 II II 
 
 short 91 2 II I AC 
 
 sick 132 I III C 
 
 side 90 2 II II C 
 
 sight 24 3 II II C 
 
 sign.., 18 3 III II C 
 
 silk 15 II IV 
 
 since 185 3 I II AC 
 
 sister 123 2 II II C 
 
 sit 95 2 II III 
 
 sixty 28 1 II IV C 
 
 size 28 3 II II A 
 
 skirt 46 2 II IV C 
 
 sleep 104 3 II III C 
 
 small 76 1 II II AC 
 
 smoke 34 2 III II C 
 
 snow 23 2 II C 
 
 something 154 1 I II A 
 
 sometime 71 2 II II C 
 
 son 12 3 III II 
 
 sore 33 3 II III 
 
 sorry 92 3 II II A 
 
 sort 32 2 II III 
 
 eound.. 24 2 II II C
 
 WORD LISTS 171 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 south 30 2 II II C 
 
 speak 76 3 II I AC 
 
 special 18 2 III II A 
 
 spell 29 2 II IV 
 
 spoil 14 1 III II C 
 
 spot 12 2 III II 
 
 spring 44 2 II II C 
 
 stair 71 3 II III C 
 
 stand 83 2 II II AC 
 
 state 25 2 II II A 
 
 stay 215 2 I II 
 
 step 30 2 II II 
 
 stick 18 2 II III C 
 
 still 105 2 I II AC 
 
 stock 34 2 II II C 
 
 stop 124 2 I II AC 
 
 store 47 2 II II C 
 
 story 42 2 II II C 
 
 stove 33 2 II IV 
 
 street 181 2 I II AC 
 
 strike 24 2 II II C 
 
 strong 43 2 II II C 
 
 student 16 2 III II 
 
 study 41 3 II II A 
 
 stuff 29 2 III II 
 
 style 18 3 II II 
 
 success 16 3 III II AC 
 
 suggest 9 2 III II A 
 
 suit 91 3 I II C 
 
 summer 79 3 II II AC 
 
 sun 24 1 II III 
 
 supper 94 3 I II 
 
 surprise 39 2 II I A 
 
 sweet 40 3 II III C 
 
 table 39 2 II II AC 
 
 taste 15 2 II II C 
 
 teach 37 3 III II 
 
 teacher 90 2 III II AC 
 
 ten 107 2 II I C 
 
 terrible 52 3 II II A 
 
 thank 31 2 II III A 
 
 thick 11 2 III II C 
 
 thin 21 3 II IV C 
 
 third 55 2 II II 
 
 thirty 39 2 II II C 
 
 thoroughly 11 1 III II 
 
 throw 24 3 II II C 
 
 ticket... 37 3 III II A
 
 172 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 tight 15 2 II III C 
 
 till 103 2 II II 
 
 tire 112 2 II II C 
 
 together 73 3 II I 
 
 tomorrow 170 2 I II AC 
 
 top 21 1 I II C 
 
 treat 20 2 II II 
 
 tree 36 2 II III C 
 
 trip 100 1 II II 
 
 trouble 93 3 II II AC 
 
 trunk 39 2 II III 
 
 turn 69 2 I II C 
 
 twelve 29 3 II III C 
 
 twenty 105 3 II I C 
 
 twice 34 3 II III C 
 
 uncle 72 3 I II C 
 
 under 42 2 II II AC 
 
 understand 47 2 II II AC 
 
 university 31 2 II II 
 
 unless 57 2 II II 
 
 until 240 3 II I A 
 
 upon 22 2 III I A 
 
 usual 38 3 II II 
 
 vacation 10 3 III II 
 
 view 16 3 III II 
 
 waist 52 3 II IV 
 
 wait 113 3 II I A 
 
 walk 108 3 I II C 
 
 wall 23 2 III II C 
 
 warm 71 2 II II C 
 
 wash 117 2 II III C 
 
 waste 14 3 II II C 
 
 watch 19 3 II III AC 
 
 water 54 3 II II C 
 
 wear 112 3 I II AC 
 
 weather 77 3 II I AC 
 
 west 35 2 II II AC 
 
 whatever 24 2 II II 
 
 whether 102 2 II I AC 
 
 white 67 2 I II AC 
 
 who 208 1 II I AC 
 
 whole 54 3 II II C 
 
 why 80 2 II II A 
 
 wife 45 3 II II C 
 
 win 22 3 III II C 
 
 wind 28 2 II IV C 
 
 window 35 3 II II 
 
 winter.. 72 2 II II C
 
 WORD LISTS 173 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 without 104 2 II I AC 
 
 woman 60 3 I III AC 
 
 wonder 96 3 II II A 
 
 wonderful 28 2 III II C 
 
 word 74 2 II 1C 
 
 work 357 -2 II I AC 
 
 world 28 2 III I AC 
 
 worry 52 3 II II 
 
 worth 40 2 II I A 
 
 wrong 27 3 III II C 
 
 yard 30 2 III II C 
 
 yellow 11 3 II III C 
 
 yes 56 1 II II A 
 
 young 104 3 II II C 
 
 yourself 21 1 III II 
 
 LIST III 
 
 2207 WORDS WORDS USED BY LESS THAN A MA- 
 JORITY OF THE CORRESPONDENTS 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 ab3ence 5 3 III III A 
 
 absent 4 3 II 
 
 absolutely 7 IV II 
 
 academy 3 3 IV IV 
 
 accent 3 2 III IV 
 
 accommodation 6 1 III , 
 
 accompany 7 3 III III 
 
 accomplish 15 2 III III 
 
 accord 6 2 III III 
 
 accuse 2 3 IV IV 
 
 accustom 2 2 III 
 
 ache 28 3 II IV 
 
 acid 3 3 III 
 
 acknowledge 3 3 IV IV 
 
 acquaint 8 2 III 
 
 acquaintance 4 3 III IV 
 
 acquire 3 3 III IV 
 
 acre 5 3 IV III 
 
 action 10 2 IV III 
 
 active 2 2 IV IV 
 
 actually 5 1 III II 
 
 acute 3 2 III 
 
 addition 4 3 III III 
 
 additional 4 1 IV III 
 
 adjoin 2 1 III
 
 174 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 adjourn 2 3 III 
 
 administration 3 1 III 
 
 admire 6 1 II 
 
 admission 2 2 IV IV 
 
 admit 72 II 
 
 adopt 6 2 IV III 
 
 advance 7 1 IV III 
 
 advertise 4 3 III III 
 
 advice 4 2 III IV 
 
 advise 7 1 III III 
 
 affair 17 2 III II 
 
 affect 3 3 IV IV 
 
 affectionate 4 1 IV IV 
 
 affectionately 17 1 III 
 
 afford 12 3 III IV 
 
 a6re 2 IV IV 
 
 agency 5 2 III 
 
 agent 13 2 III III 
 
 aggravate 5 2 III 
 
 agree 15 3 III III C 
 
 agreeable 6 2 IV II C 
 
 aid 6 3 IV II 
 
 ail 3 1 III 
 
 aim 4 2 IV IV 
 
 aisle 2 3 IV IV 
 
 alarm 4 2 III 
 
 album 2 1 IV IV 
 
 alcohol 3 2 III 
 
 algebra 4 2 III IV 
 
 alike 4 2 III 
 
 alive 7 2 III IV 
 
 alley 2 3 III IV 
 
 aloud 6 2 III IV 
 
 alphabet 2 3 IV IV 
 
 altar 2 3 IV IV 
 
 alter 5 3 III 
 
 alteration 2 III 
 
 although 51 2 III III 
 
 altitude 5 2 III 
 
 altogether 6 2 II 
 
 amateur 2 3 IV IV 
 
 ambition 5 2 III IV 
 
 amuse 4 3 III 
 
 anesthetic 2 1 IV IV 
 
 angel 3 3 IV IV 
 
 angry 6 2 III IV C 
 
 animal 7 3 III C 
 
 ankle 5 3 III IV
 
 WORD LISTS 175 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 anniversary 4 3 III 
 
 announce 3 3 IV IV 
 
 announcement 3 IV IV 
 
 annually 2 1 IV IV 
 
 anybody 12 III IV 
 
 anyhow 20 1 III IV 
 
 anywhere 6 III III 
 
 apart 8 2 III IV 
 
 apartment 12 1 III IV 
 
 apiece 9 III IV 
 
 apparatus 6 3 IV IV 
 
 appeal 4 3 IV III 
 
 appear 9 III A 
 
 appearance 2 3 III 
 
 appetite 6 3 III 
 
 apple 24 2 II IV 
 
 application 5 2 IV III A 
 
 apply 4 2 III IV 
 
 appoint 4 2 IV III A 
 
 appointment 3 1 III IV 
 
 appreciative 2 IV IV 
 
 approach 4 3 III IV 
 
 appropriate 4 2 III IV 
 
 approve 7 2 III IV 
 
 approximately 3 IV IV 
 
 apron 15 3 III 
 
 apt 2 2 IV IV 
 
 area 2 3 III 
 
 argue 4 3 IV III 
 
 argument 6 3 IV II 
 
 arm 67 2 II IV C 
 
 arrange 12 3 III II A 
 
 arrangement 10 1 III II 
 
 arrival 5 3 IV III 
 
 art 6 2 II 
 
 article. 7 2 III III A 
 
 artificially 2 IV IV 
 
 ashamed 5 2 III IV 
 
 aside 6 1 III III 
 
 assembly 3 1 III 
 
 assist 5 2 III IV 
 
 assistant 4 2 III III 
 
 associate 4 3 III 
 
 association 9 2 III III A 
 
 assume 2 2 IV IV 
 
 assufe 11 2 II A 
 
 attack 6 2 IV II 
 
 attendance . . 5 2 III III
 
 176 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II 
 
 attention 8 
 
 attentive 2 
 
 attic 5 
 
 attorney 3 
 
 attraction 5 
 
 auction 2 
 
 autobiography 2 
 
 average 7 
 
 aviary 2 
 
 avoid 5 
 
 await 7 
 
 awake 12 
 
 awaken 3 
 
 awhile 16 
 
 bachelor 7 
 
 backward 6 
 
 bacon 8 
 
 bag 11 
 
 baggage 5 
 
 bake, 
 balance . 
 bald... 
 ball.... 
 banana, 
 band. . 
 
 44 
 7 
 3 
 29 
 2 
 11 
 
 banquet 19 
 
 bar 2 
 
 bare 10 
 
 barely 5 
 
 barn 13 
 
 barrel 6 
 
 barrier 2 
 
 base 16 
 
 baseball 16 
 
 basement 3 
 
 bat 8 
 
 bathe 8 
 
 bathroom 14 
 
 bawl 2 
 
 bay 8 
 
 beach 10 
 
 bead 5 
 
 bean 18 
 
 bear 20 
 
 beautifully 7 
 
 beauty 5 
 
 bedroom 16 
 
 bedtime.. 3 
 
 III 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 1 
 3 
 2 
 2 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 2 
 1 
 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 HI 
 II 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 HI 
 IV 
 HI 
 II 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 HI 
 III 
 III 
 HI 
 HI 
 IV 
 
 V 
 II 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 HI 
 
 III 
 HI 
 
 III 
 II 
 HI 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 HI 
 
 IV 
 III 
 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 II 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 VI 
 A
 
 WORD LISTS 177 
 
 1 II III IV V VI 
 
 bee 2 2 III 
 
 beef 7 2 111 C 
 
 beer 4 1 III IV 
 
 beforehand 3 1 III IV 
 
 beg 7 2 III III A 
 
 behave 3 2 III 
 
 behind 11 2 III III C 
 
 behold 2* 2 IV IV 
 
 bell 8 2 III IV 
 
 belong 15 2 III III 
 
 below 7 2 III IV C 
 
 belt 9 2 III 
 
 bend 5 2 III III 
 
 benefit 13 3 III III 
 
 berry 10 2 III C 
 
 berth 11 3 III IV 
 
 bet 7 II 
 
 betimes 2 III 
 
 beyond 6 3 III 
 
 bicycle 2 3 IV IV 
 
 bid 8 2 III 
 
 bind 9 2 III IV C 
 
 bird 6 2 III IV 
 
 birth 22 III C 
 
 biscuit 8 3 III 
 
 blank 4 1 IV IV 
 
 blanket 6 1 III IV 
 
 blaze 2 2 III 
 
 bleed 2 2 III 
 
 bless 8 2 III IV C 
 
 blind 3 2 III C 
 
 blister 3 2 III IV 
 
 bloody 2 IV IV 
 
 bloom 4 2 III 
 
 blossom 6 3 III 
 
 blot 5 1 III IV 
 
 blouse 4 3 III IV 
 
 bluff 7 1 III IV 
 
 blush 6 2 III IV 
 
 boarder 6 III III 
 
 boat 20 3 III III C 
 
 boil 15 2 II IV C 
 
 bone 6 2 III III 
 
 bonnet 2 3 III 
 
 bookcase 5 1 III III 
 
 border 3 3 IV IV 
 
 borrow 13 3 III III 
 
 boss.... 6 2 IV II
 
 1 78 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 bother 17 1 II IV 
 
 bow 5 3 III IV 
 
 bowel 11 III 
 
 bowl 3 3 III 
 
 brace 2 2 IV IV 
 
 braid 5 3 III 
 
 brain 5 3 III II 
 
 branch 2 2 IV IV 
 
 brand 2 2 IV IV 
 
 breast 2 2 III 
 
 breath 3 3 III IV 
 
 breathe 11 3 III III 
 
 brick 9 2 III III C 
 
 bride 2 1 III 
 
 bridge 10 2 III III C 
 
 bright 15 3 III III 
 
 brightly 2 1 IV IV 
 
 brilliant 2 3 IV IV 
 
 brisk 2 1 III 
 
 broach 2 1 IV IV 
 
 bronchitis 6 2 III 
 
 bruise 3 3 III IV 
 
 brush 8 2 III IV 
 
 bug 3 1 III IV 
 
 buggy 4 2 IV III 
 
 bugle 2 1 III 
 
 bull 3 2 IV IV 
 
 bum 5 III IV 
 
 bump 2 1 III 
 
 bunch 14 2 III III 
 
 bundle 7 2 III IV C 
 
 bungalow 7 III IV 
 
 burden 4 2 III III 
 
 burial 4 2 
 
 burner 6 III 
 
 burst 2 2 III 
 
 bury 7 2 III 
 
 bus 11 III III 
 
 bush 3 2 III 
 
 bushel 9 3 II C 
 
 bust 2 III 
 
 button 19 2 III C 
 
 cab 4 1 IV IV 
 
 cabbage 7 3 III 
 
 cabin 4 3 III IV 
 
 cafeteria 14 HI IV 
 
 calculation 2 1 IV IV 
 
 calendar.. 2 3 IV IV
 
 WORD LISTS 179 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 caller 8 HI 
 
 camel 2 2 III 
 
 camera 3 3 III IV 
 
 camp 10 2 IV 
 
 camphor 3 2 III 
 
 cancer 2 1 III 
 
 candidate 5 3 IV III 
 
 candy 19 2 II IV 
 
 canoe 5 3 IV IV 
 
 canon 6 3 IV IV 
 
 canvas 2 3 III 
 
 cap 11 2 III IV 
 
 capacity 6 3 IV III 
 
 cape 4 2 III 
 
 capital 2 3 IV IV C 
 
 capitol 10 3 III IV 
 
 captain 4 3 IV IV 
 
 carbon 4 1 IV IV 
 
 carefully 4 1 III IV 
 
 careless x . 2 2 IV IV 
 
 carelessness 3 III 
 
 carnation 3 2 III IV 
 
 carpenter 3 2 III 
 
 carpet 4 2 III IV C 
 
 carriage 7 3 III 
 
 cartoon 2 2 IV IV 
 
 cash 7 2 III IV 
 
 casserole 7 III 
 
 cast 3 2 IV III 
 
 cat 4 2 III IV C 
 
 catalogue 3 2 IV III A 
 
 catarrh 4 2 III IV 
 
 cave 6 2 IV IV 
 
 ceiling 4 3 IV III C 
 
 celebrate 2 3 IV IV 
 
 celebration 2 1 IV IV 
 
 cellar 12 3 III III 
 
 cement 4 3 III IV 
 
 cemetery 4 3 III IV 
 
 center 7 2 IV III A 
 
 central 2 2 IV IV 
 
 chain 4 3 III AC 
 
 chairman 2 2 IV IV 
 
 channel 4 2 III 
 
 chapel 24 2 III IV 
 
 chaperon 12 1 IV IV 
 
 chapter 2 2 III 
 
 character 4 3 IV III
 
 i8o THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 charity 3 2 IV IV 
 
 charm 7 2 III II 
 
 chase 5 3 III III 
 
 chautauqua 17 1 III 
 
 cheaply 2 III 
 
 check 14 2 III A 
 
 cheek 10 2 III II 
 
 cheerful... 8 1 III IV 
 
 chest.... ** 2 1 IV IV 
 
 chief 2 2 IV IV 
 
 childhood 4 1 III IV 
 
 childish 2 IV IV 
 
 chill 7 3 II 
 
 chilly 5 1 III IV 
 
 chimney 2 3 IV IV C 
 
 china 4 1 III IV 
 
 chip 2 1 III 
 
 chocolate 3 3 III 
 
 choice 9 2 III II 
 
 choir 18 3 IV III 
 
 choke 2 2 III 
 
 choose 6 3 III II C 
 
 chore 9 1 III 
 
 cigar 3 2 IV IV 
 
 circle 5 III III C 
 
 circular 4 
 
 circumstance 5 2 III III 
 
 circus 10 3 III IV 
 
 cistern 12 3 III III 
 
 citizen 2 2 III 
 
 civil 4 3 III 
 
 claim 6 2 III III A 
 
 classical 2 1 III 
 
 clause 2 2 III 
 
 clerk 6 2 IV IV C 
 
 climate 10 2 III IV 
 
 climb 6 3 III IV 
 
 clip 15 1 III II 
 
 closely 2 IV IV 
 
 closet 20 3 II IV 
 
 cloud 6 2 IV III 
 
 cloudy 9 1 III III C 
 
 club.. 15 1 III III C 
 
 coach 8 1 III IV 
 
 coal.. 17 1 III IV C 
 
 coast..... 10 2 III III 
 
 collar.... 11 3 III IV 
 
 collect.. 6 2 III IV
 
 WORD LISTS 181 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 collection 7 1 III IV 
 
 college 35 2 IV II 
 
 comb 11 3 III IV 
 
 combination 2 1 III 
 
 combine 3 1 IV III 
 
 comedy 3 3 IV IV 
 
 comfortably 6 III IV 
 
 commence 8 2 III IV 
 
 commencement 10 III If I 
 
 comment 4 2 III IV 
 
 commission 3 2 III IV 
 
 committee 4 3 III IV AC 
 
 communication 4 1 IV III 
 
 companion 3 1 III 
 
 comparison 2 1 IV IV 
 
 complain 8 3 III IV 
 
 complete 9 3 III II C 
 
 completely 4 IV IV 
 
 compliment 4 3 III III 
 
 concert 4 2 III IV 
 
 conclude 9 2 III IV 
 
 conduct 10 2 III III 
 
 conductor 3 3 IV IV 
 
 confess 4 2 III IV 
 
 confidential 6 IV III 
 
 confine 3 2 IV III 
 
 congenial 3 2 IV III 
 
 congress 2 1 IV IV 
 
 connect 6 3 III 
 
 connection 13 1 III III 
 
 consent 5 2 IV III 
 
 consequence 4 2 IV III 
 
 consequently 4 III 
 
 consider 10 2 III II A 
 
 considerable 13 1 IV III 
 
 considerably 8 1 III III 
 
 consideration 3 2 IV IV 
 
 consist 6 1 III III 
 
 conspicuous 2 2 IV IV 
 
 constant 3 2 III IV 
 
 constantly 6 IV III 
 
 construct 2 1 IV IV 
 
 consult 2 2 IV IV 
 
 consumption 5 2 III IV 
 
 contain 8 3 III III A 
 
 contemplate 2 1 III 
 
 contend 2 1 IV IV 
 
 content.. 14 2 III III
 
 182 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 contest 16 2 IV IV 
 
 continually 6 1 III III 
 
 contract 13 2 III II 
 
 contrary 2 2 IV IV 
 
 contrast 2 2 IV IV 
 
 contribution 3 2 III 
 
 control 4 3 IV II 
 
 convenient 3 2 III IV A 
 
 convention 8 2 II 
 
 conversation 6 2 III II 
 
 convert 2 2 IV IV 
 
 convey 2 3 IV IV 
 
 conveyance 5 2 IV IV 
 
 convince 5 2 IV II 
 
 cooky 8 1 III 
 
 corner 13 3 III III C 
 
 corporation 2 2 III 
 
 correct 12 3 III III 
 
 corset 5 1 III 
 
 cottage 5 3 III 
 
 cotton 7 3 III C 
 
 couch 13 3 III III 
 
 cough 28 3 III 
 
 counter 4 2 IV IV 
 
 county 15 1 IV II 
 
 courage 3 3 IV IV C 
 
 court 17 3 III III 
 
 cousin 36 3 III III C 
 
 cow 4 2 IV III 
 
 cozy 2 3 III 
 
 crack 4 2 III 
 
 cracker 5 2 III 
 
 cramp 6 1 III IV 
 
 cranberry 2 2 III 
 
 crawl 2 2 IV IV 
 
 cream 22 3 II IV 
 
 create 2 2 III 
 
 creature 2 3 IV IV 
 
 credit 7 2 III III 
 
 crestfallen 2 IV IV 
 
 critical 4 2 III III 
 
 criticize 4 2 IV III 
 
 crochet 2 2 III 
 
 crocodile 3 1 IV IV 
 
 crop 8 2 III III 
 
 crow 2 2 III 
 
 crowd 18 3 III II 
 
 crown.. 3 2 III IV
 
 WORD LISTS 183 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 cruel 2 3 IV IV C 
 
