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 of the 
 
 University of California 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
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 5m-8,'21
 
 "The Aldine Series of Readers 
 
 By Frank E. Spaulding, Superintendent of Schools, Newton, Mass., and 
 Miss Catherine T. Bryce, Supervisor of Primary Schools, Newton, Mass. 
 
 The Aldine Primer . 
 
 The Aldine First Reader 
 
 The Aldine Second Reader 
 
 The Aldine Third Reader 
 
 The Aldine Fourth Reader 
 
 The Aldine Fifth Reader 
 
 Learning to Read (A Manual for Teachers) 
 
 The Aldine Reading and Phonic Chart (combined) with stand 
 
 The Aldine Phonic Chart (separate) with stand 
 
 These charts with stand will be sent, express charges paid, to any ad- 
 dress in the United States, at the prices here given. Special terms to 
 Schools and Boards of Education for quantities. 
 
 The Aldine Rhyme Charts, containing all the rhymes in the Aldine 
 Primer, i6 Nos., each 9 x 24 inches (per set) . 
 
 Phonic Cards, each 5x8 inches (per set of 23) . 
 
 Sight Word Cards, Primer Set, each 5x8 inches (per set of 95) 
 
 Rhyme Cards, each containing the 17 rhymes used in the Primer, 
 5x7 inches (per hundred) . . . . . . " . 
 
 Seat Work Cards. No. One contains all the words of Rhymes i, 2, 
 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 1 1 in the Rhyme Cards, each 9 x 12 inches 
 (per hundred) ......... 
 
 No. Two contains all the words of Rhymes 8, 9, 10, 12, and i 3 in the 
 Rhyme Cards, each 9x12 inches (per hundred) . . . . 
 
 $ .32 
 .32 
 .42 
 .48 
 .65 
 .75 
 .60 
 
 10.00 
 7.00 
 
 .60 
 .25 
 .65 
 
 .60 
 
 2.00 
 2.00 
 
 The prices given above are subject to our usual discount on supplies 
 for introduction and exchange 
 
 Newson and Company 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 CHICAGO
 
 THE ALPINE READERS 
 
 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 A Manual for Teachers 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANK E. SPAULDING 
 
 SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, NEWTON, MASS. 
 AND 
 
 CATHERINE T. BRYCE 
 
 SUPERVISOR OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS, NEWTON, MASS. 
 
 NEWSON & COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK
 
 Copyright, 1907, by 
 KEWSON & COMPANY. 
 
 1178
 
 LB 
 S 03 
 
 INTRODUCTION" 
 
 The term " method " is used in this Manual for want 
 of a better one. Here it has not, however, the quite 
 usual meaning of an elaborately wrought out system of 
 formal devices. It refers mainly to the sum of principles 
 and processes whose application has been found most 
 effective in accomplishing a definite result, teaching chil- 
 dren to read independently. 
 
 The method described is not the outs-row th of untried 
 
 theories of teaching reading. It is rather the description of 
 
 certain processes of accomplishing certain results, processes 
 
 founded on sound psychological principles, which have 
 
 been wrought out and perfected in scores of schoolrooms 
 
 during the last six years. ' These processes have not been 
 
 simply tested in a few exercises, with a few children ; 
 
 several thousands of children have been taught constantly 
 
 and solely in accordance with principles and plans set forth 
 
 in this Manual. There is not a plan nor a device herein 
 
 described, from the least to the most important, whose 
 
 practicability and worth have not been abundantly 
 
 demonstrated. 
 
 The size of this Manual is not due to any difficulty in 
 
 iii
 
 iv INTRODUCTION 
 
 the method described ; the method is exceedingly easy both 
 to comprehend and to apply. The Manual is large be- 
 cause in it the authors have tried to make every least step 
 plain and to give an abundance of helpful suggestions, 
 so that teachers of little or no professional training may 
 learn how to teacli reading, the foundation of all school 
 work, successfully. Processes and methods are not de- 
 scribed merely with the direction to follow them ; the rea- 
 sons for every process, for the use of every least device 
 even, are fully discussed. This phase of the subject has 
 been elaborated in the firm conviction that reading can be 
 taught successfully only by teachers fully intelligent con- 
 cerning the mental processes involved, the purpose and 
 the effect of the methods employed. Such intelligence is 
 especially necessary that teachers may be quick to perceive 
 when the purpose which any process or device is intended 
 to serve has been accomplished. 
 
 The manuscript for this Manual has been read critically 
 by several teachers and others, some familiar and some 
 unfamiliar with the method described. It is hoped that 
 the subject is presented with sufficient clearness and com- 
 pleteness. Communications regarding any difficulties or 
 questions whose solution or answer cannot be found in 
 the Manual, are invited by the authors. 
 
 The working out of this system of reading has been 
 possible only through the cooperation, always sympathetic, 
 intelligent, and enthusiastic, of many teachers and princi- 
 pals in the public schools of Passaic, N.J., where the .sys-
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 tern originated, and of Newton, Mass., where the system 
 has been developed and perfected. Tlie authors take this 
 opportunity of expressing their sincere appreciation of the 
 services of these teachers and principals.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTSB PAGE 
 
 I. The Method Explained 1 
 
 1. Stories 2 
 
 2. Rhymes 4 
 
 3. Pictures 7 
 
 4. Dramatizing 8 
 
 5. Objects and Objective Teaching 1:] 
 
 6. Sight Words . . . . . • . . .15 
 
 7. Phonics 16 
 
 8. Consonants 22 
 
 9. Vowels and Type "Woids 26 
 
 10. New Words 34 
 
 n. Drill 37 
 
 12. Reading 38 
 
 13. Expression . . . 49 
 
 II. Books, Charts, and Other Materials . . . . .57 
 
 1. The Reading Chart and the First Books ... 57 
 
 2. Cards 59 
 
 3. Rhyme Charts 61 
 
 4. The Phonic Chart 62 
 
 5. Script and Print 68 
 
 6. Seat Work 69 
 
 7. Supplementary Reading 71 
 
 III. The Primer, pages 1-4 ; The Chart, page 2 . . . 7-"> 
 
 IV. The Puni eh. pages 5-9 ; The Chart, pages 3-4 . , . 82 
 
 vii
 
 Vlll 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CIIAPTEP. 
 
 
 V. 
 
 The 
 
 VI. 
 
 The 
 
 VII. 
 
 The 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The 
 
 IX. 
 
 The 
 
 X. 
 
 The 
 
 XL 
 
 The 
 
 XII. 
 
 The 
 
 xiir. 
 
 The 
 
 XIV. 
 
 The 
 
 XV. 
 
 The 
 
 XVI. 
 
 The 
 
 XVII. 
 
 The 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 The 
 
 XIX. 
 
 The 
 
 XX. 
 
 The 
 
 XXI. 
 
 The 
 
 XXII. 
 
 The 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 The 
 
 Primei!, pages 10-14 
 PuiMKK, pages 15-17 
 Pkimeh, pages 18-23 
 PiuMEit, pages 24-30 
 Primer, pages 3-3-30 
 Primer, pages 40-46 
 Primer, pages 47-55 
 Primer, pages 56-64 
 Primer, pages 67-88 
 Primer, pages 91-103 
 Primer, pages 104-108 
 Primer, pages 111-123 
 
 The Chart, pages .5-6 
 The Chart, jjages 7-8 
 The Chart, pages 9-10 
 The Chart, pages 11-13 
 The Chart, pages 14-15 
 The Chart, pages 16-17 
 The Chart, pages 18-21 
 
 Primer, pages 124-138 . 
 
 First Reader, pages 3-5; The Chart, pages 22-24 
 
 First Reader, pages 6-10; The Chart, pages 25-27 
 
 First Reader, pages 11-14 . 
 
 First Reader, page 15 to the end 
 
 Second and Third Readers 
 
 Phonic Chart .... 
 
 88 
 95 
 101 
 108 
 114 
 121 
 127 
 135 
 138 
 143 
 147 
 150 
 1-55 
 1-59 
 164 
 168 
 171, 
 177 
 183
 
 LEARMNG TO READ 
 
 CHAPTER I ' 
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 
 
 The method of teaching children to read, which is here 
 presented, although extremely simple and entirely natural, 
 cannot be adequately characterized in a single word, like 
 "phonic," "rhyme," "dramatic," "word," "sentence," 
 " thought," " action " ; it contains something of all these 
 ideas, and more. Yet it is by no means an eclectic method 
 in the sense that it embodies merely " the best ideas " 
 selected from all methods ; it consists of a harmonious 
 and progressive series of efforts, of means and devices 
 found most effective in solving the elementary reading 
 problem. 
 
 But a brief characterization of the method is not impor- 
 tant, nor even desirable. It is important that the teacher 
 w^ho would teach in accordance with this method, and who 
 would secure the best results possible in this way, should 
 understand clearly and appreciate thoroughly the purpose 
 and the value of the various processes, means, and materials, 
 whose use is described in detail in subsequent chapters. 
 To facilitate this understanding and appreciation is the 
 object of this and the following chapter.
 
 LEARNING TO READ. 
 
 1. Stories 
 
 The story with which the teacher introduces each rhyme 
 that the children are to commit to memory is not a mere 
 device for making what might be a hard and disagreeable 
 task easy and pleasant for the child. The story does serve 
 this purpose, but it does much more than that. It arouses 
 1 What the *^^^ child's interest; it attracts and holds the 
 story does child's attention ; it stimulates and directs the 
 child's thought ; in short, the oral story does for the child 
 what the printed story must do later. By teaching the 
 child to listen well, the teacher is preparing him to read 
 well. 
 
 As the content of the stories is in harmony with the 
 rhymes that they introduce and the reading matter that 
 follows the rhymes, they not only facilitate the memoriz- 
 ing of the rhymes — which the child does with a few 
 repetitions — but they put the child in the most favorable 
 attitude for really reading; that is, associating appropriate 
 thought with the printed form of the rhymes and the 
 sentence-stories that follow them. 
 
 While the child is learning to read the rhyme and the 
 
 simple stories, the teacher's story should be kept alive in 
 
 2. The t^6 child's consciousness by frequent repetition 
 
 corymust ^^^ reference; thus is insured the presence in 
 
 be kept i • i i 
 
 alive the child's mind of the material out of which he 
 
 must construct the simple thoughts which the rhyme and 
 sentence-stories are intended to evoke.
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 3 
 
 So, at the very outset, while the child is acqiuring the 
 first of his stock of " sight words," he is getting into the 
 reader's frame of mind, is learning really to read. And he 
 is doing both in a most natural and agreeable way — a 
 way that represents no wearisome contrast with his most 
 interesting out-of -school experiences. Learning 3. Leam- 
 to read in this way appeals to the child as a real ^fgai ^T 
 pleasure ; he enters upon the undertaking with Pleasure 
 the enthusiasm of his play and recreation. It is an en- 
 thusiasm which does not easily tire. 
 
 But in order to arouse this enthusiasm, to get and to 
 keep the child in the right frame of mind, the teacher 
 must tell her story well. She must enter heart- 4. The 
 ily into the spirit of the story ; she must be her- Jl°wen ^^^^ 
 self enthusiastic ; she must express her spirit and ^°^^ 
 enthusiasm in her voice and manner. Only thus can she 
 hope to arouse and direct the thoughts and feelings of her 
 pupils. 
 
 As a rule, the story should be told, not read from the 
 Manual. Every primary teacher, at least, should be able 
 to tell a story to children effectively ; this is an accom- 
 plishment almost indispensable in her art. If you, as 
 teacher, have never told a story, begin at once. 
 
 The stories as given in subsequent chapters need not, 
 of course, be told word for word ; it is only 
 the rhyme that is to be learned verbatim. But purpose of 
 whether you tell the stories or whether you read 
 them — for they can be made effective by reading — do
 
 4 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 not lose sight of their purpose; do see to it that they 
 accomplish their purpose. If your children fail to respond, 
 if they fail to become interested, if they fail to enter into 
 the thought and the spirit of the story, 3'ou have failed to 
 secure the result for which the story was used. Study the 
 cause of your failure — it will not be found in the story 
 itself — and try again. 
 
 2. Rhymes 
 
 Rhymes, introduced by appropriate stories, furnish the 
 child the most effective means of acquiring an initial stock 
 1. A read- of "sight words." By memorizing rhymes and 
 uiary''^ associatiug the spoken with the printed and 
 throuff^h written forms of the words, in accordance with 
 rhymes later detailed directions, the child can build 
 up a reading vocabulary more than twice as fast as by the 
 usual " word," or " sentence," or " object " method. 
 
 But the facility afforded for the acquiring of a vocab- 
 ulary is not the only, nor indeed the most important, 
 advantage of the rhyme. Through the medium of the 
 rhyme the child learns each word in use, in relation to 
 2 Words other words, in a use and relation which he under- 
 L'^fwt stands and of which he is conscious when he is 
 
 in tneir 
 
 ^s3 learning the written and printed forms of the 
 
 word ; thus, from the outset he associates with the book 
 word a spoken word which means something to him. When 
 he reads this word in connection with other words, he at 
 once associates with it not its sound alone but its meaning.
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 5 
 
 Building up a vocabulary of disconnected words, associ- 
 ating tlie sound of a single word with its printed form, is 
 the best possible preparation for that all too prevalent kind 
 of school reading which consists only in sounding mentally 
 or aloud the printed words — mechanical reading. 
 
 There is a third advantage of the rhyme, properly used, 
 which is perhaps the greatest of all. It gives the child at 
 once a measure of independence in his reading ; it enables 
 and encourages him to make use of what he already knows 
 in learning more, a most important habit in gen- 3. The 
 eral. This advantage comes about in this way. abies^the' 
 When the child has committed a rhyme to mem- ?"P'1*° 
 
 <j help him- 
 
 ory thoroughly — ■ and this commitment should s^if 
 always be thorough — and has then learned to point word 
 by word to the printed words as he repeats the rhyme, 
 associating each spoken word with its printed form, he is 
 prepared to read the sentence-stories which follow the 
 rhyme and which are composed of words already used in 
 the rhyme. If he comes upon a word which he does not 
 recognize, as will frequently happen, he must not be told 
 the word by the teacher ; he must go back to the rhyme, 
 repeating and pointing word by word until he comes to the 
 word which he did not recog^nize in the reading;. His oral 
 memory of the rhyme enables him to name the Avord at 
 once. 
 
 If, in reading stories that occur in the Chart or Primer 
 after several rhymes have been learned, the pupil comes 
 upon a word which he does not recognize and wliich
 
 6 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 may not be in the last rhyme learned, he must hunt 
 through the preceding rhjanes, as indicated above, imtil he 
 
 4. How comes upon the desired word. Since all words 
 the rhymes from the beginning are used repeatedly as the 
 reading progresses, a constant incidental review is kept up. 
 And there is no need of failure on the part of the pupil 
 because he has forgotten some word which he had once 
 learned ; he has the power to find that word, unaided. 
 With this use of the rhymes pupils soon become able to 
 read silently at their seats, without constantly interrupting 
 the teacher for a word. 
 
 That the rhymes may be used in this way — and on no 
 account should the teacher neglect this use of them — they 
 must be kept before the children for reference, as they are 
 , ^^ learned one after another. They may be so kept 
 
 5. Rhymes ^j j i 
 
 to be kept on the blackboards, or better, to save blackboard 
 pupils for space, hung about the room on charts within easy 
 reference ^^^^^ ^^ ^y^^ children. It is well for each child 
 
 to have a rhyme card, on which are all the rhymes of the 
 primer. This serves for reference in seat work. 
 
 When a child comes to a word which he does not recog- 
 nize, the quick and easy way for the teacher is to tell him 
 the word. That is not the right way, however, — not the 
 
 6. How the profitable way in the long run ; and it must not 
 neir'""' ^=*® followed. The child m.ust find out the word 
 himself fgj. l^iniself from the rhyme. Of course he will 
 need help at first in doing this, which, altogether, will 
 make it seem a slow process of arriving at a simple
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 7 
 
 result. But it is a process that pays richly iu the 
 end. Pupils soon acquire the habit of depending on 
 themselves, of finding out their own Avords without re- 
 course to the teacher. This habit established at the out- 
 set will prove of untold value later when we come to the 
 use of phonics. The formation of it is dwelt upon and 
 insisted upon here and continually because it is one of 
 the secrets of the success of the method here described. 
 
 3. Pictures 
 
 Pictures adorn the pages of chart and books. But adorn- 
 ment is only an incident ; it is not the real function which 
 the pictures are intended to serve. They are an integral 
 part of material and method and should be so , ^ 
 
 ^ , , 1. The real 
 
 used. They tell the child the pith of the story function of 
 which the teacher tells, introducing the rhyme, 
 or they tell what the child is to read from the text. They 
 attract and hold the child's attention; they arouse his inter- 
 est and enthusiasm ; they stimulate and direct his thought. 
 You must not, as teacher, look upon the attraction of 
 the picture as a distraction. You must not grudge the 
 time and attention the child is disposed to give to the 
 picture, as though it were time stolen from the study of 
 the text. You must not be constantly repressing the 
 child's interest in the picture, pulling him forcibly away 
 from it to a study of the text. You would not think of 
 trying to make the child read while you were telling him 
 your interesting story preparatory to his reading; you
 
 8 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 would not think of giving him only a little interesting 
 
 snatch of your story, and then forcing his attention away 
 
 to the reading; you tell your story through to 
 
 to be read the end and seek to enlist the child's undivided 
 
 enjoye j^^^-gj-^^^Q^-^ ^^^ interest for the story. Pursue 
 
 the same course with the picture. Let the child abandon 
 himself to it ; study it yourself and enjoy it with him ; 
 stimulate his interest and enthusiasm ; direct his observa- 
 tion and thought by questions and suggestions; so help 
 the child to grasp the story, not merely to see the separate 
 objects and colors, which the picture contains. 
 
 All this study of the picture is in preparation for an 
 appreciative reading of the text. When the child has been 
 allowed and assisted to read the story of the picture, he 
 3 Readine ^^ then ready and eager to read the story of the 
 the picture text. The reading^ of that will usually add to 
 
 prepares 
 
 for reading and Verify or modify the picture story. This 
 will necessitate reference to the picture during 
 and after the reading of the text ; such reference should 
 be freely allowed and encouraged. 
 
 4. Dramatizing 
 
 Dramatizing is play, recreation, agreeable and healthful 
 exercise of the mind and body ; and as such it is of no 
 , _ little value in the economy of the day's work, 
 
 1. Drama- ... 
 
 tizing not But dramatizing is much more than a pleasant 
 
 mere play . , . , . . , . , , 
 
 pastime ; like pictures, it plays an integral and 
 important role in the successful teaching of reading.
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 9 
 
 Like the picture and the story, dramatizing prepares 
 the child to read appreciatively and expressively. Dram- 
 atizing is, indeed, more than a mere preparation for read- 
 ino;; dramatizing is reading in the fullest sense. Instead 
 of simply thinking and picturing in their imag- 2. Drama- 
 ination the thoughts and ideas of the printed Jomp^iete 
 page, the children, in dramatizing, make those reading 
 thoughts and ideas live. Instead of nierelv thinking 
 about the actors in the story which they read, the chil- 
 dren, in dramatizing, become those actors themselves. 
 Instead of reading what the actors of the stor}' do and 
 say, the children, as actors, do and say those things them- 
 selves. This is realistic reading. 
 
 Successful dramatizing requires that the child forget 
 himself, throw himself into his part, really become for the 
 time the actor whom he represents. Under these circum- 
 stances the child's acts and his speech are natural and 
 expressive. 
 
 Most children in the first and second grades take to 
 dramatizing readily and naturally, when the conditions 
 are right. If they are stiff and awkward in 3 Drama- 
 speech and movement, if they cannot forget uraito^^^ 
 themselves, it is probably due to the conven- children 
 tionality and formality of the schoolroom. Let the teacher 
 show the way by breaking through all unnecessary re- 
 straints, forgetting herself, and taking enthusiastic part 
 in the dramatization, and the children will quickly catch 
 the spirit of it all
 
 10 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 Proper preparation for dramatizing, of the kind needed 
 in school, does not consist in selecting certain cliildren to 
 take certain parts and having each one memorize word 
 
 4 Pro er ^'^^^ word wliat lie is to say ; the results of such 
 prepara- preparation can hardly be anything else than 
 drama- wooden. Suitable preparation consists rather 
 
 iziiig in filling all the children so full of the story, by 
 
 graphic telling, that they instinctively want to act it out. 
 Parts are then quickly chosen or assigned and the little 
 actors carry out the ideas and the spirit of the story. 
 Their language, like their acts, should be in harmony with 
 the original ideas and spirit, but need not usually be a 
 verbatim repetition of the language used in the story ; 
 spontaneity and originality of expression are to be en- 
 couraged. 
 
 Children's first dramatizations are of the rhymes and 
 the stories told them by the teacher in introducing the 
 rhymes. They will, of course, need considerable help and 
 suggestion at first ; the teacher must be very careful, how- 
 ever, only to help and to suggest. The children must take 
 
 5 The their parts spontaneously, not merely do and say 
 teacher what the tcaclicr tells them, or no real drama- 
 
 only to 
 
 help and tizatiou is sccurcd. The teacher's help and sug- 
 sugges gestion can be gradually withdrawn until, after 
 some months, the children will make the necessary ar- 
 rangements for the exercise and carry out their parts 
 almost unaided. After they have become aljle to read 
 with some fluency, they can read their story for them-
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 11 
 
 selves and then dramatize it witli little assistance. In 
 the later chapters detailed suggestions are given the 
 teacher for arranging and directing the dramatization of 
 certain stories. 
 
 The chief advantages of dramatizing, then, as a part of 
 the process of teaching children to read are these. In 
 dramatizing, the children grasp not words alone, but 
 ideas; and they feel as well as understand, e. Advan- 
 Having dramatized a story, they are in condi- ^rama°^ 
 tion to read it with expression, which means ^i^ing 
 with understanding and with feeling. On the other hand, 
 having really read a selection suitable for dramatization, 
 that is, having fully understood it and felt it, they are pre- 
 pared to dramatize it. Dramatizing thus serves as a prepa- 
 ration for and a culmination of the best primary reading. 
 
 One emphatic caution will not be out of place. Xhe 
 teacher must not make the easy mistake of conducting her 
 work as though the dramatic product of the children's 
 efforts were the end sought. A good dramatiza- ^ ^^ 
 tion is, indeed, very entertaining to spectators, dramatic 
 But the entertainment of spectators is not the not the end 
 purpose ; the purpose of dramatizing is the bene- ^°"^ 
 fit of the participants, the children. That the children 
 may get the most benefit from dramatizing, all should 
 take part. If any are to take part more prominently or 
 more frequently than others, they should be those who 
 have the least talent for the exercise, for such are prob- 
 ably the ones most in need of its benefits.
 
 12 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 Perhaps it is superfluous to suggest that this does not 
 mean that the teacher should divide up the time and the 
 parts mechanically, letting each child take his turn in 
 regular order. Quite the contrary. In starting dramati- 
 zation in her school and in securing the participation of 
 the right children under right conditions, the teacher must 
 exercise the greatest tact, born of quick and sympathetic 
 ^appreciation of the mental attitude of each child. She 
 „ „ ^ must be careful not to make the diffident, re- 
 
 8. Tact and ... . . 
 
 patience tiring child self-conscious and awkward by requir- 
 ing him to take part ; even the formal suggestion 
 that he take a part may unfit him to do so. The teacher 
 must know how to wait patiently and watchfully for the 
 time to come — as it surely will come — when such a 
 child in self-forgetfulness will enter spontaneously into 
 both the spirit and the action of the dramatization. The 
 teacher must also know how to deal with the overforward, 
 the " smart " child, the child who " knows too much," 
 who doesn't enter into the j)lay, but plays with the wdiole 
 situation if he deigns to take part at all. This child, like 
 his retiring antipode, is under no circumstances to be 
 compelled to take part and to take part in the right spirit; 
 that is something which the teacher cannot compel, and 
 she will do well not to attempt it. The smart boy usually 
 needs only to be quietly ignored. The time will soon 
 come, under this treatment, when he, too, in self-forget- 
 fulness will be eager to take part in the right spirit. Any 
 teacher will always find in her class a sufficient number of
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 13 
 
 average, normal cliildren, who will be ready to enter into 
 and to carry out the plan's with her. When the excep- 
 tional children finally come into the play spontaneously, 
 she can easily arrange that they take part sufficiently often 
 to make up for any opportunities that they may have 
 lost. 
 
 Under no circumstances should the teacher seek to 
 .-ecure a finished and smooth production by dramatizing 
 the same thing over and over with the same parts taken 
 by the same children each time. It is well to repeat a 
 dramatization, but it should usually be with dif- 9. a fin- 
 Cerent participants or with changed parts. Let duiton'^not 
 there be a wholesome rivalry, as there should be desirable 
 in reading, to see which can interpret and render a part 
 best. 
 
 5. Objects and Objective Teaching 
 
 Many teachers of beginners in reading are accustomed 
 to surround themselves with a great variety of objects, 
 trying to present to the child the objective representation 
 of every written or printed word. These objects may serve 
 an excellent purpose, or they may be chiefly a hindrance ; 
 at most, their profitable use is limited. We read not with 
 objects but with ideas. 
 
 If a child has never seen nor had immediate experience 
 of a given object, he can have no adequate idea of that 
 object. Also a non-English-speaking child may 
 have a clear idea of a certain object, but as he taryobjec- 
 
 * tiivs ^97ork 
 
 does not know the spoken English word which
 
 14 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 stands for that object, the teacher unaided has no ready 
 and sure means of producing in his mind the desired idea. 
 With children of these types, objects should certainly be 
 used when possible ; pictures are the best substitutes for 
 objects. 
 