 crutch 5 2 III IV 
 
 cry 60 2 III IV 
 
 cucumber 2 3 III 
 
 cuff 3 1 III 
 
 cultivate 5 2 III 
 
 culture 3 2 III IV 
 
 cupboard 8 3 III IV 
 
 curly 6 IV IV 
 
 currant 2 3 III 
 
 curtain 20 3 III IV 
 
 cushion 5 3 III IV 
 
 custard 13 3 III 
 
 custom 7 3 IV III C 
 
 customary 2 2 III 
 
 cute 13 1 III IV 
 
 daddy 20 III 
 
 daily 13 3 III II C 
 
 dainty 2 3 III 
 
 dairy 5 3 III IV 
 
 damage 6 3 III IV 
 
 damp 2 2 III C 
 
 dancer 2 IV IV 
 
 dandy 5 1 III III 
 
 danger 9 3 IV II C 
 
 dangerous 3 IV III 
 
 dare 10 2 III III C 
 
 darkness 3 2 IV III 
 
 darling 42 1 III IV 
 
 darn 6 2 III IV 
 
 daytime 3 IV IV 
 
 dean 3 1 III 
 
 debate 18 2 IV III 
 
 debt 4 3 IV III <V 
 
 deceitful 2 1 IV IV 
 
 decent 6 2 III IV 
 
 decision 5 2 III III 
 
 deck 3 2 III IV 
 
 declamation 4 1 IV IV 
 
 declare 2 2 III 
 
 decline 4 1 IV IV 
 
 decorate 3 3 IV IV 
 
 decoration 3 1 III IV 
 
 deed 2 2 III 
 
 deep 10 2 III II C 
 
 deer 2 2 III 
 
 defeat 61 II C 
 
 definite.. 2 1 III
 
 184 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 definitely 5 IV II 
 
 delay 11 2, III III 
 
 delight 9 2 III IV 
 
 delightful 10 2 III IV 
 
 delightfully 2 III 
 
 deliver 8 1 III III 
 
 delivery 7 1 III II 
 
 demonstrate 3 1 IV IV 
 
 dentist 21 2 III C 
 
 deny 52 II 
 
 depart 2 2 IV IV 
 
 department 4 3 III IV A 
 
 depend 5 2 III IV 
 
 deposit 5 3 III III 
 
 depot 34 3 III III 
 
 deprive 2 IV IV 
 
 descend 3 3 III 
 
 describe 5 2 III IV 
 
 description 3 2 III 
 
 descriptive 2 2 IV IV 
 
 desert 6 3 IV III 
 
 deserve 5 3 III IV C 
 
 design 2 2 IV IV 
 
 desirable 2 1 IV IV 
 
 desire 13 2 III II AC 
 
 desk 8 2 III III 
 
 desperately 2 IV IV 
 
 despondent 2 1 III 
 
 dessert 3 3 III 
 
 destination 2 1 IV IV 
 
 destitute 2 2 IV IV 
 
 destroy 2 2 IV IV 
 
 detail 6 2 III III 
 
 detain 3 3 III 
 
 determine 11 2 III III 
 
 develop 2 3 III A 
 
 development 2 2 III 
 
 devil 8 III III 
 
 diamond 2 3 IV IV 
 
 dictionary 4 3 IV IV 
 
 diet 2 3 III 
 
 difficulty 2 1 III 
 
 dig 6 2 III IV 
 
 dine 17 2 III IV 
 
 diner 5 III IV 
 
 diploma 2 1 IV IV 
 
 direction 10 2 III III A 
 
 directly 6 1 IV II
 
 WORD LISTS 185 
 
 I II III iv V VI 
 
 dirt 16 2 III IV C 
 
 dirty 31 III III C 
 
 disagreeable 8 2 III III 
 
 disappear 2 3 III 
 
 disappointment 4 IV IV 
 
 disaster 4 2 IV IV 
 
 discharge 2 1 IV IV C 
 
 discord 2 2 III 
 
 discourage 7 2 III IV 
 
 discover 3 2 IV III 
 
 discuss 3 2 II 
 
 discussion 2 1 IV IV 
 
 disease 7 3 III IV 
 
 disgrace 2 2 IV IV 
 
 disgust 4 2 III 
 
 disjoint 2 IV IV 
 
 dislike 3 1 IV IV C 
 
 dismal 2 2 III 
 
 dismiss 7 3 
 
 dismissal 5 2 III 
 
 display 2 2 IV IV 
 
 dispose 4 1 III 
 
 disposition 2 2 III 
 
 dispute 2 1 III 
 
 distance 15 3 III III 
 
 distant 5 1 III IV 
 
 district 11 3 II III 
 
 disturb 3 3 IV III 
 
 ditch 5 2 III III 
 
 diversion 2 1 IV IV 
 
 dividend 4 2 III 
 
 division 2 2 III 
 
 dizzy 3 2 III 
 
 dog 9 2 III III C 
 
 doll .... 11 2 III IV 
 
 dome 2 1 III 
 
 domestic 4 2 IV III 
 
 donation 2 2 IV IV 
 
 dose 4 2 III IV 
 
 double 7 3 III III 
 
 doubtless 5 1 III III 
 
 dozen 25 3 III II C 
 
 draft 26 2 II IV 
 
 drag 3 1 IV IV 
 
 draw.... 17 2 III II C 
 
 drawer 24 3 IV 
 
 drayage 2 III 
 
 dread.. 7 2 III
 
 i86 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 dreadful 7 2 III IV 
 
 dreadfully 4 III IV 
 
 dream 20 3 IV III 
 
 dresser 41 IV C 
 
 dressmaker 3 III 
 
 drift 42 II 
 
 drink 16 2 III C 
 
 driver 5 III 
 
 drown 3 2 IV III 
 
 drug 2 1 IV IV 
 
 due 9 3 III IV 
 
 duet 2 1 IV IV 
 
 dull 4 2 IV III C 
 
 dusty 3 1 III IV 
 
 dwell 2 2 IV IV 
 
 ear 10 2 III III C 
 
 earn 8 2 IV II C 
 
 earnest 9 3 III III C 
 
 ease 2 3 IV IV 
 
 easily 14 1 III III 
 
 east 24 2 II IV C 
 
 eastern 6 3 IV IV 
 
 easy 19 3 III III 
 
 economical 3 IV IV 
 
 economize 3 1 III 
 
 edge 4 2 III IV 
 
 edition 2 3 IV IV 
 
 educate 4 2 IV IV 
 
 education 12 3 IV II A 
 
 effort 16 2 IV II AC 
 
 egg 25 3 III IV 
 
 eighteen 18 1 III III 
 
 eighth 3 3 III IV 
 
 eighty 11 2 III III C 
 
 elaborate 3 1 III 
 
 elbow 6 2 III III 
 
 elect 18 2 III II 
 
 election 7 2 III II 
 
 elope 2 2 IV IV 
 
 elsewhere 3 
 
 embroider 3 
 
 embroidery 4 
 
 emergency 2 2 III 
 
 employ 8 1 IV III 
 
 employee 11 2 III IV 
 
 employer 2 1 IV IV 
 
 employment 6 2 IV III 
 
 empty 4 3 III
 
 WORD LISTS 187 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 enable 2 1 IV IV 
 
 encourage 3 3 III IV 
 
 encouragement 3 1 III 
 
 engage 8 2 III IV 
 
 engine 11 3 III IV C 
 
 engineer 10 1 III III 
 
 enjoyable 6 1 III III 
 
 enlarge 2 1 III 
 
 enroll 3 2 III 
 
 enrollment 2 IV IV 
 
 enter 10 2 III III 
 
 entertain 11 2 III 
 
 enthusiasm 2 2 III 
 
 entire 8 2 IV III 
 
 entirely 22 1 II IV 
 
 entitle 3 3 III IV A 
 
 envelop 19 2 II IV 
 
 envy 4 2 III 
 
 epistle 3 1 IV IV 
 
 equally 3 IV III 
 
 erect 2 3 III 
 
 errand , 9 3 III 
 
 error 4 3 III 
 
 escape 4 2 III IV 
 
 escort 2 2 IV IV 
 
 especial 2 1 IV IV 
 
 essential 2 3 IV IV 
 
 establish 5 2 III IV 
 
 estimate 3 2 IV IV 
 
 eve 18 III 
 
 event 6 2 III III 
 
 eventually 2 IV IV 
 
 everlasting 2 IV IV 
 
 everywhere 5 1 IV IV 
 
 evil 23 III C 
 
 exact 5 3 IV III 
 
 exactly 8 1 III IV 
 
 examine 7 3 III IV 
 
 exceed 4 3 IV IV 
 
 excellent 9 3 III II 
 
 exceptionally 2 IV IV 
 
 exchange 2 2 III 
 
 excitement 5 2 III IV 
 
 excursion 12 2 III III 
 
 exercise 25 3 III II 
 
 exhaust 3 3 III 
 
 exhibit 3 2 IV IV 
 
 exhibition 2 3 III
 
 1 88 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II 
 
 expectation 4 
 
 expensive 12 
 
 expire 2 
 
 explain 16 
 
 exposition 2 
 
 exposure 2 
 
 expression 2 
 
 extend 4 
 
 extent 3 
 
 extreme 3 
 
 factory 20 
 
 faculty 14 
 
 fade, 
 failure. . . 
 
 faint 
 
 fairly 
 
 faith 
 
 faithful . . 
 
 false 
 
 familiar . . 
 famous. . . 
 fancy 
 
 fare 
 
 farm 
 
 farmer . . . 
 fascinate . 
 fashion. . . 
 
 fasten 
 
 fault 
 
 favor. . . . 
 favorable. 
 
 5 
 3 
 2 
 
 12 
 8 
 3 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 15 
 5 
 2 
 7 
 5 
 
 17 
 8 
 4 
 favorably 2 
 
 favorite . 
 fearful . 
 feast . . . 
 
 feat 
 
 feather, 
 feature, 
 fee.... 
 feed. . 
 
 3 
 7 
 2 
 3 
 5 
 3 
 4 
 10 
 fellowship 2 
 
 fence . 
 
 ferry. 
 
 fever. 
 
 field. 
 
 fierce . 
 
 fifth. 
 
 fig... 
 
 8 
 6 
 29 
 7 
 8 
 5 
 2 
 
 III 
 1 
 2 
 1 
 3 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 2 
 2 
 1 
 3 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 3 
 2 
 2 
 1 
 3 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 2 
 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 3 
 2 
 1 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 3 
 3 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 IV 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 VI 
 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 III 
 
 III 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 II 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 III 
 II 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 II 
 
 III 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 III 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV
 
 WORD LISTS 189 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 figure 15 3 III II C 
 
 file 5 2 III III 
 
 fin 2 1 III 
 
 final 6 2 IV II 
 
 finally 23 3 III III A 
 
 finance 4 2 III IV 
 
 financial 4 3 IV III 
 
 finger 9 2 III IV C 
 
 firecracker 3 III 
 
 fireman 3 IV IV 
 
 firm 2 3 IV IV 
 
 fish 12 2 II C 
 
 flannel 3 3 III 
 
 flavor 2 3 III 
 
 flight 3 3 IV IV 
 
 flour 3 3 III IV C 
 
 flower 14 3 III IV C 
 
 fly 24 3 III IV 
 
 foggy 6 2 III IV 
 
 fold 4 2 III 
 
 foliage 4 2 III IV 
 
 fond 5 2 III 
 
 food 16 2 II IV C 
 
 fool 16 1 III IV 
 
 foolish 20 IV III C 
 
 football 36 1 IV III 
 
 force 6 2 IV II C 
 
 foreign 4 3 IV IV 
 
 forever 6 1 IV IV 
 
 forgive 4 1 IV IV 
 
 fork 2 2 III C 
 
 form 12 1 III II AC 
 
 formal 4 1 IV IV 
 
 fort 2 IV IV 
 
 fortunate 9 3 III II 
 
 fortune 5 3 III III 
 
 forty 28 3 III III C 
 
 forward 21 3 III IV A 
 
 foundation 8 1 III II C 
 
 fourteen 7 3 III IV 
 
 frame 12 2 III II 
 
 frank 4 2 IV IV 
 
 fraternity 3 1 IV III 
 
 freak 2 1 IV IV 
 
 freeze 6 3 III III C 
 
 freight 9 3 III III 
 
 frequent 2 3 III 
 
 frequently 6 III IV
 
 190 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 fresh 16 2 III III C 
 
 freshman 6 1 III IV 
 
 friendly 6 1 III III 
 
 friendship 2 2 III 
 
 frighten 2 2 IV IV 
 
 frost 9 2 III IV 
 
 fruit 26 3 III III C 
 
 fry 12 1 III IV 
 
 fudge 15 1 IV IV 
 
 fully 8 III III A 
 
 function 2 2 IV IV 
 
 fund 2 1 IV IV 
 
 funeral 9 2 III IV 
 
 fur 7 3 III 
 
 furnace 4 2 III IV C 
 
 furnish 18 1 III II 
 
 furniture 8 3 III 
 
 fuss 4 1 III 
 
 future 10 2 III II C 
 
 gain 8 3 III III 
 
 gallery 8 2 III 
 
 gang 2 1 IV IV 
 
 garden., 4 2 III III C 
 
 garment 4 2 IV IV 
 
 gas , 6 2 III C 
 
 gasoline 7 2 III 
 
 gasp 2 1 III 
 
 gay 6 1 III IV 
 
 gem 9 2 III 
 
 generally 71 IV 
 
 generous 2 2 III 
 
 gentle 3 3 IV IV 
 
 gentleman 6 2 III III A 
 
 genuine 3 IV IV 
 
 geography 5 3 
 
 geometry 16 1 IV III 
 
 |ift 8 2 III III 
 
 giggle 2 1 III 
 
 glance 3 2 IV IV 
 
 gloomy 8 IV 
 
 glorious 3 2 III 
 
 glory 2 2 IV IV 
 
 glove 6 2 III 
 
 glue 3 3 III IV 
 
 gold.. 11 2 IV III AC 
 
 golden 7 2 IV III 
 
 goodby 59 II IV 
 
 goodness 7 I II IV C
 
 .WORD LISTS 191 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 goodnight 38 III HI 
 
 goody 3 IV IV 
 
 goose 5 2 III 
 
 gorge 6 2 IV IV 
 
 gospel 3 2 IV IV 
 
 govern 2 1 III C 
 
 government 3 3 III IV C 
 
 gown 17 1 III IV 
 
 grab 3 1 III IV 
 
 gradually 2 IV IV 
 
 graduate 5 1 III IV 
 
 grain 4 3 IV IV C 
 
 grandma 29 1 III III 
 
 grandmother 3 1 IV IV 
 
 grandpa 14 IV 
 
 grandparent 2 III 
 
 grant 3 2 IV IV 
 
 grape 13 2 III 
 
 grass 18 2 III III C 
 
 grate 7 3 III 
 
 grave 6 III III C 
 
 gravy 5 1 III 
 
 gray 20 2 III III C 
 
 grease 2 3 III C 
 
 greatly 12 III II 
 
 greet 4 2 III 
 
 griddle 3 1 III 
 
 grin 2 1 III 
 
 grocer 2 3 III 
 
 grocery 11 2 C 
 
 groom 2 1 III 
 
 grove 2 2 IV IV 
 
 guard 5 3 III IV 
 
 guest 8 3 III IV 
 
 guide 11 2 III IV C 
 
 guild 4 1 IV IV 
 
 guilty 3 2 III 
 
 gum 2 2 III 
 
 gun 4 2 IV III 
 
 guy 4 
 
 gymnasium 6 1 III 
 
 gymnastic 2 1 III 
 
 na 14 1 III 
 
 habit 10 3 III III 
 
 ham 2 1 III 
 
 handkerchief 14 2 II IV 
 
 handle 6 3 III II C 
 
 handy 4 III
 
 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 happily 4 1 IV III 
 
 happiness 5 2 IV III C 
 
 hardship 2 2 IV IV 
 
 harm 2 2 III 
 
 harmony 5 2 III 
 
 harness 2 2 III 
 
 harvest 3 2 III 
 
 hash 3 1 III IV 
 
 haste 4 2 III III 
 
 hasten 2 1 IV IV 
 
 haul 4^3 IV IV 
 
 hay 6 2 III III 
 
 headache 24 1 II IV 
 
 heal 3 3 III 
 
 healthy 5 1 III IV C 
 
 heap 4 2 III 
 
 heartfelt 2 III 
 
 hearty 3 1 III 
 
 heaven 4 2 III IV C 
 
 heavily 6 1 III IV 
 
 heel 3 2 III IV 
 
 height 5 3 III IV C 
 
 hello 5 III IV 
 
 helper 3 III 
 
 helpful 4 1 III IV C 
 
 hen 5 2 III III 
 
 hence 5 1 IV III 
 
 herald 2 1 IV IV 
 
 hereafter 3 IV IV 
 
 hesitate 3 2 IV IV 
 
 hide 10 2 III II C 
 
 highly 5 1 IV IV 
 
 hike.... ... 3 IV IV 
 
 hill 12 3 III III C 
 
 hilly 3 III 
 
 hinge 2 2 III 
 
 hint.... 2 2 IV IV 
 
 hire .... 14 2 III III 
 
 history 18 3 III II 
 
 hit 9 1 III II 
 
 hoarse 3 3 IV IV 
 
 hog.. 5 1 IV III C 
 
 holder 2 IV IV 
 
 holiday 19 3 III IV 
 
 hollow 2 2 III C 
 
 holy 3 3 IV III 
 
 homelike 3 III 
 
 homely 4 1 IV IV
 
 
 WORD 
 
 LISTS 
 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 homesick 
 
 8 
 
 
 III 
 
 honest 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 IV 
 
 honestly 
 
 2 
 
 
 IV 
 
 honey 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 III 
 
 honor 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 hood 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 III 
 
 hook 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 III 
 
 hop 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 IV 
 
 hopeful 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 horn 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 III 
 
 horrible 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 IV 
 
 horrid 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 III 
 
 horseback 
 
 3 
 
 
 IV 
 
 hose 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 IV 
 
 hospitable 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 IV 
 
 hospital 
 
 16 
 
 3 
 
 II 
 
 household 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 III 
 
 housekeeper. . . . 
 
 4 
 
 
 III 
 
 housekeeping 
 housework 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 
 HI 
 III 
 
 hug 
 
 31 
 
 1 
 
 III 
 
 huge 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 IV 
 
 human 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 IV 
 
 humble 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 III 
 
 hundred 
 
 17 
 
 3 
 
 III 
 
 hungry 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 III 
 
 hunt 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 husband , 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 III 
 
 hustle , 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 III 
 
 hymn , 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 III 
 
 hysterics , 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 III 
 
 ice 
 
 20 
 
 2 
 
 III 
 
 icy 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 IV 
 
 ideal 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 identify 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 III 
 
 ignoramus 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 IV 
 
 ill 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 Til 
 
 illness 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 III 
 
 imitate 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 IV 
 
 immediately. . . . 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 III 
 
 immense 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 IV 
 
 immensely 
 
 5 
 
 
 IV 
 
 impatient 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 IV 
 
 importance , 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 111 
 
 important 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 111 
 
 impose 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 111 
 
 impress , 
 
 , 6 
 
 2 
 
 IV 
 
 impression , 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 III 
 
 193 
 
 V VI 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 III A 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 A 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 
 III C 
 
 IV C 
 IV 
 
 III C 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 IV C 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III AC 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III A 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 II 
 III
 
 194 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 impressive 2 
 
 improvement 4 
 
 inaugurate 3 
 
 inch 9 
 
 incidentally 5 
 
 include 18 
 
 inconvenience 4 
 
 increase 11 
 
 indeed 12 
 
 indefinitely 2 
 
 indescribable 2 
 
 indigestion 2 
 
 indigo 2 
 
 individual 5 
 
 industrious 4 
 
 industry 2 
 
 influence . 
 
 inform 
 
 informal. . . . 
 information. 
 
 injure 
 
 injury 4 
 
 ink 5 
 
 innocent 2 
 
 inquire 10 
 
 inspect 2 
 
 inspiration 2 
 
 install 2 
 
 instance 6 
 
 instant 2 
 
 institute 21 
 
 instruct 2 
 
 insult 2 
 
 insurance 16 
 
 insure 4 
 
 intention 2 
 
 intermission 2 
 
 interrupt 5 
 
 interruption 5 
 
 intimate 5 
 
 introduce 3 
 
 introduction 3 
 
 intrude 3 
 
 invalid 3 
 
 investment 2 
 
 invitation 14 
 
 iris 2 
 
 itch.. 2 
 
 III 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 III 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 V 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 III 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 II 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 VI 
 
 AC
 
 WORD LISTS 195 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 item 5 2 III IV 
 
 itself 4 1 III III 
 
 jam 2 2 III 
 
 janitor 17 3 III III 
 
 jar 2 1 IV IV 
 
 jaw 10 1 IV IV 
 
 jealous 13 3 III IV 
 
 jelly 14 3 II 
 
 jewel 2 3 III C 
 
 joke 8 2 III III 
 
 jolly 4 3 III IV 
 
 journey 9 3 III III 
 
 joy 2 2 IV IV C 
 
 judge 17 3 III IV C 
 
 judgment 9 3 III III C 
 
 juice 5 3 III C 
 
 jump 11 2 II IV 
 
 junior 12 3 III II 
 
 junk 2 1 IV IV 
 
 justice 6 2 IV III 
 
 justify 3 2 IV III 
 
 key 5 2 III IV 
 
 kick 4 3 IV IV 
 
 kidney 4 1 III 
 
 kimono 5 1 III IV 
 
 kindly 71 II A 
 
 kindergarten 6 1 IV III 
 
 kindness 3 III IV AC 
 
 king 4 2 III IV 
 
 kitten 3 2 III 
 
 knee 11 3 III IV 
 
 knife 3 3 III C 
 
 knock 8 3 III III 
 
 knowledge 4 3 IV IV C 
 
 kodak 4 2 IV IV 
 
 labor 8 3 III III A 
 
 lace 18 2 III III 
 
 lack 12 2 III II 
 
 lake 23 2 III III 
 
 lame 7 1 III 
 
 lamp 4 2 III IV 
 
 landlady 6 III III 
 
 language 2 3 IV IV 
 
 lantern 3 3 IV IV 
 
 lap 16 2 III IV 
 
 lard 4 1 III 
 
 largely 2 IV IV 
 
 laugh 75 3 III IV C
 
 196 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 launch 3 2 III 
 
 launder 3 3 III 
 
 laundry 6 3 III IV 
 
 law 15 2 II IV C 
 
 lawn 9 3 III III 
 
 lawyer 3 3 IV III C 
 
 lay 40 2 III HI C 
 
 layer 4 1 III IV 
 
 lazy 8 2 III IV C 
 
 lead 13 3 III II A 
 
 leader 3 2 IV III 
 
 leaf 9 2 III IV 
 
 league 54 2 IV IV 
 
 lean 4 2 III IV 
 
 lease 6 2 III IV 
 
 leather 6 3 III IV C 
 
 lecture 22 3 III III 
 
 leg 13 2 II C 
 
 legging 4 1 III 
 
 legislature 2 2 III 
 
 lemon 4 3 III IV C 
 
 lemonade 4 3 III IV 
 
 length 13 3 III II C 
 
 lens 2 2 III 
 
 level 5 3 III III C 
 
 lie 23 3 III IV C 
 
 lien 2 2 IV IV 
 
 lift 9 2 III IV C 
 
 lighten 2 1 IV IV 
 
 likely 33 1 III II 
 
 lily 2 3 IV IV 
 
 limb 4 2 III 
 
 limit 14 3 III III 
 
 limp 2 2 III 
 
 linen 2 3 III C 
 
 lip 6 2 III IV 
 
 liquor 2 2 III 
 
 list 12 2 III III A 
 
 literary 5 2 IV IV 
 
 literature 7 3 IV II 
 
 lively 6 2 III 
 
 liver 2 1 III 
 
 load 14 3 III 
 
 loaf 3 3 IV IV 
 
 loan 5 3 III IV 
 
 local 5 2 IV III 
 
 locate 8 2 III III 
 
 location.. 8 1 III IV
 
 WORD LISTS 197 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 lock 11 2 III IV 
 
 lodge 4 3 III III 
 
 logic 3 1 III 
 
 lonely 8 2 III 
 
 lonesome 14 2 III III 
 
 loop 3 2 III 
 
 loose 5 3 III C 
 
 loss 8 3 III IV 
 
 loud 2 3 III 
 
 lovable 3 1 IV IV 
 
 lover : 7 IV III C 
 
 lovingly 12 III IV 
 
 luck 5 2 III C 
 
 lumber 2 2 IV IV 
 
 lump 2 2 III 
 
 luncheon 7 3 III IV 
 
 lung 16 1 III IV C 
 
 luxury 6 3 III III 
 
 ma 97 III IV 
 
 mad 30 1 III IV 
 
 madam 3 1 III IV A 
 
 magazine 9 3 III IV 
 
 maid 5 3 III 
 
 main 8 3 III III 
 
 majesty 2 2 III 
 
 majority 6 2 IV II 
 
 male 3 2 IV IV 
 
 mama 176 1 III II 
 
 manager 2 1 IV IV 
 
 manly 3 1 IV IV 
 
 manner 10 III IV C 
 
 manufacture 4 3 III IV 
 
 marble 3 3 IV IV 
 
 march 2 1 III 
 
 mark 10 2 IV III AC 
 
 marriage 2 2 IV IV C 
 
 marry 81 1 III III C 
 
 mash 2 2 III 
 
 mason 4 1 IV III 
 
 masonic 3 1 IV IV 
 
 mass 3 2 III 
 
 master 7 2 III II C 
 
 mat 5 2 III 
 
 match 6 2 III IV C 
 
 mathematics 2 2 IV IV 
 
 matron 7 2 
 
 mattress 7 3 
 
 meantime 2 III
 
 198 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV 
 
 measure 8 3 III 
 
 meat 19 3 III 
 
 medical 3 2 III 
 
 medicine 24 3 II 
 
 melt 8 2 III 
 
 member 29 2 IV 
 
 memorial 4 
 
 memory 7 3 III 
 
 mend 38 2 III 
 
 mercy 3 2 IV 
 
 merely 6 1 III 
 
 merry 6 3 III 
 
 mess 7 1 III 
 
 message 3 2 III 
 
 method 4 2 
 
 mid 19 2 III 
 
 middle 20 3 III 
 
 mild 2 2 IV 
 
 milk 14 2 II 
 
 million 4 
 
 mince 4 1 III 
 
 miner 3 1 III 
 
 minimum 2 2 IV 
 
 minister 20 3 III 
 
 minus 2 1 
 
 miserable 7 2 III 
 
 mislead 2 IV 
 
 missionary 5 2 III 
 
 misspell 2 2 IV 
 
 mistake 22 3 III 
 
 misunderstand 4 IV 
 
 mitten 6 3 III 
 
 mix 11 1 III 
 
 mixture 3 3 III 
 
 mob 3 IV 
 
 mock 2 2 III 
 
 modern 6 3 III 
 
 mohair 2 1 III 
 
 monkey 2 3 IV 
 
 monthly 5 III 
 
 moon 4 2 III 
 
 moonlight 2 2 IV 
 
 moose 2 1 III 
 
 mop 4 1 III 
 
 moral 2 IV 
 
 mortgage 2 3 IV 
 
 mostly 6 1 III 
 
 moth.. 3 1 III 
 
 VI 
 
 AC 
 
 C 
 
 A 
 
 C 
 
 V 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 II 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 
 II 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 IV C 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV
 