 The subject-matter of the Aldine Readers, the Primer, 
 the First and Second books, is of a character such as most 
 English-speaking children have experienced on entering 
 school. In fact, the ideas presented have been selected 
 with great care as ideas which are among the earliest 
 acquired and most frequently used by little children. Such 
 ideas as may prove to be foreign to any children should be 
 objectively presented. 
 
 The argument here is not in opposition to the use of 
 objects and objective teaching in the first steps in reading. 
 Quite the contrary ; objective work, of the right kind, 
 can profitably be carried much farther than it usually is. 
 We wish merely to point out clearly the value and the 
 limits of value of a certain customary kind of objective 
 teaching. The mere presentation of objects and the placing 
 of those objects in certain simple relations is a first impor- 
 tant step in objective teaching. This step should be taken 
 in the schoolroom, if it has not already been taken outside. 
 But when this step, which is only a first step, has been 
 2. Ad- taken, whether within or without the school, 
 
 jective ° advance should be made. The character of 
 ^°^^ this advance has already been fully described 
 
 under Pictures, Stories, and Dramatizinrj . These ex-
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 15 
 
 ercises, in the development of which they are capable, 
 represent a type of objective teaching as far in advance 
 of the conventional elementary use of objects as connected, 
 complete discourse is in advance of the words which com- 
 pose it. 
 
 The " action sentences " and the sentences for " silent 
 reading " which occur frequently in the Primer are entirely 
 objective in their purpose. Indeed, in the broadest sense, 
 all primary reading should be objective, progressively 
 objective. 
 
 6. Sight "Words 
 
 The vocabulary of the Primer consists of sight words, 
 most of which the children acquire through the medium of 
 the rhyme, as already explained. A considerable portion 
 of the words used in the early part of the First Reader are 
 also sight words, and the majority of these are learned in 
 rhymes. 
 
 These sight words, quickly acquired, enable the child 
 really to read from the first. But they are to serve, 
 almost every one of them, a further purpose. Through 
 them the child is to master hundreds of other i gig^t 
 words, and eventually all w^ords. These first "^ot^^^ are 
 
 ' "^ keys 
 
 words, learned one by one, are the keys to the 
 
 whole printed language. But that the child may use them 
 
 as such he must know them perfectly. 
 
 To give the child perfect acquaintance with every one 
 of these early sight words, to enable him to recognize each
 
 16 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 one instantly, there are many varied and interesting 
 exercises suggested in subsequent chapters. Some of 
 these exercises require the use of cards. Each card con- 
 tains a word both in script and in print, both forms 
 2 Sight on the same side of the card, one form di- 
 wordsmust lectlv Under the other. Experience has shown 
 
 be per- *^ . ^ . 
 
 fectiy that the presentation of the script and printed 
 
 earne forms of a word together do not confuse the 
 
 child ; they facilitate his recognition of either form with 
 equal readiness. 
 
 7. Phonics 
 
 The term "phonics," or "phonetics," used in a discussion 
 of primary reading, doubtless suggests at once, to many 
 minds, an array of diacritical marks, which make a page 
 of simple English look to the uninitiated like an unknown 
 
 1. Phonics language. So persistently does this phantom 
 d^ac^rlticai ii^trude itself, that it is in danger of obscuring for 
 marks the tcacher the real facts and problems of phonics 
 in their simplicity, just as the practical mastery of these 
 facts and problems is rendered difficult for the child by 
 the marks themselves. 
 
 The phonetic facts are exceedingly simple. The basis of 
 our spoken language is a certain number of elementary 
 sounds. One or more of these sounds make up each spoken 
 
 2. The word. Our written language consists of symbols 
 of phonetic whicli represent the elementary sounds. As tlie 
 facta elementary sounds are combined into spoken
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 17 
 
 words, so the simple symbols are combined into written 
 words. 
 
 The problem of learning to read is also simple — to state 
 and comprehend. It consists in associating the elemen- 
 tary sounds of the spoken language, which is 3. The 
 already familiar to English-speaking children, oJ™he" ^ 
 with tlie symbols which represent those sounds, problem of 
 
 1 1 11 • c ^ ^ • learning to 
 
 SO that wlien a symbol, or series or symbols, is read 
 seen, they at once suggest their corresponding sound or 
 sounds. 
 
 The practical difficulties, which are not inconsiderable, 
 arise from the facts that some of the elementary sounds 
 are represented sometimes by one symbol, sometimes by 
 another, as long a in fate and elfjJd ; that some 
 of the symbols are used, on occasion, to represent ^^^j.^^ ^^ 
 several different sounds, as a in ^^r^/e, pat, pair, practical 
 jmrt, etc. ; and, finally, that certain symbols are 
 frequently used when they represent no sound at all, 
 as igh in eight, u in four. 
 
 It is with the hope of overcoming these difficulties for 
 the child that the aid of diacritical marks is often invoked. 
 Unfortunately, these marks, promising much, prove to 
 be deceptive assistants ; they conceal instead of 5 Diacriti- 
 helping to overcome the difficulties and the\' are™ecep^- 
 bring other difficulties of their own. *^^® ^^^^ 
 
 A critique, or even a mention of diacritical marks, may 
 seem out of place here, inasmuch as the method of reading 
 which is being explained makes no use of such marks.
 
 18 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 And so it would be, were it not for the fact that many 
 
 6. Why teachers have been trained to place more or less 
 marks are reliance on marks, and the further fact that a clear 
 h^rV° understanding of the real eifect of their use will 
 prepare the way for a better comprehension of the 
 problem before us and the simple means that we have of 
 solving it, which has been proved so much more effective 
 than any system of marks. 
 
 To state the matter briefly, diacritical marks are means 
 of indicating to the child which of two or more possible 
 sounds a given letter or letters represent; they are also used 
 to indicate that no sound at all is to be associated with a 
 certain letter or letters. That is, diacritical marks are a 
 means of telling the child how to pronounce a word; in this 
 they take the place of the teacher who tells the child how 
 to pronounce a "sight word." But diacritical marks, in- 
 stead of indicating; the pronunciation of the word 
 
 7. Wherein o i 
 
 diacritical as a wliolc, as the teacher does with the "sight 
 word," indicate the elementary sounds which the 
 letters of the word represent. Herein lies the advantage of 
 the use of diacritical marks over a continuation of the j)ure 
 " word" method; they lead at once to the analysis of the 
 spoken word into its elementary sounds and of the written 
 Avord into the symbols which represent those sounds. 
 
 And with this analysis the value of the diacritical mark 
 for the child learning to read ends ; in fact, beyond this 
 point, it is relatively a hindrance to him. What the 
 child needs now is to form the habit of pronouncing
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 19 
 
 a letter or a combination of letters in a certain way^ 
 the habit of pronouncing; a letter or a certain „ _ 
 
 I o 8. The 
 
 combination of letters in the way that he has babitof 
 
 ... pronuncia- 
 
 prononnced that letter or that combniation tionmust 
 of letters before. Only thus can he acquire 
 the abilit}^ of reading independently. 
 
 Now, obviously, the most direct way for the child to 
 form that habit is to observe how the letter or combination 
 of letters is pronounced in one place and then to pronounce 
 them in the same way in another place, thus con- 9. The 
 stantly making use of whatever knowledge of to form the 
 pronunciation he has. To illustrate : when the pronu°cia- 
 child who has learned the sounds of the consonants ^°^ 
 also learns to pronounce the word can, he has only to apply 
 this knowledge in order to pronounce scores of words and 
 syllables composed of a consonant and an; when he has 
 added to his vocabulary the word^^am, scores of other words 
 and syllables composed of a consonant and ai/i are within 
 his power. 
 
 Diacritical marks, unfortunately, instead of telling the 
 child to pronounce this letter or this combination of letters 
 as he pronounced it on some other occpsion,thus throwing 
 him back upon his own resources and compel- 
 
 ,. . . . . : 10 What 
 
 ling him to help himself, simply tell him, with- diacritical 
 out any reference to wdiat he already knows, 
 how to pronounce the letter or combination of letters, and 
 they continue to tell him the same thing every time he 
 comes upon this letter or coml)ination of letters.
 
 ,20 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 From the child's standpoint the effect of diacritical 
 marks is this. His attention is directed to the mark, he 
 
 11 Dia- i^ ^^^ ^^ I'^^y ^^^ ^^^'^^ fo^^ guidance in pro- 
 criticai nunciation, and iust to the extent that he 
 
 marks '' 
 
 make the docs SO rely does he fail to use the power 
 
 pupil weak i • i i • • • • i • t) 
 
 instead of which his prcvious experience gives him. Ke- 
 strong move this artificial and arbitrary aid at 
 any time, confront the child with an ordinary page of 
 unmarked matter, and he is helpless just to the extent 
 that he has been compelled to rely on marks. 
 
 But, one may fairly interpose, children do learn to read 
 with the use of diacritical marks, and they become able in 
 time to read without the guidance of marks. Very true ; 
 children also learn to read by the word method ; and they 
 12. chii- used to learn to read by the alphabetic method, 
 the haSr ^^ ^^^^3^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^ some jDlaccs ; and some chil- 
 of pronun- dren learn to read without any method. But — 
 
 elation in i i • • i • r • i • 
 
 spite of and this is the point of vital importance — by 
 because of whatever method or lack of method children 
 *^®°^ acquire the power of reading, this power con- 
 
 sists in the habit of pronouncing given letters and com- 
 binations of letters in the same way under the same 
 conditions. Whenever we come upon the combinations 
 in, it, an, ine, ite, ane, we do not hesitate an instant about 
 the proper pronunciation, nor do we feel the need of the 
 guidance of diacritical marks; we simply pronounce these 
 combinations of letters as we have been accustomed to 
 pronounce them.
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 21 
 
 Now, how is this simple but necessary habit formed ? 
 Usually indirectly, incidentally, unconsciously, as a result 
 of long practice in reading. Such is certainly the process 
 of its formation when the child is taught to rely on the 
 help of diacritical marks ; and even more slowly and indi- 
 rectly is this habit formed when a pure word method is 
 used. 
 
 A clear comprehension of the facts and conditions, as 
 we now have them before us, warrants the theory that a 
 method which attacks the problem consciously and directly, 
 a method which teaches the child to rely at every step 
 upon himself and his experience and not upon any arti- 
 ficial aid, a method, in short, which trains the 13. xhe 
 child to do from the first intelliti-ently what he ^f^^°*!pj 
 
 ^ J of a method 
 
 otherwise learns to do blindly after a lonsi; time, that fosters 
 
 , . ^ . the direct 
 
 Will be a great gain. It will give the child a formation 
 much quicker and surer mastery over the writ- nuncL^ion 
 ten language; but more than that, and perhaps ^^^^* 
 of even more importance in the long run, it will give him 
 incidentally a systematic course of training in self-reliance, 
 in self-help, in the practical application on occasion of an 3^ 
 U3able knowledge that he may possess. 
 
 But however well founded a theory may seem to be, its 
 soundness is fully demonstrated only by practice and the 
 results of practice. The theory here formulated has stood 
 the test of years of practice in scores of schoolrooms; in 
 fact, it is but truth to say that the theory grew gradually 
 out of practice, quite as trulj' as was the practice guided 
 by the theory.
 
 22 LEARNING TO HEAD 
 
 The essential features of this method, satisfying sound 
 theory and proved by long experience, will be briefly de- 
 scribed in the following three sections ; the details of its 
 application are fully explained in subsequent chapters. 
 
 8. Consonants 
 
 As already observed in the discussion of Phonics, the 
 whole real difficulty in this subject arises from the fact 
 that each of the elementary sounds is not uniformly repre- 
 sented by one and the same symbol, that each symbol 
 1. The con- docs uot Uniformly represent one and the same 
 soinT °^ sound. Yet there are sound values attaching to 
 values letters and groups of letters with such constancy 
 that, as we have already pointed out, indispensable habits 
 of pronunciation are formed, even under methods of in- 
 struction which tend to hinder rather than to facilitate 
 the formation of such habits. 
 
 In promoting the formation of these habits, children 
 are early taught to associate with the following consonants 
 the sounds which they represent : h, c (hard), d, 
 consonant f^ g (hard), h,j, k, I, m, n,p, qii, r, s (sharp), t, 
 V, to, y, ch (as in child), sh, th (as in this), and 
 loh. In the case of those consonants which represent 
 more than one sound, that sound is chosen for this early 
 teaching which occurs most frequently in the child's 
 reading. 
 
 Nothing should be said to the children now about any 
 other sounds sometimes attachiuo; to some of these letters.
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 
 
 23 
 
 Their other sounds the children easily master, as experi- 
 ence amply proves, and in the same manner that they 
 master the several sounds of the vowels, which will be 
 explained in the proper place. The problem now is to 
 make the child associate so firmly in his mind the sounds 
 indicated above with their respective symbols 3. ihemas- 
 that whenever a symbol is seen he thinks its sonant '^°°' 
 sound instantly. To do this the letters with sounds 
 their sounds are analyzed from suitable sight words which 
 the child has already learned. For instance, r with its 
 sound is separated from run, c with its sound from come. 
 Consonant cards are used, one for each sound, . „ 
 
 ' '4. Tne use 
 
 to drill the pupils in associatino^ instantly the ofconso- 
 sound with its symbol. On one side of the card 
 is the word from which the sound and its symbol were 
 analyzed, with the symbol repeated, thus : — 
 
 r u n 
 r 
 
 On the other side of the card is the symbol alone, but 
 in two forms, the capital and the small letter, the former 
 under the latter, thus : — 
 
 R 
 r 
 
 After the analysis, this latter side of the card is used for 
 the drill. But if a pupil fails to give the right sound, or
 
 24 LEARNING TO REAL) 
 
 if he is unable to give any sound, at sight of the letter, 
 the card is reversed for him, and he quickly gets the right 
 sound from the word. 
 
 It is of the utmost importance that tlie pupil get just 
 the right sound of every consonant at the outset; tlie 
 drill only intensifies and makes more difficult to correct 
 later any inaccuracy of enunciation. To make sure of 
 each pupil's pronunciation the teacher should carefully 
 
 5. Correct test eacli ouc alone, not only listening to the 
 tioiTrr-"^ sound as he gives it, but observing the position 
 quired ^ud movements of bis lips, teeth, and tongue. 
 It is often necessary to show the child how to place and 
 to move these vocal organs in the production of a given 
 sound. This the teacher can do by herself producing the 
 sound very distinctly, at the same time pointing out to 
 the pupil the position of the vocal organs in making the 
 sound. The pupil then imitates by using his vocal organs 
 in the same way. 
 
 The drill should be rapid and snappy. As in all drill 
 work that has an automatic result for its object, which 
 result depends upon attention and repetition, much more 
 is accomplished with a class in a given time by having 
 much concert work. In this case to secure effective con- 
 
 6. How to cert work, the teacher should hold her pack of 
 tfve concert cards directly in front of her, nearly on a level 
 ^"11 with her face, the sides of the cards containing 
 only the consonants toward the children. She then takes 
 cards, rapidly, one at a time from the back of the pack
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 25 
 
 and places them in front, the children giving the sonnd 
 of each. In this process the cards are not turned over ; 
 the teacher does not need to see the side of the cara 
 exposed to the children, as she can see from tlie other 
 side, which is facing her while the card is on the back of 
 the pack, what symbol the card contains. 
 
 In this concert drill every child's undivided attention 
 should be focused on the cards, and all children should 
 give the sound together. To secure this result a simple 
 device should be followed which prevents one or ^ Aneffec- 
 two of the quicker pupils becoming leaders and tive device 
 the others dragQ-incr along- as followers. This device con- 
 sists in holdins; each card an instant at the rig;ht of the 
 pack, during which pause every pupil prepares to answer ; 
 when the card is placed quickly on the front of the pack 
 all s;ive the sound toQ;ether. The teacher must rig-idlv 
 insist that no one give the sound until she gives the sig- 
 nal for it, which is the movement of the card to 
 the left placing it in front of the pack. Of course 
 there should be enough individual drill to insure that 
 every child is getting the correct sounds and the desired 
 facility. 
 
 Drills on the consonants should be daily until they are 
 thoroughly learned ; thoroughness means ability ^^^^ 
 to produce the correct sound instantly when- thorough- 
 
 . __ ness means 
 
 ever and wherever the symbol is seen. De- 
 tails of the method and the order of taking up the 
 consonants will be given in subsequent chapters.
 
 26 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 9. Vowels and Type Words 
 
 As the sound which each vowel represents on any occa- 
 sion is determined by the relation in which the vowel stands 
 to other letters, vowels are treated only in the combinations 
 in which they actually occur. That is, the chil- 
 treatment dreu are taught to associate no one sound with 
 
 of vowels 
 
 each vowel, as they do with each consonant, but 
 they are taught to associate the appropriate sounds with 
 fixed and frequently occurring groups of letters containing 
 one or more vowels. 
 
 Work with the vowel combinations is begjun as soon as 
 the consonants have been mastered, as described in the 
 last section. The child is taught to analyze the sight 
 words which he has learned and which he is learning daily 
 and by their aid to master hundreds and thousands of new 
 '.vords. For example, he has learned the word loill ; when 
 he comes to the word Idll in his reading, he already has the 
 knowledge, if he can apply it, that will enable him to 
 master liill. The teacher helps him to make this appli- 
 cation of his knowledge by writing the familiar word for 
 him on the board, slightly separating the iv from the rest 
 of the word, and the new word directly under it, tlius : — • 
 
 w ill 
 hill 
 
 He already knows the consonants, and he at once perceives 
 that the ill of the second word is exactly like the ill of the 
 first. He pronounces the first ; he cannot fail to pronounce
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 27 
 
 tlie second. He has thus taken the first conscious step 
 in the formation of the habit of pronouncing 2. The first 
 the same combination of letters in the same forming 
 way. Further steps are taken when, with ill as cfatfo"'"''''' 
 a basis and with the use of his knowledge of the ^^^i* 
 consonant sounds, he masters the words, hill, chill, (hill, 
 Jill, frill, fjill, (/rill, kill, 7niU,2)ill, quill, rill, etc. 
 
 Every other sight w^ord that the child has learned or 
 may learn is made to do service in a similar way. If the 
 child knows the word mar/, he has the power to master the 
 whole -ay series: haij, hrcaj, day, dray, fay, gay, gray, hay, 
 jay, lay, iiay, i^lay, etc. All the help he needs, 3. The only 
 and all that he should receive, is help to enable ^^iP'^®®'^^^ 
 him to apply his knowledge, to compare the new with the 
 old. This help is best given by placing the words together, 
 the new under the old, 
 
 m ay 
 pay 
 1 ay, etc. 
 
 A w^ord which is made to serve as a basis of acquiring 
 other words of the same " series " or " family " is called, 
 for convenience, a " type word." As soon as words begin 
 to be studied in this w^ay drill is begun with the 4. "Type 
 Phonic Chart as directed in detail in following ^^^ their 
 chapters. Every new word which arises the child "^® 
 should master through a " type word " if he has one in his 
 vocabulary. If he has no type word, then the new word, 
 learned as a sight word, will thereafter serve as a type 
 w^ord.
 
 28 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 The constant use of all the knowledge that the child has 
 of consonant sounds — and that should be perfect — and 
 of vowel combinations, as he has learned them in sight 
 5 The w^ords, cauuot be too rigidly insisted upon. In 
 pupil every case in which the child knows the ele- 
 
 makes con- , . . » , , . 
 
 stantuse ments — the combinations ot letters and. their 
 ing knowir souiids — of w^liich a iiew word is made up, he 
 ^^^® must use his knowledge in mastering the new 
 
 word. If he is not able to do this unaided, as he wdll not 
 be at first, the aid should take the form of assistance, as 
 already illustrated, in applying his knowledge ; and no 
 other aid whatever should be given. 
 
 This method at first seems slow. It is relatively slow ; 
 
 it would be easier and quicker for the time being to tell the 
 
 child the new word outright, or to mark it for him diacrit- 
 
 ically. But let us not overlook the effect of the work 
 
 which w^e are making; the pupil do. We are 
 
 6. The , . oil 
 
 effect of helping him to form and to form very rapidly, as 
 
 this work . , ^ i i •- i ■ i 
 
 experience has proved, a necessary habit which 
 he otherwise acquires but slowly, that of observing carefully 
 and pronouncing the elements of new words as he pro- 
 nounced the same elements in old words. We are not telling 
 the pupil how to pronounce the word before him merely, we 
 are preparing him to pronounce dozens and scores of words 
 and syllables which contain the same elements as the word 
 in question. 
 
 This method rigidly followed, slow at first, soon develops 
 into the quickest and surest method. The habit which the
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 29 
 
 pupil rapidly forms of relying on himself, on his own knowl- 
 edge, soon begins to relieve the teacher. The self-confi- 
 dence which the feeling of power inspires in the 7. Thepu- 
 pupil is of inestimable value; he knows that he reiywihim° 
 canread, and read without help. He doesn't want ^^^^ 
 help; he wants to dig out every new word for himself. 
 The independent reading at their seats and in their 
 homes, which children delight to do after a few months 
 of this training in self-help, first with the rhyme and 
 later with the consonants and type words, can scarcely be 
 credited by one who has not seen it. 
 
 But there are a few more or less plausible objections or 
 queries that may be raised at this point. The habit of 
 always pronohncing a given vowel combination 
 in the same way is not a safe guide; for the pro- bintyof 
 nunciation of vowels and vowel combinations ™^^*^^® 
 varies. For instance, note the sound value of -010 in 
 cow and show and again in shoiver; of -oicl in hoid and 
 growl; of -oil in roll and doll; of -ive in hive and give; 
 of -ear in near and hear; of -eak in iceak and break ; of 
 -ead in head and head. The reply to this objection is that 
 tlie child has within himself the power to determine the 
 correct sound in such doubtful cases. 
 
 Suppose the child who has learned the sight words head 
 and head has to read this sentence : / ivill read j/ou a story 
 about bread. It is quite possible tliat he would mispro- 
 nounce both read and bread. But he can correct himself. 
 What he reads must ''make sense"; he must understand
 
 30 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 it. If he mispronounces either of these words, the sen- 
 9. How the tence will be without meaning for him. He 
 rectehir ^^^^^ again, applying another pronunciation of 
 mistakes Qacl whicli he knows; then he reads the sentence, 
 and he knows that he reads it for he understands it. 
 Children are taught from the very first rhyme that they 
 must understand what they read. 
 
 This kind of test which the child thus applies to his 
 reading is not mere guessing on his part; it is an act of 
 
 10 This is sound intelligence. The child is thinking; he is 
 thinking, not bringing his knowledge and power to bear on the 
 guessing problem before him. He is being trained in some- 
 thing more than the mere pronunciation of a word. 
 
 Had the child in this instance been guided by diacritical 
 marks, he might indeed have pronounced the words of the 
 sentence correctly the first time; he might also not have 
 read the sentence, not have understood it; and there would 
 have been nothing to indicate to the teacher that he was 
 reading only words. But in the method we are describing, 
 this measure of immediate uncertainty about the correct 
 
 11 The real Pronunciation of some words, so far from being 
 value of mis- a hindrance to the child's independent reading, 
 
 is made a valuable test and stimulus of intelligent 
 reading. As every keenly observant teacher knows, there is 
 a constant tendenc}^ on the part of children to read words to 
 the neglect of ideas. Any method which focuses attention 
 on the words fosters this tendency; any method which 
 compels the pupil to direct his attention to ideas opposes it.
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 31 
 
 But, to pursue still farther possible objections to this 
 method of determining the correct pronunciation of words, 
 suppose the child about to read the sentence proposed above 
 knows the sound of -ead only as it occurs in head; , „ . 
 
 •^ 12. A second 
 
 he will probably pronounce bread correctly, Ijut objection and 
 will mispronounce read. Can he then correct 
 himself? Often; the consonants and the context are fre- 
 quently enough to enable the child who is accustomed to try 
 to understand what he reads, especially if he has had the 
 experience of a few months, to get out a word like this cor- 
 rectly. If he cannot do this, he is given the pronunciation of 
 read, and it becomes a type word. Thenceforth, aided by 
 his understanding, the child is prepared to determine the 
 correct pronunciation of lead, leader, dead, dread, mead, 
 meadoiv, head, plead, tread, .stead ij, etc. 
 
 But what happens if the child does not know the spoken 
 form of a word which he is trying to read ? What means 
 has he then of determining whether a pronunciation which 
 he may give is correct or not ? No means, and he ought to 
 have none. If he doesn't know what he is read- ,, . ,^,. ^ 
 
 13. A tnird 
 
 ing about, if he has not the elementary ideas for objection 
 which the words before him stand, that fact ought 
 to be revealed, and the more strikingly it is revealed the 
 better. What the child needs under these circumstances, 
 first of all, is not a word, but an idea. Any assistance or 
 any method that enables him to get the word without the 
 idea which the word represents is pernicious. 
 
 By the method which we are describing the child is
 
 32 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 learning to do from the first wheat he must eventually do 
 if he becomes an intelligent reader; he is learning to guide 
 himself by the context, by the meaning. Tlie child is learn- 
 in o; to do iust what you do when you meet words 
 
 14. How do '^^ '' T^ -1 1 7 
 
 you read that are uew to you. Possibly suljyiocyanogen 
 °^^ ^ ' and hydroHulpliocyanic are such words in the sen- 
 tence; Sidjjhocycmogen with Jiydrogen forms liydrosulpho- 
 cyanie acid. 
 