 WORD LISTS 199 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 motion 6 3 III IV 
 
 motor 7 3 IV IV 
 
 mountain 25 3 III IV C 
 
 mouse 5 2 III C 
 
 mouth 17 2 III IV 
 
 movement 3 1 III IV 
 
 mud 10 1 III II 
 
 murder 3 2 IV IV C 
 
 muscle 3 3 III IV 
 
 muscular 3 2 III 
 
 museum 10 3 III 
 
 musical 8 1 III III 
 
 muslin 4 3 III IV 
 
 muss 3 1 III 
 
 mutilate 3 2 III 
 
 mystery 2 2 III 
 
 nail 4 2 III IV C 
 
 nap 22 1 III 
 
 napkin 4 3 III 
 
 narrow 7 2 III III C 
 
 national 9 3 III III 
 
 native 2 2 IV IV 
 
 natural 10 3 III III 
 
 naturally 7 1 II 
 
 naughty 4 3 III 
 
 navy 2 1 IV IV 
 
 nearby 18 III 
 
 neat 4 1 III C 
 
 necessity 2 3 IV IV 
 
 necktie 3 1 IV IV 
 
 neglect 2 2 IV IV 
 
 negro 3 2 IV IV 
 
 neighbor 17 3 II IV 
 
 neighborhood .2 1 III 
 
 neighborly 2 III 
 
 nephew 2 3 IV IV 
 
 nervous 11 2 II IV 
 
 newspaper 17 2 III IV C 
 
 nicely 19 III 
 
 nightgown 6 III 
 
 nineteen '8 3 III IV 
 
 ninety 13 2 III IV C 
 
 ninth 7 1 III IV 
 
 nod 3 III IV 
 
 noisy 5 III 
 
 nonsense 3 2 IV IV 
 
 nor 18 1 III III 
 
 normal 10 1 III III
 
 200 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 ____ . t\Vv X 07 
 
 X o fj r nose . . j . . yy VA .-,... o7 
 
 noticeably};,,,,-':.... 2 
 
 notify, ;-rv:T 2 
 
 notion 6 
 
 notwithstanding 3 
 
 nurse 6 
 
 nut 4 
 
 oatmeal 3 
 
 object 12 
 
 objection 4 
 
 obligate 5 
 
 oblige 4 
 
 observation 8 
 
 observe 5 
 
 occasion 7 
 
 occasionally 4 
 
 occupant 3 
 
 occupy 11 
 
 occur 8 
 
 ocean 7 
 
 odd 7 
 
 offend 4 
 
 officer 4 
 
 official 6 
 
 oil 17 
 
 olive 3 
 
 omit 2 
 
 onto 6 
 
 opera 6 
 
 operation 8 
 
 opinion 4 
 
 opportune 2 
 
 opportunity 15 
 
 oppose 5 
 
 opposite 5 
 
 opposition 4 
 
 orange 19 
 
 orchard 5 
 
 ordinary 3 
 
 organ 7 
 
 organize 4 
 
 original 2 
 
 outcome 4 
 
 outfit 3 
 
 outlook 2 
 
 outrage 3 
 
 oven 4 
 
 overalls 
 
 III 
 III 
 II 
 IV 
 IV 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 IV 
 III 
 
 III 
 IV 
 II 
 III 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 III 
 
 II 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 
 II 
 III 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 II 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 AC
 
 WORD LISTS 201 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 overcoat 5 1 IV HI 
 
 overdo 5 III 
 
 overflow 2 1 III 
 
 overhaul 2 . Ill 
 
 overlook 5 1 III III 
 
 overturn 2 IV IV 
 
 oyster 4 3 III 
 
 pad 3 1 III 
 
 paddle 2 3 III 
 
 page 6 2 III IV 
 
 pail 7 3 III 
 
 pain 22 3 III III C 
 
 pair 30 2 III IV A 
 
 pale 2 3 III 
 
 palm 2 3 IV IV 
 
 pan 13 2 II IV 
 
 pancake 5 IV IV 
 
 panel 2 2 IV IV A 
 
 pant 7 1 IV IV 
 
 pantry 4 3 IV IV 
 
 papa 66 1 III III 
 
 parade 4 3 III IV 
 
 parcel 4 3 III 
 
 pardon 2 3 IV IV 
 
 parent 4 3 IV III C 
 
 partially 3 III IV 
 
 particular 14 2 III II AC 
 
 particularly 14 1 III II 
 
 partly 7 1 III IV C 
 
 passenger 8 3 III IV 
 
 patch 3 3 III 
 
 patent 2 1 IV IV 
 
 path 3 2 IV IV 
 
 patience 2 3 IV IV 
 
 patient 7 3 III IV 
 
 patron 2 2 IV IV 
 
 patronize 6 1 III III 
 
 pattern 22 3 III 
 
 pave 5 1 IV 
 
 pavement 2 3 III 
 
 payable 2 2 IV IV 
 
 payment 6 2 IV IV 
 
 pea 2 2 III 
 
 peace 5 3 III II C 
 
 peaceful 2 IV IV 
 
 peach 9 3 III IV C 
 
 peak 3 3 IV IV 
 
 peanut 2 3 III
 
 202 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 pear 4 3 III C 
 
 peck 6 2 III 
 
 peculiar 3 2 III IV C 
 
 peep 2 2 III 
 
 peer 2 3 III 
 
 peg 2 1 IV IV 
 
 pencil 5 3 III 
 
 penny 5 2 III III 
 
 pepper 2 3 IV IV 
 
 perfect 15 3 II IV C 
 
 perfectly 28 1 III III 
 
 perform 2 2 IV IV 
 
 performance 4 2 IV IV 
 
 period 5 3 III IV C 
 
 peritonitis 2 1 IV IV 
 
 permanent 3 3 III IV 
 
 permission 9 1 III III 
 
 permit 7 2 IV II 
 
 persimmon 2 1 IV IV 
 
 personal 3 3 III A 
 
 personality 3 1 II 
 
 personally 4 III 
 
 persuade 6 3 III III 
 
 pet 2 2 III 
 
 petition 2 2 IV IV 
 
 philosophy 2 1 III 
 
 phone 20 II IV 
 
 photo 3 IV IV 
 
 photographer 2 1 III 
 
 physic 3 1 IV IV 
 
 physical 6 1 IV IV 
 
 physically 2 IV IV 
 
 physiology 3 2 III 
 
 pickle 8 3 III IV 
 
 picnic 11 3 III IV 
 
 picturesque 2 3 III 
 
 pig 2 2 IV IV C 
 
 pile 11 2 III III 
 
 pink 27 1 III III C 
 
 pint 4 2 III 
 
 pipe 6 2 III C 
 
 pitch 2 2 IV IV 
 
 pitcher 2 2 IV IV 
 
 pity 6 3 III III 
 
 plaid 3 3 III 
 
 plain 14 3 III III AC 
 
 plainly 5 1 III III 
 
 plait 7 1 III
 
 WORD LISTS 203 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 plant 13 3 III III C 
 
 plaster 6 2 III III C 
 
 plate 10 2 II IV 
 
 platform 2 2 IV IV 
 
 player 4 1 III IV 
 
 pleasantly 3 1 IV III 
 
 pleasure 29 3 III II AC 
 
 pledge 2 3 III 
 
 plum 11 3 III 
 
 plush 3 1 III 
 
 pocket 10 3 III IV C 
 
 pocketbook 4 IV IV 
 
 poem 2 3 IV IV 
 
 poetry 11 3 IV IV 
 
 poison 6 3 III IV 
 
 policy 8 2 IV IV 
 
 polish 3 3 IV IV 
 
 political 4 2 IV III 
 
 pond 3 2 III 
 
 poorly 7 III III 
 
 popular 8 3 III IV 
 
 population 2 2 IV IV 
 
 pork 7 1 III C 
 
 porter 6 1 III IV 
 
 portiere 2 1 III 
 
 portion 3 2 III 
 
 pose 2 1 IV IV 
 
 position 8 3 III II A 
 
 positively 4 III IV 
 
 possibility 4 1 III IV 
 
 possibly 17 III III C 
 
 postage 6 3 III 
 
 postal 22 1 III III 
 
 poster 2 1 IV IV 
 
 postman 3 IV IV 
 
 postpone 4 2 IV III 
 
 pound 27 3 II C 
 
 pour 3 3 III 
 
 practically 8 III III 
 
 practise 27 3 IV I 
 
 prairie 2 3 IV IV 
 
 pray 3 3 IV IV 
 
 prayer 16 3 III IV 
 
 preach 14 3 III IV C 
 
 preacher 9 III IV 
 
 precinct 2 2 IV IV 
 
 precious 3 3 III 
 
 prefer 9 3 IV II A
 
 204 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II ill iv V VI 
 
 prejudice 2 3 IV IV 
 
 preliminary 6 1 IV IV 
 
 preparation 6 3 IV IV 
 
 preparatory 3 IV III 
 
 prescription 3 2 III 
 
 presence 3 1 III IV 
 
 preserve 4 3 IV III 
 
 preside 4 1 III 
 
 president 11 3 III II A 
 
 presidential 2 III 
 
 press 15 2 III III C 
 
 presumably 2 III 
 
 presume 12 1 III 
 
 pretend 4 2 IV III 
 
 prevent 7 2 III IV 
 
 previous 5 2 III IV 
 
 previously 2 III 
 
 pride 5 2 III IV 
 
 primary 7 2 III II 
 
 principal 9 3 III II 
 
 print 4 2 IV IV AC 
 
 private 10 3 III II AC 
 
 privilege 6 3 III IV 
 
 prize 14 2 III III 
 
 probable 5 1 III 
 
 problem 8 2 III II 
 
 proceed 3 3 III 
 
 prod 2 IV IV 
 
 produce 3 2 
 
 professional 2 1 III 
 
 profit 2 3 III 
 
 program 18 2 III II 
 
 progressive 3 2 III 
 
 promenade 5 1 III IV 
 
 promptly 2 2 IV IV 
 
 pronounce 3 2 III 
 
 proper 9 3 III IV 
 
 properly 5 1 IV III 
 
 property 4 2 III IV C 
 
 propitious 2 2 III 
 
 proportion 2 1 IV IV 
 
 propose 2 2 III 
 
 proposition 8 2 IV III 
 
 prospect 4 2 IV IV 
 
 protect 2 2 IV IV 
 
 proud 14 2 III IV 
 
 prove 13 3 III III 
 
 provide 6 2 III IV
 
 WORD LISTS 205 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 provoke 2 2 IV IV 
 
 public 11 2 IV II A 
 
 publish 22 III A 
 
 pudding 14 2 III 
 
 puff 4 2 III 
 
 pug 2 1 IV IV 
 
 pullman 10 IV III 
 
 pulse 6 2 III 
 
 pump 9 2 III II 
 
 pumpkin 2 3 III 
 
 punish 2 2 IV IV 
 
 pupil 18 3 III III 
 
 purchase 6 2 III II 
 
 pure 4 2 IV IV C 
 
 purpose 4 3 IV III 
 
 push 2 2 III 
 
 puzzle 4 3 III IV 
 
 quarrel 9 3 III IV 
 
 quart 19 2 III C 
 
 quartet 4 3 IV IV 
 
 queen 6 3 IV III 
 
 queer 7 3 IV III C 
 
 quest 2 1 IV IV 
 
 quickly 3 1 IV IV 
 
 quietly 5 1 III 
 
 quilt 5 2 III 
 
 quinine 3 1 IV IV 
 
 race 5 2 III III 
 
 rack 7 1 III IV 
 
 radiator 2 2 III 
 
 rag 13 1 III III 
 
 rail 4 1 III IV 
 
 railroad 7 3 III II C 
 
 railway 2 IV IV 
 
 rainy 16 2 II IV 
 
 raisin 3 3 IV III 
 
 rake 5 1 III 
 
 rally 3 1 IV IV 
 
 ranch 7 2 III 
 
 range 11 2 III III 
 
 rapid 4 2 IV IV 
 
 rapidly 8 1 III III 
 
 rate 17 2 III II 
 
 ravine 2 2 IV IV 
 
 raw ; 2 2 IV IV 
 
 razor 5 2 IV IV 
 
 readiness 3 III 
 
 rear.. 2 1 IV IV
 
 206 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II 
 
 reasonable 8 
 
 receipt 8 
 
 recent 2 
 
 recently 8 
 
 reception 8 
 
 recess 7 
 
 recital 2 
 
 recognize 3 
 
 recollect 2 
 
 recommend. . 3 
 
 recommendation 4 
 
 record 7 
 
 recover 6 
 
 reduce 4 
 
 refer 6 
 
 reference 5 
 
 refit 2 
 
 refreshment 5 
 
 refund 2 
 
 refuse 8 
 
 regain 2 
 
 register 10 
 
 regret 4 
 
 regular 26 
 
 regularly 7 
 
 rejoice 2 
 
 relate 4 
 
 relation 6 
 
 relative 6 
 
 release 2 
 
 relief 5 
 
 relieve 19 
 
 religious 4 
 
 relish 2 
 
 remainder 2 
 
 remark 7 
 
 remedy 5 
 
 remembrance 3 
 
 remind 9 
 
 remodel 3 
 
 remove 5 
 
 renew 2 
 
 renter 2 
 
 repair 6 
 
 repay 3 
 
 repeat 4 
 
 repetition 2 
 
 reply , 14 
 
 III 
 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 
 2 
 3 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 1 
 2 
 1 
 1 
 2 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 2 
 1 
 2 
 2 
 1 
 
 3 
 1 
 1 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 1 
 2 
 1 
 3 
 
 IV 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 V 
 
 VI 
 
 III 
 
 
 IV 
 
 AC 
 
 IV 
 
 A 
 
 III 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 IV 
 
 A 
 
 IV 
 
 
 II 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 II 
 
 A 
 
 III 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 IV 
 
 A 
 
 IV 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 II 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 IV 
 
 
 III 
 
 
 IV 
 
 C 
 
 IV 
 
 
 II 
 
 AC
 
 WORD LISTS 207 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 represent 6 2 III IV 
 
 representative 3 1 III A 
 
 republican 3 1 IV IV 
 
 require 5 2 III II 
 
 reset 4 IV IV 
 
 residence 6 3 IV III 
 
 resident 2 2 III 
 
 resign 11 2 III III 
 
 resort 2 1 IV IV 
 
 respect 12 1 III III 
 
 respectable 4 2 
 
 responsibility 7 1 III IV 
 
 'estaurant 17 2 III III 
 
 restful 2 III 
 
 restless 7 III IV 
 
 result 12 2 IV III 
 
 retire 5 1 III III 
 
 reunion 9 1 III IV 
 
 reverend 5 2 III IV 
 
 reverse 4 1 
 
 review 6 3 IV III 
 
 rheumatic 5 1 III IV 
 
 rheumatism 19 2 III IV 
 
 ribbon 9 2 III IV 
 
 rice 5 2 III IV 
 
 rid 4 1 IV III 
 
 rig 3 1 III 
 
 rip 6 1 III 
 
 rise 11 3 III II 
 
 river 12 2 III IV C 
 
 roar 5 3 III IV 
 
 roast 6 3 III III 
 
 rob 3 1 IV IV 
 
 rocky 2 1 IV IV 
 
 roller 2 2 IV IV 
 
 roomer 3 III 
 
 root 3 3 III IV 
 
 rope 4 2 III 
 
 rose 6 2 III IV 
 
 rosy 2 2 III 
 
 rough 12 3 III II C 
 
 round 20 2 III III C 
 
 route 8 3 III IV 
 
 row 12 2 III II 
 
 royal 7 3 IV III 
 
 rub 13 2 II IV 
 
 rubber 5 2 III C 
 
 ruffle.. 7 2 III
 
 208 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I 
 
 n 
 
 rug , 
 
 21 
 
 rum 
 
 2 
 
 rule 
 
 9 
 
 runner , 
 
 6 
 
 rush 
 
 13 
 
 sack 
 
 2 
 
 sacred 
 
 2 
 
 sacrifice 
 
 2 
 
 sad 
 
 7 
 
 sadly 
 safely 
 
 2 
 8 
 
 sail 
 
 17 
 
 sailor 
 
 4 
 
 saint 
 
 2 
 
 sake 
 
 11 
 
 salad 
 
 9 
 
 salary 
 
 14 
 
 sale 
 
 9 
 
 salesman 
 
 3 
 
 salt 
 
 17 
 
 sample 
 sand 
 
 4 
 3 
 
 sandwich 
 
 4 
 
 sanitary 
 
 4 
 
 sarcastic 
 
 2 
 
 sash 
 
 3 
 
 satin 
 
 7 
 
 satisfaction 
 
 5 
 
 satisfactory 
 
 11 
 
 sauce 
 
 12 
 
 saucer 
 
 4 
 
 scale 
 
 3 
 
 scalp 
 
 3 
 
 scant 
 
 2 
 
 scar 
 
 3 
 
 scarce 
 
 3 
 
 scarcely 
 
 14 
 
 scarlet 
 
 3 
 
 scatter 
 
 3 
 
 scenery 
 
 9 
 
 schedule 
 
 4 
 
 scholar 
 
 9 
 
 scholarship 
 
 2 
 
 science 
 
 7 
 
 scissors 
 
 3 
 
 scold 
 
 .... 9 
 
 scorch 
 
 2 
 
 scorcher 
 
 2 
 
 III 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 
 1 
 3 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 3 
 1 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 1 
 1 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 
 2 
 2 
 1 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 
 2 
 3 
 2 
 3 
 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 III 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 V 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 VI
 
 WORD LISTS 209 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 score 12 2 III II 
 
 scout 4 1 IV IV 
 
 scramble 3 1 III 
 
 scrap 6 3 III IV 
 
 scrape 2 3 IV IV 
 
 scraper 2 IV IV 
 
 scratch 2 3 IV IV 
 
 scream 4 2 III 
 
 screen 4 3 IV IV 
 
 scribble: 3 2 III IV 
 
 scrub 10 2 III C 
 
 sea 15 3 III II 
 
 seal 6 2 III IV 
 
 search 2 2 IV IV C 
 
 season 23 3 III II 
 
 secret 6 2 III IV C 
 
 secretary 4 3 III IV A 
 
 section 11 1 III III 
 
 secure 12 2 III III AC 
 
 seed 2 3 IV IV 
 
 seek 3 3 IV IV 
 
 seldom 7 2 III IV 
 
 self 6 1 III IV 
 
 senior 9 2 IV III 
 
 sense 9 3 III III C 
 
 sentence 3 3 III 
 
 separate 8 3 III IV A 
 
 separately 5 III IV 
 
 serious 13 3 III II 
 
 sermon 17 2 III IV 
 
 session 4 2 IV IV 
 
 seventeen 6 1 III IV 
 
 seventh 2 1 III 
 
 severe 6 2 III IV C 
 
 shade 21 2 III III 
 
 shadow 6 3 II C 
 
 shake 14 2 III IV C 
 
 shamefully 2 IV IV 
 
 shape 23 2 III III 
 
 share 7 2 III IV C 
 
 sharp 8 2 III IV C 
 
 shave 4 1 IV IV 
 
 shed 2 1 IV IV 
 
 sheet 19 2 III III 
 
 shelf 3 3 III IV 
 
 shell 2 2 III 
 
 shine 13 3 III III C 
 
 ship 12 2 III III C
 
 210 THE CHILD AND ' HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II 
 
 start 34 
 
 shock 8 
 
 shoe 32 
 
 shoot 5 
 
 shore 7 
 
 shortly 10 
 
 shoulder 12 
 
 shout 2 
 
 shove 3 
 
 shower -12 
 
 shrink 2 
 
 shudder 2 
 
 shut 4 
 
 sickness 10 
 
 sideboard 2 
 
 sidewalk 3 
 
 sightseeing 10 
 
 signature 2 
 
 silent 2 
 
 silly 17 
 
 silver 12 
 
 silverware 2 
 
 similar 5 
 
 simple 5 
 
 simply 11 
 
 sin 2 
 
 sing 31 
 
 single 10 
 
 sink 6 
 
 sir 10 
 
 sirup 7 
 
 5 
 13 
 2 
 4 
 3 
 2 
 11 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 sleeper 5 
 
 situate . 
 sixteen . 
 sixth... 
 skate. . 
 skim. . . 
 skimp. , 
 skin. . . 
 skip. . . 
 sky. . . . 
 slap. . . 
 slave. . , 
 
 sleepy, 
 sleet . . 
 sleeve, 
 sleigh . 
 blice. . 
 
 16 
 2 
 
 24 
 7 
 6 
 
 III 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 2 
 3 
 1 
 3 
 2 
 3 
 2 
 2 
 1 
 2 
 
 IV 
 II 
 
 III 
 II 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 HI 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 IV 
 III 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 III 
 II 
 III 
 III 
 
 V 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 VI 
 
 c 
 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 III C 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 IV C 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 AC 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 IV C 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV C 
 
 IV
 
 WORD LISTS 211 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 slick 3 1 III 
 
 slide 7 2 III IV A 
 
 slight 7 2 III II 
 
 slightly 2 1 IV IV 
 
 sling 2 2 IV IV 
 
 slip 15 2 III IV 
 
 slipper 12 1 III III 
 
 slow 8 2 III III 
 
 slowly 3 1 IV IV 
 
 slumber 2 2 III 
 
 smart 16 1 III III 
 
 smell 6 2 III IV C 
 
 smile 5 2 III IV C 
 
 smooth 4 3 III C 
 
 snake 2 2 IV IV 
 
 snap 3 1 III IV 
 
 sneeze 9 3 III IV 
 
 soak 5 3 III IV 
 
 soap 7 2 III IV AC 
 
 sober 2 2 IV IV 
 
 sociable 2 1 III 
 
 social 26 3 III II 
 
 socialist 3 1 III 
 
 society 14 3 III III 
 
 sock 7 1 III IV 
 
 soda 2 1 III 
 
 sofa 7 2 III IV 
 
 soft 17 2 II IV C 
 
 oil 5 3 III IV C 
 
 soldier 6 3 IV III 
 
 sole 8 3 IV IV C 
 
 solid 2 2 IV IV C 
 
 solo 2 1 IV IV 
 
 solution 2 2 IV IV 
 
 solve 4 2 III 
 
 somebody 8 2 IV IV 
 
 somehow 3 IV IV 
 
 somewhat 18 III III 
 
 somewhere 11 III 
 
 song 25 2 III III AC 
 
 soreness 5 III IV 
 
 sorrow 4 2 IV III C 
 
 soul 17 3 III IV C 
 
 soup 11 3 III C 
 
 sour 2 3 III 
 
 source 2 3 III 
 
 southern 13 2 III III 
 
 space 4 2 III IV C
 
 212 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II ill iv v VI 
 
 span 2 1 III 
 
 spare 14 1 III III 
 
 speaker 6 2 IV III 
 
 specialist 2 III 
 
 speech 6 3 III III 
 
 spick 2 III 
 
 spirit 8 2 IV III C 
 
 spit 4 1 III IV 
 
 spite 5 1 IV III 
 
 splendid 6 1 III III A 
 
 spoon 6 3 III C 
 
 sport 7 2 IV IV 
 
 spout 2 2 III 
 
 spread 15 3 III III C 
 
 sprinkle 12 2 III 
 
 squabble B 1 IV IV 
 
 square 33 2 III C 
 
 squarely 2 III 
 
 squeeze 11 3 III IV 
 
 stable 4 3 III IV 
 
 stack 3 2 III IV 
 
 stag 4 1 IV IV 
 
 stage 3 1 III IV 
 
 stain 2 3 III 
 
 stalk 2 3 IV IV 
 
 stamp 9 2 III A 
 
 standard 7 2 IV II 
 
 star 7 2 IV III C 
 
 starve 4 3 III 
 
 statement 5 2 IV III A 
 
 station 24 2 III IV 
 
 stationery 2 III 
 
 statistics 2 2 III 
 
 steadily 4 2 III IV 
 
 steady 2 2 IV IV C 
 
 steak 13 3 III IV 
 
 steal 4 2 III IV C 
 
 steam 6 2 III IV C 
 
 steamer 15 1 IV IV 
 
 steel 2 2 III C 
 
 steep 3 3 IV IV 
 
 stenographer 3 III 
 
 stew 5 2 III 
 
 stiff 4 2 III IV 
 
 sting 3 2 III IV 
 
 stingy 4 3 III IV 
 
 stir 6 2 III 
 
 stitch.. .... 6 3 III
 
 WORD LISTS 213 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 stomach 23 3 II IV 
 
 stone 9 2 III III 
 
 stool 3 2 III IV 
 
 stoop 3 3 
 
 storage 5 1 III 
 
 storm 15 2 III III C 
 
 stormy 3 IV IV 
 
 straight 15 2 III II C 
 
 straighten 9 III IV 
 
 strain 8 3 III II 
 
 strange 25 3 III II 
 
 strap 3 2 III IV 
 
 straw 9 2 III IV C 
 
 streak 2 3 IV IV 
 
 strength 62 IV 
 
 strenuous 6 2 III 
 
 stretch 3 2 III IV 
 
 string 9 2 III IV C 
 
 strip 3 2 III 
 
 stroll 6 2 III IV 
 
 strongly 4 1 III IV 
 
 struggle 4 2 III 
 
 stubborn 2 3 IV IV 
 
 stump 3 1 IV IV 
 
 stunt 7 1 IV III 
 
 stupid 3 3 III 
 
 stylish 6 III 
 
 subject 16 2 III III AC 
 
 submit 3 2 III 
 
 substantial 2 2 IV IV 
 
 substitute 3 2 IV IV 
 
 suburb 3 2 IV III 
 
 succeed 15 2 III III C 
 
 successful 11 IV II 
 
 succession 2 1 III 
 
 sudden 6 1 III IV 
 
 suddenly 3 1 III 
 
 suffer 20 3 III III C 
 
 sufficient 3 2 
 
 sufficiently. . 4 III III 
 
 sugar 8 3 III IV 
 
 suggestion 3 2 IV III 
 
 suite 2 2 III 
 
 sum 4 2 IV IV 
 
 sunny 5 1 
 
 sunshine 8 1 III 
 
 superintendent 9 2 IV III 
 
 superior 6 2 IV IV
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 supplement 2 2 IV IV 
 
 supply 4 2 III IV A 
 
 support 2 3 III 
 
 surely 38 1 II IV 
 
 surround 4 3 III IV 
 
 suspect 4 2 IV II 
 
 swallow 3 3 IV III 
 
 sweat 14 2 III III C 
 
 sweater 7 2 III IV 
 
 sweep 24 2 IV C 
 
 sweeper 2 III 
 
 sweetness 3 1 IV IV 
 
 swell 16 3 II IV 
 
 swim 6 2 IV IV 
 
 swing 10 2 III III 
 
 swipe 2 IV IV 
 
 switch 4 3 III IV 
 
 sympathize 2 1 IV IV 
 
 sympathy 7 3 III III 
 
 system 9 3 III III 
 
 tabernacle 3 1 IV IV 
 
 tablet 4 2 III IV 
 
 tack 3 1 III IV 
 
 tackle 3 1 IV III 
 
 tact 3 2 IV III 
 
 tag 2 1 IV IV 
 
 tail 7 3 II IV 
 
 tailor 3 3 III IV 
 
 talker 2 III 
 
 tall 5 2 III IV 
 
 tan 16 2 III 
 
 tank 3 1 III 
 
 tape 4 2 III 
 
 tart 2 2 III 
 
 task 2 2 IV IV 
 
 tax 3 1 IV IV C 
 
 taxicab 3 III IV 
 
 tea 29 3 III IV 
 
 teakettle 2 III 
 
 team 27 3 III III 
 
 teapot 5 III 
 
 tear 17 3 III III 
 
 tease 3 3 
 
 teaspoon 2 III 
 
 telegram 14 2 III IV 
 
 telegraph 3 3 III 
 
 telephone 15 2 III III 
 
 temperance 2 3 IV IV
 
 WORD LISTS 215 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 temperature 5 2 III 
 
 temple 8 2 III IV 
 
 tempt 7 3 III III 
 
 temptation 5 2 IV IV 
 
 tend. 3 2 IV IV 
 
 tendency 4 2 IV III 
 
 tender 5 2 III IV C 
 
 tenement 3 2 III IV 
 
 tennis 2 3 IV IV 
 
 tenor 2 1 III 
 
 tent 16 2 III 
 
 tenth 3 1 III IV 
 
 term 7 3 II 
 
 terribly 8 2 III III 
 
 test 13 2 III IV 
 
 text 7 2 IV III 
 
 thankful 10 2 II IV C 
 
 thanksgiving 5 1 III IV 
 
 theater 10 3 III IV 
 
 themselves 12 1 III II 
 
 thereabouts 3 III 
 
 therefore 10 1 III II C 
 
 thermometer 3 2 IV IV 
 
 thirteen 8 3 III III 
 
 thorough 4 2 III C 
 
 thousand 6 2 III III C 
 
 thread 2 3 III C 
 
 thresh 2 2 III 
 
 throat 14 3 III III C 
 
 throughout 2 2 IV IV 
 
 thumb 4 3 III IV 
 
 thunder 6 2 III IV 
 
 thus 7 2 IV II 
 
 tickle 6 2 IV III 
 
 tidy 2 2 III 
 
 tie 12 3 II IV 
 
 tile 10 2 III IV 
 
 timid 2 2 III 
 
 tinker 3 1 III 
 
 tiny 3 3 III 
 
 tip 52 IV 
 
 tiresome 3 III 
 
 toast 6 3 III 
 
 toilet 2 3 III 
 
 tomato 9 3 
 
 tombstone 2 III 
 
 ton 4 2 III IV C 
 
 tone.. 6 2 III IV
 
 216 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II ill iv 
 
 tongue 7 3 III 
 
 tool 2 2 IV 
 
 toot 14 1 IV 
 
 tooth 21 3 III 
 
 torture 2 3 IV 
 
 total 4 2 III 
 
 touch 12 3 III 
 
 tour 3 1 III 
 
 toward 18 3 III 
 
 towel 14 3 III 
 
 tower 3 3 III 
 
 toy 3 2 III 
 
 trace 2 2 IV 
 
 track 11 2 IV 
 
 trade 7 2 III 
 
 traffic 2 2 IV 
 
 tramp 2 2 III 
 
 transfer 8 2 III 
 
 travel 24 3 III 
 
 traveler 4 3 IV 
 
 treatment 11 1 III 
 
 trial 11 3 III 
 
 tribe 2 2 IV 
 
 trick 4 2 III 
 
 trifle 6 3 III 
 
 trim 9 2 III 
 
 triumph 3 2 IV 
 
 trolley 5 3 III 
 
 trot 2 2 IV 
 
 true 31 3 III 
 
 truly 8 2 IV 
 
 trust 10 2 
 
 truth 13 2 III 
 
 tub 5 1 III 
 
 tuck 4 2 III 
 
 tune 3 1 III 
 
 tunic 2 1 III 
 
 turkey 10 3 III 
 
 twelfth 2 1 III 
 
 twin 4 2 III 
 
 twist 2 2 IV 
 
 type... 3 2 IV 
 
 typewriter 5 1 III 
 
 typhoid 4 2 III 
 
 ugly 3 2 III 
 
 umbrella 5 3 III 
 
 unable -4 2 III 
 
 unanimous 2 2 
 
 VI 
 C 
 
 AC 
 C 
 
 V 
 III 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 III 
 
 II 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 II C 
 
 IV C 
 
 IV 
 
 III C 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 III C 
 
 III AC 
 
 II A 
 
 III C 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 
 IV 
 IV 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 IV C 
 
 IV 
 
 IV AC 
 
 III
 
 WORD LISTS 317 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 unbearable 2 III 
 
 uncomfortable 8 III III 
 
 undershirt 3 III 
 
 undertake 4 1 IV III 
 
 underwear 16 III IV C 
 
 undo 4 III IV 
 
 undress 7 III IV 
 
 uneasy 2 1 IV IV 
 
 unfinished 2 2 IV IV 
 
 union 17 3 III IV C 
 
 unlikely 2 III 
 
 unload 3 III IV 
 
 unlock 2 III 
 
 unnecessary 2 IV IV 
 
 unpack 4 1 III 
 
 unpleasant 6 III IV 
 
 unreasonable ,.... 2 IV IV 
 
 unusual 5 1 III 
 
 unusually 2 III 
 
 unwise 2 IV IV 
 
 upset 3 1 III IV 
 
 urge 4 3 111 IV C 
 
 urine 2 III 
 
 useful 10 2 III IV C 
 
 useless 4 III IV 
 
 usually 17 1 III III 
 
 utter 2 3 III 
 
 vacant 4 2 IV IV 
 
 vague 2 2 IV IV 
 
 valley 16 3 III IV C 
 
 valuable 4 3 III IV 
 
 value 7 3 IV II 
 
 variety 4 2 III IV 
 
 various 8 3 III III 
 
 varnish 2 2 IV IV 
 
 vary :... 4 3 III IV 
 
 vaudeville 2 IV IV 
 
 veal 3 2 III IV 
 
 vegetable 9 3 III C 
 
 vegetation 2 2 IV IV 
 
 velvet 6 3 III III 
 
 ventilate 2 2 IV IV 
 
 ventilation 2 1 IV IV 
 
 verse 4 2 III IV 
 
 vessel 3 3 III 
 
 vest 4 2 IV IV 
 
 via 3 III IV 
 
 vice.. 2 1 IV IV
 
 218 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I II III IV v VI 
 
 victrola 2 IV IV 
 
 vigor 3 1 IV IV 
 
 vinegar 4 2 IV IV 
 
 violin 7 2 III 
 
 visitor 8 2 III III 
 
 voice 11 2 III III C 
 
 volume 9 3 IV III A 
 
 vomit 7 III 
 
 vote 25 2 III II C 
 
 wage 5 3 III C 
 
 wagon 4 3 III C 
 
 wake 15 1 III III C 
 
 waken 7 III IV 
 
 wander 6 3 III IV 
 
 war 7 1 III III C 
 
 warmly 3 1 III 
 
 warn 5 1 III IV 
 
 wave 4 3 III IV 
 
 weak 17 3 III IV C 
 
 weakness 2 III C 
 
 wealth 4 1 IV III 
 
 wealthy 3 2 IV IV 
 
 weave 2 3 IV IV 
 
 wed 16 1 III III 
 
 weed 2 3 III 
 
 weekly 9 1 III 
 
 weigh 31 3 III IV 
 
 weight 5 3 III C 
 
 welcome 16 3 III II 
 
 western 7 2 III III 
 
 wet 16 2 III IV C 
 
 wheel 11 3 III III C 
 
 whenever 8 1 III IV 
 
 whereby 3 IV III 
 
 wherever 8 1 III IV 
 
 whimper 2 1 IV IV 
 
 whip 5 2 III IV 
 
 whiskers 3 IV III 
 
 whisper 4 2 IV IV 
 
 whistle 3 3 III 
 
 whoever 3 1 IV IV 
 
 wholly 4 2 IV III 
 
 wide 7 2 III IV C 
 
 widow 4 1 III C 
 
 width 4 3 III IV 
 
 wiggle 2 IV IV 
 
 wild 9 2 III III 
 
 windmill . . 2 1 III
 
 WORD LISTS 219 
 
 I II III IV V VI 
 
 windy 7 III IV 
 
 wipe 5 2 III 
 
 wire 8 2 III III 
 
 wireless 4 III 
 
 wisdom 3 2 IV IV C 
 
 wise 9 2 III IV C 
 
 within 6 1 III IV C 
 
 wonderfully 5 1 III IV 
 
 wood 17 3 III III C 
 
 woodwork 2 IV IV 
 
 wool 4 3 . Ill 
 
 worthless 2 IV IV 
 
 worthy 6 2 III 
 
 wrap 6 3 III III 
 
 wreck 3 3 III IV 
 
 wring 3 3 III IV 
 
 writer 2 III 
 
 yeast 3 3 III C 
 
 yell 8 1 III IV 
 
 yoke.. I 9 2 III IV 
 
 youngster 6 III III 
 
 zero 3 1 III 
 
 Lack of space forbids the presentation of List 
 IV, but its general character is revealed by the 
 statement that eighteen hundred four of its two 
 thousand two hundred thirty words occur only once. 
 This is thirty-four and sixty-nine hundredths per 
 cent, of five thousand two hundred words, the total 
 of the four lists. Ayres found the closely similar 
 figure of thirty-seven and fifty-three hundredths 
 per cent, for the proportion of vocabulary occurring 
 but once. 
 
 In the two hundred thousand running words thus 
 tallied, a total of twelve hundred nine different 
 
 _. proper names occurred, with a 
 
 Proper names r 
 
 in the corre- combined frequency of about nine 
 
 spondencc thousand seven hundred forty.
 
 220 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 In tallying proper names, terms which were 
 identical in spelling except for a final s, such as 
 Steven and Stevens, William and Williams, etc., 
 were accounted a single word instead of two. All 
 nicknames, pet diminutives, and spellings based on 
 personal predilection were reduced to the standard 
 orthography. The envelope addresses were consid- 
 ered as far as they came into the writers' hands, 
 since nothing in the matter of correct spelling is 
 more germane to efficiency than the address, as our 
 Dead Letter Office shows. The inclusion of ad- 
 dresses, the relationship of certain correspondents 
 to one another, and the much greater volume of 
 correspondence from certain persons than from 
 others, accounts for the unusual frequency of some 
 names. The same plan of division into four lists, as 
 outlined above, has been followed with the proper 
 names, but the columns showing sex differences 
 (IV and V) have been eliminated because they 
 yield data so meager as to be non-significant. As 
 presented below, Lists II and III have been purged 
 of the following classes of names for an obvious rea- 
 son: All towns of less than 10,000 inhabitants, 
 all strictly local publications, organizations and 
 streets; and all family names, except those of his- 
 toric characters, or of men in the public eye. This 
 elimination decreased List II only slightly, but re- 
 duced List III over a third.
 
 WORD LISTS 
 
 221 
 
 LIST I 
 
 I WORD 
 Saturday 199 3 A 
 
 LIST II 
 
 3O WORDS (33 WORDS BEFORE ELIMINATION) 
 
 August 49 3 A Madison 169 
 
 Charles 184 1 May .- 42 1 A 
 
 Chicago 85 2 Miss 113, A 
 
 Christmas 133 3 A Monday ISO 1 A 
 
 December 34 3 A November 37 2 A 
 
 Ella 112 October 44 3 A 
 
 Fannie 15 Ralph 124 1 
 
 Friday 188 1 A St. Paul 22 
 
 Hamilton 91 September 60 2 A 
 
 Harry 28 1 Sunday 311 2 A 
 
 Hepsy 230 Thursday 98 3 A 
 
 Illinois 137 3 Tuesday 135 2 A 
 
 January 36 2 A Wednesday 101 3 A 
 
 July 20 2 A William(s) 433 1 
 
 June 27 2 A Wisconsin 128 2 
 
 LIST III 
 
 197 WORDS (312 WORDS BEFORE ELIMINATION) 
 
 Adam 4 Bryan 6 
 
 Albert 3 1 Burlington 2 
 
 Albuquerque 5 Byron 2 
 
 Alfred 20 1 California 42 2 
 
 Alice 100 1 Canada 2 1 
 
 Allen 2 Canterbury 2 1 
 
 Allie 4 Carl 7 
 
 American 28 1 Catholic 12 2 
 
 April 15 2 A Champaign 48 
 
 Arthur 4 1 Chesapeake 2 1 
 
 Avis 21 Chinatown 2 
 
 Baptist 6 2 Christian 16 2 
 
 Belleville 2 Claude 8 
 
 Bible 4 1 Colorado 17 1 
 
 Blanche 2 Columbus 4 1 
 
 Boston 2 1 Congregational ... 2
 
 222 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Coronado 5 1 
 
 Daisy 3 
 
 Daniel 17 1 
 
 Danville 54 
 
 Davis 4 
 
 Delos 6 
 
 Donald 8 1 
 
 Dora 5 
 
 Dorothy 41 
 
 Drake 3 
 
 Easter 9 
 
 Edna 3 
 
 Edward 25 1 
 
 Eleanor 3 
 
 Eliza 9 
 
 Elizabeth".'.!!'.'.'.!'. 19 1 
 
 Ellen 13 1 
 
 Elmer 2 
 
 Emma 7 1 
 
 England 20 2 
 
 English 16 2 
 
 Episcopal 8 1 
 
 Epworth 6 
 
 Ethel 2 
 
 Etta 27 
 
 Europe 4 3 
 
 Evan 2 
 
 Everett 2 
 
 February 14 3 A 
 
 Florence 11 1 
 
 Florida 14 1 
 
 France 11 1 
 
 Frances 5 1 
 
 Francis 8 1 
 
 Fred 4 1 
 
 French 12 1 
 
 Frenchman 2 
 
 Gabriel 8 
 
 Gene 4 
 
 George 30 3 
 
 Georgia 14 2 
 
 German 18 1 
 
 Glasgow 5 1 
 
 God 45 1 
 
 Grace 32 1 
 
 Hallowe'en 3 1 
 
 Harold 14 1 
 
 Harvey 5 
 
 Hattie 49 
 
 Hazel 3 
 
 Helen 199 1 
 
 Herbert 9 
 
 Howard 4 
 
 Huldah 21 
 
 Indiana 7 3 
 
 Indianapolis 7 1 
 
 Iowa 5 2 
 
 Irishman 2 
 
 Italian 6 2 
 
 Italy 5 2 
 
 Jack 5 1 
 
 Jackson 15 
 
 Jacob 2 1 
 
 James 3 1 
 
 Jessie 36 1 
 
 Jewish 2 
 
 John 15 1 
 
 Johnson 4 
 
 Joliet 4 1 
 
 Joseph 76 1 
 
 Julia 47 
 
 Kansas 21 1 
 
 Kate 54 1 
 
 Katharine 8 1 
 
 Kenneth 6 
 
 Latin 8 
 
 Lee 3 
 
 Lincoln 4 2 
 
 Lloyd 5 1 
 
 Logan 4 
 
 Lois 4 
 
 Lola 3 
 
 London 39 2 
 
 Lord 3 
 
 Loring 15 
 
 Los Angeles 12 1 
 
 Lottie 11 
 
 Louis 169 
 
 Lucy 32 1 
 
 Lutheran 3 
 
 March 20 2 A 
 
 Margaret 12 
 
 Marion 12 
 
 Mary 9 2 
 
 Mason 16 
 
 Matthew 5
 
 WORD LISTS 
 
 223 
 
 Maud 6 
 
 Methodist 9 1 
 
 Mexican 2 
 
 Michigan 2 1 
 
 Milan 2 
 
 Milwaukee 14 2 
 
 Minneapolis 6 1 
 
 Minnesota 28 1 
 
 Minnie 6 1 
 
 Mississippi 4 2 
 
 Missouri 10 2 
 
 Mitchell 12 
 
 Mollie 12 
 
 Mormon 3 
 
 Morris 8 
 
 Nancy 4 
 
 Nebraska 3 1 
 
 Ned 6 1 
 
 Nellie 6 
 
 Nevada 3 1 
 
 New York 17 2 
 
 Northwestern 5 
 
 Oakland 5 
 
 Ohio 4 1 
 
 Oliver 2 
 
 Omaha 6 1 
 
 Oregon 4 1 
 
 Ottawa 11 1 
 
 Pacific 7 2 
 
 Pansy 313 
 
 Pasadena 3 
 
 Paul 3 1 
 
 Pennsylvania 2 3 
 
 Perry 22 
 
 Peter 7 1 
 
 Presbyterian 3 1 
 
 Prince 5 1 
 
 Raymond 5 
 
 Robert 3 1 
 
 Rome 3 2 
 
 Roosevelt 7 
 
 Rose 10 
 
 Rosecrans 2 
 
 Roy 9 1 
 
 Ruth 61 1 
 
 Sacramento 11 
 
 Samuel 4 1 
 
 Sampson 4 
 
 San Diego 43 
 
 San Francisco 20 
 
 Santa Claus 5 1 
 
 Santa Fe 2 
 
 Sheridan 3 
 
 Spencer 3 
 
 Springfield 7 
 
 Stanley 20 
 
 Stella 7 
 
 Susan 41 1 
 
 Swiss 2 
 
 Taft 8 
 
 Tennessee 2 1 
 
 Terre Haute 6 
 
 Texas 13 
 
 Thanksgiving 27 
 
 Theodore 15 
 
 Thomas 4 
 
 Titanic 3 
 
 Walter 9 
 
 Washington 23 2 
 
 Wilson 17 
 
 Yellowstone . 2 
 
 A presentation of List IV of the proper names 
 will be unnecessary. Of eight hundred sixty-two 
 names found in it, five hundred forty-four 
 occur but once ; and the vast majority are mere local 
 names of families, or given names more or less un- 
 common. Only one hundred one of the five hun- 
 dred forty-four are found in any of the spellers.
 
 224 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Since each of the three spellers consulted con- 
 tained one or more special lessons on foreign terms 
 
 n0t * Ml * aturalized in 
 
 Separate tabula- 
 
 tion of foreign American speech, a special list of 
 
 these terms was kept separate as 
 they occurred in the correspondence. Thirteen such 
 words occurred with a total frequency of fifteen. 
 Elite alone occurred more than once. Only six of 
 the thirteen were found in any of the spellers.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SPELLING TEXTS AND SPELLING NEEDS 
 
 EIT us first examine the word lists of the three 
 spellers previously referred to, and see in how 
 far the ordinary text meets the requirements in re- 
 Vocabularies of s P ect to a spelling vocabulary. 
 spelling-books The relation of the vocabularies 
 of the three texts, excluding proper names and for- 
 eign terms, is as follows : 
 
 Speller Speller Speller 
 
 ABC 
 Words found in one text only ....... 143 5,785 1,082 
 
 Words found in Spellers A and B . . . 633 633 .... 
 
 Words found in Spellers A and C. . . 132 .... 132 
 
 Words found in Spellers B and C ...... 3,101 3,101 
 
 Words found in all three texts ...... 1,613 1,613 1,613 
 
 Total for each text ............ 2,521 11,132 5,928 
 
 Total of different words for all texts, 12,489. 
 
 The variation among these books with respect to 
 extent of spelling vocabulary indicates that the mak- 
 ers of spelling-books differ in their opinions as 
 widely as have the educators whose estimates have 
 already been cited in Chapter IX. Not only in re- 
 gard to total number of words are there striking 
 differences, but also in regard to community of 
 
 225
 
 226 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 vocabulary. Though Speller A has less than forty- 
 three per cent, of the vocabulary of C, hardly sev- 
 enty per cent, of the list is the same as C's. That 
 is, the chances of finding any given word of A's vo- 
 cabulary in C are less than seven in ten. Conversely, 
 the chance of finding any given word of C's vocab- 
 ulary in A is less than three in ten. Of the total 
 twelve thousand, four hundred eighty-nine different 
 words, only sixteen hundred thirteen, or less 
 than thirteen per cent., are common to all the 
 spellers. 
 
 If the lists of the spelling-books be tested by the 
 
 lists secured from the correspondents, it develops 
 
 that four thousand, three hun- 
 
 Relation of vo- , j //, i-rr j 
 
 cabularies of "red fifty-one different words, or 
 
 spellers and only thirty-five per cent, of the 
 
 correspondents , , . 
 
 total, ever appeared in the letters. 
 
 To determine the extent to which the judgments of 
 the three authors united was more reliable than the 
 judgment of any one author, the one thousand, six 
 hundred thirteen words common to the three texts 
 were followed out in the correspondence. Seventy 
 per cent, of these appeared in the correspondence 
 twice as large a proportion as for the total twelve 
 thousand, four hundred eighty-nine words. How- 
 ever, it would seem that so short a list as sixteen 
 hundred thirteen, if at all well chosen, should 
 be represented by much more than seventy per cent. 
 of its strength among the five thousand, two hun- 
 dred different words of the correspondence. Fur-
 
 TEXTS AND NEEDS 227 
 
 thermore, one would normally expect that this 
 seventy per cent, (eleven hundred thirty-six 
 words) would fall most heavily in List I (see page 
 157), less heavily in List II (see page 161), and 
 not to any large extent in List IV. However, they 
 were distributed as follows: 
 
 51 fell in List I, constituting 27.4% of said list 
 193 fell in List II, constituting 33.4% of said list 
 620 fell in List III, constituting 28.1% of said list 
 272 fell in List IV, constituting 12.2% of said list 
 
 Clearly then, the spellers examined have not placed 
 emphasis where it is most needed. 
 
 Passing now to the proper names listed in the 
 spellers, one finds a still greater lack of harmony. 
 
 Speller Speller Speller 
 ABC 
 
 Words found in one text only 167 53 177 
 
 Words found in Spellers A and B.... 13 13 
 
 Words found in Spellers A and C 41 ... 41 
 
 Words found in Spellers B and C 24 24 
 
 Words found in all three texts 25 25 25 
 
 Total for each text 246 115 267 
 
 Total different words for all texts, 500. 
 
 Speller B, with a general vocabulary about twice as 
 great as C's, and four times as great as A's, has less 
 than one-half as many proper names as either of 
 the others. Only five per cent, of the total of five 
 hundred proper names are common to all three 
 spellers, and only twenty-one per cent, show any 
 degree of community. As far as one may general- 
 ize from these three spellers, the chances of finding
 
 228 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 the same proper name in two spellers picked up at 
 random ranges from sixteen in one hundred to 
 forty-two in one hundred. If it were desirable so 
 to do, curious differences might be pointed out, 
 showing a tendency of one book to "specialize" in 
 American geography, and another in foreign geog- 
 raphy and history, or perchance in Christian names. 
 Two hundred sixty-nine of these five hundred 
 proper names do not appear at all in the list of 
 twelve hundred nine proper names found in the 
 correspondence, and five of the twenty-five com- 
 mon to all the spellers were among these two hun- 
 dred sixty-nine. 
 