 Can you read this sentence ? Are you sure about the 
 pronunciation of sidpJiocyanogen and hydrosidphocyanic ? 
 To one long familiar with the printed language these words 
 present no great difficulties of pronunciation, yet you may 
 well be in doubt on some points, like the sound of r/, also 
 of c, unless you know the rule about the sound of c before y. 
 
 Now, if you are a student of chemistry and these words 
 are in your spoken vocabulary, you determine their correct 
 pronunciation readily and with confidence ; you read the 
 sentence. On the other hand, if these terms are not in 
 your spoken vocabulary, if you have no idea about the 
 things for which the words stand, you do not read the 
 sentence and you remain in doubt about the pronunciation. 
 
 To resolve your difficulty you resort to the dictionary. 
 If you want only to pronounce words in reading, you 
 quickly get from the dictionary the help you 
 the diction- need. But it is interesting to note that the 
 ary e ps (dictionary, though using constantly diacritical 
 marks, does not rely on them alone to indicate to you 
 correct pronunciation ; at the bottom of every page are
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 33 
 
 little familiar words in which the diacritically marked 
 letters are pronounced in the same way as in the words 
 above whose pronunciation you wish to know. 
 
 If you are not satisfied with words alone, but insist on 
 reading ideas, you study the definitions of the words. 
 This may suffice ; but in order to enable yourself really to 
 read the sentence proposed, you will probably need to 
 work in a chemical laboratory. 
 
 A further objection to this treatment of phonics, as we 
 are describing it, may be conceived. It may appear that, 
 notwithstanding the fact that the child masters hundreds 
 and thousands of common regularly spelled words, throiigli 
 their similarity to a few score type Avords, still not suffi- 
 cient use is made of the phonetic idea. As the key to eacli 
 series a type word has to be learned as a siglit ,„ „ , 
 
 •^ ^ '^16. How far 
 
 word ; there are also some hundreds of other phonics are 
 words which are so irregular that thev have to 
 be learned each one by itself as a sight word. Why should 
 not most or all of these sight w^ords be mastered in some 
 way by phonics ? The answer is that these words are 
 mastered phonetically to a large and, as the child ad- 
 vances, to an increasing extent. As the child gets a little 
 insight into the phonetic idea he ceases to learn words 
 purely as sight words in the sense that the words which he 
 learned through his first rhymes were sight words ; he al- 
 ways applies to the mastery of a new word such knowledge 
 as he has, be that word regidar or irregular, a member of 
 a series to which he has a key word, or the first word of
 
 34 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 that particular form which he has ever seen. Now the 
 child is always able to apply his knowledge of the conso- 
 nants and their sounds ; with increasing experience with 
 vowel sounds and practice in determining pronunciation by 
 the context, he grows rapidly in ability to master entirely 
 new words, words not similar in form to any which he has 
 previously learned. 
 
 But a briefer and more pointed answer to the sugges- 
 17. Teach- tiou of incompleteucss in this scheme of phonics 
 nota"ys1;em ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ teaching a systcm of phonics ; 
 of phonics ^6 are teaching; children to read. 
 
 10. New "Words 
 
 The general process by which the pupil acquires a read- 
 ing vocabulary, first by learning sight words, largely 
 through the medium of rhymes, and later by applying 
 principles of phonics, has already been described. Let us 
 now, from a little different standpoint, look at 
 
 1 The treat- 
 
 mentofnew the principles which are to guide the teacher in 
 ^° ^ the treatment of new words which arise after 
 
 the j)upil has a vocabulary of a hundred or more sight 
 words, after he has mastered the consonants and their 
 sounds, and after he has begun work on the Phonic Chart. 
 The most fundamental principles of all are never to do 
 for the child what he can do for himself; and, correla- 
 tively, always to help the child to help himself. The ap- 
 plication of these principles is this : A child fails to 
 recognize a word. Is it a word which he has already had
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 35 
 
 as a sight word ? If su, let hiin go back to the rhyme 
 or story in which he learned it. Is it a '"series" „ „ 
 
 -^ 2. The most 
 
 word which he has already had, like save f Let funda- 
 
 1 • ill! 1 1 1 c mental 
 
 him get the clew tliroiigh some other word or principles 
 the series, like (jave, which he knows. Is it a ° ^ 
 word which he has never had, but which is made up 
 of elements which he knows, say meat? Help him to 
 recognize and put together the known elements, per- 
 haps through comparison with the familiar word eat. 
 Is it an easy and regular w^ord, but the first one of its 
 series which the pupil has seen, such as (jrow ? Let 
 the pupil pronounce the initial consonants (jr, which he 
 knows, and give him wdiat help he needs with the 
 rest ; merely covering the ic, better than drawing a 
 line through it, will usually suffice, especially when the 
 child is guiding himself by the sense. Is it both a 
 new and irregular, difficult word, like iliroiujli ? In such 
 a case it is often better for the teacher to sound at once 
 the part of the word wdiich the child does not know, -oiirjh, 
 drawing a line under it ; the child must then prefix the 
 sound of the letters which he does know, tlir-, thus giving 
 the whole word. The w^ord as a whole should then be 
 pronounced very distinctly and slowly, first by the teacher, 
 if the pupil has not already got just the right sound. 
 
 A new w'ord which presents any considerable difficulty 
 should be pronounced by the child several times before 
 leaving it. This should be done thoughtfully, attentively, 
 not mechanically. To secure this thoughtful pronuncia-
 
 3G LEARNING TO READ 
 
 tion, the word should be used in several short sentences, 
 
 3. Repeated as, '' I Can See througli the window; " " I have 
 !.^.°.nS?^^ read throiicrh the lesson;" "I have walked 
 
 pronuncia- o ' 
 
 ^-^o^ through the hall." Requiring pupils always to 
 
 repeat new words several times in succession, as through, 
 through, through, through, through, is an exercise, at best, 
 of doubtful value ; and it usually degenerates into a quite 
 thoughtless repetition. 
 
 To assist her pupils intelligently in this way, it is obvi- 
 ous that the teacher must always have clearly in mind 
 just what she can fairly expect her pupils to know ; 
 , „ ^ she must also be quick and skillful in bringing; 
 
 4. How the ^ . & o 
 
 teacher as- before them something that they already know 
 through which they may master the unknown. 
 It is always possible for the teacher to determine at any 
 point, by reference to the vocabularies at the back of the 
 books, just what words her pupils have used in reading in 
 the Primer, the First and the Second Reader. Also the 
 type words available as an aid to the pupils in pronounc- 
 ing the new words in any lesson of the First or Second 
 Reader are given in parentheses over the words preceding 
 each lesson. 
 
 This constant need of using knowledge over and over in 
 acquiring more, emphasizes the necessity of thoroughness, 
 that what the child has once learned may be available and 
 usable whenever he requires it. 
 
 There is one caution which is not out of place here. 
 The effort to make the pupil help himself in making out
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 87 
 
 new words should be intelligent. If he has not the defi- 
 nite knowledge which he can apply, which you can help 
 him to apply to the mastery of the new word, do not keep 
 liiin merely guessing at the ^vord vaguely and at random. 
 Above all things do not pass such a word from 5 ^ 
 one pupil to another and another requiring each caution 
 one to " try it." Such a practice, all too common, is most 
 pernicious. No j^upil has gained anything from his effort, 
 for he has not been working intelligently; much time has 
 been consumed; and worse than the loss of time, every 
 pupil has listened to many mispronunciations. The 
 course for the teacher to pursue in such a case as this is 
 to pronounce the word, after some pupil has contributed 
 "whatever little part he knows — to pronounce it and to 
 have it repeated by the pupils several times. 
 
 11. Drill 
 
 In our desire to make intelligent and independent 
 readers of our pupils as quickly as possible, we must not 
 overlook the fact that there is a considerable 1 Mechan- 
 amount of mechanism involved in reading, and l^^ ^^^^ 
 
 o' be uncon- 
 
 that, in order to have good reading, this mech- scious 
 anism must be nearly or quite unconscious. 
 
 Now, an acquired mechanism of the kind required in 
 reading is made unconscious, not by trying to ignore its 
 existence, but by mastering it so thoroughly 2. How 
 that it demands no direct attention. Such SmadT^im- 
 perfect mastery is most quickly and economi- conscious 
 cally achieved by devoting at times the undivided at-
 
 38 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 tent ion and effort to the process to be acquired. This 
 is drill. 
 
 The principal things that need to be drilled as a basis 
 for fluent and intelligent reading are sight words, so that 
 3. Theprin- the i^upil will rccoguize them instantly on sight; 
 to^be *^^^^^ the consonants, so that the pupil can sound them 
 drilled accurately and unhesitatingly on all occasions ; 
 the series or families of words, so that the pupil will 
 become accustomed to pronounce the same vowel com- 
 binations in the same way ; the analysis and attentive pro- 
 nunciation of words with distinct articulation ; the 
 pronunciation of two or more consonants in combination ; 
 and the mastery of new words by the application of knowl- 
 edge and principles already learned. Drill in these things, 
 the details of which are explained in the proper places, 
 should be given in exercises distinct from the reading 
 lesson proper. 
 
 12. Reading 
 
 That the oral reading exercise may be a success, the 
 pupils should be prepared for it, as indicated in the last, 
 section. This does not mean that reading must wait until 
 all the mechanism of reading has 'been made automatic by 
 drill; real reading should begin the first day of school and 
 continue daily without interruption. It means 
 
 1. Prepara- 7 . . pit i • n 
 
 tion for that the peculiar difficulties of each lesson, chiefly 
 rea ing ^^^^^ words and unknown ideas, should be antici- 
 pated and overcome in an exercise preceding the reading
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 39 
 
 proper. Sometimes this preparatory exercise may be a 
 drill exercise, pure and simple; but more often, especially 
 as the readiug becomes more advanced after leaving the 
 Primer, it should take the form of a preliminary study of 
 the lesson to be read. 
 
 With the mechanical difficulties largely overcome in 
 advance, the pupil's mind is free to read ideas, and not 
 mere words. What does it mean to read ideas ? 2. what 
 It means actively to think the thoughts and mg means 
 really to feel the emotions represented by the words, 
 the sentences, the paragraphs, and the whole stor}' read. 
 
 This practical definition of reading will bear analysis. 
 It implies that there are thoughts and emotions repre- 
 sented not merely by words, but also by sentences, and 
 still further by paragraphs, and finally by the whole story. 
 That this implication is absolutely true to fact, a little 
 study and reflection must convince any one. 
 
 The frequent failure on the part of the teacher to grasp 
 fully and to carry out completely this conception of read- 
 ing, results in the acceptance of many an exercise as real 
 reading — -and that, too, in grades far beyond the primary 
 — which are but slightly better than the mere calling 
 of words. 
 
 Beyond the calling of words, which is not reading at 
 all, it will serve our purpose here to distin- 
 guish four degrees, or stages in reading, the first greesof 
 three of which are abundantly exemplified in 
 practice, but only the fourth is true, adequate reading.
 
 40 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 In the first and lowest of these stages the reader under- 
 stands, in a measure at least, every word, forms in liis 
 4. Raading mind the idea which corresponds to the reality 
 neotad ^^^^' ^^'^^i^^ ^'^ch word stauds, and yet he fails to 
 
 ideas read the Sentence wli icli tho words compose. He 
 
 does not conceive the larger thought which should grow 
 out of the individual ideas which the separate words 
 represent. 
 
 When a child pronounces each word by itself as though 
 it had no connection with any other word, often with a 
 long pause between successive words, though sometimes, 
 when more fluent, calling the words rapidly enough, but 
 with a certain jerky, disconnected inflection, he is usually, 
 at best, reading only unconnected ideas. As he fails in his 
 5 Wiy voice to synthesize the several words into one 
 iie.jara sentence, so he fails in his mind to synthesize 
 U3ru3d the several ideas into one complete thought. 
 
 And it is usually true that his failure to think the ideas 
 together is due to his failure to read the words together 
 into a connected whole. 
 
 This kind of reading is not natural, is not characteris- 
 tic either of the child mind or of child speech; it is an 
 artificial product, the result of poor teaching. 
 
 6. The ori- , ^ ' ^ ^ 
 
 gin of the The child has been taught at first and later 
 allowed to focus his attention on individual 
 words and individual ideas. He has learned words uncon- 
 nectedly; he reads sentences as though they were nothing 
 more than horizontal rows of words.
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 41 
 
 This habit is strengthened, and sometimes formed, by 
 requiring or allowing children to read aloud matter rather 
 difficult for them without first having read it to them- 
 selves. It requires so much attention and effort to master 
 each word as they come to it, that none is left for the 
 mastery of tlie thought as a whole. 
 
 To prevent the formation of this habit is easy ; to over- 
 come it, when once it is well established, is difficult. The 
 precautions or measures to l^e adopted for either purpose 
 are the same. First of all, the teacher must riot forget 
 for one moment that back of the sentence is 7. how to 
 a thought, just as back of each word is an idea, ^^eak tL 
 While she makes sure that the child under- ^^^^^ 
 stands the ideas, she must also make sure that he forms 
 and grasps the thought. 
 
 Used as directed, the rhymes give the pupil the right 
 start. Through them he gets the thought made up of 
 ideas; by means of them, he expresses that „ „. 
 
 ' "^ , ? r g Direct 
 
 thought through sentences composed of words, attention to 
 To insure the continuance of these processes of "^ 
 
 thought-getting and thought-expressing, the pupil should be 
 aided by questions which direct his attention to the thought, 
 and by readings which bring out the thought. Get the 
 child to think the thought and he will express it in his 
 reading; get him to read the words as they should be 
 read, and he will grasp the thought. The phrase drills 
 suggested and described elsewhere help to overcome any 
 tendency to word by word reading which the beginners 
 may be developing.
 
 42 LEARNING TO llEAl) 
 
 Tn the second reading stage the pupil grasps the thought 
 of sentences, one at a time, but stops short of thinking sen- 
 tence thouy-hts tog-ether into a larijfer whole. This kind of 
 reading is exceedingly prevalent, especially in the first 
 grade. And, unlike reading of the first stage, it will often 
 
 Readin ^^^^^ ^^ ^-*® Very good reading. The individual 
 unconnected sentences may be given with excellent expression, 
 °^^ ^ and the child may give evidence in other ways 
 that he grasps the thought of each sentence. A careful 
 observer, however, readily detects the true character of this 
 reading when the child tries to read sentences whose mean- 
 ing and expression are especially dependent on the 
 thoughts of preceding sentences. Questions, also, that call 
 for an understanding not of a single sentence, Vjut of a 
 paragraph or group of sentences, are sure to reveal the 
 limitations of the child's mental processes. 
 
 This kind of reading, like that of the first stage, is not 
 a natural development of child- thought and child-expres- 
 the ^'^^ ' ^^ '^^ ^^^^ product of instruction. Too often 
 habit is the reading matter of the first grade encourages 
 °^^^ this kind of reading; indeed it scarcely makes 
 
 possible any better reading. It presents no thoughts higher 
 than unconnected sentence-thoughts. There is no continu- 
 ity, no progress of thought from sentence to sentence. The 
 sentences are unconnected, and might be read in any order 
 as well as in the order given. 
 
 The material presented in the Aldine Readers, even in 
 the Primer and the First Reader, will be found not of this
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 43 
 
 kind. Back of even the most simple group of sentences is 
 a larger thought or picture in the development of which 
 each sentence plays its part. Whether the pupils get these 
 larger thoughts will depend entirely upon the way the 
 teacher conducts the work. 
 
 First of all, the teacher must get and keep those larger 
 thoughts in her own mind, as well as the subordinate 
 thoughts out of which the larger ones grow. ^^ how to 
 Then she must keep constantly before her as the avoid the 
 object of the child's reading the thinking of 
 those larger thoughts, considering the thoughts of the 
 single sentences but means to the larger end. This con- 
 ception and aim on the part of the teacher will serve as 
 the best test of her methods, determining whether they 
 lead, naturally and inevitably to the end sought, or not. 
 
 In tlie light of this whole discussion it is easy to see that 
 the practice of allowing each pupil to read but one sentence 
 at a time, which is, unfortunately, almost universal among 
 first-grade teachers, and only slightly less preva- 12. Pupiis 
 lent among second-grade teachers, fosters the for- ^nt^emfes 
 mation of just the habit which we would avoid. coi"iectediy 
 If pupils are to think beyond single sentence-thoughts, if 
 they are to think from thought to thought until they have 
 developed a larger thought, they must read from sentence 
 to sentence. They must be questioned and stimulated to 
 talk about the larger thoughts, and not exclusively about 
 the sino;le-sentence thouschts. 
 
 But are children of the first grade capable of this ? The
 
 44 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 reason most frequently given by teachers for having their 
 pupils read but one sentence at a time is that such little 
 children are not able to read more. Before accepting this 
 reason as a fact let us ask whether children on entering 
 13 p 1 school are capable of understanding the story 
 are capable which the teachcr tells introducing the first 
 and reading rhyme, or whether they can grasp only uncon- 
 connectediy j^g^^ed seutcnces of it; whether they are capable 
 of reading the story which the pictures tell, or whether they 
 can see only the different objects of the picture. 
 
 The only real difference in these cases is what may be 
 called a mechanical one. It rcrpiires time and experience 
 for the children to become so familiar with the printed page 
 that they can gather the thought as easily and as rapidly 
 14. A me- through that medium as tlicy do through pictures 
 difficult to ^^^ ^^^ spoken word. This mechanical difficulty 
 be overcome must not be ignored. Where and while it exists it 
 justifies and necessitates the reading of a single sentence by 
 a pupil. But when, by study and by repeated reading, 
 this mechanical difficulty is overcome for a j)aragraph or a 
 connected group of sentences, that paragraph or group of 
 sentences should be read entire by a single pupil. Only 
 such reading will insure the reading of connected thoughts, 
 the grasping of the larger thoughts, which we desire. 
 
 Almost from the beginning, reviews sliould be read in 
 connected sentences, a single pupil reading several, giving 
 expression to show that he understands each sentence as 
 but a part of the whole. During the first months it will
 
 THE METIiOD EXPLAINED 45 
 
 not be the first nor the second review that can be read suc- 
 cessfully in this way; but the time will come, 15. How- 
 must come in the course of re-reading these early ^^^^®,T1 
 
 o J should be 
 
 pages, when a pupil will be al^le to read several read 
 sentences connectedly in succession. Long before the mid- 
 dle of the first year, pupils should be regularly reading their 
 first reviews in this connected way, and they should be 
 beginning this practice ^\\\\\ the advance reading. Before 
 the end of the first year it should become customary for 
 each pupil, even in the advance reading, to read several 
 sentences, as many as required, in succession. To make 
 this practice successful the reading matter must not be too 
 difficult and the preparation for the reading must be 
 adequate. 
 
 Tlie third stage in reading is analogous to the second, 
 and is developed in an analogous way. It consists in 
 grasping more or less adequately the connected ig. Read- 
 thought represented hy single paragraphs, or even ^^ected^"^ 
 by small groups of paragraphs, but it fails to paragraphs 
 grasp the complete thought of an entire story, poem, or 
 argument. This kind of reading will ])e found exemplified 
 in all grades from the second to the high school. It is a 
 product of conventional methods of instruction which direct 
 the pupil's attention almost exclusively to parts, but sel- 
 dom to the largest wholes. Pupils are required habitually 
 to read a single paragraph, or a limited amount ; ^^ orio-in 
 they are questioned on a single paragraph ; they "^ ^^ ^^^^* 
 "reproduce" a single paragraph. Whenever the ques-
 
 46 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 tioning or the reproduction is more extended, it involves 
 merely a series of paragraphs, taken in succession ; the 
 effect is tlie same as though only one paragraph were con- 
 sidered. 
 
 There are many other even more pernicious practices in 
 school reading which obscure its real purpose. They 
 
 18. Even would uot be mentioned here were they not so 
 ™°'^® . i:)revalent even in " our best schools." A lesson 
 
 pernicious i 
 
 practices '' bcgius whcrc it was left off," which means 
 not that the thought is taken up from the point to which 
 it had been developed, but simply that the reading is begun 
 on the page, at the paragraph and line at which it stopped 
 at the last lesson. Pui:)ils read brief passages one after 
 another until the " time is up," when " books closed " and 
 " books away " end the exercise. If the end of the selec- 
 tion is reached before the " time is up," the " next " reader 
 begins the next selection without a pause, or he may be 
 told to '" turn back to the beginning " ; it really makes 
 little difference which he does under these conditions. 
 Another simple and attractive method of determining the 
 length of the exercise is to " read around the class once." 
 
 A pupil accustomed to this kind of instruction is often 
 able to reproduce a long story step by step as it was read, 
 giving ecpial emphasis to all details, but is quite helpless 
 
 19. The before the questions. What is it really all about ? 
 
 Ss the ^^^^^^^ ^^ *^^® g'^*^' ^^'^^^^ ^'^ *^^^ P^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^ • ^^^^' 
 point indeed, should he know what it is all about ? 
 
 Vf hy should he see any point to it ? The points which
 
 TPIE METHOD EXPLAINED 47 
 
 have been kept most consistently and conspicnonsly before 
 him are to '^ know the place " when he is called ; to read 
 his little asssignment withont " miscalling any words " ; 
 perhaps to "tell what he has just read." If his thought 
 ever rises to the stage of grasping the whole of a story in 
 its significance, it is no credit to his instruction. The best 
 influence of that is to keep him entirely occupied Avith 
 details, which are treated as though they were complete in 
 themselves. 
 
 From the first reading lesson, day after day and year after 
 year, attention has been devoted almost exclusively to 
 details ; fi.rst it was the word, then it was the 20. Details 
 sentence, finally it was the paragraph. These eS^bfsiad 
 details have been treated as ends instead of of means 
 means, as wholes instead of parts. The resultant effect 
 on the pupil is just what we find, just what we might have 
 predicted in the beginning. 
 
 All these details are important, all these details must be 
 studied; but they are important and they are to 
 be studied not in themselves alone, but as parts place of 
 of larger wholes to which they belong. These 
 larger wholes themselves must be grasped and mastered, 
 not as a result of long years of training in reading, but 
 from the very beginning — the first day and every day. 
 
 The practical meaning of this, in a word, is that from 
 the very outset we must teach our pupils 22. what 
 to grasp the Avhole, as well as the parts, of J^^stbe 
 everything they read. Indeed, they have not the outset 
 really read a selection until they have grasped it as a whole.
 
 48 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 This is not impossible, nor even especially difficult, if only 
 the object is kept consistently before us, and suitable means 
 are used to attain it. 
 
 In the low primary grades, ^vhere its attainment seems 
 most difficult, we have many indirect aids. The teacher's 
 
 23. Aids in story, the rhyme, the picture, and the drama- 
 mary ^'^ tizatiou, are all excellent means of stimulating 
 grad:s j^j^j disciplining connected and continuous 
 thought. 
 
 Throughout the grades " reproduction " exercises may 
 be made most elfectiv^e means of securing the end 
 
 24. Th3 sought. As too often used, however, these 
 profitable exei'cises only serve the more surely to brino; 
 
 use of " re- "^ J o 
 
 production" about the results we deplore ; they are made to 
 exercises cousist in doiug ovcr again just Mdiat the pupil 
 did in reading, and doing it in tlie same order and in the 
 same way. The pupil merely repeats in order the detailed 
 thoughts, often using almost or quite the words in which 
 they were originally expressed. 
 
 Pupils must be trained to reproduce, stretching the con- 
 ventional meaning of this term, whatever may be called 
 for, a single thought, a larger thought, or the whole ; and 
 tliey must be trained to reproduce these thoughts and the 
 wli(jle briefly, concisely, and in their own language. A 
 brief reproduction, very much l)riefer than the original, if 
 it is really a reproduction, of the essential thought of the 
 original, is of much more value than an extended repro- 
 duction. It requires that the pupil really make the thought
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 49 
 
 his own, condense it, and put it into his own language. 
 To reproduce in two minutes and in 250 words what lias 
 been read in a half hour and in 40U0 words is an exercise 
 whose disciplinary value is never exhausted. 
 
 The vast difference between real reading, and all exer- 
 cises that merely resemble reading more or less remotely, 
 is the difference between thinkinsj; and not think- 
 
 . , ^ 25. Read- 
 
 ing, between mental activity and mental pas- ingis 
 
 sivity. It is absurd to say that your pupils are ^° ^"^ 
 good readers but poor thinkers ; such pupils never existed. 
 You cannot make a child a good reader without at the 
 same time making him a good thinker. Direct yoiu' efforts 
 more to the child's thinking and less exclusively to the 
 outward activities involved in reading and the desired re- 
 sults will be more surely and speedily attained. 
 
 13. Expression 
 
 In the last section we discussed reading from the stand- 
 point of the mental processes involved ; we tried to look 
 inside the little reader's mind and see Avhat goes on, and 
 what ought to go on, there. We now turn our attention 
 to those outward activities involved in oral reading, which 
 are summed up under the term " expression." 
 
 Good expression in reading is a result of two tilings, 
 thinking and imitation. The teacher who prac- i. Expres- 
 tically assumes that expression depends on only suit of*" 
 one of these, be that one wliicli it may, will tiiipking 
 
 ^ ^ "^ ^ ^ and imita- 
 
 achieve no great success in teaching oral reading, tion 
 It would probably be hard to find a teacher who would
 
 50 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 thoughtfully maintain that imitation alone will make reall}? 
 good readers, yet in practice many seem to depend upon 
 imitation almost exclusively, and still more resort to this 
 process frequently when only better thinking on tlie part 
 of the child can produce the result desired. On the other 
 hand, teachers are numerous who believe that if only the 
 child can be made to think and to feel what he reads, ap- 
 propriate expression will follow of itself. There is evi- 
 dently need of a discriminating appreciation of the role 
 which both tliinking and imitation play in good reading. 
 
 Without thinking there can be no really good expres- 
 sion. In order to express appropriately what he reads, 
 the child must actively think the thoughts and really 
 2 The role ^^^^ ^^^ cmotions whicli he is trying to express 
 of thinking tlirougli spokcn words. This mental state on 
 the part of the reader is the foundation, the source, the 
 substance, of his expression ; it gives to his expression that 
 ring of sincerity which cannot be produced by mere imita-' 
 tion. 
 
 Expression, as a fact, is natural, spontaneous ; its form, 
 however, is largely shaped by imitation, conscious or un- 
 conscious. The development of language is natural to 
 the little child. On entering school he is master of a 
 spoken vocabulary which he uses, more or less 
 
 3. The role .... 
 
 of imita- effectively, in expressing his thoughts and feel- 
 ings. The words of his vocabulary, the manner 
 of putting them together, he has acquired by imitating 
 those about him. So, too, largely, but not entirely, has
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAIXED 51 
 
 he acquired his habits of emphasis and inflection tlirougli 
 imitation. His personal peculiarities of voice and manner 
 give individuality to his expression. But as tlie child's 
 vocabulary on entering school is limited, so are his habits 
 of expression. Both vocabulary and expression will con- 
 tinue to develop through imitation. The teacher must not 
 ignore this fact. 
 
 The child will imitate. The teacher is largely respon- 
 sible for what he imitates, and the results. Without any 
 model which is made to appeal to him consciousl}', the 
 child imitates unconsciously the miscellaneous reading of 
 his classmates. The result is always retrogression, never 
 improvement in expression ; the whole class 4 Models 
 grades downward instead of upward. The ll^^^^^^' 
 teacher must keep consciously and constantly be- quired 
 fore her children strong models of good expression, of 
 good reading. Only by a strong positive guidance which 
 every pupil feels and to which he consciously responds can 
 the teacher counteract and overcome the many negative 
 but injurious influences to which the pupil is necessarily 
 subject; only by such guidance can the teacher grade her 
 class steadily upward. 
 
 When the pupil understands what he is reading, but 
 fails to express it adequately, let the teacher show him 
 how ; let her bring out strongly, sometimes with exaggera- 
 tion, the points which have been weak in the pupil's 
 reading. The teacher reads thus, not that the pupil may 
 merely imitate lier voice mechanically, but for the purpose
 
 52 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 of stimulating the pupil's thought and feeling, of mak- 
 mu: him fully realize what he only understood 
 
 5. The ^ ^ , . '^ 
 
 effect of before, and letting him hear how another ex- 
 presses the ideas and emotions represented on the 
 printed page. The effect of frequent stimulating models 
 from the teacher is not mechanical uniformity of expres- 
 sion ; it cannot be that so long as each pupil really thinks 
 and feels what he tries to express. The effect is rather 
 an inspiration and a conscious effort on the part of every 
 child to express what he reads as well as he can. 
 
 The teacher may often improve the expression of her 
 pupils quite as much by reading something else, as by 
 6 The reading just what the jDupils read. For instance, 
 teacher ij^ dialogue, Ict the teacher take the part of one 
 
 need not c i i 
 
 read for the of the Speakers, and the ertect on the expression 
 ^"^^ of the pupil who takes the part of the other 
 
 may be marked. In poetry — the despair of so many 
 teachers, the aversion of so many pupils — let the teacher 
 read one line, the pupil the next, and so on alternately, 
 and the effect both on the pupil's expression and attitude 
 is marvelous. The teacher may alternate in this way, 
 line by line, with the class reading in concert. If the 
 stanzas are short, not over four lines, the alternation may 
 be by stanzas. 
 
 It is a great advantage to be able to suggest to a pupil 
 the spirit in which a passage or selection should be ren- 
 dLU-ed by referring him to a type with which he is familiar. 
 Any selection or passage which the pupil has learned to
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 58 
 
 read well, and which mvolves the expression of feeling 
 similar to that required hy the passage or selec- 7 Refer- 
 tion hefore him, will serve as a type. The ^nceto 
 
 ^ ^ '^ i types of 
 
 mere question, How did you read such and expression 
 such a story ? or. How did siich and such an one speak ? 
 is often enough to cause the pupil to improve his render- 
 mg a hundred per cent. It is another application of the 
 principle of helping the pupil to use the knowledge or 
 the power which he has. 
 
 If the teacher is discriminating and judicious, she may 
 at times hold up the reading of certain pupils, or certain 
 features of their reading, as Avorthy of other pupils' emula- 
 tion, each in his own way. This practice is stimulating 
 to all concerned, but it should not be relied on exclu- 
 sively to furnish suificient models of good reading. 
 
 A generous and intelligent rivalry in reading a given 
 passage with the best possible expression is often profit- 
 able. By this we do not mean to suii-o-est the 
 
 • /- . . °°.. . 8. InteUi- 
 
 too common practice 01 requiring one pupil after gentrivairy 
 another to "try" a passage which has not been ^""^ ^^ 
 satisfactorily rendered. The usual difficulty is that no one 
 " tries" intelligently ; each one varies the expression with 
 the vague hope that the teacher may consider the varia- 
 tion an improvement. Finally some one is told to " read 
 on," and no one is wiser for the several ''trials," but all 
 are, if possible, more uncertain than in the beginning 
 about the suitable rendering of the passage. What is 
 needed is a model, a standard, toward which each one can 
 strive intelligently.
 
 54 LEARNING TO HEAD 
 
 While thought aud feeling are indispensable to good 
 expression, it is equally true that good expression is one 
 of the best means of arousing the appropriate thought 
 
 9. Thought ii-i^d feeling. The two, thought aud expression, 
 si^ninf/pa- ^^^allj caunot be separated in fact or in treat- 
 rabie meut. Dramatizing, which has already been dis- 
 cussed, is of equal aid to both. The teacher's story, live 
 discussions with the pupils about the subject of tlieir read- 
 ing, intelligent reproduction, all are aids both to thought 
 and expression. 
 
 But there is one condition which perhaps more than 
 anything else conduces to good oral reading — a condi- 
 tion, which, strangely enough, is seldom supplied in the 
 schoolroom. That condition is an audience, a hearer or 
 hearers in whom the reader must try to arouse the 
 thoughts and feelings represented by what he reads. It 
 
 10. The is so easy to supply that condition — there are 
 lacks a real ^^Iways those present who might be an audience 
 audience — ygt the usual schoolrooui routine effectually 
 prevents its realization. The reader knows, if he tiiinks 
 of the matter at all, that at best his classmates are listen- 
 ing and following his reading in their books that they 
 may " keep the place " and see whether he miscalls any 
 words. They have already read what he is reading, or 
 if not, they are now getting their ideas from their books 
 rather than from his reading. Thus, the one chief pur- 
 pose which oral reading serves outside the schoolroom is 
 almost wholly ruled out of the process of instruction and
 
 THE METHOD EXPLAINED 55 
 
 practice in that art. Because tliis necessary condition is 
 absent, the one final test of good oral reading is seldom, 
 if ever, applied in the schoolroom. That is the practical 
 test which determines whether the reading does serve its 
 true purpose ; whether it does adequately convey to 
 hearers the thougrhts and emotions which the reader is 
 trying to express. 
 
 Nothing could be easier than to change the schoolroom 
 routine so as to give to the oral reading exercise its normal 
 function, and, in so doing, apply to each reader a test of 
 his performance. It is only necessary to let the n. How an 
 reader read to his classmates, who listen with no m^at^bTsup- 
 books before them, something which they have Pi^®<i 
 not already read. The reader may, and usually should, 
 thoroughly prepare what he is to read. This preparation 
 he can make as part of his seat work. 
 
 Probably the chief reason why this exercise is not more 
 employed is that pupil-readers are not able to hold the 
 attention of their audience. But that is the very reason 
 why the exercise should be employed. It is 12. The ad- 
 good both for the readers and the hearers. The reader^and 
 one should learn to read effectively to an audi- bearers 
 ence ; the others should learn to listen effectively to a 
 reader. Effective readino; and effective listenino- can be 
 learned only by much practice under conditions that com- 
 pel the reader to read and the listener to listen effectively. 
 
 In an exercise such as suggested the hearers may 
 be made to serve as critics in a way that will really
 
 56 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 help the reader and help them. In general the extent 
 13. Helpful to which the hearers are made to listen and 
 criticism understand is in itself a measure of the success 
 of the reader's performance. But more specifically the 
 hearers, as critics, should be trained to note and to tell 
 what they have understood well, what they have felt 
 thoroughly, and why they have so understood and felt; 
 conversely, they should note and tell w^hat they could 
 not understand, and if possible, give the reason for their 
 failure to understand. Criticism of this kind directs 
 the attention of hearers and reader to something really 
 vital. It is very different from that criticism which is 
 trained to note nothing but miscalled Avords and failures 
 in trivial mechanical details. 
 
 It is not intended to suggest that all school reading 
 exercises should be of the kind described. But such 
 exercises should have a growing place in the programme 
 beginning by the end of the first year or early in the 
 second. Care and judgment should be used in choosing 
 what the pupil is to read. The selection should be short 
 and interesting. The entire selection need not be read 
 by a single pupil. The usual exercises should be con- 
 sidered in a way preparatory to this test exercise. They 
 should serve, so far as possible, to overcome the w^eaknesses 
 which a pupil has shown in really reading to his classmates.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 BOOKS, CHARTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS 
 
 1. The Reading Chart and the First Books 
 
 The Reading Chart, so called to distinguish it from the 
 Phonic Chart, is used advantageously at the beginning 
 in place of the Primer. With the Chart before 
 
 ^ . ,1. Advan- 
 
 them the teacher can readily control and dn^ect tages of the 
 
 ^ • Ch3,rt 
 
 the attention of the children to text or picture ; 
 all find and follow easily what is pointed out ; children 
 quickly learn to distinguish the words and follow the 
 lines of the large type ; references, which all can see, are 
 easily made from story to rhyme. 
 
 The Chart does not relieve the teacher of the necessity 
 of using the blackboard, but it does greatly lessen the 
 amount of work that she would otherwise need to present 
 in that way. 
 
 Tlie first twenty-one pages of the Chart and the first fift}'- 
 five pages of the Primer cover the same work and are nearly 
 the same. The rhymes and the vocabulary are „ „ . 
 
 J -^2. Begin- 
 
 identical; there is somewhat more reading matter ning the 
 in the Primer. When the above pages of the 
 Chart have been covered, the Primer should be taken up, 
 advance work on the Chart being suspended. 
 
 The children should now be started at the beginning
 
 58 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 of the Primer. On account of their work on the Chart 
 they will read the first fifty-five pages very readily. This 
 familiarity with the first work in the book, due to the 
 work with the Chart, is a great advantage, helping the child 
 to become accustomed more easily than would otherwise 
 be possible to the handling and use of the book. 
 
 The work will continue in the Primer until that is 
 completed. The rhymes given in the Primer to be memo- 
 rized, following those that were also given on the chart, 
 should be placed on the blackboards, or better, on separate 
 charts, and kept before the children for reference as long 
 as needed. 
 
 When the Primer is completed, the children start on 
 the First Reader. They should be given an easy intro- 
 duction to this book, by going back to the Chart 
 First and completing that from the point where the 
 
 work was suspended on going into the Primer. 
 The last two rhymes of the Chart are identical with the 
 first two rhymes in the First Reader, and the matter 
 immediately following these rhymes is similar. 
 
 With most classes it is strongly advised that both 
 4. Advis- Chart and Primer be used. But the work has 
 both Chart been so arranged that it is possible to dispense 
 and Primer ^^,. j.|^ g- ^j^^^ ^^^^ q^ihy^ or the Primer, not with both. 
 
 If the Primer is not used, work is continued in the 
 When Chart until that is completed. As already 
 
 the Primer noted, the latter part of the Chart overlaps, 
 so to speak, the first few pages of the First 
 
 Reader. This overlapping facilitates the transition from
 
 BOOKS, CHARTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS 59 
 
 the Chart to the First Reader. Going directly from the 
 Chart to the First Reader leaves no gap in the child's 
 vocabulary. The advance in reading matter is well 
 graded, but the difficulties increase more rapidly than they 
 do in the Primer. When the Primer is used, the child not 
 only gets consideraljle practice with easily graded reading, 
 but he anticipates a large part of the vocabulary of the 
 first part of the First Reader. Thus he is doubly prepared 
 to take up that book. 
 
 Children who, on account of age or limited natural 
 capacity, tend to advance slowly, ought by all means to 
 take the Primer; children who advance rapidly and surely 
 may safely omit it. 
 
 The Chart may be dispensed with. It is a great advan- 
 tage, as already pointed out ; but it contains nothing 
 which is not contained in the Primer. If the 
 
 . 1 1 T^ • c • c 1 ^- When 
 
 Chart is not used, the Primer, of course, is lol- the chart is 
 lowed from the beginning. The first part of the 
 work, twenty pages at least, should be presented on the 
 blackboard. Such presentation will supply in a measure 
 the lack of the chart. It is strongly advised that the 
 Chart be used with all classes. 
 
 2. Cards 
 
 There are two kinds of cards for class drill, " word " 
 cards and '^ consonant " cards. 
 
 Of the word cards there are two sets. The small set 
 contains all the words used on the Reading Chart;
 
 60 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 the large set contains all the words used in the Primer. 
 
 1. Word "T^® small set is used only when the Primer is 
 cards j^ot used ; whenever the Primer is used, whether 
 with the Reading Chart or not, the large set of word cards 
 is used. Each word card contains one sight word, both in 
 script and in print. For convenience the same word is 
 printed on both sides of the card. 
 
 The consonant cards, twenty-three of them, contain the 
 following consonants and combinations of consonants: 
 
 2. conso- ^5 t', d, f, (J, h, j, h, I, m, n, ;9, qu, r, s, t, v, iv, y, 
 
 nant cards ^,/^^ gj^^ ^/^^ .^y/^ Q^^ q^^q ^[^\q ^f ^\^q q^j,^ jg ^^lq 
 
 consonant alone in two forms, the capital and the small 
 letter. On the other side is the word from which the con- 
 sonant, forming the initial letter of the word, was learned ; 
 underneath the initial consonant of the word is the same 
 consonant standino; alone. 
 
 Both the word and the consonant cards are used in class 
 
 drills for the purpose of perfecting the association of the 
 
 appropriate spoken words and sounds with the written 
 
 forms, so that the one will instantly suo-gest the 
 
 3. How ' . J 0& 
 
 cards are other. In thesc drills much concert work can be 
 done to advantage. The teacher holds her pack 
 of cards directly in front of her about on a level with her 
 face. She takes a card from the back of the pack and 
 places it in front of the pack, without turning it over or 
 around. As the same word or consonant is on both sides 
 of the card she can see what that is as she takes the card 
 from the back of the pack.
 
 BOOKS, CHARTS, ANb OTHER MATERIALS 61 
 
 To make this concert work thoroughly successful, all 
 pupils should give perfect attention. One or a ^ success- 
 few must not lead and the rest fall in behind in fui concert 
 their responses; all should answer together as 
 one voice. To secure such response, it should be under- 
 stood that the teacher will hold the card still an instant 
 beside the pack before placing it in front ; when it moves 
 to the front of the pack, all are to give the word or sound 
 together. This slight pause enables the slower as well as 
 the quicker ones to prepare to answer at the signal, the 
 moving of the card to the front of the pack. This pause 
 may be lengthened if pupils are just learning words, or if 
 some are slow in their recognition. 
 
 This concert drill work should be quick and sharp. So 
 conducted it is valuable as a mental gymnastic, as well as 
 serving to produce the desired results in a fraction of the 
 time required by individual drill. There should be suffi- 
 cient individual drill to make sure that all pupils are 
 really getting the words and sounds correctly. 
 
 The various other ways in which these cards, particu- 
 larly the word cards, are used, are fully described in the 
 detailed directions in subsequent chapters. 
 
 3. Rhyme Charts and Cards 
 
 As they are taught, the rhymes are kept in plain view, 
 either on the jjlackboard or on large manila charts, so 
 that pupils may readily turn to them for reference. When 
 a pupil reading fails to recognize a word, the teacher re-
 
 62 lp:arxing to read 
 
 fers him to the chart containing the rhyme in which the 
 word occurs. (See page 5, Sec. 3.) This is done repeat- 
 edly until the pupil has formed the habit of referring to 
 the rhymes for any unknown words, without direction 
 from the teacher. 
 
 For their individual reading at their seats, each pupil 
 is provided with a cai'd containing the first seventeen 
 rhymes. The pupil uses this card for reference just as he 
 uses the large rhyme charts in his oral reading. 
 
 4. The Phonic Chart 
 
 The Phonic Chart comes into use immediately after the 
 completion of the Reading Chart or the Primer and is used 
 constantly throughout the remainder of the first year and 
 during the second and third years. Consequently, as a 
 matter of convenience, this chart is published in 
 thePhoaic Combination with the Reading Chart, and also 
 Chart is separately. The combined Phonic and Reading 
 Chart can best be used in the first year, the sepa- 
 rate Phonic Chart in the second and third years. The 
 Phonic Chart is reproduced page by page in this manual, 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 
 The Phonic Chart contains one hundred and sixty-seven 
 '• series " or '• families " of Avords, the words of each series 
 « ,Trv . ... containing; the same vowel, or vowel combination, 
 
 2. What the '^ ' ' 
 
 Phonic Chart with the sauic souud. These words are so ar- 
 contains j^auged in columns that the child readily recog- 
 nizes the common sound elements and their representa-
 
 BOOKS, CHARTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS 63 
 
 tion in all the words ; with these he combines the initial 
 consonant sounds which he has learned by thorough drill. 
 The pronunciation of the series of words is thus easy. 
 Following these one hundred and sixty-seven series are 
 thirty-three series of miscellaneous words, each series still 
 based, however, on a common vowel with a uniform sound. 
 
 The words of this chart have been selected and arranged 
 with great care. They not only serve the purpose of 
 training in phonics ; they are all words representing simple 
 ideas in common use by children. Most of them will be 
 found already in the spoken vocabulary of the English- 
 speaking child ; the rest of them are readily acquired. 
 The chart contains altogether over two thousand different 
 words, a fairly good-sized reading vocabulary. 3. character 
 But the primary purpose of this chart is not to oJ^the"^^°^* 
 furnish the child with a complete reading vocab- Phonic chart 
 ulary; it is to assist him in forming the habit of pronun- 
 ciation — the habit of analyzing words and of associat- 
 ing certain sounds with certain letters and combinations 
 of letters. This habit pats within the child's power a 
 reading vocabulary practically limited only by his experi- 
 ence and understanding. Although the treatment of 
 phonics in this chart is not complete, and is not intended 
 to be complete, it has been found to be quite sufficient to 
 serve its purpose ; trained with this chart and in other 
 ways which this reading method provides, pupils do ac- 
 quire the habit desired. 
 
 In subsequent chapters the order of taking up the
 
 ei LEARNING TO READ 
 
 work with the Phonic Chart is indicated in detail. In 
 i>;eneral the recrular series are taken up in about 
 
 4. Order of ^ i • i • , , i • , 
 
 taking up the Order m winch they are presented m the 
 e series ^[jf^j.|^ Usually a series is taken up for the first 
 time when its initial word or words occur in the regular 
 reading lesson. The series is frequently reviewed. The 
 reference numbers at the head of each column, indicating 
 other series in which the same vowel and vowel sound 
 occur, but in a different vowel combination, enable the 
 teacher to make review drills very effective. As much 
 and as varied practice as necessary can be quickly given 
 with the same vowel. Finally, the miscellaneous series, 
 Nos. 168 to 200, afford opportunity for testing the pupil's 
 power to recognize and to give the elementary sounds in 
 more difficult combinations. 
 
 In all work with this chart the teacher must insist on 
 
 correct and distinct articulation. The series, furnishing as 
 
 they do all possible combinations of consonant sounds with 
 
 fixed vowel sounds, offer excellent material for 
 
 5. Distinct . , .,.,.. • . rr^ 
 
 enunciation practicing pupils HI distinct enuuciation. The 
 require separation of the initial consonant or consonants 
 from the vowel or vowel combination helps the child to 
 analyze the word into its elementary sounds and to give 
 these distinctly. Where the separation of letters occurs, a 
 slight pause, for the sake of distinctness, may be made in 
 the pronunciation. This pause should be very slight and 
 should be made only during the first practice with a series ; 
 thereafter the words of the series should be pronounced 
 as they are in regular reading.
 
 BOOKS, CHARTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS 65 
 
 The habit of distorting words by over-analysis, empha- 
 sis, and separation of their elementary sounds is g ^^^.^^ 
 most pernicious. It is formed at the cost of much ™"st not be 
 
 . . 1111 distorted in 
 
 time and eiiort m separatmg sounds that belong pronunda- 
 together ; it is overcome by the expenditure of 
 still more time and effort on " blend " drills Avhich the 
 habit alone makes necessary. Pupils should be taught at 
 all times to pronounce words correctly. 
 
 A considerable amount of concert work, after the teacher 
 has made sure that all pupils are giving the correct sounds, 
 may be employed to advantage. The teacher should use a 
 pointer to indicate the words to be pronounced. The pupils 
 should become able to give any word in the series without 
 hesitation. They should also be practiced in " skipping" 
 freely from one scries to another on the same 7. concert 
 page of the chart ; that is, within series on which ^"^pj^JiJc 
 they have already been separately practiced. In Chart 
 this concert work the teacher should keep pupils together 
 in their answers, not allowing one or a few to lead and 
 the others to follow. This may readily be done by 
 insisting that the word be given immediately when the 
 pointer is removed from the word, not when the pointer 
 first touches it. While the pointer rests on a word, 
 a length of time of course always very brief but to be 
 varied according to the requirements of the class, all 
 pupils must determine what the word is and so be ready 
 to give it instantly at the signal, which is the removal of 
 the pointer.
 
 66 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 The series of the chart should not serve merely for drill 
 
 in phonics. Pupils should use the words in sentences. 
 
 There will be very few words that some child in the class 
 
 will not be able to use correctly. At first this 
 
 8. Words to '' 
 
 be used in can be Only oral ; but by the second year sen- 
 tences may be written. This makes a good lan- 
 guage exercise. By requiring pupils to use the words, the 
 teacher readily learns which words are not in the chil- 
 dren's spoken vocabulary. 
 
 If the idea which the word represents is foreign to the 
 children, the teacher should help them to get the idea by 
 objects, pictures, descriptions, or such means as can be used 
 most effectively. Thus, both the ideas and the vocabulary 
 of the children are enriched. 
 
 The chart may also be used to great advantage as a 
 spelling chart. The careful analysis of words into their 
 elementary sounds and the association of these sounds with 
 the letters representing them is the best possible prepara- 
 tion for spelling;. To spell a word orally — and 
 
 9. Spelling . . . , 
 
 oral spelling should precede written — a child 
 has only to name in order the letters which he already 
 knows how to sound in pronouncing the word. In spelling, 
 a word should always be pronounced distinctly and 
 thoughtfully — that is, with attention focused on the ele- 
 mentary sounds of the word — before it is spelled ; 
 pronunciation after the word is spelled serves no 
 purpose. For children just beginning spelling and for 
 others who have difficulty in associating letters with
 
 BOOKS, CHARTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS 67 
 
 their sounds, it is helpful to spell the word " by sound," 
 after it is pronounced, before spellhig it by letters. 
 
 With most classes oral spelling may well begin by the 
 middle of the first year. Up to this time it is better that 
 reference be made to the letters by their sounds jq. orai 
 rather than by their names. No formality is spening 
 necessary in introducing the names of the letters. The 
 teacher has only to call them by name ; she will find that 
 the children will recognize most of them by name at once. 
 Before the end of the first year the children should learn 
 to "say the alphabet." This can best be done by concert 
 repetitions. 
 
 In written spelling the child should be taught to think 
 
 the sounds of the word and the letters representing them ; 
 
 his thouo;ht guides his hand in making the 
 
 11 Writ- 
 correct letters. Only as a result of much practice ten speii- 
 
 will the hand acquire the habit of spelling auto- *°^ 
 matically. The formation of this habit is facilitated, not 
 hindered, by the guidance of conscious attention ; when 
 that guidance becomes unnecessary, it will be spontane- 
 ously withdrawn. 
 
 The arrangement of the words in series greatly facili- 
 tates the learning of their spelling. A series of twenty 
 words may be more easily learned than five jg Advan- 
 taken miscellaneously. The spelling;, of course, tageofthe 
 
 •^ , series in 
 
 should not be confined to the serial order. Just speuing 
 as in pronunciation, when a few series have been learned, 
 words should be taken from any of these series. Thus
 
 68 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 review exercises in spelling, which should be frequent, may 
 best be made up of words selected from several series and 
 miscellaneously arranged. There are also many little 
 words in constant use by the child, as soon as he begins to 
 write, which do not occur in these series ; they are phon- 
 ically irregular. These words must be learned separately. 
 By the middle or end of the third year, children can 
 readily learn to spell all the words given in the phonic 
 13. What chart, together with a few hundred other com- 
 third-year ^j^^^^ short words. Tliis makes a very respectable 
 
 pupils can "^ ^ 
 
 learn vocabulary of about twenty-five hundred words, 
 
 no inconsiderable accomplishment for a third-grade pupil. 
 But this accomplishment really involves something more 
 than ability to spell these twenty-five hundred words; 
 it involves the acquisition of a power to master new words. 
 The pupil trained to spell in this way instinctively analyzes 
 new words, discerns at once their regularities and irregu- 
 larities, applies his habit of associating certain letters or 
 combinations of letters with certain sounds, and thus 
 greatly reduces the difficulties which confront most pupils 
 who have learned to spell word by word. 
 