 But the climax of disparities between the texts 
 is seen in the lists of foreign terms found in the 
 spelling-books. They tabulate as follows : 
 
 Speller Speller Speller 
 ABC 
 
 Words found in one text only 12 62 24 
 
 Words found in Spellers A and B 2 2 
 
 Words found in Spellers A and C 4 .. 4 
 
 Words found in Spellers B and C 6 6 
 
 Total for each text 18 70 34 
 
 Total different words for all texts, 110. 
 
 Not a single term was common to all the texts, and 
 less than eleven per cent, of the total showed any 
 degree of community. Only six of the whole one 
 hundred ten appeared in the correspondence; 
 nor were any of these six among the twelve found 
 in more than one speller. Had the compilers of
 
 TEXTS AND NEEDS 229 
 
 these books taken words at random from a French 
 dictionary their offerings could hardly have been 
 less related to the pupil's needs. 
 
 But if a complete inventory be taken of the data 
 of the last chapter, we must go further than to say 
 Limitations of that the spellers contain a vast 
 any speller amount of useless material. They 
 
 have failed to some extent to include the necessary 
 words, as the following table shows : 
 
 WORDS FOUND IN NONE OF THE SPELLERS 
 
 General. 
 
 List I i (i). 
 
 List II ii (anyway, awfully, crazy, every- 
 thing, job, lately, maybe, pa, per, sick, 
 silk). 
 
 List III 202 (the type is shown by such as the 
 following: adverbs, e. g., absolutely; 
 nouns on verb stems, e. g., alteration, 
 announcement; unusual compounds, e. 
 g., afire, apiece; verbs on adjective 
 stems, e. g., straighten; compounds of 
 simple words, e. g., anywhere, bed- 
 time; prefixes in in- and un-, e. g., 
 inland, u nsatisfactory ) . 
 
 List IV 625 (many of the same type as for 
 List III, though the number of new 
 stems is larger). 
 Proper. 
 
 List II (after elimination) 7 out of 30. 
 
 List III (after elimination) 99 out of 197. 
 
 List IV 761 out of 862. 
 
 Foreign terms 7 out of 13.
 
 2 3 o THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 From such an exhibit it might seem that our 
 spellers should be larger rather than smaller. Every 
 one of the thirteen correspondents referred to in 
 Chapter X contributed in varying amounts to the 
 two thousand, two hundred thirty words of List 
 IV. There seemed to be on the part of every per- 
 son a specific demand for words not used by any 
 of the other twelve. This being true, it becomes 
 evident that no speller can fill the need of individ- 
 uals completely. In view of the plastic state of our 
 language, with the constant accretion of words from 
 various sources and the decadence of standard 
 words so that they become obsolescent or obsolete, 
 the unabridged dictionary itself can not meet all 
 possible needs of every person. The individual ob- 
 viously must make new linguistic as well as other 
 new adjustments from time to time throughout his 
 life. 
 
 That the vocabularies of different persons vary 
 widely is generally believed ; but their variation may 
 Individual writing net be in any sense due to the 
 vocabularies number of words people know 
 
 how to spell. If a connection of this sort did 
 exist, one might be justified in putting such em- 
 phasis upon spelling as was the practise a genera- 
 tion ago. It has furthermore not been demon- 
 strated that the vocabulary of a liberally educated 
 person is wider in written expression than that of 
 one not so highly trained. It was to shed some light 
 upon this problem that the extent of each corre-
 
 TEXTS AND NEEDS 231 
 
 spondent's vocabulary was carefully noted as far 
 as could be done with the limited quantity of corre- 
 spondence. The running words of each correspond- 
 ent's letters were counted off a thousand at a time. 
 A record was made of the number of different 
 words employed on the first thousand; and the 
 number of new words introduced in each succeed- 
 ing thousand was also recorded. Not less than five 
 thousand running words was accepted from any 
 correspondent, since it was felt that this number 
 was necessary in order to gain a fair idea of the 
 extent of a person's vocabulary. It will be seen 
 from the table exhibiting the data thus gained (see 
 following page) that no person fully exhausted his 
 vocabulary; nor, as already suggested, does it seem 
 probable that any normal individual's vocabulary 
 could be exactly ascertained if his correspondence 
 were pursued indefinitely. 
 
 Some interesting revelations are made by this 
 table. N. exceeds in vocabulary her daughter E., 
 who has had at least twice the schooling her mother 
 enjoyed. However, N. notices everything of a per- 
 sonal nature, and feels a keen interest in people. 
 E. writes mostly about herself, and hence has a 
 narrower range of experience to communicate. H., 
 another daughter, only slightly exceeded N. in vo- 
 cabulary used at the end of five thousand running 
 words. At the end of twelve thousand running 
 words S. exceeded both her adult college-educated 
 children, P. and W. In neither spelling capacity
 
 232 
 
 Q 
 
 o 
 
 K 
 P 
 
 W 
 
 00 
 co 
 
 W 
 
 uw 
 
 Qg 
 
 WcO 
 
 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 CO 
 
 W 
 
 rJ 
 
 g 
 
 V9T 
 
 VST 
 
 V5T 
 
 ~T 
 S 
 
 i 
 
 Q 
 
 ESS 
 
 S 
 
 W 
 
 CCCQCO 
 
 oocoS 
 
 CO 
 
 * 
 
 CICiCN 
 
 C ?C i-l 
 
 ic TO o 
 
 tr 
 co 
 
 * 
 in 
 
 i -*t COi-tCOfNCROiCNQCOOS 
 t-<Nt lOt rHO5OO5-*iS(M< I 
 OO CO C^ CO GO CO O CO C"* O rH O CO 
 
 o^oocoooc-moococscocft 
 
 rH iH i-l il i-H r-l 
 
 ~~r 
 co co c^ ^P t co *o ^ 
 
 COCOCCCNCNCOCOCO 
 
 L "iL*L ILV^fZ' 
 
 1WJL 
 
 11 i 
 
 1W 
 
 O5 <N t- 
 
 rH i-H rH 
 
 <P6S 
 
 oSS S 
 
 V8S 
 
 (NO rH 
 CO <N CM 
 
 HUS 
 
 88 S 
 
 V9S 
 
 SS S 
 
 I*o.L 
 
 11 1 
 
 VQ8 
 
 33 8 
 
 V^8 
 
 r-i in co 
 mo) CM 
 
 P J 88 
 
 rH *! CO 
 CO rH H 
 
 P58 
 
 53^ S5 
 
 JST8 
 
 ^ti i.O t* 
 COrH CN 
 
 IWi 
 
 O5 O5 GO 
 
 qios 
 
 CN GO CM 
 
 TrH CM 
 
 q^s 
 
 coco H 
 
 V85 
 
 <N iO t- 
 
 VIS 
 
 SS5 S 
 
 V98 
 
 CO ^ ^tf* 
 
 l^o X 
 
 Is I 
 
 ves 
 
 S3 5 
 
 ws 
 
 JS^S 
 
 PJSS 
 
 s^5;s 
 
 PSS 
 
 Cfl 00 00 1C 
 
 JSTS 
 
 t-CN -^ 1C 
 ^1 CM ** CO 
 
 Thousand 
 

 
 TEXTS AND NEEDS 233 
 
 nor reading vocabulary is there any comparison to 
 be made between her children and herself; but S. 
 is a wide reader, and has acquired rather cosmo- 
 politan interests. It could hardly need plainer dem- 
 onstration than these two instances afford that writ- 
 ing vocabulary is dependent, not on spelling ability 
 or formal education, so much as on largeness of 
 view and breadth of interest, which in many cases 
 is favorably affected by education. Changing 
 scenes and the character of one's correspondent 
 also affect the size of one's vocabulary. C. made 
 an unusual record on his first thousand words, 
 because of a nervous habit of jumping quickly from 
 theme to theme in his ordinary letters. In his diary 
 of domestic and local happenings he falls to a very 
 common record on his second thousand words; but 
 thereafter he eclipses all others in recounting the 
 sights and events of an extended trip through the 
 West. P., after falling slightly behind W. 
 at twenty thousand, overtakes and easily passes 
 him in describing the experiences of travel 
 and of changed surroundings. A. too has a very 
 ordinary record until she begins to write of her 
 European tour, when she quickly shoots ahead of 
 all the others. G. falls sensibly behind O. at five 
 thousand, because she, a graduate student, is under- 
 going routine life as a teacher, while Q., a high- 
 school graduate, is visiting relatives and friends most 
 of the time and experiencing frequent changes of 
 scenes. Practically all interruptions in the descent
 
 234 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 of the number of vocabulary accessions from thou- 
 sand to thousand for each correspondent can be 
 explained on the bases already mentioned. 
 
 In the list published by Ayres, a total frequency 
 of seventeen hundred fifty-seven Is assigned to 
 
 .. , . proper names, Mr., Mrs., I and 
 
 Vocabularies in 
 
 family and other a, words not considered in the 
 correspondence 
 
 study the unpublished portion of his list comprised 
 twelve per cent, of the total number of running 
 words, it seems likely that some two thousand run- 
 ning words of his study (seventeen hundred fifty- 
 seven increased by twelve per cent.) would have 
 been disregarded in making up our own general list. 
 Put otherwise, he tabulated about twenty-one thou- 
 sand five hundred running words according to our 
 mode of reckoning (twenty-three thousand six hun- 
 dred twenty-nine decreased by about two thou- 
 sand). His published list of five hundred 
 forty-two different words shrinks to four hundred 
 sixty-seven by the elimination of proper names and 
 reduction to a dictionary basis. If the same per- 
 centage of shrinkage holds for the unpublished por- 
 tion of his list, his total of two thousand one 
 distinct words shrinks to about seventeen hundred 
 twenty-five. 
 
 We have, then, Ayres' composite vocabulary of 
 seventeen hundred twenty-five in a total of twenty- 
 one thousand, five hundred running words to com- 
 pare with four individual vocabularies in the pres-
 
 TEXTS AND NEEDS 235 
 
 ent study (see table on page 232). At twenty- 
 one thousand five hundred A. and P. were each 
 about a hundred words above Ayres' composite 
 vocabulary, W. was seventy-five above it, but 
 H. had fallen a long way behind. It is impossi- 
 ble to believe, in view of the length of our general 
 List IV, that any ordinary individual could show 
 a vocabulary equal to that gleaned from hundreds 
 of persons combined, except by being placed in a 
 situation where he would have occasion to discuss 
 a greater range of interests. The explanation in 
 this case is that family correspondence and letters 
 of a friendly nature call for more diversified ex- 
 pression than stereotyped business communications, 
 however miscellaneous in character. 
 
 This individuality of spelling vocabulary, while 
 naturally directed somewhat along technical lines 
 
 of vocational importance to the 
 Sex differences 
 in spelling several writers, is a more uncer- 
 
 vocabulary ta j n q uan tity in many ways than 
 
 sex differences in writing vocabulary. All words 
 in general Lists I, II and III were inspected in or- 
 der to furnish a list of words which show a wide 
 variation in use as between the sexes. "Wide vari- 
 ation" was construed as meaning a change from 
 List I of one sex to List III of the other, from List 
 II of one sex to List IV of the other, from List III 
 of one sex to non-occurrence in the other, or any 
 greater degree of change. Words with a frequency 
 of only two, however, were not taken into account.
 
 236 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 The two lists, one showing dominance with the 
 women, the other with the men, were then subdi- 
 vided according to a scheme set forth below. 
 
 WORDS DOMINANT IN LETTERS OF WOMEN 
 
 A. Articles of food, terms relating to consump- 
 tion or preparation thereof: 
 
 appetite 
 
 apple 
 
 bacon 
 
 bake 
 
 banana 
 
 beef 
 
 berry 
 
 biscuit 
 
 boil 
 
 bread 
 
 breakfast 
 
 burner 
 
 butter 
 
 cabbage 
 
 cake 
 
 candy 
 
 casserole 
 
 cheese 
 
 chicken 
 
 chocolate 
 
 cook 
 
 cooky 
 
 cracker 
 
 cream 
 
 custard 
 
 dessert 
 
 fish 
 
 food 
 
 gas 
 
 gasoline 
 
 goose 
 
 grape 
 
 gravy 
 
 griddle 
 
 grocery 
 
 jelly 
 
 juice 
 
 lard 
 
 milk 
 
 orange 
 
 oven 
 
 oyster 
 
 pail 
 
 pan 
 
 pear 
 
 plum 
 
 pork 
 
 pudding 
 
 sauce 
 
 sirup 
 
 soup 
 
 starve 
 
 stew 
 
 stove 
 
 toast 
 
 tomato 
 
 vegetable 
 
 yeast 
 
 B. Articles of wearing apparel, textiles, terms 
 closely related thereto: 
 
 apron 
 
 embroider 
 
 pin 
 
 bead 
 
 embroidery 
 
 plaid 
 
 belt 
 
 flannel 
 
 plait 
 
 braid 
 
 fur 
 
 plush 
 
 button 
 
 gem 
 
 rip 
 
 cape 
 
 glove 
 
 rubber 
 
 chain 
 
 handkerchief 
 
 ruffle 
 
 cloth 
 
 legging 
 
 sample 
 
 clothe 
 
 mend 
 
 sash 
 
 corset 
 
 mitten 
 
 satin 
 
 cotton 
 
 nightgown 
 
 scissors 
 
 cuff 
 
 patch 
 
 sew 
 
 dressmaker 
 
 pattern 
 
 shirt 
 
 shoe 
 
 silk 
 
 skirt 
 
 sleeve 
 
 stitch 
 
 tape 
 
 tie 
 
 undershirt 
 
 velvet 
 
 waist 
 
 wool
 
 TEXTS AND NEEDS 
 
 237 
 
 C. Parts of body, care of same, personal ap- 
 pearance : 
 
 arm hair 
 
 limb 
 
 stomach 
 
 bathe head 
 
 neat 
 
 stylish 
 
 bowel kidney 
 
 nose 
 
 swell 
 
 fat 
 
 
 
 D. Animals : 
 
 
 
 animal fish 
 
 kitten 
 
 mouse 
 
 chicken goose 
 
 moth 
 
 
 E. Esthetics, color: 
 
 
 
 admire bloom 
 
 glorious 
 
 orange 
 
 art blossom 
 
 lovely 
 
 perfect 
 
 beautifully disgust 
 
 museum 
 
 tan 
 
 black gallery 
 
 muss 
 
 
 F. Diseases, their treatment, concrete sensitivity 
 
 for good or ill, terms 
 
 closely related 
 
 thereto : 
 
 ache cough 
 
 headache 
 
 prescription 
 
 afraid crazy 
 
 heal 
 
 pulse 
 
 aggravate cure 
 
 horrid 
 
 relief 
 
 ail dentist 
 
 hospital 
 
 sick 
 
 alarm die 
 
 hysterics 
 
 swell 
 
 bronchitis dizzy 
 
 lame 
 
 tease 
 
 burial dread 
 
 medicine 
 
 tiresome 
 
 bury envy 
 
 nervous 
 
 vomit 
 
 camphor fond 
 
 nurse 
 
 zero 
 
 chill 
 
 
 
 G. Parts of house, 
 
 furniture and 
 
 furnishings : 
 
 basement cottage 
 
 napkin 
 
 saucer 
 
 bathroom furniture 
 
 pillow 
 
 spoon 
 
 bedroom grate 
 
 plate 
 
 teapot 
 
 bowl mat 
 
 portiere 
 
 towel 
 
 closet mattress 
 
 quilt 
 
 tub 
 
 H. Measures : 
 
 
 
 barrel peck 
 
 pound 
 
 tape 
 
 bushel pint 
 
 quart 
 
 weifht
 
 238 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 I. Correspondence: 
 pencil 
 
 envelope 
 ink 
 
 postage 
 
 stamp 
 
 J. Other domestic activities and relationships: 
 
 launder mop scrub 
 
 maid roomer sweep 
 
 homelike 
 
 housekeeper 
 
 housework 
 
 Unclassified (possible membership in List K or 
 L indicated in parentheses) : 
 
 accommodation contribution 
 
 acid 
 
 acute 
 
 affectionately 
 
 alcohol 
 
 alike 
 
 altitude 
 
 anniversary 
 
 asleep 
 
 assembly (L) 
 
 bag 
 
 baggage 
 
 balance 
 
 behave 
 
 bet 
 
 beyond 
 
 bid 
 
 birthday 
 
 blind 
 
 bottle 
 
 bush 
 
 caller 
 
 carelessness 
 
 carpenter 
 
 carriage 
 
 channel 
 
 chautauqua 
 
 check 
 
 chore 
 
 circular 
 
 companion 
 
 connect 
 
 consequently 
 
 crack 
 
 cultivate 
 
 daddy 
 
 dean 
 
 description 
 
 detain 
 
 dispose 
 
 draft 
 
 driver 
 
 east 
 
 economize 
 
 elaborate 
 
 elsewhere 
 
 empty 
 
 entirely 
 
 errand 
 
 eve 
 
 exhaust 
 
 farm 
 
 fill 
 
 firecracker 
 
 fold 
 
 fuss (Kj 
 
 game 
 
 goodby 
 
 goodness 
 
 greet 
 
 grip 
 
 ha 
 
 handy 
 
 harvest 
 
 heap 
 
 hearty 
 
 notwithstand 
 
 helper 
 
 ing 
 
 hilly 
 
 oblige 
 
 hunt 
 
 occupant 
 
 improvement 
 
 onto 
 
 interrupt 
 
 overdo 
 
 jump 
 
 package 
 
 kill (K) 
 
 pad 
 
 knife 
 
 parcel 
 
 launch 
 
 phone 
 
 law (L) 
 
 pipe 
 
 lively 
 
 pond 
 
 load 
 
 pour 
 
 logic 
 
 precious 
 
 lonely 
 
 presume 
 
 loop 
 
 progressive 
 
 loose 
 
 pronounce 
 
 luck 
 
 puff 
 
 mass 
 
 quietly 
 
 matron 
 
 rainy 
 
 maybe 
 
 rake 
 
 memorial 
 
 ranch 
 
 merry 
 
 readiness 
 
 message 
 
 remodel 
 
 missionary 
 
 respectable 
 
 muscular 
 
 rig 
 
 mutilate 
 
 rope 
 
 nap 
 
 rub 
 
 naughty 
 
 sail 
 
 nearby 
 
 sailor 
 
 neighbor 
 
 sale 
 
 noisy 
 
 satisfactory 
 
 
 scramble
 
 TEXTS AND NEEDS 
 
 239 
 
 scream 
 
 sprinkle 
 
 sentence 
 
 stir 
 
 shoot 
 
 stoop 
 
 sidewalk 
 
 storage 
 
 sink 
 
 strength 
 
 sixty 
 
 strenuous 
 
 skim 
 
 strip 
 
 slice 
 
 stupid 
 
 slick 
 
 sunny 
 
 smooth 
 
 surely 
 
 socialist (L) 
 
 tail 
 
 soft 
 
 tank 
 
 somewhere 
 
 telegraph 
 
 spell 
 
 
 temperature 
 
 unpack 
 
 tent 
 
 unusual 
 
 thankful 
 
 vessel 
 
 thereabouts 
 
 wagon 
 
 thin 
 
 warmly 
 
 thorough 
 
 weekly 
 
 tinker 
 
 whistle 
 
 tiny 
 
 widow 
 
 tour 
 
 wind 
 
 toy 
 
 wipe 
 
 trifle 
 
 wireless 
 
 trolley 
 
 woman 
 
 twin 
 
 worthy 
 
 WORDS DOMINANT IN LETTERS OF MEN 
 
 K. Terms of aggression, contest and domina- 
 tion, physical and mental: 
 
 argument 
 attack 
 control 
 convince 
 
 defeat 
 effort 
 fight 
 force 
 
 loss 
 oppose 
 permit 
 solve 
 
 struggle 
 submit 
 successful 
 suspect 
 
 L. Institutional life and social organization: 
 
 administration convention enroll preside 
 
 agency county inaugurate public 
 
 associate customary majority representative 
 
 college discuss member term 
 
 Unclassified (possible membership in Lists A-J 
 indicated in parentheses) : 
 
 above 
 
 absent 
 
 absolutely 
 
 accept 
 
 add 
 
 admit 
 
 advantage 
 
 agreeable (F) 
 
 aid 
 
 altogether 
 
 amuse 
 
 assure 
 
 attend 
 
 await 
 
 civil 
 
 danger 
 
 definitely 
 
 deny 
 
 descend 
 
 directly 
 
 dismiss 
 
 dismissal 
 
 dividend 
 
 drift 
 
 earn 
 
 education 
 
 error 
 
 especially 
 
 fact 
 
 favor 
 
 feature 
 
 final 
 
 follow 
 
 fourth 
 
 encouragement geography
 
 240 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 guilty 
 guy 
 
 harmony 
 honor 
 hopeful 
 human 
 impress 
 inconven- 
 ience (F) 
 increase 
 injury (F) 
 instance 
 intrude 
 kindly 
 
 literature 
 
 mention 
 
 method 
 
 naturally 
 
 nature 
 
 necessary 
 
 occur 
 
 offend (F) 
 
 opera 
 
 outrage (F) 
 
 personal 
 
 personality 
 
 personally 
 
 pet 
 
 physiology 
 
 portion 
 
 practise 
 
 prefer 
 
 probable 
 
 proceed 
 
 prod 
 
 produce 
 
 recess 
 
 refer 
 
 reference 
 
 religious 
 
 reply 
 
 reverse 
 
 service 
 
 shadow (E) 
 
 standard 
 
 stenographer 
 
 suddenly 
 
 sufficient 
 
 term 
 
 thus 
 
 trust 
 
 upon 
 
 value 
 
 violin 
 
 wage (s) 
 
 SUMMARY OF SEX DOMINANCE 
 
 List Women Men 
 
 A 58 
 
 B 50 
 
 C 13 
 
 D 7 
 
 E 15 i 
 
 F 37 5 
 
 G 20 
 
 H 8 
 
 I 5 
 
 J 9 
 
 K 2 16 
 
 L 3 16 
 
 Unclassified 183 90 
 
 Total 410 128 
 
 Deduct counted twice 6 
 
 True total 404 128 
 
 Probably no two persons could agree that all words 
 have been properly assigned in these lists on sex
 
 TEXTS AND NEEDS 341 
 
 difference, inasmuch as a certain term may be used 
 in a variety of situations. Thus it happens that 
 some words occur in two lists. Only three or 
 four of the eight women correspondents were at 
 the time of their writing carrying heavy domestic 
 responsibilities, so it may be inferred that general 
 social conditions, if not heredity, have impressed 
 certain traits upon femininity, and thus established 
 assort of feminine type of spelling vocabulary. Lists 
 K and L are likewise in harmony with contempo- 
 rary sociological, psychological and biological re- 
 search and theory, in pointing out a masculine type, 
 though the totals for sex dominance show that the 
 feminine type is much more homogeneous than the 
 masculine, another fact which is in harmony with 
 contemporary thought. It is predicted that adjust- 
 ment of elementary-school courses to sex needs will 
 sooner or later cause some differentiation in spelling 
 work required of boys and girls. At present a 
 certain amount of incidental spelling in connection 
 with the special subjects, such as domestic science, 
 manual training and civics, offers most hope of a 
 satisfactory solution. 
 
 In the course of a discussion which one of the 
 writers held recently with two grammar-school boys 
 
 , . on the applicability of their spell- 
 Relation of tune 
 
 economy to spell- ing lessons to their composition, 
 
 ing needs Qne of them declared that he had 
 
 no idea of ever using many of the words of the 
 speller, since he was familiar with plenty of short
 
 242 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 common ones that did just as well. How far an 
 adult's narrow writing vocabulary is a matter of 
 choice for the sake of economy, rather than a result 
 of lack of culture, it is impossible to say except in 
 individual cases. But as bearing upon this matter, 
 a quotation may be given from a recent writer in 
 the Chicago Tribune,* who discussed the subject 
 "Is Letter- Writing Becoming Passe?" She says: 
 
 "We have no time for long dissertations, either 
 about books or scenery, or our inmost feelings and 
 impressions. Letter-writing has ceased to be re- 
 garded as a pastime; to the majority it is nothing 
 less than a stern duty with little pleasure in it. And 
 as a duty it must be performed accurately with no 
 superfluities or digressions. We rarely find our- 
 selves 'wishing to* write a letter, but we frequently 
 'have to' do so, and to get the business over both 
 quickly and efficiently we gather up all the facts to 
 be communicated and set them down in as few 
 words as possible." 
 
 A young business man in a personal letter not 
 long ago said : 
 
 "Our vocabularies are certainly limited, and the 
 rush of business seems to be in some ways against 
 their development. I know that very often in dic- 
 tating I substitute a common word for one which 
 is more applicable but less likely to be understood 
 by the foreign class addressed. The average reader 
 won't consult a dictionary, nor puzzle long over 
 difficult words." 
 
 * March 9, 1913.
 
 TEXTS AND NEEDS 243 
 
 That such conscious or unconscious economy is 
 a vital force in the selection of a writing vocabulary 
 appears from the tabulation of general List I and 
 the first and last ninety-three words of Lists II, III 
 and IV, by number of syllables. 
 