 5. Script and Print 
 
 Pupils are best taught from the beginning to read both 
 1. Pupils script and print w^ith equal facility. This is 
 rtlTs*c°ript '^1^ ^''•'^y matter, if it is not made difficult. It 
 and print jg Qj-^]y ncccssary to use both script and print 
 first constantly. The first rhymes should be writ- 
 
 ten on the blackboard, and read by the pupils from the
 
 BOOKS, CHARTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS 69 
 
 board as well as from the chart. All the work which 
 the teacher presents on the board, and that must be con- 
 siderable even with the use of the Reading Chart, should 
 be in script. The word cards contain both the printed 
 and the written forms of each word for the purpose of 
 making pupils equally familiar with both. 
 
 The teacher should no more take the time to print 
 words for the children, with the thought that the printed 
 is easier for them than the written form, than 2. Teacher 
 she should teach them to print before writing ^^j.'ite'^iiot 
 words. One form is as easy as the other. Of p^"^^ 
 course, the script put before the children should be very 
 distinct and plain, without unnecessary and confusing 
 marks and flourishes. 
 
 6. Seat Work 
 
 The seat work is not mere "busy work," something 
 whose chief purpose is to keep the children at their seats 
 quietly occupied while the teacher carries on a 1. seat 
 recitation. The proper use of every device, mere-busy 
 every exercise, contributes something to the "«^ork • 
 great result sought — the power to read independently. 
 
 The seat work throughout requires thought, discrimina- 
 tion, and judgment on the part of the pupil — • ^ ^^^^ 
 such thought, discrimination, and iudgment as the seat 
 
 work rc- 
 
 he is capable of exercising. It requires that quires and 
 
 the pupil apply independently his knowledge of 
 
 w^ords, letters, and sounds as he acquires this knowledge.
 
 70 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 Through the seat work the pupil not only becomes ready 
 and skillful in the use of his knowledge, but he rapidly 
 becomes conscious of his power, learns self-reliance, and 
 experiences the stimulating sensation of personal achieve- 
 ment. 
 
 That the seat work may have all these important results 
 and many more, the teacher must be extremely careful of 
 
 3. How the ^^^^ conduct of the work. She must make the 
 seat work requirements of each exercise definite and clear 
 
 should be ^ ^ 
 
 handled to the children, and she must take time and 
 pains to see that the children carry out the require- 
 ments. These requirements should always be within 
 the power of the pupils to execute, but they should not 
 be too easy. An exercise or the use of a device should 
 not be continued after it has been so thoroughly mastered 
 by the pupils that it calls forth little or no intelligent 
 effort. 
 
 It is not expected that all the many methods and de- 
 
 4. Good vices described will be used by any one teacher 
 judgment q]\ ^\^q time. Good iudo^ment must be exercised 
 
 necessary ^ ^ j o 
 
 in selecting those methods and devices which 
 will best accomplish the result desired with any given 
 class at a given time. 
 
 5 Readine Since children learn to read independently 
 the best i^y reading; independently, the seat work should 
 
 seat work . , , • n. 
 
 consist largely in reading from interesting 
 books, beginning such reading soon after the First 
 Reader is taken up.
 
 BOOKS, CHARTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS 71 
 
 7. Supplementary Reading 
 
 The character of the method is such that children are 
 in no way confined to the books of the Aldine series. 
 They are taught from the beginning to apply j pupiis 
 the knovvledtJre they have — be it a word, the pot limited 
 
 o -^ 'to Aldme 
 
 sound of a consonant, or of a vowel combina- Readers 
 tion ; hence they are able to take up supplementary 
 books at any time and read them with the degree of 
 success which their vocabulary and knowledge of phonics 
 make possible. 
 
 It is advisable to confine the reading to the Aldine 
 Primer until that is completed. When the pupils are well 
 started in the Aldine First Reader, they may ^ .^^^^ 
 profitably carry on reading continuously in sup- suppiemen- 
 
 ta,ry read- 
 
 plementary books. Their supplementary read- ing should 
 ing should always be a little easier than their ^^^^ 
 regular reading in the Aldine books. 
 
 The pupils should apply and the teacher should help 
 them to apply the same principles of assisting themselves 
 in the supplementary reading which they apply in their 
 regular reading. The teacher should alwavs 
 
 "^ 3 Treat- 
 know just what knowledge her pupils have of mentof 
 
 words, letters, and sounds ; thus she may help tary'read-^ 
 
 them wisely to help themselves. In the supple- ^°^ 
 
 mentary reading, as in the regular reading, the teacher 
 
 should never tell the pupils words which they are capable 
 
 of making out for themselves ; she should assist them,
 
 72 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 when necessary, by helping them to analyze words and to 
 compare new with old. 
 
 Pupils should read a large number of supplementary 
 books, of the grade of Primers and First Readers, during 
 the first year. Most classes will also be able to read sev- 
 eral Second Readers, not too difficult. 
 
 Supplementary reading should go along with the regu- 
 lar work throughout the second year. After the second 
 year, when all pupils should be fluent readers of anything 
 they can understand, there need be no distinction between 
 the supplementary and regular reading. The habit of 
 self-help through knowledge of phonics, a habit which has 
 long been well established, should be continued and 
 strengthened. 
 
 During the first two years, at least, regular, systematic 
 work with the Aldine books, taken in order, with accom- 
 4. Supple- panying charts, should be given daily. A large 
 ^adine^ amount of Supplementary reading matter is nec- 
 necessary essary to give the pupils ample opportunity to 
 apply their power. Supplementary reading will usually be 
 taken at sight, unless it be something which pupils have 
 prepared in their study periods.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 1-4 ; THE CHART, PAGE 2 
 
 Rhyme I 
 
 Come away, 
 Come and play. 
 
 come and away play 
 
 (Chart, p. 2 ; Primer, p. 3.) 
 1. Tell the following story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 The Spring Story 
 
 Once upon a time a little boy and his sister asked their 
 mother if they might have some money and go to the 
 store and buy some candy. 
 
 " No, dears," answered Mother, " I think you 
 
 . "^ [Pages 2-4 1] 
 
 have had all the candy that is good for you to- 
 day. Run outdoors and play." 
 
 Out walked the two children and sat down on the porch. 
 
 " I don't want to play," growled the boy. 
 
 " I think we might just have a little candy," whined the 
 girl. So they sat on the porch and pouted. 
 
 The little birds flew from tree to tree, build- 
 
 , . . [Page 3; 41] 
 
 mg their nests and smgnig. They were so 
 happy because spring had come. 
 
 I'lhe marginal references are to pages and marginal numbers of this Manual. 
 These references should be carefully studied. 
 
 73
 
 74 LEARNING TO HEAD 
 
 The squirrels frisked and chattered on the lawn. They, 
 too, were glad the winter was over. 
 
 Even the yellow daffodils in the garden looked up and 
 smiled at the warm sun. 
 
 Every one seemed happy but our pouting boy and girl. 
 
 Along the street came a crowd of boys and girls run- 
 ing, laughing, and shouting. They were just as happy as 
 the birds and squirrels. 
 
 When they saw the cross little boy and girl, they shouted, 
 " Stop pouting. Don't you know spring is here ? Now 
 is the time to J3lay and l^e glad." 
 
 Then a big girl who was leading called, 
 
 " Come away, 
 Come and play." 
 
 All the children took up the cry and shouted, 
 
 " Come away, 
 Come and play." 
 
 They w^ere having such a good time that our 
 boy and girl could feel cross no longer. Smiles 
 chased the frowns from their faces. They jumped up and 
 ran off with the other children, laughing and singing, 
 
 " Come away, 
 Come and play." 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. Pupils should be trained to repeat 
 
 all rhymes with good expression, with exact enunciation 
 
 and articulation. They should memorize them 
 
 perfectly. Frequent repetition will accomplish
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 75 
 
 this ; but the repetition should not be a merely mechanical 
 saying of the words over and over. At each repetition, 
 the rh}Tne should be actually used in such a way that it 
 expresses an appropriate thought. This can readily be 
 brought about through the use of the story, which has 
 already repeated the rhyme several times. After telling 
 the story, the teacher talks with the children 
 
 . . . T- [Page 2 : 2] 
 
 about it, asking such questions as these : What 
 did the big girl leading the children call out ? Show how 
 the other children called to the little boy and his sister. 
 \yhat did the little boy and girl sing as they ran off to 
 play with the other children ? 
 
 In answer to each of these questions, the children give 
 the rhyme. Very often these answers should be in con- 
 cert. Thus all take full part, the stronger helping the 
 slower. 
 
 Again, in dramatizing the story, the rhyme is repeated 
 over and over. Thus, when the story has been told, repro- 
 duced by questioning, and dramatized, most children know 
 the rhyme perfectly. It should be kept fresh in their 
 minds by daily repetition — repetition in which the rhyme 
 is really used, not merely repeated. 
 
 3. Dramatizing- the rhyme. The following manner of 
 dramatizing this rhyme has been found very interesting 
 to the children. Select a child for a leader. 
 The leader skips through the aisles choosing 
 several children to join him, touching each lightly and 
 calling,
 
 76 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 " Come away, 
 Come and play." 
 
 As each child is chosen he joins the company of skipping 
 children and calls with them the words of the rhyme. 
 
 4. Write the complete rhyme on the board as the children 
 repeat it. Require pupils to look at the board wliile they 
 repeat the rhyme. As they repeat point out, that is, 
 measure off, each word thus : — 
 
 Come away, 
 
 Come and play. 
 
 or thus, 
 
 Come 
 Come 
 
 away, 
 and I play. 
 
 The pointer, cards, or the hands may be used to indicate 
 just the limits of each word. 
 
 5. Picture study. Only a few of the illustrations in 
 Chart, Primer, and Readers are definitely referred to in 
 this Manual. And these few are considered only in a 
 suggestive way. For the sake of concreteness definite ques- 
 tions are here given in connection with certain typical pic- 
 tures ; but these questions are intended to suggest to the 
 teacher only the character of the questions which may arise 
 in the picture study. In the study of any given picture, the 
 children studying it determine the questions to ask. Indeed, 
 the children themselves, w^ith guidance and suggestion, 
 will ask most of the questions and answer them, too. 
 
 All the pictiures in chart and books are deserving of care-
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 77 
 
 ful study. They are an integral part of the stories, poems, 
 and rhymes. Beautiful and attractive as the 
 
 . . . [Pages 7-JiJ 
 
 pictures are, their greatest value lies m the 
 thought which they provoke. The page or half-page occu- 
 pied by a* picture may serve the child's advancement in 
 thought and expression, hence in reading, more than the 
 same space occupied by text. But that they may perform 
 this service, the pictures must be used. To neglect the 
 pictiu-es is to neglect one of the most valuable features of 
 subject-matter and of method. 
 
 (Chart, page 2 ; Primer, p. 4.) Point to the big girl 
 who is leading. What is she calling ? What is she going 
 to play ? Tell what each child has to play with. Where 
 do the pouting boy and girl live ? Can you see them ? 
 Why not ? What will all the children call when they see 
 the pouting boy and girl ? 
 
 6. Individual work. Individual children, one after 
 another, repeat the rhyme, pointing to each word as it is 
 uttered. 
 
 7. Teacher points to'any word in the rhyme and requires the pupil 
 to tell what it is. If he cannot tell at once, he should be 
 required to go back to the beginning of the rhyme and to 
 repeat it till he comes to the word he does not ^ ^ 
 know. For example, suppose the teacher should 
 
 point to. the word and. The pupil does not know tlie 
 word. So he begins at the beginning of the rhyme and 
 reads, " Come away. Come and — , and.'' In this exercise, 
 let the pupil handle the pointer.
 
 78 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 A class exercise in pointing is helpful for concentrated, 
 rapid drill on words in the rhyme. The teacher directs, 
 "All point to co7ne, to away, to play, to anciy The 
 teacher touclies the correct word each time, pronouncing 
 it as she does so. The pupils point with the forefinger 
 to each word, following the direction of the teacher, and 
 pronouncing the word as they point. The teacher then 
 calls any word in the rhyme and requires a pupil to point 
 to it. 
 
 8. Write words of the rhyme on the board in any order. Any 
 pupil, as directed, gives each word as written. When a 
 pupil does not recognize a word, he should find it in the 
 
 rhyme; if necessary, he should read the rhyme 
 
 from the beginning till he finds the required 
 
 word. Pupils should be trained to turn at once to the 
 
 rhyme, instead of the teacher, when they cannot recall 
 
 a word. 
 
 9. Drill with sight-word cards, [a) Place the cards contain- 
 ing the words in the rhyme on the crayon shelf under the 
 rhyme written low on the board. The cards must be right 
 
 side up and spread out so that each is visible. 
 
 Pupils are required to choose any card, hold it 
 under the word in the rhyme which corresponds to the 
 word on the card, and pronounce the word. Example : 
 John chooses the card containing the word play and holds 
 it under the w^ord play in the rhyme and says, " play." 
 He then stands before the class, back to the board, hold- 
 ing in plain view the card which he has " won." (b) After
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED . 79 
 
 all the cards have been thus won by the pupils, each in 
 turn taking his place in front of the class and holding his 
 card in front of him, the teacher writes a word on the 
 board, and asks the children who have no cards to look 
 along the line of cards held by the children in front, and 
 to see who can find the card containing the word written 
 on the board. The child who finds it places it under the 
 word written on the board by the teacher and pronounces 
 it. This child then holds the card, while the boy who 
 first held it joins the rest of the class and the game goes 
 on. This work must be rapid or the best results are lost 
 and much time wasted, (c) Words should be read at sight 
 from cards as they are displayed rapidly by [Page60:3; 
 the teacher, who holds the pack of cards in p • J 
 front of her and takes one after another from the back 
 of the pack and places it in front. As the teacher does 
 this the pupils give each word, individually or in concert 
 as required. 
 
 The purpose of the above drills is to teach pupils to 
 recognize words so quickly that as soon as sentences 
 are placed before them they may be able to read each 
 as a thouglit, not as a line of words. From the begin- 
 ning, in all sentence work, the teacher must be sure that 
 the pupil gets the thought and that he expresses it in his 
 reading. 
 
 10. Write the following sentences on the board. 
 
 Come. 
 Come away.
 
 80 
 
 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 Come, come away. 
 Come and play. 
 Come away and play. 
 Away, away, come away. 
 
 The teacher writes one sentence at a time. When that 
 ^« ,n is read, the next sentence is written, and so on 
 
 [Page 68 ;1] ' _ ' 
 
 After all are written they are re-read as many 
 times as desired. 
 
 The pupil should first study the sentence until he 
 knows it, then read it aloud, smoothly and expressively. 
 rPa es 5-61 ^^ ^^^^ pupil does not recognize a word, he should 
 turn at once to the rhyme and read from the 
 beginning till he finds his word. For the first few rhymes 
 the teacher should direct this search for the unknown 
 word, but gradually the pupil must learn to find out the 
 word for himself. As rapidly and as fully as possible, 
 children should be made self-directive. 
 
 11. Seat work. Materials : {a) A stiff manila card, 
 4x7 inches, ruled off to contain as many spaces as 
 there are words in the rhyme. The spaces 
 should be each IJ inches long by 1\ inches 
 wide. Write the words of the rhyme in these spaces, 
 making large letters, thus — 
 
 [Page 69] 
 
 Come 
 
 away, 
 
 
 Come 
 
 and 
 
 play.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 81 
 
 (h) A manila envelope — it is convenient to have it just 
 large enough to hold the 4x7 card — containing a num- 
 ber of small cards. These cards should be 1^ inches long 
 by 1 inch wide. On each small card is written a word 
 from the rhyme. There should be at least six duplicate 
 cards for each word in the rhyme. 
 
 Each pupil at his seat should be provided with a large 
 card and an envelope of small cards. The exercise con- 
 sists in the pupil j^lacing the small cards over the space on 
 the large card, matching the words on the small cards 
 with the words in the spaces. The pupil continues to do 
 this until all his little cards are properly placed. As he 
 places each card, he says softly to himself or thinks the 
 word which it contains. 
 
 With a hektograph the teacher can quickly make a set 
 of large and small cards sufficient for the largest division 
 of her class which will be having seat work at the same 
 time. The small cards should be made in sheets and 
 cut up. 
 
 If a stout manila envelope of good quality is used, the 
 face of it may be ruled off into spaces and the words of 
 the rhyme written therein; thus the large card may be 
 dispensed with. 
 
 Note. — Sheets containing all the rhyme words, ready to cut up, can be pro- 
 cured at small cost from the publishers of the Aldine books.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 5-9; THE CHART, PAGES 3^ 
 
 Rhyme II 
 
 Run with me 
 To the tree. 
 
 with run me 
 the to tree 
 
 (Chart, p. 3 ; Primer, p. 5.) 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 The Race 
 
 One bright sunny morning two little boys, Harry and 
 George, were playing together. They had played 
 marbles, tops, and hide-and-go-seek. Now they 
 did not know what to play. 
 
 '^ Let us play horse," said Harry. 
 
 " Very well," answered George. " You be my horse." 
 
 " No, you should be my horse," said Harry. '' I named 
 the game." 
 
 But George would not be the horse. 
 
 " Then I won't play," he said. " I think the one who 
 runs faster should choose." 
 
 " Very well," shouted Harry, 
 
 82
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 83 
 
 " Run with me 
 To the tree." 
 
 " Good," cried George. 
 
 The two boys stood side by side. 
 
 " One, two, three," counted George. 
 
 Away the two boys ran as fast as they could, shouting, 
 
 " Run with me, 
 To the tree." 
 
 Rover, the dog, jumped up from the grass and ran after 
 the boys, barking loudly. He seemed to say, 
 
 " Run with me 
 To the tree." 
 
 How fast they all ran and what a noise they made ! 
 And who do you think got to the tree first ? 
 
 Not Harry or George. They got there together, but 
 Rover reached the tree long before either of the boys. 
 
 " Rover must choose a game," cried George. " He 
 won." 
 
 "Yes, Rover, what would you like to play?" asked 
 Harry. 
 
 Rover looked at the boys for a moment, then he ran 
 barking toward another tree. 
 
 What do you think he was trying to say ? 
 ( Children ansiver) 
 
 " Run with me 
 To the tree." 
 
 2. Teach pupils the rhjrme thoroughly. See Chapter III, 2.
 
 84 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 3. Dramatize the rhyme. Let one child choose another 
 
 child, saying, 
 
 " Run with me 
 To the tree." 
 
 The two children then stand side by side at the back of 
 the room while the children at their seats count, " One, 
 [Paeeio-4- ^^^^' three!" The two children then run to 
 p. 12 ; 8] ^]^Q front of the room or to another child who 
 may represent the tree. The child who wins chooses 
 another child to run with him ; or other two children 
 may run. 
 
 4. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9. 
 In the simple drill with the word cards [See Chapter 
 
 III, 9 (c)], all the cards from the beginning should be 
 
 kept in the pack ; the cards for the new words, 
 
 as learned, being added. As the pack gets 
 
 larger, the older words — those most perfectly known — 
 
 [Page 60 ; 3 ; ^^J ^^ removed, thus keeping the pack of mod- 
 
 p. 61 ; 4] erate size, fifteen to twenty-five cards. The 
 
 cards removed, however, should be taken up from time 
 
 to time for review, so that they may be kept entirely 
 
 fresh in the pupils' minds. 
 
 5. Picture study. (Chart, page 3 ; Primer, p. 8.) Name 
 
 the boys in the picture, pointing to each. 
 Which boy do you think is calling, "Run with 
 me, to the tree " ? 
 
 6. Read the following sentences from the board. 
 
 '('Ome away. 
 [Page 68; 1] /^ 
 
 Oorae with me.
 
 [Page 2; 2] 
 
 [Page 6; 4,6] 
 
 THK METHOD APPLIED 85 
 
 Come away with me. 
 Come to tlie tree. 
 Come with me to the tree. 
 ^^Come and phay. 
 Come and play with me. 
 
 Phiy with me. 
 Run and phay with me. 
 vRun with me. 
 Run away with me. 
 
 Run. 
 
 Run to me. 
 ^'Run to the tree. 
 Run with me. 
 Run with me to the tree. 
 Run away with me. 
 Run and play. 
 Run away. 
 Run away and play. 
 Run away and play with me. 
 Run to the tree with me. 
 
 Come to me. 
 
 Come to the tree. 
 
 Come to the tree with me. 
 
 Come and run with me. 
 
 Come, run away with me. 
 
 Come and play. 
 
 Come and play with me. 
 
 Come away, 
 
 Come and pla}^ ; 
 
 Run with me 
 
 To the tree. 
 
 [Page41;7.8j
 
 86 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 7. Reading by doing. As an aid in securing intelligent 
 thought reading, action sentences, entitled " Something to 
 Do," are introduced from time to time. These sentences 
 are to be written on the board, one at a time. The pupil 
 reads the sentence silently and does what the sentence 
 requires. After he has done it he should read the sen- 
 tence aloud. To illustrate : when the pupil has read to 
 himself the second sentence, he runs to the teacher ; then 
 he reads the sentence aloud. 
 
 In the fourth sentence the pupil runs to a picture of a 
 tree — one on blackboard, a picture brought into the 
 room, or the picture on the chart. In the fifth, sixth, 
 and seventh sentences, he runs to another child and in- 
 vites him to " Run with me," " Play with me," " Run and 
 play with me." 
 
 (Something to Do) 
 
 1. Run. 
 
 2. Run to me. 
 
 3. Run away. 
 
 4. Run to the tree. 
 6. Run with me. 
 
 6. Ph\y with me. 
 
 7. Run and play with me. 
 '8. Come to me. 
 
 9. Come to the tree. 
 10. Run away and play. 
 
 8. Seat work. Make sets of cards for the second rhyme, 
 [Page 69] and give exercise as directed in Chapter III, 11.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 87 
 
 9. Phonics. Teach tne sounds of r and c as they are 
 given in run and come. [Pages I6-21] 
 
 Write run on the board, pronouncing distinctly r- and 
 •un as they are written; separate these parts slightly, 
 thus, run. Let the pupils pronounce, the rpage23-3- 
 teacher pointing to each part of the word as p-24; 5] 
 the pupils pronounce it. Write r alone under the r in 
 run ; pupils pronounce r alone. Write r anywhere on 
 the board, pupils pronouncing. 
 
 Teach c in co'ine in the same way. Write c and r on 
 the board until the pupils can give the sound of either 
 instantly and correctly as soon as written. Write the 
 capitals as well as the small letters. C will give no 
 trouble ; if i? is difficult, analyze Pain^ and drill as with r. 
 
 Have pupils find and sound these letters, c, C, r, R, in 
 words on the board.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 10-14 ; THE CHART, PAGES 5-6 
 
 Rhyme III 
 
 Boys and girls, come and play, 
 Jump and run — away, away. 
 
 boys girls jump 
 
 (Chart, p. 5 ; Primer, p. 10.) 
 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 The Jolly Organ Grinder 
 
 One day a jollj^ organ grinder came marching down the 
 
 street. His organ was slung over his shoulder. On his 
 
 [Page 2; 1; head was a bright red cap. He led a funny 
 
 p- 3 ; 4] monkey by a long string. The monkey wore 
 
 a red cap, too. 
 
 Organ grinder and monkey stopped before a large 
 house. The man began to grind his organ and to sing. 
 This is what he sang, 
 
 " Boys and girls, come and play, 
 Jump and run — away, away." 
 
 The monkey scampered in at the doorways ; he climbed 
 up to the windows. He beckoned with his hands, as 
 though he would say, 
 
 88
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 89 
 
 " Boys and girls, come and play, 
 Jump and run — away, away." 
 
 Out ran the boys ; out ran the girls. How they 
 skipped ! How they jumped ! They danced round and 
 round the organ grinder as he went on down the street. 
 They sang with him, 
 
 " Boys and girls, come and play. 
 Jump and run — away, away." 
 
 Soon they came in front of a schoolhouse. The door 
 stood wide open. The school children saw the monkey 
 and the organ grinder. They saw the boys and girls 
 dancing and heard them singing, 
 
 " Boys and girls, come and play, 
 Jump and run — away, away." 
 
 How the school children longed to jump from theiT 
 seats and rush out ! They could hardly sit still. 
 
 Just then the teacher tapped her bell and said, " Time 
 for recess ! You may all run out and play." 
 
 Out bounded every boy and girl. How they jumped 
 and shouted ! Down the street they ran, chas- 
 
 . [Page 3 ; 5] 
 
 ing the monkey and the organ grinder. All 
 sang, 
 
 " Boys and girls, come and play. 
 Jump and run — away, away." 
 
 2. Teach pupils the rhyme- Every one must memorize it 
 perfectly. See Chapter HI, 2.
 
 90 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 3. Dramatize the rhyme. Choose a leader. The leader 
 chooses a number of children — the wliole class if desu*ed 
 
 — saying, 
 
 " Boys and girls, come and play, 
 Jump and run — away, away." 
 
 The leader marches around the room, the other children 
 followino" him. All do iust what the leader does 
 
 [Pages 8-13] ^ '' 
 
 — clap hands, wave hands, hands on shoulders, 
 hands on head, hands on hips, march on toes, run, skip, 
 jum23, take chairs, etc. 
 
 4. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 4, 6, 7, 8, 
 9 ; also Chapter IV, 4. 
 
 Before giving the sentences following a new Hnnne, it 
 , „, is well to drill on croups of words in the rhyme 
 
 [Page 4; 2J . . *^ 
 
 itself. For example, in the rhyme, 
 " Boys and girls, come and play, 
 Jump and run — away, away," 
 
 the teacher indicates with the pointer the group of words 
 which the children are to read, as. 
 
 Boys and girls 
 Jump and run 
 girls, come and play 
 Come and jAaj. 
 
 The teacher draws the pointer quickly under these groups 
 of words and the children read quickly and smoothly. 
 This exercise helps pupils to form the habit of reading 
 |-pagg4Q. 5 g. words together smoothly in phrases, and coun- 
 p- 41 i 7] teracts the tendency to form the habit of read- 
 ing slowly and jerkily, word by word.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 91 
 
 5. Picture study. (Chart, page 5 ; Primer, p. 10.) Did 
 you ever see tlie picture of auy of these children before ? 
 Which ones ? Where ? How do you know 
 
 they are the same children? What is the 
 organ man singing? Why does he want the children to 
 follow him ? What has the moukey in his hand ? What 
 does the little girl think he is going to do with the cup? 
 Is she afraid ? Do you think the monkey thinks Teddy 
 Bear is another monkey? Look at the organ man's face; 
 see how he is dressed. Is he an American ? Where do 
 the org;an men you have seen come from ? 
 See Chapter III, 5. 
 
 6. Sentences to be read from the board. 
 
 Come, boys. 
 
 Come and play, boys. ^ „„ ,, 
 
 ^ ./*'•' [Page 68; 1] 
 
 Come, gu-ls. 
 
 Play with me, girls. 
 
 Come and play. 
 
 Come and play with me. 
 
 Come and play with me, boys. 
 
 Come and play with me, girls.. 
 
 Jump, boys, jump. 
 
 Jump, girls, jump. 
 
 Run, girls, run. 
 
 Run, boys, run. 
 
 Run, boys and girls. 
 
 Run, girls and boys. 
 
 Run to the tree, boys. 
 
 Run to the tree, girls. 
 
 Run to me, girls.
 
 92 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 [Page 51; 4; R^n tO me, bovs. 
 
 p. 52; 5 „, .., . , 
 
 p. 53; 8J ^^^y ^^1^1^ ^^6' g""^S. 
 
 Play with me, boys. 
 
 Girls, play with the boys. 
 
 Boys, play with the girls. 
 
 Boys and girls, run and jump. 
 
 Run away, boys. 
 
 Run away, girls. 
 
 Girls, run to me. 
 
 Boys, run to the girls. 
 
 Girls and boys, jump with me. 
 
 Boj^s and girls, run to the tree. 
 
 Run and jump, girls and boys. 
 
 The boys jump. 
 
 The girls jump. 
 
 The girls run. 
 
 The girls run to me. 
 
 The boys run to the tree. 
 
 The boys and girls run and jump. 
 
 The girls and boys jump and play. 
 
 7. Reading by doing. See Chapter IV, 7. 
 Many of the above sentences may be used as action 
 sentences, as well as the following. 
 
 (Something to Do) 
 
 Jump. 
 
 Run, jump, run. 
 
 Boys, jump. 
 
 Jump, girls. 
 
 Boys and girls, run. 
 
 Boys, run.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 93 
 
 Run to the tree, girls. 
 
 Boys, run to the tree. 
 
 Girls, run to me. 
 
 Run to me, boys. 
 
 Come to me, girls. 
 
 Boys, come to me. 
 8. The Reading Chart. 
 
 It is now time to begin reading print from the Reading 
 Chart. The passage from script to print will be easily 
 made by the children as they are already some- i-p^^e 57 ; i ; 
 what familiar with the printed forms from the p-59; 6] 
 use of the word cards. The reading from the chart should 
 begin at the very beginning, with the first rhyme. As 
 there are no sentences on the chart which have not already 
 been read on the board, the children will quickly read u}) 
 on the chart even with their board work. From this time 
 on reading from the chart should accompany the reading 
 from the board, the latter being used rather to supplement 
 the former. As pupils advance, reading from the board 
 should give place more and more to reading from the 
 chart. Reviews, which should be daily, should be read 
 almost wholly from the chart. If no chart is used, read- 
 ing should be done entirely from the board for the present. 
 A large number of sentences will be given in each chapter 
 for that purpose. 
 
 It is considered advisable to start pupils with script, but 
 to take up print almost from the beginning, as here directed, 
 and then to carry on the use of both forms together. 
 Those teachers, however, who prefer to use only print
 
 94 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 at first, will find the chart of great service, saving much 
 board work, and will naturally use it from the beginning. 
 
 9. Seat work, (a) See Chapter I, 11. On account of tlie 
 length of the third rhyme the large cards and the en- 
 velopes should be 4x9, instead of 4x7, and 
 
 [Pages 69-70] ^ ' • j ^ 
 
 the spaces and the small cards should be 
 shorter than heretofore. 
 
 (6) Children arrange small cards in columns on the 
 desk, placing all like words in the same column, as — 
 
 Boys Girls 
 
 Boys girls 
 
 boys . girls 
 
 10. Phonics. Teach sound of p in p/a?/. See Chap. IV, 9. 
 Begin drill with the consonant cards. Only three can 
 
 be used at this time, the j)^ c, and r cards. These three 
 [Pages 23-25; make the beginning of a pack, however, which 
 60-61] will constantly grow larger as each new con- 
 sonant is learned and its card added to the pack. Daily 
 drills — -they need be only brief — should be given with 
 this growing pack of consonant cards. There should also 
 be daily practice in finding and sounding the consonants 
 known in any words on the board or chart. Thus the 
 children learn to associate instantly the proper sound with 
 each consonant wherever seen, an invaluable habit a little 
 later when they are mastering words phonetically. 
 
 The teacher should be very careful that every pupil gets 
 the correct sound of each consonant at the outset. Drill- 
 ing incorrect sounds only prepares trouble for the future.
 
 CHAPTER VT 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 15 17 ; THE CHART, PAGES 7-8 
 
 Rhyme IV 
 
 Rain, rain, go away. 
 
 Boys and girls want to play. 
 
 rain go want 
 
 (Chart, p. 7 ; Primer, p. 15.) 
 1. Tell the story, introducing- the rhyme. 
 
 Tom Tucker's Song 
 
 The boys and girls in Miss White's class were going to 
 have a picnic — that is, if the next Saturday 
 should be clear and sunny. 
 
 "For, children," said Miss White, "we cannot go into 
 the woods if it rains. x\nd I hope it will not rain on Fri- 
 day either; for if it should, the grass will be so wet, it 
 will not be safe to ^o into the woods on Saturday." 
 
 How the children did wish for two clear days, Friday 
 and Saturday. At recess they all gathered in the school 
 yard to talk it over. 
 
 " If it is going to rain at all this week," said Jack 
 
 Horner, " I wish it would hurry and rain Tuesday, 
 
 Wednesday, or Thursday, and use up all the water in the 
 
 clouds before Friday." 
 
 95
 
 96 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 " Rain, rain, go away, 
 Boys and girls want to play," 
 
 sang Tom Tucker, a big boy in one of the "upstairs 
 classes," who heard what Jack Horner said. 
 
 " Yes, we do want to play, don't we, boys and girls ? " 
 asked Jack. 
 
 " Yes, yes, yes ! " cried all of Miss White's children. 
 
 " Well, then," said Tom, " why don't you sing my little 
 
 song, 
 
 ' Rain, rain, go away. 
 Boys and girls want to play '? 
 
 If you sing that song often enough, it will frighten away 
 the rain." 
 
 " Will it really, Tom ? " asked a tiny little girl. 
 
 " So I have been told," answered Tom. " I never tried 
 it. 
 
 " Let us try it," said Simon Simple. " Teach it to us, 
 Tom." 
 
 " All right," said Tom. " Every one say it with me — 
 
 ' Rain, rain, go away. 
 Boys and girls want to play.' 
 
 Now say it again — 
 
 ' Rain, rain, go away. 
 Boys and girls want to play.' " 
 
 Tom soon taught them the little song, and Miss White's 
 children gathered together under the old apple tree in the 
 school yard, and sang it over and over,
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 97 
 
 "Rain, rain, go away, 
 Boys and girls want to play." 
 
 Every recess time on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and 
 Thursday, the children in Miss White's class gathered 
 under the apple tree and sang the little song 
 and not a drop of rain fell ! They began to 
 think they really had frightened the rain away. But on 
 Friday morning — sometime soon we shall hear what hap- 
 pened then. Can you guess? 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter IIT, 2. 
 
 3. Dramatize the story. Have a group of children (Miss 
 White's class) gathered in a corner of the room. One 
 child tells excitedly that there is to be a picnic [Page2; 2; 
 on Saturday. Another qualifies this statement pp*9_\i . 
 by repeating the substance of what Miss White p^^^ ^J 
 said about the rain. Other children, representing Tom 
 Tucker, Simon Simple, Jack Horner, and Tiny Little Girl, 
 carry on the conversation of the story. 
 
 4. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter IH, 4, 6, 7, 8, 
 9 ; also Chapter IV, 4. 
 
 5. A good rapid word drill. The teacher places a list of 
 new sight words, or old words needing more drill, on the 
 board. She then covers one child's eyes with her hands. 
 While this child's eyes are covered, a second child points 
 to a word on the board. For example, the list may be — 
 
 Come 
 away 
 
 go
 
 98 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 play 
 boys 
 girls 
 
 Suppose the second child points to girls. The first child's 
 eyes are uncovered and he is given a pointer. He points 
 to the words and asks, " Is it come F" The other children 
 answer, "No, it is not come.'" "Is it awayf'' "No, it 
 is not away.'''' " Is it gof "No, it is not go."" "Is it 
 play? " "No, it is not play-' " Is it girls f " " Yes," 
 the class answers, " it is girls.'" Another pupil is blind- 
 folded, another word is chosen, and the game continues. 
 
 For variety this game may be played with the word 
 cards, (a) Place cards containing new words on the 
 blackboard ledge or some other place in j^lain view. 
 While one child has his eyes covered, have another child 
 touch a card. Then the child whose eyes were covered 
 tries to name the correct word as before. Change the 
 order of cards frequently so that the pupils may not 
 learn words from the position of the cards, (h) The 
 teacher handles the cards. One child turns his back to 
 the teacher. The teacher then holds up a card so that the 
 other children can see it. The card is then placed with 
 the other cards — hidden away — and the child is directed 
 to face the teacher. As the teacher holds the cards, one 
 at a time, before this child, the child asks the other chil- 
 dren, "Is it hoy? " etc. They answer as in the first form 
 of the game. 
 
 The teacher must insist on the pupil naming the word
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 99 
 
 to which he points — "Is it — gbi?" And the other 
 pupils must name the word in their answer — " Yes, it is 
 girl!' This repeated association of the spoken word with 
 its written form soon results in binding the two together 
 indissohibly in the child's mind. 
 
 6. Picture study. (Chart, page T ; Primer, p. 15.) Which 
 child do you think is Simon Simple ? Jack 
 
 ... [Pages 7-8] 
 
 Horner ? The tiny little girl ? What are they 
 singing ? 
 
 See Chapter I IT, 5. 
 
 7. Sentences to be read from the board. 
 
 Rain, gto away. 
 
 lioys and girls want to play. 
 
 Boys want to jump. 
 
 Girls want to run. 
 
 Boys and g^irls want to run and iunip. 
 
 . . [Pages 5-6] 
 
 The girls want to come with me. 
 
 The boys want to go away. 
 
 The girls want to play with me. 
 
 The boys want to run to the tree. 
 
 Go away, boys. 
 
 Run away to the tree. 
 
 Come with me, girls. 
 
 Boys want the rain. 
 
 Boys want to play in the rain. 
 
 The boys want to run and jumj) in the rain. 
 
 Run in the rain, boj^s. 
 Run away in the rain. 
 Run and jump in the rain.
 
 100 LEARNING TO KEAD 
 
 Play with ine, boys. 
 
 Run and play with me in the rain. 
 
 The girls want the rain to go away. 
 
 Rain, rain, go away. 
 
 The girls want to run away to play. 
 
 8. Seat work. See Chapter I, 11, and Chapter V, 9. 
 
 With the small cards in the envelope, pupils 
 make the rhyme on their desks, copying from 
 the large card. 
 
 9. Phonics. Teach the sounds of h in hoy and rj in girl. 
 
 See Chapter IV, 9, and Chapter V, 10. 
 
 [Pages 23-25] ^ . , ^ 
 
 For ear training, pronounce clearly words 
 beginning with sounds already taught ; ask pupils to tell 
 with what sound each word begins.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 18-23 ; THE CHART, PAGES 9-10 
 
 Rhyme V 
 
 Rain, rain, go away, 
 
 Come again some other day. 
 
 day again other some 
 
 (Chart, p. 9; Primer, p. 18.) 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 How Jack Horxer sang the Rain Away 
 
 You remember the story about the children in Miss 
 White's class who were going on a picnic, do j^ou not ? 
 You remember the little rhyme they sansi: on 
 
 [Paces 2-41 
 
 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday ? 
 And not a drop of rain fell on those days. But on Friday 
 morning. Jack Horner jumped out of bed and ran to the 
 window, and — oh, dear ! how can I tell you ! — The rain 
 had come at last; not in a few little drops that pattered 
 against the window panes, but in torrents. It just poured ! 
 
 "Oh, dear! Oh, dear !" cried Jack. "Whatever shall 
 we do ! The woods will be wet and we can't have our 
 picnic ! Oh, dear, dear, dear !" 
 
 "Don't cry," said Mother, "perhaps it will be all over 
 by noontime. I think it will. Just be happy and sing, 
 
 101
 
 102 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 ' Rain, rain, go away, 
 Come again some other day.' " 
 
 "Oh, Mother, don't sing that," said Jack. "If you do, 
 the rain might go away now and come back to-morrow, 
 and that would be worse." 
 
 At nine o'clock it still rained so hard that Jack could 
 not go to school, for he was a very little boy and the 
 school was a long way from his home. 
 
 Poor little Jack ! He could hardly keep the tears from 
 rolling down his cheeks just as the raindrops rolled down 
 the window pane. 
 
 "It's bad enough to have it rain and spoil the picnic," he 
 cried, " but it is worse to have it rain to-day and keep me 
 home from school, too." 
 
 He stood at the window, looking out at the rain, and 
 before he knew it, lie found himself singing softly, 
 
 "Rain, rain, go away, 
 Come again some other day." 
 
 As Jack watched, the sky seemed brighter. And he 
 sang louder and more cheerfully — 
 
 "Rain, rain, go away. 
 Come again some other day." 
 
 Over and over again he sang it — 
 
 "Rain, rain, go away, 
 Come again some other day." 
 
 Soon the sun really began to shine through the rain.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 103 
 
 The rain stopped and a beautiful rainbow shone in the 
 sky. 
 
 Jack clapped his hands. " Oh, Mother ! " he cried, "just 
 look at that rainbow ! It chased away the rain just as 
 though it sang, 
 
 ' Rain, rain, go away, 
 Come again some other day.' " 
 
 " Yes," answered Mother. " The rain is over. You 
 may go to school this afternoon. This bright, warm sun 
 will soon dry the grass, and I think 3'ou will be able to 
 have your picnic to-morrow." 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 
 
 3. Dramatize the story. Choose a boy for little Jack 
 Horner. He may look out of the window and tell how 
 grieved he is because it rains. Another child 
 
 may be the mother, and cheer Jack up by teach- 
 ing him the rhyme. Jack repeats the rhyme, looking out 
 of the window. Soon he turns from the window and says, 
 " The sky is getting brighter. Oh, see that rainbow, 
 Mother. The rain is over. May I go to school this after- 
 noon ? " The mother answers as in the story. 
 
 In dramatizing, pupils should not be required or even 
 encouraged to use the words of the story. Original, fluent 
 expression that conveys the thought should be cultivated. 
 
 4. DriU on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, t^*&«« l^l6: 
 
 ^ ^ p. 60: 1,3; 
 
 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 ; Chapter IV, 4, and Chapter VI, 5. p. 61 : 4] 
 
 5. Picture study. Chart, page 9 ; Primer, p. 18). What 
 is the little boy's name ? What time of day is it ? How
 
 104 
 
 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 do you know ? (Child in night clothes.) Why did Jack 
 Horner get up so early and run to the window ? Why is 
 he crying ? What song should he sing ? 
 See Chapter III, 5. 
 
 6. Sentences to be read from the board. 
 
 Rain, go away. 
 
 Go away, rain. 
 [Page 93] Go away to-day. 
 
 Some girls want to play. 
 
 Some girls want to play to-day.. 
 [Pages 5-6] Other girls want to run. 
 
 Rain, go away. 
 [Pages 40-41] Come again, rain. 
 
 Come some other day. 
 
 Some boys want to jump. 
 [Pages 49-52] Some boys want to play. 
 
 Some boys want to play to-day. 
 
 Come some other day, rain. 
 Some boys want the rain. 
 Some boys play in the rain. 
 
 Some boj's jump. 
 
 Other boys run. 
 
 Some boys jump again and again. 
 
 Some boys run to me. 
 Some boys run to the tree. 
 Other boys run away. 
 
 Run to me again, boys. 
 Run again to the tree.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED lUo 
 
 Run to some other tree. 
 
 Some girls want the rain. 
 
 Other girls want the rain to go away. 
 
 Some girls want to jump. 
 
 Other girls want to run and play. 
 
 Some girls want to play in the rain. 
 Other girls want the boys to play. 
 
 Some girls want to play with the boys. 
 Some boys want to play with the girls. 
 
 Go away, rain. 
 Go away to-day. 
 
 Come again, rain. 
 
 Come again some other day. 
 
 7. Reading by doing. See Chapter IV", 7. 
 
 (Something to Do) 
 
 Come to me, boys. 
 
 Run away. 
 
 Come again, boys. 
 
 Run away again. 
 
 Some other boys come. 
 
 Go away again. 
 
 Come to me, girls. 
 
 Go away, girls. 
 
 Boys and girls, come to me. 
 
 Run away, boys. 
 
 Girls, run away.
 
 lOG LEARNING TO READ 
 
 8. The Primer. Those teachers who are not using the 
 
 Reading Chart may profitably begin the use of the Primer 
 
 „ , at about this point. The transition from the 
 
 [Page 57 ; 1 ; ^ . 
 
 p. 58:4; board to the book will not be difficult, as the 
 ^ ' pupils are already familiar, through the use of 
 
 the sight-word cards, with the printed forms of the words. 
 They should begin to read the book from the beginning. 
 They will, thus, quickly review all that they have read 
 from the board. From now on, reading from the board 
 will rapidly give w^ay to reading from the book. 
 
 9. Seat work. See Chapter I, 11 ; Chapter 
 [Pag,, 69-70] Y^ g^ .^j Chapter VI, 8. 
 
 Very soon after pupils begin to read in class from the 
 Primer they should begin to have study periods for read- 
 ing at their seats certain stories or assigned groups of 
 sentences in the book. They should be taught to refer 
 to the rhymes which they have memorized to find words 
 which they do not recognize in the text. 
 *^° ' The sentences thus read at the seats w^ill, ef 
 course, be read aloud in class. 
 
 10. Phonics. Teach the sound of d in day. See Chapter 
 IV, 9, and Chapter V, 10. 
 
 Require pupils to give words beginning with sounds 
 already studied. The words given may or may not be 
 words studied by the pupils in class. For example, should 
 the teacher call for words beginning with the sound of ^9, 
 the pupils may give, indeed often do give, such words as 
 pla?j, 2^ie, pijie, ^^?w>i^^A;m, Peter, j^^dl, 2Jut, paper, pencil.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 107 
 
 jncnic. In giving the words, pupils slightly exaggerate 
 the sound of the first letter. 
 
 Interest is often aroused by letting these sound drills 
 take the form of games, as follows : A pupil passes around 
 the room touching any number of objects. Instead of 
 naming them he gives the sound with which the name 
 begins; as, touching the board, he gives the sound of h, 
 touching the "desk, he gives the sound of d. As soon as 
 the pupil makes a mistake he takes his seat and the child 
 who gives the correct sound takes the first pupil's place. 
 For concert work the teacher may point to the objects and 
 pupils give the sounds. 
 
 Similar drills may be given with lists of words on the 
 board or with the words on a page of the reading chart. 
 But in the drill with written or printed words the child 
 should give not only the first sound, but also the word as 
 a whole. For example, with the words girl and come: the 
 child should first point to the letter rj, sound it, and then 
 pronounce the word rjifi ; point to c, sound it, and then 
 pronounce the word come. Of course all this work should 
 include only Avords studied by the children.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 24-30; THE CHART, PAGES 11-13 
 
 Rhyme VI 
 
 Sing, little girl, 
 Sing, little boy. 
 The rain is over, 
 Sing for joy. 
 
 sing is over little joy for 
 
 (Chart, p. 11 ; Primer, p. 24.) 
 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 Miss White's Picnic 
 
 Would you like to hear about Miss White's picnic ? 
 
 On Saturday morning the sun was shining as though it 
 had never hidden behind the big, dark rain clouds. At 
 nine o'clock the children gathered at the school- 
 house. Each child carried a box or a basket of 
 lunch. I wish I had time to tell you all the good things 
 these boxes and baskets held. 
 
 Jack Horner said he had a Christmas pie for his lunch. 
 
 Simon Simple said, " I have for my lunch the whale 
 that I caught in my mother's pail." 
 
 The children all laughed and each tried to think of 
 something funny to say he had for lunch. 
 
 108
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 109 
 
 But now a big wagon drove up to the door, and the 
 children rushed out and climbed into it and away they 
 drove. 
 
 " Let us sing something," said one little boy. 
 
 " Shall we sing, ' Rain, rain, go away ? ' " asked Simon 
 Simple. 
 
 "No," said Miss White, "let us sing this — 
 
 "Sing, little girl, 
 Sing, little boy, 
 The rain is over. 
 Sing for joy." 
 
 " Good, good ! " shouted the children. So they quickly 
 learned the little rhyme and sang merrily all the way — 
 
 "Sing, little girl, 
 Sing, little boy. 
 The rain is over. 
 Sing for joy." 
 
 Soon they reached the grove where the picnic was to be 
 held. 
 
 Swings had been put up under the trees. The children 
 rushed to them. Up, up, up they flew almost to the 
 branches! As they swung they sang their new song, 
 
 " Sing, little girl, 
 Sing, little boy. 
 The rain is over. 
 Sing for joy." 
 
 All day long they played games, ran races, and ate 
 lunches.* At last tired, but very happ}^, they sat down
 
 110 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 under the trees to rest. But not one was too tired to join 
 in singing the new song — 
 
 " Sing, httle girl, 
 Sing, httle boy, 
 The rain is over, 
 Sing for joy." 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. The teacher 
 may play that she is Miss White ; her pupils may be 
 Miss White's children sitting in the wagon on the way 
 to the picnic. 
 
 3. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 ; 
 Chapter IV, 4, and Chapter VI, 5. 
 
 All rhymes should be kept on the blackboard, or on 
 separate charts, low enough for pupils to reach them. 
 These rhymes are to be used by the pupil as an 
 aid in finding for himself, at any time, any word 
 he may have forgotten. For example, a child is reading 
 from board or chart. He comes to the word vnth, which 
 he does not recognize. Instead of telling him the word, the 
 teacher says, " Find it in Rhyme II." The teacher then 
 goes on with her recitation, leaving the child to find the 
 word for himself. He walks over to Rhyme II and reads 
 until he finds the word icith. Then he joins the class and 
 reads the sentence. Too much emphasis cannot be put 
 upon the importance of training the pupil to work thus 
 independently. 
 
 The following device for reviewing words is worth 
 using occasionally. Give each child a card (one of the
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 111 
 
 large word cards) containing a word already tauglif. 
 Each child runs to the " reference rhymes " with hi.? 
 card and places it under the same word in a rhyme. Thu 
 teacher passes quickly from child to child, collecting tb« 
 cards as the words are pronounced correctly. If a child 
 cannot read his word, he is directed to repeat the rhyme 
 till he comes to the right word. 
 
 4. Picture study. (Chart, page 11.) For what are the 
 children waiting ? Which child do you think will see the 
 wagon first ? Show me Jack Horner. The 
 
 tiny little girl. Simon Simple. What have 
 the children in the boxes, pails, and baskets ? What did 
 Jack Horner bring for his lunch ? What did Simon Simple 
 bring? Do you think Miss White and the other children 
 will come in the wagon ? Do the children look glad be- 
 cause the rain is over ? What song will they sing ? 
 
 5. Reading from the board. 
 
 Sincf, little ffirls. 
 
 bing, little boys. 
 
 The little girls sing, 
 
 " Rain, rain, go away. 
 
 Come again some other day.'* 
 
 The little boys sing, 
 " The rain is over. 
 Sing for joy." 
 Sing again, little girls, 
 Sing again, little boys. 
 Sing, for the rain is over 
 Sing to-day for joy.
 
 112 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 [Page 13-15] 
 
 Come, sing with me. 
 
 Sing with me, girls and boys. 
 
 Sing with me for joy. 
 
 The rain is over. 
 The rain is over for to-day. 
 Sing, little girl. 
 Little boy, sing. 
 I'P^S^^J^^-^'^ • Sing, boys and girls, sing for joy. 
 p. 45; 15] Run, little boys, run and jump. 
 Sing, little girls, sing and play. 
 The rain is over. 
 Boys and girls play to-day. 
 
 Sing and play, little girls. 
 