 List I 
 List II 
 List III 
 List IV 
 
 One 
 syllable 
 
 152 
 93 
 40 
 31 
 
 Two 
 
 syllables 
 
 30 
 72 
 88 
 76 
 
 Three 
 
 syllables 
 
 4 
 
 18 
 34 
 42 
 
 Four 
 syllables 
 
 "2 
 
 20 
 29 
 
 Fire 
 
 syllables 
 
 "i 
 
 4 
 8 
 
 Total 
 186 
 186 
 186 
 186 
 
 Even a hasty glance at List I will show that it 
 contains many words which are commonly mis- 
 spelled. All teachers know that most of the trou- 
 blesome words in pupils' papers are relatively short, 
 so it is clear that the frequency of the short words 
 is not due to the simplicity of their spelling, but 
 rather to that passion for conservation of energy 
 which consciously or unconsciously accompanies all 
 effort that is not an end in itself. 
 
 Just how great a role these short, sharp Anglo- 
 Saxon words play in written expression can be best 
 
 The words that appreciated from a few compari- 
 do the work sons Ayres f oun( j that nine 
 
 words constituted over one- fourth and forty-three 
 words over one-half of the whole of the corre- 
 spondence he examined. Reducing his list to a dic- 
 tionary basis, we leave the figures practically the 
 same. The nine remain unchanged, but the forty- 
 three probably become forty-five. For the lists de- 
 rived from this investigation, the corresponding fig-
 
 244 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 ures are nine and forty-two, all monosyllables. 
 Since the exact total of the frequencies in List III 
 is fifteen thousand, two hundred forty, and that 
 for List IV is two thousand, nine hundred forty- 
 three, Lists I and II (seven hundred sixty-three 
 words) include between ninety and ninety-one per 
 cent, of the total words written in ordinary corre- 
 spondence. Not only do such generalizations hold 
 for a number of persons treated collectively, but 
 the same conclusion is fairly warranted for any sin- 
 gle individual. As a test a calculation was made of 
 the proportions which the nine most frequent words 
 spoken of above constituted in the correspondence 
 of each of the thirteen correspondents. The theo- 
 retical level would be slightly over twenty-five per 
 cent, for each person ; the actual per cent, in every 
 case fell between twenty-three per cent, and twenty- 
 eight and two-tenths per cent., though naturally 
 there were marked personal variations in the .fre- 
 quency of any one word, due to different habits in 
 sentence structure and the use of alternative ex- 
 pressions. The forty-two words which constituted 
 just above fifty per cent, of the total words for all 
 correspondents taken collectively constituted be- 
 tween forty-six and fifty-five per cent, for all cor- 
 respondents taken individually. Lists I and II, 
 which theoretically would constitute ninety per cent, 
 for any one individual, actually made up from 
 eighty-four to ninety-seven per cent, of the total 
 words written by each correspondent.
 
 TEXTS AND NEEDS 245 
 
 An interesting check on the results given in the 
 preceding paragraph was gained from an entirely 
 different source. The files of the Chicago Tribune 
 for June and July, 1913, were consulted and a total 
 of five thousand words was tallied from the com- 
 munications appearing on the editorial page under 
 the titles of "The Voice of the People" and "The 
 Friend of the People." A considerable amount of 
 ground was covered by selecting only the first un- 
 capitalized word of each line. The same identical 
 nine words again made up slightly over a quarter 
 of the total, the same forty-two words comprised 
 forty-two and five-tenths per cent, as against one- 
 half in family correspondence, while Lists I and 
 II comprised over seventy-nine per cent, of the to- 
 tal, as against ninety per cent, in family correspond- 
 ence. It is highly significant that the percentages 
 remain so nearly the same. The communications 
 printed in the Tribune are scarcely to be termed 
 typical of the needs of common people. Unlike 
 most family correspondence, they deal with many 
 technical matters and are full of legal terminology 
 and political discussion. Furthermore, they are 
 largely impersonal in their nature, and contain so 
 few personal pronouns as to account for the slight 
 discrepancy between seventy-nine and ninety per 
 cent.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 AND CONCLUSIONS 
 
 RETRACING the ground we have covered, we 
 see that as a result of the study of spelling 
 rules with university freshmen and high-school stu- 
 dents, it was found that, if we omit one particular 
 rule, those who possessed some knowledge of rules 
 showed a slight superiority over their fellows in the 
 university group who knew no rules, and a slight 
 inferiority in the high-school group. Most of the 
 persons tested had had thorough instruction in spell- 
 ing rules at periods ranging from six weeks to ten 
 months previous to the tests, but they had retained 
 very little knowledge of them. Much of what they 
 had remembered was defective, erroneous, and was 
 not applied in their spelling in the tests. * Spelling 
 rules seem to be for the most part too long and in- 
 volved, and there are too many exceptions to every 
 rule to make them easily applied by students. One 
 short, simple rule to the effect that monosyllables 
 ending in ie change the same to y before suffixing 
 ing, is doubtless useful, but it applies to only a half 
 dozen words. 
 
 The attitude of the students themselves respect - 
 246
 
 CONCLUSIONS 247 
 
 ing the value of rules is skeptical. If taught at all 
 the rules probably ought to come very early in the 
 child's school life. In later years it is seemingly 
 impossible to develop a reflective attitude toward 
 what should be mainly a mere sensori-motor or au- 
 tomatic process, without producing the disturbed 
 inhibitory results that usually follow from such an 
 attitude. 
 
 Errors in spelling may be grouped into two 
 classes. One is the linguistic lapse or chance error 
 that is due to a wandering of the attention from 
 the material being written. Lapses are identified 
 by the correct spelling of the same word on other 
 similar occasions, or by the promptness with which 
 the pupil corrects them when he is asked to look 
 over what he has written. Lapses should be treated 
 by teachers as less serious than other mistakes, and 
 they should not draw the teacher's attention from 
 the more important points to be observed in the pres- 
 entation of the word. Lapses may be guarded 
 against by giving pupils opportunity to go over 
 their work a second time and correct errors before 
 submitting it. The corrections which they make in 
 this way should not be penalized so heavily as the 
 errors that are due to lack of knowledge. 
 
 The second sort of mistake is the bona fide spell- 
 ing error. If misspellings in large numbers are ex- 
 amined it will be found that for almost any word 
 from one-third to two-thirds of all difficulties are 
 occasioned by some special letter or syllable. This
 
 248 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 critical point in a word may or may not be one to 
 which a rule applies. Its location is best accom- 
 plished by the tabulation of many misspellings of 
 the word. The most fruitful causes of error are 
 (i ) mispronunciation on the part of the teacher and 
 the pupil, (2) the drawing of phonetic analogies 
 from other words, (3) obscure or elided vowels, 
 and (4) double or silent letters. Particular causes 
 of error predominate in particular cases, being de- 
 termined largely by the type of imagery upon which 
 one relies in spelling. The types of letters (ascend- 
 ers, descenders and single-space) which give a word 
 its distinctive pattern, have much to do with the par- 
 ticular direction which error may take in that word. 
 For example, in one word a silent letter is very 
 likely to be omitted, in another it is almost sure 
 not to be omitted. 
 
 A study of the life history of the acquisition of 
 some difficult spellings shows the persistent effect of 
 spelling errors. Whatever be the reason for its 
 occurrence in the first place, the initial error in the 
 spelling of a word is apt to persist with great te- 
 nacity. This warrants the proposition that children 
 should not be allowed to write their spelling lessons 
 without careful preliminary study, as they are often 
 tempted to do by the prevailing practise of leaving 
 their study undirected and requiring a certain mini- 
 mum grade for promotion in that subject. So far 
 as a theory of progress goes in spelling attainment, 
 there are not two stages in the mastery of words,
 
 CONCLUSIONS 249 
 
 but rather four stages. In the first stage a pupil 
 habitually misspells a word in a particular manner ; 
 in the second stage his misspellings begin to vary; 
 in the third stage occasional correct spelling occurs ; 
 while in the fourth stage correct spelling becomes 
 habitual. Not all words necessarily pass through 
 all these stages. Under proper supervision a word 
 will never be permitted to become so thoroughly 
 mislearned by a pupil as to show the same error 
 time after time. Under normal conditions a word 
 should pass through only the third and fourth 
 stages mentioned above. 
 
 There is probably no such thing as complete 
 transfer of the ability developed in column spelling 
 over to contextual spelling. In the latter case lapses 
 will be more numerous, and words not yet fully 
 mastered are more likely to revert to an earlier 
 stage of misspelling. The reason for this is the 
 dispersion of attention over a larger and more com- 
 plex field in contextual than in column writing. As 
 long as loss in transfer occurs at all, the only ulti- 
 mate test of spelling efficiency must be contextual 
 writing, and dictated material will serve the pur- 
 pose much less satisfactorily than original composi- 
 tion. Isolated spelling may nevertheless be the 
 more economical means in the preliminary work of 
 mastering words. 
 
 The efficiency of a method of presentation ought 
 not to be judged by a test on immediate recall or 
 by means of other than regular spelling material.
 
 The method of sense presentation and the pupil's 
 response thereto play a minor role as compared 
 with the frequency of recall. Within two weeks 
 after the presentation of a lesson, if there be no in- 
 tervening review, the lesson is about as nearly lost 
 as in a much longer period. Graphic spelling can 
 be taught so as to secure the various advantages of 
 oral spelling and avoid its disadvantages. Differ- 
 ences in the effectiveness of the two show up more 
 plainly for individuals than for a group as a whole. 
 As long as the spelling list is in advance of the 
 pupil's needs for expression it is improbable that 
 the mere teaching of the words in context creates 
 a less formal situation, as far as spelling is con- 
 cerned, than to teach them in column. Such a state- 
 ment is true regardless of the fact that the signifi- 
 cance of a word can of course best be grasped only 
 when it is given a contextual setting. Comparative 
 experimentation is difficult because the "school 
 habit" of pupils has prejudiced them in favor of 
 column teaching. 
 
 Close study of two pupils indicated that freedom 
 in original composition, breadth of vocabulary em- 
 ployed, life, variety and naturalness of written ex- 
 pression are not the result of spelling ability. Their 
 only relation to spelling is seen in the effect of un- 
 due spelling consciousness in retarding facility of 
 expression. Other minor inferences drawn from 
 the experiments in Part I are ( i ) the evil influence 
 on spelling of those methods of teaching reading
 
 CONCLUSIONS 251 
 
 which delay too long the mastery of the alphabet, 
 or direct attention too much away from the letters 
 of words; (2) the disintegrating effect produced in 
 one's own spelling by exposing to one the errors 
 of others; (3) the disadvantage of a reflective atti- 
 tude toward spelling; (4) the rareness of pure types 
 of spellers, such as audiles or visualizers; (5) and 
 the impropriety of dwelling long on syllabication 
 after pronunciation has been well worked out. 
 
 In Part II it was shown that every-day needs are 
 not consulted in the framing of spelling lists, but 
 that the dogma of formal discipline, ex cathedra 
 judgment, and the domination of common schools 
 by higher institutions have been the forces at work. 
 We seem to have various ideas regarding the ex- 
 tent of the vocabulary which a pupil should be re- 
 quired to spell. But it is not formal education so 
 much as breadth of interest and variety of experi- 
 ence which determine the size of one's spelling vo- 
 cabulary. Sex needs differ sufficiently so that one 
 may raise a question as to differentiation between 
 the spelling requirements for the two sexes. There 
 seems in actual life to be a seeking after the word 
 that is the shortest for the writer and the simplest 
 and most easily understood by the one addressed. 
 We need to narrow the field of subject-matter in 
 spelling and cultivate it more intensively. 
 
 The examination of a vast body of family corre- 
 spondence collected from widely separated sources 
 shows that less than a dozen words do one-fourth
 
 252 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 of our work in writing, that about fifty do a half 
 of it, and that less than eight hundred do nine- 
 tenths of it. 
 
 The words in Lists I and II (pages 157-161) 
 should be thoroughly mastered by every elementary- 
 school pupil. List I with its large number of per- 
 sonal and relative pronouns, simple adverbs, prepo- 
 sitions, conjunctions, numbers, auxiliary verbs, etc., 
 forms the very skeleton of all English expression. 
 List II includes a large proportion of the concrete 
 nominal, verbal and adjectival terms that form the 
 gist of the content of our expression. 
 
 The words in List III come next in importance 
 and should receive careful attention. They should 
 be drilled on particularly in the three or four higher 
 grades, (i) because they are less vital than the 
 words in Lists I and II for those who may have to 
 drop out of school early; and (2) because they gen- 
 erally come to function in the child's life at a later 
 date than those of Lists I and II. If further prun- 
 ing is necessary it must begin with List III. Addi- 
 tional study is needed with a larger number of per- 
 sons to allow other words of possible but so far 
 undemonstrated utility to pass out of List IV into 
 List III. As such study proceeds, standards for 
 eligibility to List III must be raised, the possible 
 result being that some words now included therein 
 will be dropped and replaced by others. To 
 state it differently, Lists I and II should be consid- 
 ered as fixing a minimum for the present, and List
 
 CONCLUSIONS 253 
 
 III as indicating the maximum for elementary 
 pupils. 
 
 To this maximum of two thousand, nine hundred 
 ninety-three words with their grammatical modi- 
 fications there must be added a certain number of 
 useful proper names. The character of this list 
 will be much more influenced by the local and indi- 
 vidual environment than the general lists of words 
 will be. Fifty-seven per cent, of the general list 
 of five thousand two hundred words comes in Lists 
 I, II and III, but with proper names this per cent, 
 drops to twenty-nine. Over a fourth of List II and 
 over a half of List III of the proper names falls 
 outside of all the spelling-books. Hence one can 
 hardly escape the conviction that a child would do 
 even better to spend his school-days in learning to 
 spell the names of all his schoolmates and neigh- 
 bors than in learning the orthography of any con- 
 siderable number of geographical and historical 
 terms. Every child should know how to spell the 
 names of the days of the week, the months of the 
 year, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hallowe'en, Easter 
 and other important festal occasions which are not 
 of denominational character, the names of a half 
 dozen of the more prominent local religious denom- 
 inations, the names of half a dozen of the locally 
 more important nationalities (not nations), the 
 names of his nation, his own state and other states 
 in the same section of the country, the half dozen 
 chief cities of the nation, and the half dozen largest
 
 254 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 i 
 
 centers in his own state, a select list of possibly 
 forty given names, half for boys and half for girls, 
 to include those which seem most common in the 
 immediate locality. The limit in proper names 
 would be about a hundred. The lists given in the 
 preceding chapter are suggestive only of the size 
 and scope of an appropriate list, 
 
 THE END
 
 APPENDIX
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 WORDS USED SPONTANEOUSLY BY PUPILS 
 
 THE three following lists, totaling eleven hun- 
 dred fifty-eight words, are selected from the 
 vocabulary which Mr. Homer J. Smith, now of the 
 Milwaukee Trade School, found in the examination 
 of seventy-five thousand running words of the 
 spontaneous compositions of children. Twelve 
 thousand five hundred words were taken from each 
 grade from the third to the eighth inclusive. The 
 children were enrolled in the public schools of Mad- 
 ison, Wisconsin, a typical city of twenty-five thou- 
 sand inhabitants. List I includes words used by the 
 pupils of each grade; List II, all others used by 
 at least three of the six grades; List III, those 
 used in only two different grades. The principle 
 of selection then is not absolute frequency of 
 occurrence, but universality of use through the 
 grades, a principle similar to that which was 
 followed in making up general Lists I, II 
 and III of the preceding pages. It will be ob- 
 served that the personal, possessive and demonstra- 
 tive pronouns, the numerals, ordinals and articles, 
 and about thirty of the most common prepositions, 
 
 257
 
 258 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 conjunctions, verbs and adverbs, besides local prop- 
 er names, are omitted. A careful comparison of 
 these lists with those given by the authors in the 
 preceding pages will reveal marked differences be- 
 tween the vocabularies of children and adults, and 
 will suggest means of motivation in framing spell- 
 ing lists for children. The authors are under obli- 
 gation to Mr. Smith for his permission to utilize 
 the results of his work. 
 
 about 
 
 across 
 
 after 
 
 afternoon 
 
 again 
 
 almost 
 
 along 
 
 always 
 
 another 
 
 any 
 
 around 
 
 ask 
 
 aunt 
 
 away 
 
 awhile 
 
 back 
 
 bad 
 
 ball 
 
 basket 
 
 because 
 
 bed 
 
 before 
 
 begin 
 
 big 
 
 birthday 
 
 boat 
 
 born 
 
 box 
 
 LIST I 
 
 272 
 
 WORDS 
 
 boy 
 
 different 
 
 branch 
 
 dinner 
 
 break 
 
 dish 
 
 breakfast 
 
 dollar 
 
 bring 
 
 door 
 
 brother 
 
 down 
 
 build 
 
 dress 
 
 buy 
 
 drink 
 
 call 
 
 drop 
 
 camp 
 
 each 
 
 can 
 
 early 
 
 candy 
 
 eat 
 
 car 
 
 egg 
 
 care 
 
 end 
 
 carry 
 
 enough 
 
 catch 
 
 even 
 
 cave 
 
 ever 
 
 cent 
 
 every 
 
 chicken 
 
 fall 
 
 child 
 
 family 
 
 cold 
 
 far 
 
 color 
 
 farm 
 
 come 
 
 fast 
 
 country 
 
 father 
 
 cousin 
 
 feel 
 
 dance 
 
 few 
 
 dark 
 
 field 
 
 day 
 
 fill 
 
 find 
 
 fire 
 
 fish 
 
 floor 
 
 follow 
 
 foot 
 
 forest 
 
 friend 
 
 front 
 
 game 
 
 get 
 
 girl 
 
 give 
 
 glad 
 
 go 
 
 good 
 
 grandfather 
 
 grandmother 
 
 great 
 
 grind 
 
 grow 
 
 hand 
 
 happy 
 
 hard 
 
 hay 
 
 head 
 
 hear 
 
 help
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 259 
 
 account 
 
 act 
 
 afraid 
 
 much 
 
 right 
 
 time 
 
 must 
 
 room 
 
 tire 
 
 myself 
 
 run 
 
 together 
 
 name 
 
 same 
 
 toward 
 
 near 
 
 say 
 
 town 
 
 never 
 
 school 
 
 train 
 
 new 
 
 think 
 
 tree 
 
 next 
 
 through 
 
 try 
 
 nice 
 
 seem 
 
 turkey 
 
 night 
 
 send 
 
 uncle 
 
 noise 
 
 shoe 
 
 until 
 
 noon 
 
 show 
 
 upon 
 
 o'clock 
 
 since 
 
 use 
 
 old 
 
 sing 
 
 vacation 
 
 only 
 
 sister 
 
 very 
 
 open 
 
 sleep 
 
 visit 
 
 other 
 
 small 
 
 wait 
 
 outside 
 
 snow 
 
 wake 
 
 over 
 
 some 
 
 walk 
 
 own 
 
 something 
 
 want 
 
 pack 
 
 soon 
 
 warm 
 
 pair 
 
 spend 
 
 wash 
 
 party 
 
 spring 
 
 watch 
 
 pass 
 
 stairs 
 
 water 
 
 people 
 
 stand 
 
 way 
 
 pick 
 
 start 
 
 week 
 
 place 
 
 stay 
 
 well 
 
 play 
 
 stop 
 
 while 
 
 poor 
 
 store 
 
 whole 
 
 pretty 
 
 story 
 
 will 
 
 pull 
 
 street 
 
 wind 
 
 put 
 
 sun 
 
 window 
 
 quite 
 
 supper 
 
 wish 
 
 rabbit 
 
 table 
 
 with 
 
 raise 
 
 take 
 
 woman 
 
 reach 
 
 talk 
 
 wood 
 
 ready 
 
 teach 
 
 work 
 
 rest 
 
 tell 
 
 write 
 
 rich 
 
 Thanksgiving 
 
 year 
 
 ride 
 
 thing 
 
 yet 
 
 
 LIST II 
 
 
 