 Play and sing, little boys. 
 
 Sing again for joy, little girls. 
 
 Run and jump again for joy, little boys. 
 
 iPage 54 ; 9] 
 
 Come again, rain. 
 Come some other day. 
 To-day is for play. , 
 
 To-day is for joy. 
 
 Sing, girls, sing for joy. 
 
 Sing, boys, sing with the girls. 
 
 Sing, boys, for the rain is over. 
 
 Sing, boys and girls, sing again and again. 
 
 6. Drill on the regular singular and plural forms of nouns and 
 verbs. After this exercise use either form without any 
 formal drill.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 
 
 113 
 
 girl 
 
 girls 
 
 jump 
 
 jumps 
 
 boy 
 
 boys 
 
 rain 
 
 rains 
 
 tree 
 
 trees 
 
 want 
 
 wants 
 
 play 
 
 plays 
 
 come 
 
 comes 
 
 run 
 
 runs 
 
 sing 
 
 sings 
 
 The little girl sings and plays. 
 
 The little girls sing and play. 
 
 The little boy jumps and runs. 
 
 The little boys jump and run. 
 
 The rain comes. 
 
 The girl runs over to the trees. 
 
 The boy plays in the rain. 
 
 The girl wants the rain to go away. 
 
 The boys want the rain to-day. 
 
 7. Seat work. See Chapter I, 11, Chapter V, 9, and 
 Chapter VI, 8. With small cards pupils recon- 
 struct the rhyme on their desks following the 
 printed copy on the chart. 
 
 8. Phonics. Teach the sound of s in sing and of / in joy. 
 See Chapter IV, 9, Chapter V, 10, and Chapter VII, 10. 
 
 [Pages 69-70]
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 33-39 ; THE CHART, PAGES 14-15 
 
 Rhyme VII 
 
 Little Bluebird in the tree, 
 Sing a song to me. 
 
 blue bird a song in 
 
 (Chart, p. 14; Primer, p. 33. ) 
 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 The Bluebird 
 
 Miss White's children, who went on the picnic, were so 
 happy they sang all the songs they knew. 
 These are the songs they sang. Let us say 
 
 them together. 
 
 Come away, 
 Come and play. 
 
 Run with me 
 To the tree. 
 
 Boys and girls, come and play, 
 Jump and run — away, away. 
 
 Rain, rain, go away. 
 Boys and girls want to play. 
 114
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 115 
 
 Rain, rain, go away, 
 
 Come again some other day. 
 
 Sing, little girl, 
 Sing, little boy, 
 The rain is over. 
 Sing for joy. 
 
 When they had sung all their songs over and over, 
 little Jack Horner cried out, " See that little bluebird in 
 the tree ! Why doesn't he sing ? " 
 
 " Perhaps he is only waiting to be asked," answered 
 Simon Simple. 
 
 "Let us ask him," said Miss White. And she called 
 to the little bird, 
 
 " Little Bluebird in the tree, 
 Sing a song to me." 
 
 The little bird sat still and made no sound. Miss 
 White called again, 
 
 " Little Bluebird in the tree, 
 Sing a song to me." 
 
 Still the little bird was silent. 
 
 " Perha^DS if we all ask him together, he will sing to us," 
 said Simon Simple. 
 
 "Perhaps he will," said Miss White. "Let us try it. 
 All say with me, 
 
 ' Little Bluebird in the tree, 
 Sino- a sonor to me.'" 
 
 Miss White and the children said over and over,
 
 116 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 " Little Bluebird in the tree, 
 Sing a song to me." 
 
 But little Bluebird did nothing more than hop about 
 from branch to branch and look at them. 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 
 
 3. Dramatize the story. Children represent Bluebird, Jack 
 Horner, Simon Simple, and Miss White. Follow the main 
 [Page 9 ; 2 ; eveuts of the storj, somewhat as follows : 
 
 pp. 10-11] (Child on chair for Bluebird.) 
 
 Jack Horner. — See that dear little bluebird! Why does he 
 not sing ? 
 
 Simon Simple. — Maybe because no one has asked him. 
 Miss White. — I will ask him. 
 
 Little Bluebird in the tree, 
 Singf a souCT to me. 
 
 (Bluebird hops about, but does not sing.) 
 
 Miss White. — I will ask him again. (Repeats the rhyme.) 
 Simon Simple. — Perhaps if we all ask together, he will sing 
 to us. 
 
 Miss White. — Perhaps he will. Let us try it. 
 
 All. — (Repeat rhyme.) 
 
 Jack Horner. — Let us trj' once more. 
 
 ^ZZ. — (Rhyme.) 
 
 (Bluebird flies away; that is, the child flies to his seat.) 
 Simon Simple. — There, he lias flown away. 
 
 4. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 4, 6, 7, 8, 
 9 ; Chapter IV, 4 ; Chapter VI, 5, and Chapter VIII, 3. 
 
 5. Picture study. (Chart, page 14; Primer, p. 33.) At
 
 [Page 2 ; 2] 
 
 [Page 61 ; 3] 
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 117 
 
 what is Jack Horner pointing ? What does he want Blue- 
 bird to do ? What song did Miss White teach the children 
 to sing to Bluebird ? 
 See Chapter III, 5. 
 6. Reading from the board. 
 
 ISing, little Bluehird. 
 Sing a song to me. 
 Sing a song to the boys. 
 Sing a song to the girls. 
 
 Little girls, sing a song. 
 
 Sing, "The rain is over." 
 
 Sing to the little bird. 
 
 Sing with the little boy. 
 
 Sing to Bluebird. [Page 41; 7] 
 
 Sing again for joy. 
 
 A little bird is in the tree. 
 The bird is a bluebird. 
 The bluebird sings a song. 
 Little Bluebird sings to me. 
 Bluebird sings to a little girl. 
 Bluebird sings to a little boy. 
 The rain is over. 
 Bluebird sings for joy. 
 
 Sing to me, little Bluebird. 
 Sing a song to me. 
 Sing some other songs. 
 Sing again, little Bluebird. 
 Sing other songs to me. 
 Sing in the tree. 
 Sing for joy.
 
 118 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 Sing to the little girl. 
 
 Sing to the little boy. 
 
 Sing, little bird, sing for joy. 
 Who I 
 Boy. — AVho wants to jump ? 
 Qirl. — I want to jump. 
 Girl. — Who wants to run ? 
 Boy. — I want to run. 
 Boy. — Who wants the rain ? 
 Grirl. — The little boys want the rain. 
 Grirl. — Who wants the rain to go away ? 
 Boy. — Little girls want the rain to go away. 
 Boy. — Who sings for joy ? 
 Girl. — I sing for joy, little boy. 
 
 7. Silent reading. Pupils read each of the following sen- 
 tences silently, then answer aloud. Thus, to the first 
 question, Who wants to run with me? the pupil may 
 answer — A little boy wants to run with me. The second 
 question. Who wants to jump ? may be answered, I want 
 to jump, or, A little girl wants to jump. 
 
 Sometimes the teacher allows the child to run to her 
 and whisper the answers, to the questions. Then she 
 writes them on the board, each answer under the ques- 
 tion to which it belono-s. When this w^ritten exercise is 
 finished, the questions and answers make a good dialogue 
 that may be read by two children, one reading the ques- 
 tions, the other the answers. 
 
 (Silent Reading) 
 Who wants to run with me ?
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 119 
 
 Who wants to jump ? 
 
 Who wants the rain to come ? 
 
 Who wants to play in the rain ? 
 
 Who wants to sing ? 
 
 Who wants to sing a song to me ? 
 
 Who sings in the tree ? 
 
 Who sings a song to me ? 
 
 Who sings, " The rain is over " ? 
 
 Who wants to run away with me ? 
 
 Who wants to run to the tree ? 
 
 Who wants to run again ? 
 
 Who jumps and runs away ? 
 
 8. The Primer. Those teachers who are using both the 
 Reading Chart and the Primer should have the pupils 
 begin read in cr from the latter at about this ,„ ^r, ». 
 
 » f [Page 57: 2] 
 
 point. It will be w^ell to let them read the 
 
 book from the beginning, thus reviewing at first the work 
 
 they have had from the chart and the board. 
 
 9. Seat work. See Chapter I, 11; Chapter V, 9; Chapter 
 VI, 8, and Chapter VIII, 7. 
 
 As soon as books are placed in pupils' hands, they should 
 begin to read from them to themselves, at their seats. 
 This is one of the most profitable kinds of busy w^ork. In 
 reading for themselves they are getting the best kind of 
 training in independent work, in applying what they have 
 already learned. If, at first, they are given something to 
 read from the Primer which they have already read from 
 the chart and board, the demand on their powers will not 
 be too great. As they become accustomed to the use of
 
 120 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 the book, they will be able to undertake advance work 
 successfully. Reference to the rhymes whicli they have 
 memorized — a habit which the pupils should have well 
 established by this time — will enable them really to read 
 the stories which contain only such words as have already 
 been used in rhymes. The pupils' growing knowledge of 
 phonics will enable them gradually — - if properly .applied 
 — to read far beyond the power afforded by their vocabu- 
 lary of " rhyme " words. 
 
 The child experiences a peculiar and keen delight in 
 his power to read indef)endently. Once let him become 
 conscious of that power, and his problem of learning how 
 to read is essentially solved. Give him the opportunity 
 and he will learn to read by reading. All the help that 
 the teacher can afford will be doubly helpful because the 
 child knows how to use the assistance given. 
 
 Because the beginning of independent reading at the 
 earliest possible moment is of such importance, not only 
 as an accomplishment in itself, but especially as the most 
 effective means of sure and rapid advancement in the art, 
 it should be given every care and encouragement. What 
 a child has read to himself, he should read afterward in 
 class, or, often better, to the teacher alone. Let the teacher 
 encourage that feeling of wholesome pride which the child 
 naturally experiences when he has done something all by 
 himself. 
 
 10. Phonics. Teach the sound of I in little and of m in 
 me. See Chapter IV, 9; Chapter V, 10, and 
 
 [Pages 23-25] ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^ _
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE PRIMER. PAGES 40 46 ; THE CHART, PAGES 16-n 
 
 Rhyme VIII 
 
 Sing, little Bluebird, 
 Tell of the spring ; 
 Sing, little Bluebird, 
 The glad news bring. 
 
 tell of spring 
 
 glad news bring 
 
 (Chart, p. 16 ; Primer, p. 40.) 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 The Bluebird's Song 
 
 "Miss White," said Simon Simple, *' Miss 
 White, I think I know wh}' Bluebird does not 
 sing to us." 
 
 '' Why is it, Simon ? " asked Miss White. 
 
 " Because he doesn't know what to sing ; he doesn't 
 know what to sa\%" answered Simon Simple. 
 
 " Of course the bluebird knows what to siuor. All birds 
 have songs that they know," cried Jack Horner. 
 
 " But we didn't know what to sing until Miss White 
 taught us," said Simon Simple. " Miss White taught us 
 
 121
 
 122 . LEARNING TO READ 
 
 every song we know. Do you think a; little bluebird 
 knows more than boys and girls?" 
 
 " Maybe Simon is right," said Miss White. " Anyway, 
 it will do no harm to try to teach the little bird. Come, 
 Bluebird, come. We'll tell you what to sing about." 
 
 Little Blueljird seemed to be not one bit afraid, for he 
 flew right down among the children and lighted on a 
 stump. 
 
 "Come, children," said Miss White, "let's tell Bluebkd 
 what to sing. 
 
 ' Sing, little Bluebird, 
 Tell of the spring ; 
 Sing, little Bluebird, 
 The glad news bring.' 
 
 Now all sing it with me." 
 
 All the children joined hands and made a big circle 
 «bout Bluebird, and they sang over and over, 
 
 " Sing, little Bluebird, 
 Tell of the Spring ; 
 Sing, little Bluebird, 
 The glad news bring." 
 
 At last little Bluebird sang, oh, so sweetly. He sang 
 about the spring ; he sang about the birds and flowers. 
 It was such g;lad news. 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 
 
 Be sure pupils get the thought in this rhyme, or it will 
 be hard for them to learn the words. Ask 
 
 fPage4; 2] I . 
 
 such questions' as, What does Bluebird tell of
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 123 
 
 the spring ? What news does Bluebird bring ? Why do 
 we call it glad news ? 
 
 3. Dramatize the story, following main events 
 as in the last dramatization (Chapter IX, 3). 
 
 4. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 4, 6, 7, 8, 
 9; Chapter IV, 4; Chapter ' VI, 5, and Chap- [Page go ;i 
 
 ter VIII, 3. 3;p 61;4] 
 
 5. Another word drill. Place a card containing; a word 
 on each child's desk, the word side turned down. The 
 teacher directs, '• Turn cards," following this order imme-, 
 diately with — "Bring me 2)lay, go, come, other, tell, etc." 
 The child having the card containing the word called by 
 the teacher runs with it to her. The game is 
 continued until all the cards are collected. If 
 
 a child does not know his word, he goes at once to the 
 reference rhyme containing it and finds it for himself. 
 
 6. Picture study. (Chart, page 16 ; Primer, p. 40.) What 
 did the children sing to Bluebird ? Is Bluebird singing 
 to the children? Why does Simon Simple hold up hir 
 finger? Are the other children listening to Bluebird's 
 song ? What glad news does Bluebird sing to the chil- 
 dren ? 
 
 See Chapter III, 5. 
 
 7. Reading from the board. 
 
 Tell me glad news. 
 
 Tell me of the siirincr. 
 
 ,p n ,, . , '' [Page 93: 8] 
 
 leli the ram to go away. 
 
 Tell Bluebird to come again.
 
 124 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 I want glad news. 
 [Pagel06;8] ^ ■ ^ c .. • 
 
 Bring news oi the spring. 
 
 Tell me again, " Spring is come." 
 
 Tell me Bluebird is come again. 
 
 Spring brings the bluebirds. 
 Bluebirds want spring to come. 
 Go away, rain. 
 Come, glad spring. 
 
 Sing, Bluebird, sing the glad news. 
 Spring is come, sing for joy. 
 
 Little Bluebird is glad. 
 Bluebird brings glad news. 
 Little Bluebird sings. 
 Bluebird sings a song of joy. 
 The song tells me spring is come. 
 
 A song of spring is glad news. 
 
 A song of spring is a song of joy. 
 
 Sing, little Bluebird, sing to me. 
 
 Tell me of the spring. 
 
 Bring me glad news. 
 
 Bring me glad news of the spring. 
 
 Tell me, " Spring is come." 
 
 The little girl is glad. 
 
 The rain is over. 
 
 The little girl sings, " Spring is come." 
 
 8. Dialogue. The following sentences are to be read as 
 a dialogue by two children. Or all the chil- 
 dren may take sides facing each other in two 
 
 [Pages 40-41] 
 [Pages 43-45]
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 125 
 
 lines. The children on one side may ask the questions in 
 order and the children on the other side answer in tiurn. 
 
 What ? 
 
 Who sings in the tree ? 
 
 Little Bluebird sings in the tree. 
 
 What is the song Bluebird sings ? 
 Bluebird sings, '' Spring is come." 
 
 Who brings glad news ? 
 Bluebird brings glad news. 
 
 What is the glad news Bluebird sings ? 
 Bluebird tells me, " Spring is come." 
 
 What is the song the little girl sings ? 
 
 The little girl sings, "Bain, rain, go away." 
 
 What is the song the little boy sings ? 
 
 The little boy sings, "Jump and run — away, away." 
 
 9. Seat work. See Chapter 1,11 ; Chapter V, 9; Chap- 
 ter VI, 8; Chapter VIII, 7, and Chapter IX, 9. 
 
 Reconstruct the rhyme from memory, using small cards 
 in the envelopes. 
 
 All these forms of seat work with word cards are 
 good, but it is not necessary or advisable to 
 give all forms with each rhyme. Such forms 
 should be chosen as will tend to continuous progress in 
 neatness, difficulty, and independence on the part of the 
 child.
 
 126 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 10. Phonics. Teach tlie sound of t in tell and of n in 
 news. See Chapter IV, 9; Chapter V, 10, and Chapter 
 VIT, 10. 
 
 The pupil should have drill on the initial consonant 
 sound in five ways, (a) He should have drill '^n the first 
 [Page 23: 3; analysis of the word containing the ne;v sound, 
 p. 25; 8] ^g shown on phonetic cards, ih) He should be 
 required to find the letter and sound in words on chart and 
 board, {c) He should be able to distinguish the sound 
 in words repeated to him. (c/) He should be able to 
 give a list of words beginning Avith a required sound. 
 As already stated, these words need not be limited to 
 words he has learned to read, (e) He should be able 
 to tell the sound of the consonant instantly when he sees 
 it written alone.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 47-55 ; THE CHART, PAGES 18-21 
 
 Rhyme IX 
 
 Little squirrel, run around, 
 Look for acorns on the ground. 
 
 squirrel look around 
 
 acorns on ground 
 
 (Chart, p. 18 ; Primer, p. 47.) 
 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 The Tale of Squirrel Frisk 
 
 It was autumn. The nuts were ripe. The boys had 
 been busy for days gathering them. The squirrels were 
 busy, too. Every one was gatherinQ- nuts and 
 
 . , r 1 [Pages 2-4] 
 
 puttuig them away for the wmter. 
 
 Did I say every one ? Then I made a mistake ; for one 
 little gray squirrel named Frisk sat in the sunshine on a 
 low branch and did nothing but watch the otheTs. 
 
 "Why are you not gathering nuts?" asked an old 
 squirrel. 
 
 "Time enough yet," answered Frisk, in such a sleepy 
 voice. 
 
 "Time enough!" cried the old squirreL "It will be 
 winter very soon now." 
 
 127
 
 128 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 ''Go away and don't bother me. I want to sit here in 
 the sun and rest," said Frisk. 
 
 "Rest!" repeated the old squirrel. "You will have all 
 winter to rest. Now is the time to work. 
 
 'Little squirrel, run around. 
 Look for acorns on the ground.'" 
 
 And the old squirrel, scolding and chattering, went off to 
 his work. 
 
 A blue jay flew to the branch and, cocking his wise old 
 head to one side, looked at Frisk. 
 
 "What did that old squirrel just say to you, Frisk ?" he 
 asked. 
 
 "Oh, he said, 
 
 ' Little squirrel, run around, 
 Look for acorns on the ground.' " 
 
 "Why do you not do what he says?" asked the jay. 
 "Winter will soon be here. Then what will you do?" 
 
 "Why don't you gather some nuts yourself?" asked 
 Frisk. 
 
 "I don't have to gather nuts. I just watch where you 
 silly squirrels hide your acorns. Then I help myself from 
 your stores. So 
 
 ' Little squirrel, run around. 
 Look for acorns on the ground,' 
 
 and remember to find some for me, too. Ha ! ha ! ha ! " 
 screeched the jay. And off he flew. 
 
 "Well," said Frisk, "if Mr. Blue Jay thinks I'm going
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 129 
 
 to work this pleasant day gathering nuts for him to steal, 
 he is much mistaken." So saying, Frisk curled himself 
 up in a ball, and was soon fast asleep. 
 
 Up blew the wind. How cold it grew ! Frisk woke 
 from his nap, shivering. 
 
 " Oo-oo-oo," blew the wind, " oo-oo-oo, oo-oo-oo-oo, win- 
 ter is coming. Hurry, little squirrel, and gather food for 
 the winter. This is your last chance. Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo." 
 
 Down from his branch jumped Frisk. How he worked 
 all the rest of that beautiful autumn day ! And what 
 a lot of nuts he gathered ! No one had to say now — 
 
 " Little squirrel, run around, 
 Look for acorns on the ground," 
 
 for no other squirrel, little or big, gathered as many as 
 Frisk. He hid them away in such a safe place ! You 
 couldn't have found them if you had searched all day. 
 Even that sly old thief, the blue jay, couldn't find where 
 Frisk had hidden his nuts. 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 
 
 3. Dramatize the story. Several children represent the 
 busy little squirrels gathering nuts for winter. One child, 
 curled up on a chair or bench, takes the part 
 
 of Frisk. Other children are the old squirrel, 
 
 the blue jay, and the wind. In dramatizing, follow the 
 
 events of the story. 
 
 4. Drill on the written rhyme. See Chapter III, 4, G, 7, 8, 
 9; Chapter IV, 4; Chapter VI, 5; Chapter 
 
 VIII, 3, and Chapter X, 5. [Pages 15-16]
 
 130 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 5. Picture study. (Chart, page 18 ; Primer, p. 47.) 
 What are the squirrels doing? Show me lazy Frisk. 
 
 - „, Has he gathered any nuts? Why not? Doesn't 
 
 [Pages 7-8] * . f . '^ . 
 
 he know winter is coming ? What did he 
 say to the people who told him to gather nuts ? Who 
 almost blew him from his branch ? What did the wind 
 say to Frisk ? Did Frisk gather any nuts ? Do you 
 think the wind blew some acorns from the tree for Frisk ? 
 
 6. Reading from the board. 
 
 Little squirrel, run. 
 Run around, little squirrel. 
 Run on the ground. 
 Run around on the ground. 
 Run for acorns, little squirrel. 
 Little squirrel, run around. 
 Look for acorns. 
 Look in the tree. 
 Look on the ground. 
 Look around, little pquirrel. 
 ages Look for some acorns on the ground. 
 
 Look for other acorns on the tree. 
 Look the ground over and over. 
 Look in the tree again and again. 
 
 The little squirrel is on the ground. 
 
 The little squirrel runs around and around. 
 
 The squirrel looks for acorns. 
 
 Bring some acorns to the little squirrel. 
 
 Run to the tree, little squirrel. 
 Run and jump over the ground. 
 
 [Pages 47-49] 
 [Pages 7-8]
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 131 
 
 Run around the tree, little squirrel. 
 Run and jump around and around. 
 Spring, little squirrel, spring into the tree. 
 I want some acorns, little squirrel. 
 Bring me some acorns. 
 Jump to the ground. 
 Brinof the acorns to me. 
 
 Run away, little squirrel. 
 
 Run to the other tree. 
 
 Come again, little squirrel. 
 
 Come again to nie. 
 
 The little squirrel is in the tree. 
 
 The little squirrel wants acorns. 
 
 The squirrel is glad. 
 
 The squirrel jumps for joy. 
 
 The squirrel wants some acorns. 
 
 Squirrel wants acorns for the little squirrels. 
 
 Look around, little squirrel. 
 
 Look for acorns for the little squirrels. 
 
 Bring acorns to the little squirrels. 
 
 Tell the little squirrels to look for acorns. 
 Tell the squirrels to look on the ground. 
 Tell the squirrels to look in the tree. 
 Tell the squirrels to run to the tree. 
 Tell the squirrels to jump over the ground. 
 
 Bluebird is in the tree with the squirrel. 
 
 Bluebird sings to the squirrel. 
 
 Bluebird sings a glad song. 
 
 Bluebird sings of the spring. 
 
 " Spring is come," sings Bluebird.
 
 132 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 "Sing, sing for joy." 
 
 Bluebird brings news of the glad spring. 
 
 7. Drill in ending -ing. After this exercise pupils should 
 be required to read sentences containing verbs ending in 
 -ing without any formal drill. 
 
 run 
 
 running 
 
 play 
 
 playing 
 
 look 
 
 looking 
 
 tell 
 
 telling 
 
 sing 
 
 singing 
 
 bring 
 
 bringfinsf 
 
 go 
 
 going 
 
 jump 
 
 jumping 
 
 come 
 
 coming 
 
 spring 
 
 springing 
 
 8. Silent reading. See Chapter IX, 7. 
 
 Who is playing in the tree ? 
 Who is singing in the tree ? 
 Who is running over the ground? 
 Wlio is telling spring is come ? 
 Who is bringing glad news ? 
 Who is looking for acorns ? 
 Who is jumping into the tree? 
 Who is springing to the ground ? 
 
 9. Seat work. See Chapter T, 11; Chapter V, 9; Chap- 
 
 ter VI, 8; Chapter VIII, 7; Chapter IX, 9, 
 
 and Chapter X, 9. 
 Pupils arrange words from envelopes in columns on 
 desk, following columns on board or on cards prepared by 
 teacher for individual use. 
 
 10. Phonics. Teach the sound of / in /or. See Chapter 
 X, 10.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 
 
 Keep lists of sight words on the board arranged in 
 columns according to the initial consonant, as — 
 
 boy 
 
 come 
 
 rain 
 
 blue 
 
 can 
 
 run 
 
 briiifT 
 
 
 
 11. Exercise in phrasing. The following phrases and short 
 sentences, all of which are taken from rhymes already 
 learned, are to be written on the board. Pupils are to be 
 drilled in reading these expressions fluently and with nat- 
 ural expression. Any tendency to pause between words 
 that belong together, to read jerkily or with hesitation, 
 may thus be overcome. 
 
 Come away. 
 
 Come and play. 
 
 Boys and girls. 
 
 The rain. 
 
 The rain is over. 
 
 Go away. 
 
 Rain, go away. 
 
 Sing for joy. 
 
 With me. 
 
 Run with me. 
 
 Jump and run. 
 
 Come again. 
 
 Some other day. 
 
 Come again some other day. 
 
 Boys and girls want to play. 
 
 Run to the tree. 
 
 Little boy.
 
 134 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 Run, little boy. 
 
 A song. 
 
 Sing a song. 
 
 Sing a song to me. 
 
 The glad news. 
 
 The glad news bring. 
 
 Run around. 
 
 Little squirrel, run around. 
 
 Sing, little Bluebird. 
 
 Look for acorns. 
 
 Tell of the spring. 
 
 On the ground. 
 