 542 WORDS 
 
 
 afterward ago 
 
 air 
 
 against 
 
 ahead 
 
 alarm 
 
 age 
 
 aim 
 
 alone
 
 260 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 also 
 
 blue 
 
 coffee 
 
 edge 
 
 among 
 
 bluff 
 
 comb 
 
 either 
 
 anger 
 
 board 
 
 comfort 
 
 else 
 
 answer 
 
 boil 
 
 company 
 
 enjoy 
 
 anyone 
 
 book 
 
 cook 
 
 everything 
 
 anything 
 
 both 
 
 cooky 
 
 excite 
 
 anyway 
 
 bottom 
 
 corn 
 
 expect 
 
 appear 
 
 bread 
 
 corner 
 
 experience 
 
 apple 
 
 brick 
 
 cost 
 
 eye 
 
 arise 
 
 bridge 
 
 cotton 
 
 face 
 
 arm 
 
 bright 
 
 count 
 
 factory 
 
 arrive 
 
 brown 
 
 couple 
 
 fail 
 
 asleep 
 
 buggy 
 
 course 
 
 fat 
 
 asylum 
 
 bullet 
 
 cover 
 
 feed 
 
 automobile 
 
 bump 
 
 cow 
 
 fellow 
 
 awake 
 
 bunch 
 
 crack 
 
 fence 
 
 awful 
 
 bundle 
 
 creep 
 
 fight 
 
 ax 
 
 burn 
 
 cross 
 
 final 
 
 baby 
 
 bury 
 
 crow 
 
 fine 
 
 bag 
 
 bush 
 
 crowd 
 
 finish 
 
 bake 
 
 busy 
 
 crumb 
 
 fix 
 
 band 
 
 butter 
 
 cry 
 
 flame 
 
 bandage 
 
 button 
 
 curl 
 
 flower 
 
 bank 
 
 cabin 
 
 cut 
 
 fly 
 
 bark 
 
 cake 
 
 danger 
 
 fond 
 
 barn 
 
 calf 
 
 daughter 
 
 football 
 
 bathe 
 
 candle 
 
 deal 
 
 force 
 
 bear 
 
 cap 
 
 dear 
 
 forget 
 
 beautiful 
 
 capture 
 
 decide 
 
 form 
 
 become 
 
 cat 
 
 decorate 
 
 fox 
 
 behind 
 
 cattle 
 
 deep 
 
 free 
 
 believe 
 
 cellar 
 
 deer 
 
 freeze 
 
 bell 
 
 chair 
 
 depot 
 
 fresh 
 
 belong 
 
 chance 
 
 die 
 
 frighten 
 
 below 
 
 cheese 
 
 dip 
 
 fruit 
 
 beside 
 
 cherry 
 
 direct 
 
 fun 
 
 between 
 
 chimney 
 
 dirt 
 
 garden 
 
 bicycle 
 
 chirp 
 
 doctor 
 
 gather 
 
 bid 
 
 choose 
 
 dog 
 
 glass 
 
 bill 
 
 Christmas 
 
 doll 
 
 gold 
 
 bind 
 
 church 
 
 draw 
 
 goodby 
 
 bird 
 
 city 
 
 dream 
 
 goose 
 
 bite 
 
 clean 
 
 drive 
 
 grab 
 
 black 
 
 clerk 
 
 drum 
 
 grade 
 
 bleed 
 
 climb 
 
 dry 
 
 grape 
 
 block 
 
 close 
 
 duck 
 
 grass 
 
 blossom 
 
 cloth 
 
 during 
 
 green 
 
 blow 
 
 coat 
 
 earn 
 
 guess
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 261 
 
 gun 
 hair 
 
 lamp 
 lap 
 
 neighbor 
 nest 
 
 pound 
 pour 
 
 half 
 
 lead 
 
 nobody 
 
 present 
 
 hall 
 
 leaf 
 
 nose 
 
 price 
 
 handkerchief 
 
 leg 
 
 note 
 
 pumpkin 
 
 hang 
 
 lemon 
 
 nothing 
 
 pup 
 
 happen 
 
 lesson 
 
 notice 
 
 purse 
 
 harness 
 
 let 
 
 now 
 
 push 
 
 hat 
 
 letter 
 
 number 
 
 quarrel 
 
 heat 
 
 light 
 
 nut 
 
 quarter 
 
 heavy 
 
 lightning 
 
 oak 
 
 quick 
 
 hello 
 
 limb 
 
 office 
 
 quiet 
 
 hen 
 
 lion 
 
 often 
 
 race 
 
 here 
 
 listen 
 
 once 
 
 rag 
 
 hickory 
 
 load 
 
 orange 
 
 rain 
 
 high 
 
 lock 
 
 orchard 
 
 rake 
 
 hike 
 
 log 
 
 ought 
 
 rather 
 
 hill 
 
 lonesome 
 
 ourselves 
 
 read 
 
 himself 
 
 love 
 
 package 
 
 real 
 
 hit 
 
 low 
 
 pail 
 
 receive 
 
 hitch 
 
 lumber 
 
 paper 
 
 red 
 
 hole 
 
 machine 
 
 parent 
 
 remember 
 
 honest 
 
 mad 
 
 park 
 
 reply 
 
 hospital 
 
 maid 
 
 parlor 
 
 result 
 
 hour 
 
 marry 
 
 part 
 
 return 
 
 humble 
 
 marsh 
 
 pasture 
 
 ribbon 
 
 hunger 
 
 matter 
 
 pay 
 
 rifle 
 
 hungry 
 
 may 
 
 peek 
 
 ring 
 
 hurry 
 
 meal 
 
 pencil 
 
 river 
 
 hurt 
 
 mean 
 
 person 
 
 road 
 
 hut 
 
 meat 
 
 pet 
 
 roar 
 
 idle 
 
 merry 
 
 piano 
 
 robin 
 
 imagine 
 
 middle 
 
 picture 
 
 rock 
 
 inch 
 
 milk 
 
 pie 
 
 roll 
 
 inside 
 
 mill 
 
 piece 
 
 rope 
 
 instead 
 
 mind 
 
 pity 
 
 rough 
 
 intend 
 
 minute 
 
 plan 
 
 round 
 
 invite 
 
 miss 
 
 plant 
 
 row 
 
 iron 
 
 model 
 
 please 
 
 rug 
 
 job 
 
 money 
 
 pocket 
 
 rush 
 
 journey 
 
 month 
 
 point 
 
 sack 
 
 kiss 
 
 mountain 
 
 police 
 
 sad 
 
 kitchen 
 
 mouse 
 
 pony 
 
 safe 
 
 knife 
 
 mouth 
 
 pop 
 
 sail 
 
 knock 
 
 move 
 
 popcorn 
 
 Santa Claus 
 
 ladder 
 
 mud 
 
 porch 
 
 satisfy 
 
 lady 
 
 need 
 
 post 
 
 sauce 
 
 lagoon 
 
 negro 
 
 potato 
 
 save
 
 262 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 schoolhouse 
 
 soil 
 
 supply 
 
 under 
 
 scratch 
 
 soldier 
 
 suppose 
 
 unless 
 
 see 
 
 somebody 
 
 sure 
 
 vase 
 
 seek 
 
 sometime 
 
 surprise 
 
 village 
 
 sell 
 
 son 
 
 sweat 
 
 voice 
 
 serve 
 
 sorrow 
 
 sweep 
 
 wade 
 
 settle 
 
 sorry 
 
 swim 
 
 wagon 
 
 several 
 
 sound 
 
 tag 
 
 wall 
 
 sew 
 
 speak 
 
 tail 
 
 war 
 
 shake 
 
 sport 
 
 tall 
 
 wave 
 
 shall 
 
 spot 
 
 team 
 
 wear 
 
 sheep 
 
 spy 
 
 tear 
 
 weep 
 
 shell 
 
 squirrel 
 
 telephone 
 
 wet 
 
 shine 
 
 star 
 
 tend 
 
 wheel 
 
 ship 
 
 station 
 
 tent 
 
 which 
 
 shoat 
 
 steal 
 
 terrible 
 
 whip 
 
 shock 
 
 steep 
 
 thank 
 
 whistle 
 
 shop 
 
 step 
 
 themselves 
 
 white 
 
 shore 
 
 stick 
 
 thick 
 
 why 
 
 short 
 
 stiff 
 
 though 
 
 wide 
 
 shout 
 
 still 
 
 thread 
 
 widow 
 
 sick 
 
 stocking 
 
 throw 
 
 wife 
 
 side 
 
 stone 
 
 tie 
 
 wing 
 
 sight 
 
 storm 
 
 tip 
 
 winter 
 
 silk 
 
 stove 
 
 today 
 
 without 
 
 sink 
 
 straight 
 
 toe 
 
 wonder 
 
 size 
 
 straw 
 
 tomorrow 
 
 word 
 
 skate 
 
 stream 
 
 tonight 
 
 world 
 
 skin 
 
 strike 
 
 top 
 
 worm 
 
 sled 
 
 string 
 
 toy 
 
 worth 
 
 sleigh 
 
 strong 
 
 track 
 
 wrap 
 
 slide 
 
 stub 
 
 tramp 
 
 yard 
 
 slip 
 
 stumble 
 
 trip 
 
 yellow 
 
 slow 
 
 such 
 
 trouble 
 
 yes 
 
 smoke 
 
 sudden 
 
 turn 
 
 yesterday 
 
 snake 
 
 suit 
 
 umbrella 
 
 young 
 
 soak 
 
 summer 
 
 
 
 LIST III 
 
 
 344 
 
 WORDS 
 
 
 above 
 
 aflame 
 
 arrest 
 
 attic 
 
 absent 
 
 agree 
 
 arrow 
 
 baggage 
 
 accident 
 
 already 
 
 ash (es) 
 
 bale 
 
 acorn 
 
 angleworm 
 
 astonish 
 
 balloon 
 
 advance 
 
 animal 
 
 attack 
 
 banana 
 
 adventure 
 
 army 
 
 attend 
 
 barrel
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 263 
 
 baseball 
 
 cranberry 
 
 fasten 
 
 interest 
 
 bass 
 
 crane 
 
 fear 
 
 jacket 
 
 bat 
 
 crash 
 
 feast 
 
 jail 
 
 battle 
 
 crawl 
 
 feather 
 
 jewel 
 
 bay 
 
 creek 
 
 fever 
 
 joy 
 
 beam 
 
 cripple 
 
 fierce 
 
 judge 
 
 beat 
 
 cruel 
 
 fit 
 
 keg 
 
 beg 
 
 cup 
 
 flag 
 
 key 
 
 berry 
 
 cupboard 
 
 flint 
 
 kick 
 
 blackboard 
 
 cutter 
 
 flock 
 
 king 
 
 blanket 
 
 damage 
 
 flood 
 
 kite 
 
 bloom 
 
 dandelion 
 
 flour 
 
 kitten 
 
 blot 
 
 darling 
 
 flow 
 
 knapsack 
 
 bold 
 
 dash 
 
 folk 
 
 knee 
 
 bond 
 
 delay 
 
 food 
 
 lack 
 
 bonfire 
 
 delight 
 
 former 
 
 lad 
 
 bother 
 
 deliver 
 
 fort 
 
 landlord 
 
 breast 
 
 desk 
 
 forth 
 
 lawn 
 
 bridle 
 
 destroy 
 
 forward 
 
 lone 
 
 brook 
 
 diamond 
 
 freight 
 
 loud 
 
 broom 
 
 dig 
 
 fright 
 
 mail 
 
 bruise 
 
 disappear 
 
 furnace 
 
 manage 
 
 bug 
 
 discover 
 
 furniture 
 
 manual 
 
 burglar 
 
 disgust 
 
 gin 
 
 march 
 
 canvass 
 
 dismiss 
 
 graze 
 
 market 
 
 card 
 
 distance 
 
 group 
 
 match 
 
 carpet 
 
 dive 
 
 growl 
 
 mate 
 
 cart 
 
 divide 
 
 guard 
 
 maybe 
 
 case 
 
 dodge 
 
 gust 
 
 melt 
 
 cause 
 
 dozen 
 
 hale 
 
 mend 
 
 cement 
 
 drag 
 
 hammer 
 
 mince 
 
 change 
 
 dragon 
 
 hardship 
 
 mistress 
 
 chase 
 
 drown 
 
 hatch 
 
 mix 
 
 chop 
 
 dust 
 
 hatchet 
 
 mound 
 
 circle 
 
 eagle 
 
 haul 
 
 muskrat 
 
 class 
 
 earth 
 
 hawk 
 
 narrow 
 
 clear 
 
 easy 
 
 heart 
 
 nature 
 
 clothe 
 
 educate 
 
 heel 
 
 naughty 
 
 club 
 
 enemy 
 
 herd 
 
 necktie 
 
 coal 
 
 engine 
 
 herself 
 
 nickel 
 
 coast 
 
 enter 
 
 hook 
 
 noble 
 
 collect 
 
 entertain 
 
 horn 
 
 none 
 
 colt 
 
 everybody 
 
 hose 
 
 north 
 
 continue 
 
 examine 
 
 hug 
 
 oat 
 
 cord 
 
 except 
 
 ill 
 
 occasion 
 
 cottage 
 
 explore 
 
 Indian 
 
 offer 
 
 cozy 
 
 fact 
 
 industry 
 
 onion 
 
 cracker 
 
 fair 
 
 insect 
 
 operate
 
 264 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 opposite 
 
 order 
 
 outdoor 
 
 paint 
 
 pan 
 
 pane 
 
 paralyze 
 
 particular 
 
 peanut 
 
 peep 
 
 pen 
 
 picnic 
 
 pigeon 
 
 pile 
 
 pin 
 
 pine 
 
 pink 
 
 playmate 
 
 plenty 
 
 plow 
 
 poison 
 
 pond 
 
 position 
 
 praise 
 
 press 
 
 prince 
 
 prison 
 
 probable 
 
 puff 
 
 pump 
 
 punish 
 
 purchase 
 
 raid 
 
 society 
 
 thunder 
 
 raisin 
 
 soft 
 
 ticket 
 
 ranch 
 
 song 
 
 tiny 
 
 rat 
 
 speed 
 
 tog 
 
 rattle 
 
 splendid 
 
 touch 
 
 remark 
 
 spoil 
 
 trace 
 
 ripe 
 
 spread 
 
 trap 
 
 roof 
 
 square 
 
 treasure 
 
 root 
 
 stack 
 
 trim 
 
 saddle 
 
 stain 
 
 trousers 
 
 scarce 
 
 stalk 
 
 trunk 
 
 scare 
 
 starch 
 
 tunnel 
 
 screen 
 
 starve 
 
 unload 
 
 screw 
 
 stock 
 
 usual 
 
 scorch 
 
 strange 
 
 value 
 
 seat 
 
 study 
 
 verse 
 
 seed 
 
 stuff 
 
 violet 
 
 select 
 
 sunshine 
 
 weak 
 
 sense 
 
 surrender 
 
 weed 
 
 shade 
 
 surround 
 
 wheat 
 
 shape 
 
 swallow 
 
 where 
 
 shoulder 
 
 sweater 
 
 win 
 
 shovel 
 
 swing 
 
 wipe 
 
 shut 
 
 sword 
 
 wire 
 
 sidewalk 
 
 tablet 
 
 wise 
 
 sign 
 
 tack 
 
 witch 
 
 silver 
 
 taste 
 
 wither 
 
 sit 
 
 tease 
 
 within 
 
 slate 
 
 theater 
 
 wolf 
 
 smell 
 
 there 
 
 worry 
 
 smooth 
 
 thimble 
 
 wound 
 
 smother 
 
 throat 
 
 yell
 
 REFERENCE FOR FURTHER 
 READING
 
 REFERENCES FOR FURTHER READING 
 
 THE more important books and articles bear- 
 ing directly on the problems of spelling are 
 listed below. It has not been thought desirable to 
 include in this bibliography the great volume of 
 controversial literature called out by the agitation 
 for "simplified spelling." The general literature 
 dealing with the memory has not been included to 
 any extent, since much of it can not be shown to 
 have any bearing on spelling problems. The brief 
 annotations may possibly be helpful to busy readers. 
 
 Abbott, Edwina E. On the Analysis of the Memory 
 Consciousness in Orthography. Psychological 
 Review, Monograph Supplements, Vol. XI, 
 No. i, pp. 127-158. 
 
 Continued experiments with four trained 
 subjects. 
 
 Ayres, Leonard P. The Spelling Vocabularies of 
 Personal and Business Letters. Russell Sage 
 Foundation, February, 1913. 14 pp. 
 
 The first piece of work on the spelling vo- 
 cabularies of common people. 
 Bailey, William B. Some College Spelling. Inde- 
 pendent, 67: 345-347- 
 
 Errors culled from about five hundred thou- 
 267
 
 268 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 sand running words of composition by college 
 students. Spelling ability fairly well corre- 
 lated with general ability. 
 
 Baird, J. W. The Psychology of Spelling. Bulle- 
 tin Illinois Association of Teachers of Eng- 
 lish, Vol. IV, No. 8. 
 
 Holds motor imagery most important for 
 most pupils, as indicated by test of seven hun- 
 dred children. 
 
 Bawden, H. Heath. A Study of Lapses. Psycho- 
 logical Review, Monograph Supplements, Vol. 
 Ill, No. 4. 
 
 Burnham, Wm. H. The Hygiene and Psychology 
 of Spelling. 'Pedagogical Seminary, 13: 474- 
 501. 
 
 Summary of investigation of effect of dif- 
 ferent methods of presentation and other stud- 
 ies to date. 
 
 Carmen, E. Kate. The Cause of Chronic Bad 
 Spelling. Journal of Pedagogy^ 13: 86-91. 
 
 Bad spelling is attributed largely to lack of 
 habit or ability to observe. 
 
 Chancellor, William Estabrook. Spelling. Jour- 
 nal of Education, 71 : 488, 517, 545, 573, 607. 
 Principally important for Mr. Chancellor's 
 list of the one thousand most commonly used 
 words. 
 
 Charters, W. W. A Spelling "Hospital" in the 
 High School. School Review, 18: 192-195. 
 An account of the treatment of poor spellers
 
 REFERENCES 269 
 
 in the high school of the University of Mis- 
 souri. 
 
 Cornman, Oliver P. Spelling in the Elementary 
 School. Ginn & Co., 1902, 98 pp. 
 
 The chief feature of this monograph is the 
 information it gives regarding the famous 
 Philadelphia experiment in the incidental 
 teaching of spelling. 
 
 Eldridge, R. C. Six Thousand Common English 
 Words. Niagara Falls, N. Y., n. d. 64 pp. 
 
 A study of the vocabulary of contemporary 
 journalism. 
 
 Foster, William T. The Spelling of College Stu- 
 dents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 2 : 
 211-215. 
 
 Classification and discussion of two thou- 
 sand errors made by college students. 
 Gregory, B. C. The Rationale of Spelling. School 
 and Home Education, 27: 84-92, 123-129. 
 
 Experimental study of kinds and causes 
 of error. Plea for more oral spelling. 
 Henmon, V. A. C. The Relation Betiveen Mode 
 of Presentation and Retention. Psychological 
 Review, 19: 79-96. 
 
 Hollister, H. A. The Passing of the Spelling-Book. 
 School and Home Education, 30: 64-68, 97- 
 101. 
 
 (l ) A history of the rise and decline of the 
 spelling-book.
 
 270 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 r (2j A description of an experiment in inci- 
 dental teaching. 
 
 Kline, Linus W. A Study in the Psychology of 
 Spelling. Journal of Educational Psychology, 
 3: 381-406. 
 
 A study of the relation of types of imagery 
 to effective presentation in spelling. 
 Kratz, H. E. Studies and Observations in the 
 Schoolroom. Educational Publishing Com- 
 pany, 1907. See Chapter XI. 
 
 Test of different methods of sense presenta- 
 tion on several hundred children. Conclusion 
 highly favorable to visual-auditory-articula- 
 tory method. 
 
 Pearson, Henry C. The Scientific Study of the 
 Teaching of Spelling. Journal of Educational 
 Psychology, 2 : 241-252. 
 
 Study of simultaneous versus separate treat- 
 ment of homonyms. 
 
 Rice, J. M. The Futility of the Spelling Grind. 
 Forum, 23: 163-172, 409-419. 
 
 Results of test administered to thirty-three 
 thousand children in over twenty cities of the 
 country. Conclusions negative as to efficacy 
 of time and methods. Teacher's personality 
 the crux. Work should be graded and com- 
 mon words stressed. 
 
 Sandwick, Richard L. Teaching Old-fashioned 
 Spelling in an Up-to-date Way. Bulletin Illi-
 
 REFERENCES 271 
 
 nois Association of Teachers of English, Vol. 
 IV, No. 8. 
 
 Scott, Frank W. A Spelling Lesson. Bulletin Illi- 
 nois Association of Teachers of English, Vol. 
 Ill, No. 8. 
 
 Shaw, Esther E. Is Spelling a Failure? Educa- 
 tional Review, 40: 170-182. 
 
 Smiley, W. S. A Comparative Study of the Re- 
 sults Obtained in Instruction in the "Single 
 Teacher" Rural Schools and the Graded Town 
 Schools. Elementary School Teacher, 1 1 : 
 316-322. 
 
 Spindler, F. N. Memory Types in Spelling. Edu- 
 cation, 28: 175-181. 
 
 Suzzallo, Henry The Teaching of Spelling. 
 Teachers' College Record, Vol. XII, No. 5. 
 Treatment of tendencies in method at the 
 present time. Probably most complete state- 
 ment of problems up for solution. 
 
 Suzzallo, Henry, and Pearson, Henry Carr Com- 
 parative Experimental Teaching in Spelling. 
 Teachers' College Record, Vol. XIII, No. I. 
 Description of comparative experiments in 
 class-directed study and independent study. 
 Resume of preceding references (Suzzallo 
 and Pearson). 
 
 Turner, E. A. Rule vs. Drill in Teaching Spell- 
 ing. Journal of Educational Psychology, 3: 
 460-461.
 
 272 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Wallin, J. E. Wallace Hoy the Drill Become Ob- 
 solescent! 1 Journal of Educational Psychology, 
 i : 200-213. 
 
 A plea for spelling drill of a specific sort. 
 Description of the Cleveland (Ohio) plan. 
 
 Wallin, J. E. Wallace Spelling Efficiency in Re- 
 lation to Age, Grade and Sex, and the Ques- 
 tion of Transfer. Warwick & York, 1911. 
 86 pp. 
 
 Whipple, Guy Montrose The Spelling of Univer- 
 sity Students. Journal of Educational Psy- 
 chology, i : 31-33. 
 
 Whipple, Guy Montrose Relative Efficiency of 
 Phonetic Alphabets. Warwick & York, 1911. 
 52 pp. 
 
 "An experimental investigation of the com- 
 parative merits of the Webster Key Alphabet 
 and the proposed Key Alphabet submitted to 
 the National Education Association." 
 
 Wyckoff, Adelaide E. Constitutional Bad Spellers. 
 Pedagogical Seminary, 2: 448-451. 
 
 Effort at analysis by psychological tests of 
 traits of a small group of bad spellers. 
 
 Journal of Education, 71 : 153, 271, 383, 410, gives 
 standard lists of words for first four grades 
 in Milwaukee schools. Plan similar to that 
 of Cleveland.
 
 INDEX
 
 INDEX 
 
 Accessory, life history of correct spelling of, 69. 
 
 ANALOGY, in spelling, 39-41. 
 
 Ancient, list showing misspellings of, 25. 
 
 Argument, list showing misspellings of, 28. 
 
 ATTENTION: dispersion of a cause of errors, 87, 88; to 
 technique in composition, 109, 110. 
 
 AUDITORY, types in spelling, 116, 117. 
 
 AUTOMATIC: execution of the literal elements, 89; con- 
 trol of the larger units, 90, 91. 
 
 AUTOMATISM, relative, 88, 89. 
 
 Awful, list showing misspellings of, 28. 
 
 AYRES', study of spelling lists, 136, 137, 156-174, 234, 235. 
 
 Benefited, list showing misspellings of, 29. 
 
 Betrayal, list showing misspellings of, 29. 
 
 BOOKS, as affecting the need of teaching spelling, 139, 140. 
 
 CAUSES: of errors in spelling, 23-47; need of determining 
 causes, 23-25. 
 
 CHANCELLOR, study of spelling lists, 135, 136, 156-174. 
 
 CHICAGO FIRE, table showing result of spelling test on 
 words relating to, 77, 78. 
 
 CHICAGO TRIBUNE: examination of communications 
 printed in, 245; quotation from, 242. 
 
 CHILDREN, words used in compositions by, 255-262. 
 
 COLUMN : versus contextual spelling, 74-93 ; material and 
 subjects of test, 74; difficulties of plan, 74, 75; table 
 showing result of dictation of extract from Robinson 
 Crusoe, 76, 77; table showing spellings of words taken 
 from account of the Chicago fire, 77, 78; table summa- 
 rizing results of tests, 81 ; two methods of measuring 
 loss by transfer, 81, 82; the conventional conclusion, 82; 
 genuine dynamic spelling, 82; table showing results of 
 original composition test, 83-86; loss in efficiency by 
 transfer, 81, 82, 86, 87; frequency of errors, 81, 82, 86, 
 87 ; dispersion of attention a cause of error, 87, 88 ; rela- 
 tive automatism, 88, 89; automatic execution of the 
 literal elements, 89; oral spelling first, 89, 90; auto- 
 matic control of larger units, 90, 91 ; universality of the 
 
 275
 
 276 INDEX 
 
 COLUMN Continued 
 
 principle, 91 ; lack of transfer unavoidable, 91 ; column 
 spelling tests given to high-school freshmen, 92; use 
 of words in contextual relation proof of spelling effi- 
 ciency, 93. 
 
 COMMON PEOPLE, needs of in spelling, 137-139. 
 
 COMPOSITION: and spelling efficiency, 104-111; words 
 used in composition by children, 255-262. See SPELL- 
 ING EFFICIENCY AND COMPOSITION. 
 
 CONTEXTUAL SPELLING. See COLUMN VERSUS CON- 
 TEXTUAL SPELLING. 
 
 CORRECTION, method of in experiments, 50, 51. 
 
 CORRESPONDENTS, relation of spelling vocabulary of to 
 word lists in spelling-books, 226-229. 
 
 CRITICAL POINT : in a word, 34, 35 ; rules often do not 
 relate to critical points, 35-37; directing attention to 
 the critical point in any word, 46, 47. 
 
 CURTAILMENT OF VOCABULARY, reasons for opposi- 
 tion to, 132-134. 
 
 DATA : sources and character of, 144-155 ; account of letter- 
 writers, 145-147; description of spelling-books, 147-149; 
 no consideration of test lists, 149, 150; rules of proce- 
 dure, 150-154; the arrangement of words, 154, 155; 
 Standard Dictionary used in determining eligibility of 
 words, 153. 
 
 DECLINING IMPORTANCE, of spelling, 139-142. 
 
 Dismayed, list showing misspellings of, 28, 29. 
 
 DOUBLING LETTERS, as a source of error, 42, 43. 
 
 DYNAMIC SPELLING, genuine, 82. 
 
 Encouragement, list showing misspellings of, 27. 
 
 ERRORS : sources and causes of, 23-47 ; need of determin- 
 ing causes, 23-25; compiling lists of misspelled words, 
 24 ; sources of error not apparent, 24, 25 ; table show- 
 ing varieties of misspelling of ancient, 25; foreign, 26; 
 piercing, 26; sieve, 26, 27; nervous, 27; encouragement, 
 27; awful, 28; argument, 28; dismayed, 28, 29; betrayal, 
 29; benefited. 29; prevalence of chance errors, 30; slips 
 of the pen, 30, 31 ; treatment of lapses, 32-34 ; teachers 
 often fail to discriminate lapses from genuine error, 
 33; critical point hi a word. 34, 35: rules often do not 
 relate to critical points, 35-37; analogy in spelling, 39- 
 41; obscure or elided vowels, 41, 42; doubling letters as 
 a source of error. 42, 43 ; effect of types of rules on 
 errors, 43-45; syllabication as a means of avoiding 
 error, 45, 46; means of directing attention to the criti-
 
 INDEX 277 
 
 ERRORS Continued 
 
 cal point in any word, 46, 47; methods of correction of 
 in test, 50, 51; persistence of certain errors, 54, 55; 
 persistence of initial error, 64; why errors persist, 65- 
 67; errors eliminated one at a time, 70; two methods of 
 measuring loss by transfer, 81, 82; loss in efficiency by 
 transfer, 81, 82, 86, 87; frequency of errors, 81, 82, 86, 
 87; dispersion as a cause of, 87, 88; showing a pupil his 
 errors, 102, 103; fear of making errors, 114; seeing 
 and hearing mistakes, 115; dominant type of error, 118. 
 
 FAMILY LETTERS: as affording accurate data for spell- 
 ing lists, 138, 139; data regarding authors of family 
 letters, 144-147; word lists derived from, 156-224. 
 
 Foreign, list showing misspellings of, 26. 
 
 FOREIGN TERMS, used in correspondence, 224. 
 
 GRAPHIC, versus oral spelling, 101. 
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS: investigation in respect to 
 value of spelling rules used by, 10, 11; experience and 
 training of students tested, 15 ; column spelling tests 
 given to freshmen, 92; "spelling hospital," 92. 
 
 IDEAS, organization of in composition, 108. 
 
 IMMEDIATE, versus ultimate values in spelling, 129, 130. 
 
 IMPROVEMENT: table showing capacity for improve- 
 ment, 52 ; ways in which improvement occurred, 52, 53. 
 
 INFREQUENT WORDS, spelling of, 130, 131, 133. 
 
 INITIAL MISSPELLING: persistence of, 64; an apparent 
 exception to the rule, 64. 
 
 Intelligible, life history of correct spelling of, 68. 
 
 INVESTIGATION, purpose of present, 5-8. 
 
 LAPSES: treatment of, 32-34; teachers fail to discriminate 
 lapses from genuine error, 33. 
 
 LIFE HISTORY: of certain spellings, 48-73; words as- 
 signed in experiments, 48, 49; method of presentation 
 and study, 49; methods of recitation, 50; methods of 
 correction, 50, 51 ; table indicating capacity for im- 
 provement shown in experiments, 52; ways in which 
 improvement occurred, 52, 53; power of learning and 
 retaining new words, 53; persistence of certain mis- 
 takes, 54, 55 ; table showing history of spellings through 
 tests, 56-62; table showing tenacity of certain misspell- 
 ings, 63; persistence of the initial error in spelling, 64; 
 an apparent exception to the rule, 64; why errors per-
 
 278 INDEX 
 
 LIFE HISTORY Continued 
 
 sist, 65, 67; motor habits in spelling, 66; preparation 
 of the spelling lesson, 66-67; life history of machinist' 
 67, 68; malignity, 68; intelligible, 68; accessory, 69; os- 
 tensible, 69; errors eliminated one at a time, 70; four 
 stages in word mastery, 71; when is a word mastered? 
 72; mastery more complete in one "modality" than an- 
 other, 72. 
 
 Machinist, life history of correct spelling of, 67, 68. 
 
 MAGAZINES, as affecting the need of teaching spelling, 140. 
 
 Malignity, life history of correct spelling of, 68. 
 
 MASTERY: of a word, 71; when is a word mastered? 72; 
 mastery more complete in one "modality" than an- 
 other, 72. 
 
 MEN : sex differences in spelling vocabularies, 235 ; words 
 dominant in the letters of, 239, 240. 
 
 METHODS: of determining the written vocabulary, 135- 
 143; of directing attention to the critical point in any 
 word, 46, 47; of presentation and study in experiment, 
 49; methods of recitation, 50; methods of correction, 
 50, 51 ; of presentation, 94-103. 
 
 "MODALITY," mastery of a word more complete in one 
 "modality" than in another, 72. 
 
 MOTOR HABITS, in spelling, 66. 
 
 Nervous, list showing misspellings of, 27. 
 NEWSPAPERS: investigation of lists of words used in, 
 135 ; as affecting the need of teaching spelling, 139, 140. 
 NEW WORDS, pupil's ability to learn and retain, 53. 
 
 ORAL, versus graphic spelling, 101. 
 
 Ostensible, life history of correct spelling of, 69. 
 
 Piercing, list showing misspellings of, 26. 
 
 POST-CARD, as influencing the need of teaching spelling, 
 141, 142. 
 
 PREPARATION, of the spelling lesson. 66, 67. 
 
 PRESENTATION: methods of, 94-103; variance of opin- 
 ions concerning, 94, 95 ; plan of investigation of, 95 ; 
 four types of, 96; table snowing results of test in two 
 types of, 97; comparison of methods of, 98-100; oral 
 versus graphic, 101 ; advantages of each method of, 101 ; 
 showing a pupil his error, 102, 103. 
 
 PRESENT-DAY SPELLING: wide-spread criticism of the 
 teaching of, 1-3; various explanations offered for de-
 
 INDEX 279 
 
 PRESENT-DAY SPELLING Continued 
 
 ficiency in, 1 ; the layman's view of method of teach- 
 ing, 2 ; conflicting opinions respecting methods and re- 
 sults, 3, 4: the layman's remedy, 3. 
 
 PROPER NAMES: in correspondence, 219-223; in spelling 
 needs, 253. 
 
 PURE TYPES, never found as regards mode of spelling, 117. 
 
 READING, in relation to learning to spell, 112-114. 
 
 REASONING, as involved in spelling, 115. 
 
 RECITATION, method of in experiments, 50. 
 
 ROBINSON CRUSOE, table showing result of dictation 
 from, 76, 77. 
 
 RULES FOR SPELLING: value of, 10-22; lack of agree- 
 ment regarding use of in modern texts, 10, 11; examples 
 of rules found in spelling texts, 10; investigations of 
 university and high-school students in respect to value 
 of rules, 10, 11; word list used to test value of spelling 
 rules, 11-13; experience and training of students tested, 
 13, 14; three classes of people in respect to the use of 
 rules, 16; conscious versus unconscious use of a rule, 
 16, 17; table showing observance of rules, 17; function 
 of ie-ei rule, 18; value of rule on final e, 18, 19; value of 
 rule on final y, 19; value of rule for final ie, 20; stu- 
 dents' attitude toward rules, 21, 22; effects of types of 
 rules on errors, 43-45. 
 
 SCOPE, of present investigation, 5-7. 
 
 Sieve, list showing misspellings of, 26, 27. 
 
 SPECIAL FACTORS: in spelling, 112-121; learning to read 
 in relation to learning to spell, 112-114; fear of making 
 errors, 114; seeing and hearing mistakes, 115; reason- 
 ing out a spelling, 115; auditory and visual types, 116; 
 no pure types, 117; dominant type of error, 118; sylla- 
 bication as an aid, 118, 119; traits that make good spell- 
 ers, 119-121. 
 
 SPELLING: present-day interest in, 1, 2; differences of 
 opinion regarding the teaching of, 2 ; the layman's rem- 
 edy for apparent deficiency in, 3; hard and uninterest- 
 ing for pupils, 4; spelling vocabulary, 7-9. See PRES- 
 ENT-DAY SPELLING; VOCABULARY; RULES FOR SPELLING; 
 ERRORS SOURCES AND CAUSES OF; LIFE HISTORY OF 
 SPELLING ; METHODS OF PRESENTATION ; SPELLING NEEDS ; 
 WRITTEN VOCABULARY. 
 
 SPELLING ABILITY: See SPELLING; SPELLING NEEDS; 
 LIFE HISTORY OF SPELLINGS; WRITTEN VOCABULARY. 
 
 SPELLING CONSCIENCE, 108, 109.
 
 28o INDEX 
 
 SPELLING EFFICIENCY: and composition, 104-111; plan 
 of tests, 104; the data gathered, 105-108; table showing 
 amount of composition versus breadth of vocabulary, 
 106; table showing amount of composition versus 
 breadth of vocabulary in relation to lapses and mis- 
 spellings, 107; organization of ideas, 108; spelling con- 
 science, 108, 109; attention to technique, 109, 110; ra- 
 pidity of writing, 110; summary of results, 110, 111. 
 
 "SPELLING HOSPITAL," for defective spellers in the high 
 school, 92. 
 
 SPELLING NEEDS: popular views of, 125-134; present 
 theory and practise, 125-127; number of words a child 
 should be able to spell when he finishes the eighth 
 grade, 126, 127; purpose of spelling, 127-129; the writ- 
 ing vocabulary in relation to the oral and reading vo- 
 cabulary, 128, 129; immediate versus ultimate values in 
 spelling, 129, 130; spelling of infrequent words, 130, 131, 
 133; pruning word lists, 131, 132; reasons for opposition 
 to curtailment of vocabulary, 132-134. 
 
 SPELLING VOCABULARY: 7-9; methods of determining, 
 135-143; investigation of lists in newspapers, 135; Chan- 
 cellor's work, 135, 136; Ayres' study of spelling vocab- 
 ularies, 136, 137; the needs of the "common people," 
 137-139; family letters as affording accurate data, 138, 
 139; declining importance of spelling vocabulary, 139- 
 142; decline due to newspapers, magazines and books, 
 139, 140; influence of telegraph and telephone, 140; in- 
 fluence of increase in travel, 140; women as letter- 
 writers, 141 ; spelling as an art for the stenographer, 
 141; the influence of the post-card, 141, 142; no dan- 
 ger of hampering the child, 142, 143 ; vocabularies of 
 spelling-books, 225, 226 ; individual writing vocabularies, 
 230-234; of thirteen persons as revealed by successive 
 thousands of running words of correspondence, 234, 
 235 ; sex differences in spelling vocabulary, 235 ; words 
 dominant in letters of women, 236, 237 ; words dom- 
 inant in letters of men, 239, 240; the words that do 
 the work, 243-245. 
 
 STANDARD DICTIONARY, used in determining eligibility 
 of words, 153. 
 
 STENOGRAPHER, as particularly in need of spelling, 141. 
 
 SYLLABICATION: as a means of avoiding error, 45, 46; 
 as an aid in spelling, 118, 119. 
 
 TABLES: showing observance of rules, 17; showing varie- 
 ties of misspelling of ancient, 25; foreign, 26; piercing, 
 26 ; sieve, 26, 27 ; nervous, 27 ; encouragement, 27 ; awful, 
 28; argument, 28; dismayed, 28, 29; betrayal, 29; bene-
 
 INDEX 281 
 
 TABLES Continued 
 
 filed, 29; indicating capacity for improvement shown 
 in experiment, 52; showing history of spellings through 
 tests, 56-62; showing tenacity of certain misspellings, 
 63; showing result of dictation of extract from Robin- 
 son Crusoe, 76, 77 ; showing spellings of words taken 
 from account of Chicago fire, 77, 78; summarizing re- 
 sults of tests, 81 ; showing results of original composi- 
 tion test, 83-86; showing two types of presentation, 97. 
 
 TECHNIQUE, attention to in composition, 109, 110. 
 
 TELEGRAPH, as affecting the need of teaching spelling, 140. 
 
 TELEPHONE, as influencing the need of teaching spelling, 
 140. 
 
 TEXTS : lack of agreement regarding use of rules in, 10, 11 ; 
 examples of rules found in spelling texts, 10; data re- 
 garding, 147-149; and spelling needs, 225-245; vocabu- 
 laries in spelling-books, 225, 226; relation of vocabu- 
 laries of spelling-books and of correspondents, 226-229; 
 limitations of any spelling-book, 229, 230; words found 
 in none of the spelling-books, 229; individual writing 
 vocabularies, 230-234; vocabularies of thirteen persons 
 as revealed by successive thousands of running words 
 of correspondence, 232 ; vocabularies in family and other 
 correspondence, 234, 235 ; sex differences in spelling vo- 
 cabulary, 235 ; list showing words dominant in letters 
 of women, 236-239; words dominant in letters of men, 
 239, 240; summary of sex interest, 240, 241; relation of 
 time economy to spelling needs, 241-243 ; the words that 
 do the work, 243-245. See SPELLING NEEDS. 
 
 TIME ECONOMY, relation of to spelling needs, 241-243. 
 
 TRAITS, that make good spellers, 119-121. 
 
 TRAVEL, increase of as influencing need of teaching spell- 
 ing, 140. 
 
 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: investigation of regarding 
 value of spelling rules, 10, 11; experience and training 
 of students tested, 13, 14. 
 
 VISUAL, and auditory types, 116, 117. 
 VOWELS, obscure or elided, 41, 42. 
 
 WOMEN : as performing most of the work in family letter- 
 writing, 141 ; sex differences in spelling vocabulary, 235 ; 
 words dominant in letters of women, 236, 237. 
 
 WORD LISTS: used to test value of spelling rules, 11-13; 
 investigations of lists in newspapers, 135 ; pruning word 
 lists, 131, 132; derived from correspondence, 156-224; 
 method of classifying, 156, 157; words used by all cor-
 
 282 INDEX 
 
 WORD LISTS Continued 
 
 respondents, 157-161 ; words used by a majority of cor- 
 respondents, 161-173; words used by less than a major- 
 ity of the correspondents, 173-219; character of words 
 used by one writer only, 219; proper names in the cor- 
 respondence, 219-223; tabulation of foreign terms, 224; 
 vocabularies of thirteen persons as revealed by succes- 
 sive thousands running words of correspondence, 232; 
 words dominant in letters of women, 236-239; words 
 dominant in letters of men, 239, 240; words used in 
 compositions of children, 255-262. 
 
 WRITTEN VOCABULARY, methods of determining, 135- 
 143. See SPELLING VOCABULARY.
 
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 and Intellectual traits, and how the learner may be taught with 
 the least resistance and greatest efficiency. 
 
 This is precisely the book for every parent and teacher 
 who wants to make study a pastime and not a drudgery. 
 It is included in the CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH SERIES, the 
 important new collection of books for parents and teachers. 
 
 12mo, Cloth, One Dollar Net 
 
 The Bobbs-Merrill Company 
 
 Publishers, Indianapolis
 
 AUTHORS OF BOOKS IN THE 
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH SERIES 
 
 SARAH LOUISE ARNOLD 
 
 Denn of Simmons College, Boston ; nuthorof Waymarks forTeach- 
 ers, Stepping Stones to Literature, Etc. 
 
 J. CARLETON BELL 
 
 Professor of the Art of Teaching, University of Texas; Managing 
 Editor, The Journal of Educational Psychology. 
 
 FREDERICK ELMER BOLTON 
 
 Dean, School of Education, University of Washington; author of 
 The Secondary School System of Germany, Etc. 
 
 MARY MARTHA BUNNELL 
 
 Instructor in Home Economics, University of Wisconsin. 
 
 C. WARD CRAMPTON 
 
 Director of Physical Education, New York City Public Schools, 
 author of Physiological Age. 
 
 JESSE B. DAVIS 
 
 Principal of Central High School, and Vocational Director, Grand 
 Rapids; author of Vocational and Moral Guidance. 
 
 JASPER NEWTON DEAHL 
 
 Professor of Education, West Virginia University. 
 
 J. CLAUDE ELSOM 
 
 Assistant Professor of Physical Education, The University of 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 J. J. FINDLAY 
 
 Professor of Education, University of Manchester, England; author 
 of Arnold of Rugby, The School, Etc., Etc. 
 
 ARNOLD L. GESELL 
 
 Department of Education, Yale University; author of The Normal 
 Child, Primary Education. 
 
 MICHAEL F. GUYER 
 
 Professor of Zoology, The University of Wisconsin; author of 
 Animal Micrology. 
 
 COLONEL L. R. GIGNILLIAT 
 
 Superintendent The Culver Military Academy, Culver, Ind. 
 
 WILLIAM HEALY 
 
 Director Juvenile Psychopathic Institute, Chicago; Associate Pro- 
 fessor of Nervous and Mental Diseases, Chicago Policlinic; In- 
 structor Harvard Summer School. 
 
 W. H. HECK 
 
 Professor of Education, University of Virginia; author of Mental 
 Discipline and Educational Values, Etc. 
 
 The Bobbs-Merrill Company 
 
 Publishers, Indianapolis
 
 AUTHORS OF BOOKS IN THE 
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH SERIES 
 
 FLORENCE HOLBROOK 
 
 Principal of the Forestville School, Chicago ; author of hound the 
 Year in Myth and Song, Studies in Poetry, Etc. 
 
 DAVID STARR JORDAN 
 
 Chancellor of Stanford University ; author of Care and Culture of 
 Men, Footnotes to Evolution, Etc., Etc. 
 
 C. A. McMURRY 
 
 Director of Normal Training, Superintendent of Schools, DeKalb, 
 Illinois; author of A Series of General and Special Methods in 
 School Work. 
 
 JUNIUS L. MERIAM 
 
 Professor of School Supervision, University of Missouri ; author of 
 Normal School Education, Etc. 
 
 JAMES T. NOE 
 
 Professor of Education, University of Kentucky. 
 
 RAYMOND RIORDON 
 
 Director of the Raymond Riordon School, on Chodikee Lake, N. Y.; 
 author of Lincoln Memorial School A New Idea in Industrial 
 Education, Etc. 
 
 WALTER SARGENT 
 
 Professor of Art Education, University of Chicago ; author of Fine 
 and Industrial Arts in the Elementary Schools. 
 
 FRANK CHAPMAN SHARP 
 
 Professor of Philosophy, The University of Wisconsin ; author of 
 Shakespeare's Portrayal of the Moral Life, Etc. 
 
 ALFRED E. STEARNS 
 
 Principal of Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.; author of various 
 articles in the Atlantic Monthly, Outlook, Etc. 
 
 WINTHROP ELLSWORTH STONE 
 
 President Purdue University; Member of the Indiana State Board 
 of Education. 
 
 THOMAS A. STOREY 
 
 Professor of Hygiene. College of the City of New York, Secretary 
 Fourth International Congress on School Hygiene. 
 
 M. H. STUART 
 
 Principal Manual Training High School, Indianapolis. 
 
 BLANCHE M. TRILLING 
 
 Director of Women's Gymnasium, The University of Wisconsin. 
 
 GUY MONTROSE WHIPPLE 
 
 Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, Cornell University; 
 author of Questions in Psychology, Etc. 
 
 The Bobbs-Merrill Company 
 
 Publishers, Indianapolis
 
 The Childhood and Youth Series 
 
 NATURAL EDUCATION 
 
 Mrs. Stoner explains the methods by which she made her 
 daughter "the best developed child in America" mentally, mor- 
 ally and physically; the simple yet astonishing methods which 
 make for the health, happiness and wisdom of any normal child. 
 
 By MRS. WINIFRED SACKVILLE STONER 
 Director-General Women's International Health League 
 
 LEARNING AND DOING 
 
 The way to learn how to run an automobile is by running it 
 Professor Swift shows how this practical principle may be ap- 
 plied to history, literature and language-study. A book that 
 breaks up monotony in teaching, stirs enthusiasm, makes the 
 parent and teacher see the child's point of view. 
 
 By EDGAR JAMES SWIFT 
 
 Professor of Psychology and Education, Washington 
 University ; author of Mind in the Making, Etc. 
 
 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Can your child spell? Business and professional men think 
 the children of this generation poor spellers. What's the trouble 
 with the way spelling is taught at home and in school ? The 
 authors of this book make a simple but scientific analysis of the 
 whole question. 
 
 By WILLIAM A. COOK 
 Assistant Professor of Education, University of Colorado; and 
 
 M. V. O'SHEA 
 Professor of Education, University of Wisconsin 
 
 THE HIGH-SCHOOL AGE 
 
 The "teen age" is the critical age, the dangerous age of ado- 
 lescence, when the future of the child's life is largely determined 
 and the bending of the twig inclines the tree. Professor King here 
 shows parent and teacher how to solve the difficult and all-im- 
 portant problems of this crisis. 
 
 By IRVING KING 
 
 Professor of Education, University of Iowa ; author of 
 Psychology of Child Development, Etc. 
 
 Each volume with Special Introduction by the General Editor, 
 M. V. O'Shea, Analytical Table of Contents, Carefully Selected 
 Lists of Books for Reference, Further Reading and Study, and a 
 Full Index. 
 
 .Each, 12mo, Cloth, One Dollar Net 
 
 The Bobbs-Merrill Company 
 
 Publishers, Indianapolis
 
 The Childhood and Youth Series 
 
 THE WAYWARD CHILD 
 
 A practical treatment of the causes of juvenile delinquency and 
 methods of its prevention, by one who has extensive experience 
 in dealing with the young. 
 
 By MRS. FREDERIC SCHOFF 
 
 President National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher 
 
 Association; President Philadelphia Juvenile Court 
 
 and Probation Association ; Collaborator, Home 
 
 Education Division, Bureau of Education 
 
 FEAR 
 
 A comprehensive, concrete discussion of (1) psychology of fear; 
 (2) varieties of fears found normally in childhood and youth; (3) 
 ways in which fears are expressed and their effects; (4) treatment 
 of fear in home and school. 
 
 By G. STANLEY HALL 
 
 President Clark University, Worcester, Mass.; author of 
 Adolescence, Educational Problems, Etc. 
 
 SELF-HELP 
 
 Practical aid to parents and teachers in teaching children to 
 do things for themselves, written by a mother, teacher and keen 
 student of Madame Montessori, Froebel, Pestalozzi, et al. 
 
 By DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER 
 Author of A Montessori Mother, EnglislVComposition of Rhetoric. Etc. 
 
 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 How to train the young to appreciate (1) what money repre- 
 resents in labor and privilege ; (2) how it may best be expended. 
 
 By E. A. KIRKPATRICK 
 
 Read of Department of Psychology and Child-Study, State Normal 
 
 School, Fitchburg, Mass.; author of Fundamentals of 
 
 Child-Study, The Individual in the Making, Etc. 
 
 THE BACKWARD CHILD 
 
 A volume dealing with the causes of backwardness among chil- 
 dren and also the technique of determining when a child is back- 
 ward, and practical methods of treating him. 
 
 By ARTHUR HOLMES 
 
 Dean of the General Faculty, Pennsylvania State College; 
 author of The Conservation of the Child, Etc. 
 
 Each Volume With Special Introduction By the General Editor, M. V. 
 O'Shea, Analytical Table of Contents, Carefully Selected Lists of Books 
 for Reference, Further Reading and Study, ana a Full Index. 
 
 Each, 12mo, Cloth, One Dollar Net 
 
 The Bobbs-Merrill Company 
 
 Publishers. Indianapolis
 
 A HUNDRED thousand American mothers 
 venarate the name of Mrs. Frederic Schoff 
 (Hannah Kent Schoff). She has dedicated her 
 life to the work of making the new generation 
 better, stronger and more efficient, and has been 
 an inspiration to every woman in the land to do 
 her full part to insure the future of America. 
 
 Through her leadership of the National Congress of Mothers 
 and Parent-Teacher Associations, she is the presiding genius of 
 the greatest educational movement this country has known. 
 
 As President of the Philadelphia Juvenile Court and Pro- 
 bation Association, she has had an opportunity to study 
 the wayward children of a great city. She has carried on 
 extensive investigations among men and women confined 
 in prisons and correctional institutions to learn from them 
 at first hand to what they attribute their downfall. 
 
 By this broad experience she is qualified to speak with 
 unique authority on the training of children in the home, 
 and especially on the problem of the wayward child. 
 
 She makes a forceful appeal to parents both because of their 
 natural desire to guard their children from all harmful influ- 
 ences and because they realize that home training, which comes 
 first of all in every child's life, moulds his morality. If any 
 parent doubts this, he needs more than ever to study 
 
 The Wayward Child 
 
 By HANNAH KENT SCHOFF 
 
 President National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations; 
 President Philadelphia Juvenile Court and Probation Association 
 
 She shows beyond all doubt that the early training in the home 
 can make or unmake characters at will, that homes in which 
 children have been brought up carelessly or inefficiently are 
 largely responsible for the wayward children who later make 
 up our criminal population. 
 
 THE WAYWARD CHILD is one of the books in the 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH SERIES, undoubtedly the 
 most important collections of practical educational works 
 for parents and teachers ever produced in this country. 
 As a guide for the home or school it is unexcelled. 
 
 12mo, Cloth, One Dollar Net
 
 IF YOUR CHILD grows up to be a spendthrift 
 blame yourself. It is the fault of the training 
 received in childhood, or the lack of it. 
 
 But parents are hard pressed forways and means 
 of teaching their children how to use money 
 how to save it, and how to spend it. 
 
 Should a child have a regular allowance? Should he be given 
 money when he asks for it or only when he really needs it? 
 Should he be given money as a reward or as a payment for 
 services? Should he be allowed to work for money at an early 
 age? 
 
 Professor E. A. Kirkpatrick has made a special study of 
 children to learn their attitude toward money in the 
 home and the world outside. He has carried on investi- 
 gations to determine their natural inclinations and decide 
 how parents may encourage the right inclinations and 
 curb those which lead to the unhappy extremes in the 
 use of money miserliness or prodigality. 
 
 The Use of Money 
 
 By E. A. KIRKPATRICK 
 
 State Normal School, Fitchburg, Mass.; author of Fundamentals of 
 Child Study, The Individual in the Making, etc. 
 
 It offers sound advice, which any parent will be fortunate to 
 obtain. It tells when the child should begin to learn the real 
 value of money and how to dispose of it properly, and suggests 
 methods by which this training may be given. It clears the 
 mind of all doubt as to how to induce thrift in the child, so that 
 in later life he will be better equipped, not only for business, 
 but in the conduct of the household and private affairs. 
 
 THE USE OF MONEY, like all the other books in the 
 famous Childhood and Youth Series, is designed to be of 
 immediate, practical benefit to the average parent, guard- 
 ian or teacher. 
 
 12mo, Cloth, One Dollar Net
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 JUL 1 5 1955 3UB 
 FEB 271956 
 
 JECT TO FINE IF NOT 
 
 EDUCATION L 
 
 RETURNED TO 
 
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 OCT 1 19** 
 MAR 1 5 1957 
 
 JUL 8 1957 
 
 SEP 10 ^62 
 
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 OCT 8 1962 
 
 JAN 2 3 1964 
 DEC 14 1964 
 
 JAN 7 ^ 
 
 MAY 1 1965 
 
 MAR 1 6 1960 
 MAY 1 ? 1960 
 
 OCT 3 l ^62 
 NOV 2 1 '62 
 
 
 MAY 2 6 1960 
 
 nrc 12 '62 
 
 
 JUL 1 9 1*0 
 
 JAN 3 1963 
 
 
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 AUG 20 ^62 
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 UCLA-ED/PSYCH Library 
 
 LB1574C77 
 
 L 005 588 929 9 
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FAaLrTY