 Look on the ground. 
 
 Note: Teachers who are not to use the Primer will turn over to 
 Chapter XVIII, and continue their work in accordance with direc- 
 tions given iu that and the following chapters.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 56-64 
 Rhyme X 
 
 Little bird, fly to the tree ; 
 There a little nest I see. 
 
 there nest see fly 
 
 (Primer, p. 56.) 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 RoBix Redbreast 
 
 Robin Redbreast was hopping abont on the lawn. Very 
 busy he seemed this bright spring morning. Indeed, 
 every day was a busy dav for Robin iiist 
 
 . . . " . [Page 3: 4, 5] 
 
 now; for in his nest, hidden in tlie old tree 
 near the porch, were three baby birds. Such hungry little 
 fellows you never saw ! All day long they cried, " Peep, 
 peep! peep, peep!" which is the birds' way of saying, 
 "More worms ! more worms ! " This was the reason why 
 Robin Redbreast was so very busy. 
 
 James stood at the window, watching Robin. He saw 
 him take two or three little running hops, cock his head 
 to one side, look at the ground with his bright eye, then 
 dig his bill into the earth and begin to pull out a large 
 worm. The worm did not want to come, and Robin was 
 
 135
 
 136 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 SO busy pulling and tugging that he did not see some- 
 thing that was happening just back of him. 
 
 Mrs. Gray Pussy was looking for a breakfast, also. She 
 saw the nice fat robin on the lawn and said to herself, 
 " He will make a fine breakfast for me. I must catch 
 him." 
 
 So Pussy crouched down close to the ground, then 
 slowly, softly she began to creep, creep, creep, nearer 
 and nearer to Robin Redbreast. 
 
 Just then James looked that way and saw Pussy. 
 Quickly he cried out to the robin, 
 
 " Little bird, fly to the tree, 
 There a little nest I see." 
 
 But the window was closed, and Robin did not hear the 
 call. He kept on pulling and pulling at the worm, and 
 Pussy kept on creeping, creeping, nearer and nearer. 
 
 Just as she was about to spring on Robin, James threw 
 up the window and called as loud as he could, 
 " Little bird, fly to the tree, 
 There a little nest I see." 
 
 Robin looked up ! He let go of the worm and flew 
 swiftly to his nest in the old tree. There he sang and 
 sang, " Cheer-up ! cheer-up ! I have lost my breakfast, but 
 Pussy has lost hers, too. So, cheer-up ! cheer-up ! cheer- 
 up ! " 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 
 
 3. Dramatize the story. One child represents Robin hop- 
 ping about on the ground ; another represents Pussy
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 137 
 
 creeping softly to catch Robin; a third child [Pageii;6; 
 may be James and warn Robin. Sometimes p 13; 9] 
 the children like a group of children to represent Robin's 
 little birds in the nest. 
 
 4. Drill on new words used in the rhyme; This drill should 
 be given both on the board and with the rp^ges isie; 
 word cards. pp 60-61] 
 
 5. Picture study. (Primer, page 56.) What is Robin 
 trying to do ? For whom does he want the worms ? 
 Who else is looking for a breakfast ? What does she 
 want for breakfast ? AVho sees Pussy try to 
 
 . [Pages 7-8] 
 
 catch Robin ? What does James call to Robin ? 
 Where is Robin's nest ? Will Pussy catch him ? 
 
 6. Reading from the Primer. Read the stories following 
 the rhyme, pages 57-04. This may be supple- [Pages 15-I6; 
 mented with sentences on the board, as found p-60; 1-3] 
 necessary. 
 
 7. Seat work. Using small word cards, have children 
 make orio'inal sentences. It adds interest to this exercise 
 if occasionally after a child has finished making sentences 
 he is allowed to read his original sentences to the class. 
 Sometimes pupils may exchange seats and read the sen- 
 tences from their neighbors' desks. 
 
 8. Phonics. Teach the sound of tit in there. 
 See Cha^Dter X, 10.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 67-88 
 
 Rhymes XI, XII, XIII 
 
 Little Boy Blue, 
 
 Come blow your horn. 
 
 blow your horn 
 
 (Primer, p. 67.) 
 
 The sheep are in the meadow, 
 The cows are in the corn. 
 
 sheep meadow cows corn are 
 
 (Primer, p. 73.) 
 
 Where is the little boy who looks after the 
 sheep? 
 He is under the haycock, fast asleep, 
 where after under he 
 
 fast asleep haycock 
 
 (Primer, p. 78.) 
 
 In the Primer the above rhyme is divided into three 
 parts. Each part is taken up separately for drill on new 
 words. The whole rhyme can best be taught at once, 
 however. One story is sufficient to introduce it. 
 
 138
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 139 
 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 The Story of Boy Blue 
 
 "Dear, dear!" said Farmer Brown one morning. 
 " What sliall I do ? I must go to town this morning and 
 there is no one I can leave to take care of my 
 
 „ -^ [Pages 2-4] 
 
 cows and sheep. 
 
 Just as he finished speaking, a little boy came walking 
 along; the road. 
 
 "Good morning, Farmer Brown," he said. "Do you 
 want a boy to work on your farm ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed I do," answered the farmer. " I want a 
 boy to look after my cows and shee})." 
 
 " Oh, I can do that," said the little boy. 
 
 " Are you sure you can ? " asked the farmer. 
 
 " Yes, if you will tell me just what to do." 
 
 " Well," said Farmer Brown, " I don't want the sheep 
 to get into the meadow, and the cows must not be allowed 
 to go into the corn." 
 
 " I wdll watch them every minute. I w^on't let one get 
 out of my sight." 
 
 "Very well," said Farmer Brown. "What is your 
 name : 
 
 "My name is Willie, but every one calls me Boy Blue, 
 because I dress in blue and because I have a blue horn." 
 
 "Well, Boy Blue, I have to go to town. Watch the 
 sheep and the cows well. If any try to run away, just 
 blow your horn and they will come back."
 
 140 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 " Oh, don't 3^011 worry. I know how to take care of 
 the cows and sheep," said Boy Blue. 
 
 Farmer Brown went off to town and for some time Boy 
 Blue watched the cows and sheep. Toward noon the 
 sheep were nibbling the grass quietly and most of the 
 cows were asleep in the shade. The rest were standing 
 in the brook under the tall trees. None of them had tried 
 to run away. 
 
 " These cows and sheep are so good and quiet," thought 
 Boy Blue, " I need not stand here watching them. I will 
 sit down in the shade of the big haycock." 
 
 But alas and alas ! He had been sitting there only a 
 short time when his head began to nod — nod — nod and 
 soon he was fast asleep! 
 
 At noon Farmer Brown got back from town and the 
 first thing he saw was — the sheep eating the grass in the 
 meadow ! And the second thing he saw was — the cows 
 trampling down the young corn ! Then he looked for 
 Boy Blue, but no Boy Blue could he see. 
 " Little Boy Blue, 
 Come blow your horn," 
 
 he called. But no Boy Blue answered him. 
 Again he called, 
 
 " Little Boy Blue, 
 Come blow your horn, 
 The sheep are in the meadow, 
 The cows are in the corn." 
 
 But Boy Blue did not answer.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 141 
 
 Then the farmer called to his wife, " Where is the little 
 boy who looks after the sheep ? " 
 
 And his wife answered, " He is under the haycock, fast 
 asleep." 
 
 Away to the haycock ran Farmer Brown. There in the 
 shade lay Boy Blue fast asleep. The farmer shook him 
 and called, 
 
 " Little Boy Blue, 
 Corae blow your horn, 
 The sheep are in the meadow, 
 The cows are in the corn." 
 
 Quickly Boy Blue jumped to his feet ! He blew 
 the horn again and again. Away from the meadow 
 scampered the sheep, and the cows ran as quickly from 
 the corn. 
 
 Boy Blue was ever so sorry. " I will never, never again 
 sleep in the daytime," he said. 
 
 And because he was so sorry, Farmer Brown forgave 
 him. Never again did Boy Blue let the cows and sheep 
 run away. 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 
 
 3. Dramatize the story. 
 
 Characters : Little Boy Blue, Farmer Brown, 
 the Farmer's Wife, some children for sheep, 
 and some for cows. 
 
 Follow the incidents in the story. 
 
 4. Drill on new words used in the rhyme. Use the 
 
 V. A 1 J J [Pages 15-16] 
 
 board and word cards.
 
 142 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 5. Picture study. (Primer, page G7.) Who is sitting on 
 the fence ? Does he look tired ? Do you think he is 
 tired because he has to look after the cows and the sheep? 
 
 What is Boy Blue asking Farmer Brown ? 
 Did Farmer Brown let Boy Blue stay to take 
 care of the cows and sheep ? 
 
 (Page 73.) Where is little Boy Blue now ? Who is 
 shaking him ? What does Farmer Brown say to Boy 
 Blue ? 
 
 (Page 77.) Where are the cows ? What is Boy Blue 
 doing ? Do you think the cows will run from the corn ? 
 See Chapter III, 5. 
 
 6. ReadiiiT^ from the Primer. The stories immediately fol- 
 lowing each part of the rhyme are to be used as soon as 
 [Page 47; 22; ^^^ ^^^^^ words of that part of the rhyme are 
 
 pp. 51-53J mastered. 
 
 The sentences immediately following the third part of 
 the rhyme may be read by two pupils as a dialogue. 
 
 7. Seat work. Cut pages from any old book or magazine, 
 using good type. Let pupils underline all the words they 
 know, and all that they can make out for themselves by 
 sounding. 
 
 8. Phonics. After the first part of the rhyme, teach the 
 n> OQ OCT sound of y in your; after the second part, the 
 
 somid of sh in sheep; and after the third part, 
 the sound of h in he. See Chapter X, 10.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 91-103 
 Rhyme XIV 
 
 Come, little snowflakes, 
 Fl}"^ round and round, 
 Cover with snow 
 The cold, bare ground, 
 snowflakes cover bare snow cold 
 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 The Snowflakes 
 
 (Primer, p. 91.) 
 
 Many little soft white snowflakes lived in a big fleecy 
 cloud in Skvland. The Frost Kino; was their 
 
 •^ ^ [Pages 2-4] 
 
 lather. 
 
 One day the Frost King looked down on the earth. 
 
 " How cold and bare the earth looks to-day ! I fear 
 that the little seeds hidden away in the ground will freeze 
 unless I do something to help them." 
 
 Then he turned to the little snowflakes and called in his 
 loud, cheery voice, 
 
 " Come, little snoAvflakes, 
 Fly round and round, 
 Cover with snow 
 The cold, bare ground." 
 
 143
 
 144 . LEARNING TO READ 
 
 But the snowflakes did not answer him. Neither did 
 they move from their cloud home. 
 
 " They could not have heard me," said the Frost King. 
 " I must call again." So again he called, this time 
 louder than before, 
 
 " Come, little snowflakes, 
 Fly round and round, 
 Cover with snow 
 The cold, bare ground." 
 
 But the snowflakes answered not a word, nor did they 
 move. 
 
 " Why, what can be the matter ? " thought the Frost 
 King. " My children, did you not hear me call you ? " he 
 cried. 
 
 " Yes, father, we heard you, but we do not want to 
 leave our soft, fleecy bed in Skyland to go to the cold, 
 hard ground." 
 
 " Why, for shame, children ! Do you want the little 
 seeds to die ? Don't you want the ground covered with 
 snow for Christmas ? It is only two days before 
 Christmas eve, and if the ground is not well covered with 
 snow, how can Santa Claus visit the earth children? So — ■ 
 
 'Come, little snowflakes. 
 Fly round and round. 
 Cover with snow 
 The cold, bare ground.' " 
 
 Slowly the little snowflakes slid from the great fleecy
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 145 
 
 cloud. Softly one by one they fell to the cold earth, far, 
 far below them. 
 
 The little earth children looked np and saw the flakes. 
 How glad they were ! They clapped their hands and 
 shouted, 
 
 " Come, little snowflakes, 
 Fly round and round, 
 Cover with snow 
 The cold, bare ground." 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 
 
 3. This story may be dramatized, but Ijetter results will be 
 obtained by waiting until after the next story has been 
 told and the next rhyme memorized. See Chapter XV, 3. 
 
 4. Drill on new words used in the rhyme. 
 
 5. Picture study. (Primer, page 91.) What kind of 
 fairies are these ? How do you know they are snowflake 
 fairies ? Where did the snowflakes live ? Who called to 
 them? What did their father call? Did the 
 snowflakes like to leave their nice soft beds in 
 skyland ? Are some still in bed ? Do the ones who have 
 started for the earth seem glad to go ? W^h}- are they 
 looking back at their beds in cloudland ? 
 
 6. Reading from the Primer. Pages 91-103. 
 
 7. Review exercises. Two review exercises follow this 
 rhyme, the dialogue on pages 98-99, and the lines from 
 rhymes already taught on pages 102-103. 
 
 In all dialogue work insist on good expression. The
 
 146 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 [Page 52; 6; children should not read the dialogue merely; 
 pp. 53-55] they should talk it, act it. It is not necessary 
 that two children only take part. Eighteen children, nine 
 boys and nine girls, may read the dialogue in this lesson. 
 As it destroys the spirit and interest in the exercise to 
 have the teacher call the name of each child who is to 
 read, or even to indicate the reader by saying " next," 
 arrange the children in two lines facing each other, the 
 boys in one line, the girls in the other. Have it under- 
 stood that the first boy reads the first sentence for " Boy," 
 the first girl reads the first sentence for " Girl," the second 
 boy the second sentence for " Boy," the second girl the 
 second sentence for " Girl," and so on, back and forth 
 down the lines. The boy who asks the question looks at 
 the girl who is to answer, and in answering the girl looks 
 at the boy. In short, the children should realize that they 
 are talking to each other, not reading groups of words 
 from a book. 
 
 The other exercise, pages 102-103, is given chiefly for 
 practice in correct phrasing. 
 
 8. Seat work. Children group words on small cards ac- 
 
 cording; to the initial consonant. Use small cards 
 
 [Pages 69-70] ° 
 
 already used for other kinds of seat work, as de- 
 scribed in Chapter III, 11, and in following chapters. Fol- 
 low out constantly now the suggestions in Chapter IX, 9. 
 
 9. Phonics. Drill on endings -s, -f?i</, -er, -ed ; Primer, 
 p. 100. See Chapter X, 10.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 104-108 
 Rhyme XV 
 
 Now the wind begins to blow, 
 Faster, faster comes the snow. 
 
 now wind begins 
 
 (Primer, p. 104.) 
 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. This story is really 
 a continuation of the story for Rhyme XIV. 
 
 [Pages 2-4J 
 
 Before telling this, review the last story. 
 
 The Wind axd the Snowflakes 
 
 You remember the snowflakes did not want to leave the 
 great fleecy cloud and go down to the cold, bare earth. 
 So, although they had to go when the Frost King ordered 
 it, they went very slowly — just as slowly as boys and girls 
 sometimes do things they would rather not do. 
 
 The Frost King saw how slowly the flakes were flyiug 
 to earth, and he laughed in his cheery way and said, "Ho! 
 Ho! Ho! I'll send some one to hurry up those lazy snow^- 
 flakes." 
 
 So he called, " Come here. North Wind. See tliose lazy 
 snowflakes. Blow with all your might and send them 
 flying swiftly to the earth." 
 
 U7
 
 148 LEARNING TO RKAD 
 
 "Oo-oo-oo! Oo-oo-oooo ! Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo ! " blew the 
 cold North Wind, right among the siiovvflakes. My, how 
 they flew ! Round and round, faster and faster ! There 
 was no more hanging ])ack, I can tell you. 
 
 How the jolly old Frost King laughed while he watched 
 them. He sang softly to himself, 
 
 " Now the wind begins to blow, 
 Faster, faster comes the snow." 
 
 The earth children looked up and saw the snowflakes 
 hurrying and scurrying to earth, and they, too, sang as 
 they tried to catch the flakes in their little hands, 
 
 " Now the wind begins to blow, 
 Faster, faster comes the snow." 
 
 Soon the earth was covered with a blanket of soft, 
 white snow. Still the wind blew, and still the snowflakes 
 flew to the earth until the drifts were many and deep and 
 the night came on. Then the children ran to their homes 
 singing joyously, 
 
 " Now the wind begins to blow, 
 Faster, faster comes the snow." 
 
 For well the children knew what fun they would have in 
 the morning, playing in the snow. 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter IH, 2. 
 
 3. Dramatize the story. A part of the schoolroom is Sky- 
 land. A number of children — as many as are desired — • 
 
 are snowflakes. One child may be the Frost 
 King, and another North Wind. When the
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 149 
 
 snowflakes first leave Sky land, they should move very 
 slowly, turning round and round; when the wind begins 
 to blow, they turn swiftly and more swiftly until they 
 sink softly to the floor. If the teacher wishes, the chil- 
 dren at their desks may be the earth children; but it 
 should be kept in mind that an audience is as necessary 
 to the success of a dramatized story in the schoolroom as 
 are the actors. 
 
 4. Drill on new words used in the rhyme. Use the board and 
 word cards. 
 
 5. Picture study. (Primer, page 104.) Are these little 
 snowflakes hurrying to the earth ? Who is driving them ? 
 Who asked the wind to blow and drive the snowflakes 
 to earth ? Why ? What did the children sing when 
 they saw the snowflakes flying to the earth ? 
 
 See Chapter III, 5. 
 
 6. Reading from the Primer. Pages 104-108. See Chapter 
 I, Sec. 12, 1, 2, 12-15. 
 
 7. Seat work. It should be understood that the bus}' work 
 already suggested in. preceding chapters of this Manual 
 is to be used again and again, adapted to the 
 
 1 -I • X w A X 1 T [Pages69-72] 
 
 new work as it is taught. Actual readins; 
 
 should form an increasing part of the seat work. See 
 
 Chapter IX, 9.
 
 CHAPTER XVT 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 111-123 
 Rhyme XVI 
 
 Tell me, what does Bluebird say, 
 When he sings at peep of day ? 
 
 does say when at peep 
 
 (Primer, p. 111.) 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 The Bluebird's Song 
 
 Jack Barton should have been a very bappy little boy. 
 He had a good home and a kind mother and father who 
 did everything they could to make him happj;. 
 But still Jack was always grumbling, lie 
 hated to go to bed at night; he hated to get up in the 
 morning ; he hated to go to school ; he hated work of 
 all kinds. 
 
 Tom Nelson was a very poor boy. He had no home, no 
 parents. He worked for the neighbors. Every morning 
 he was up with the birds. Then how busy he was till 
 school time ! In winter he shoveled paths and took care 
 of furnaces ; in summer he mowed lawns and ran errands. 
 He did anything he could find to do, for he had to make 
 his own living. Still Tom was always happy. No one 
 
 150
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED lol 
 
 ever saw liim without a smile on his face. Usually he was 
 whistling or singing. People all said that one glimpse of 
 Tom's bright face made them feel glad. 
 
 One morning as Jack was walking slowly to school, 
 Tom overtook him. 
 
 "Hullo, Jack," cried Tom, cheerily. "What's the mat- 
 ter ? You don't look very happy." 
 
 "Well, I'm not happy," said Jack, crossly. "I hate to 
 go to school." Then as he saw Tom's bright face he said, 
 "Say, Tom, what makes you so happy all the time?" 
 
 "Oh, something that Bluebird told me one morning very 
 early." 
 
 "Something that Bluebird told you! What was it? 
 Tell me." 
 
 "No, you must find out for yourself," answered Tom. 
 "Come, hurry, or we shall be late." 
 
 Away ran Tom, but Jack only walked, and so slowly 
 that he was late for school. 
 
 All that day in school Jack kept thinking, "I wonder 
 what Bluebird told Tom that makes him so happy. I 
 must find out. I shall ask the wood folk; they must 
 now. 
 
 The next day was Saturday, and as soon as Jack had 
 finished his breakfast he ran into the woods. He hadn't 
 gone far when he met a squirrel. 
 
 "Squirrel, Squirrel," he called, 
 
 " Tell nie, what does Bluebird say. 
 When he sings at peep of day ? "
 
 152 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 "I'm not the one to ask," said the squirrel, and 
 before Jack could say another word, he scampered 
 away. 
 
 Next, Jack met a rabbit. "Good-morning, Rabbit," 
 he said, 
 
 " Tell me, what does Bluebird say, 
 When he sings at peep of day ? " 
 
 "Oh, don't ask me," said the rabbit, and away he 
 hopped. 
 
 "Dear me, I wish they wouldn't be in such a hurry. 
 They might at least tell me whom to ask," said Jack. 
 
 "What do you want to ask ?" said a small voice at his 
 feet. " I'm never in a hurry." 
 
 Jack looked down and saw a little snail creeping along. 
 So he said, 
 
 " Tell me, what does Bluebird say, 
 When he sings at peep of day ? " 
 
 "I'm surely not the one you should ask," said the 
 snail. 
 
 " Whom shall I ask then?" said Jack. 
 
 " Why, ask Bluebird, of course," answered the snail. 
 " But you must ask him very early in the morning, at 
 the peep of day." 
 
 " Oh, dear," said Jack, " I can never get up so early as 
 that. Yet I do so want to know what Bluebird told Tom 
 that makes him so happy." 
 
 " Well, go to bed early to-night," said the snail. " Then
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 153 
 
 you will feel like rising early in the morning. That's what 
 we wood folk do." 
 
 " Well, I will try it," said Jack; and he walked slowly 
 toward his home. 
 
 That night at eight o'clock, Jack put away his book 
 and saying, " Good-night, Mother, good-night. Father," 
 went upstairs and straight to bed. Soon he was fast 
 asleep and dreaming that a hundred bluebirds were 
 perched on the foot of his bed singing to him. 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 
 
 3. Dramatize the story. Dramatize only that 
 part of the story which tells of Jack's visit 
 to the wood folk. 
 
 4. Drill on new words. Use board and word cards. See 
 Chapter I, Sec. 6. 
 
 5. Picture study. (Primer, page 111.) What is the 
 little boy's name? Why has he come to the woods? 
 Who was the first animal he met in the woods ? 
 
 What is the rabbit carrying ? What is he going *^^^ 
 to do with it ? What did Jack ask the rabbit ? Did the 
 rabbit tell him what he Avanted to know ? What other 
 animals did Jack meet ? Did any one tell him what Blue- 
 bird sang at peep of day ? 
 
 6. Reading from the Primer. Pages 111-123. See Chap- 
 ter I, Sec. 13, 1-5. 
 
 7. Seat work. See Chapter XV, 7. 
 
 8. Phonics. Teach the sound of i6'A in ivhcn. See Chap- 
 ter X, 10.
 
 154 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 Constantly review and apply sounds already taught. 
 In teaching new words, have children give the sound of 
 the initial consonant, if it is one they kuow. 
 
 The following game often proves very helpful. Tlie 
 teacher, standing before the board with chalk in hand, 
 says, " I'm thinking of a word that begins with h " (or 
 any other consonant). 
 
 Pupils try to guess the word. '• Is it hoy ? " 
 
 Teacher: "No, it is not Z>oy; but hou does begin with h, 
 so I will write it on the board." 
 
 The game goes on till the right word is guessed. When 
 through, lists of words will have been written on the board 
 something as follows — 
 
 b 8 
 
 boy sing 
 
 bird see 
 
 blue spring 
 
 bring song 
 
 If a pupil should guess a wrong word, as ^jZ^?/, he 
 should be corrected at once. " PJaii does not 
 
 [Page 24 ; 5] . . . ^ 
 
 begin with h. With what sound does it 
 begin ? " 
 
 All drills, whether merely mechanical or in the form 
 of games, should be brief, carried on with enthusiasm, and 
 without loss of time.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE PRIMER, PAGES 124-138 
 
 Rhyme XVII 
 
 Bluebird sings, " Wake up, my boy, 
 Morning is come, sing, sing for joy." 
 
 morning wake up my 
 
 (Primer, p. 124.) 
 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. This rhyme is 
 but a coutiiiuation of rhyme XVI , and the 
 
 •^ ' [Pages 2-4] 
 
 story a continuation of the last story. Before 
 telling this story, review the last one. 
 
 What Bluebird sang to Jack 
 
 It was a beautiful spring morning when Jack Barton 
 awoke from a long, sound sleep. It was still very early. 
 The sun was just peeping into Jack's window. The birds 
 were singing their morning songs. Jack rubbed his eyes 
 sleepily. Suddenly he sat straight up in bed and listened 
 with all his might. 
 
 "Was that Bkiebird?" he said to iiimself. 
 
 Yes, it was a bluebird sitting in tlie cherry tree just out- 
 side Jack's window. He was singing and singing till you 
 would think his little throat could not hold so much music. 
 
 Jack listened quietly, but with a smiling face, till Blue- 
 
 165
 
 156 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 bird flew away. Then he said, " I know what Bluebird 
 told Tom. He told me, too. Bluebird sings, 
 
 ' Wake up, my boy, 
 Morning is come, sing, sing for joy.' 
 
 I know now why Tom sings and who told him to sing. 
 Bluebird has taught me to sing and be happy, also. I 
 shall try never to grumble again." 
 
 How glad his fatlier and mother were to see Jack so 
 early at the breakfast table with a smiling face. 
 
 " Well, Jack," said Father, "what makes }ou so happy 
 this morning ? " 
 
 "Bluebird told me something this morning that made 
 me so glad. I shall listen to him every morning and be 
 glad and happy every day." 
 
 " That is good news," said Mother. " But 
 
 ' Tell me, what does bluebird say. 
 When he sings at peep of day ? ' " 
 
 " Bluebird sings, 
 
 ' Wake up, my boy, 
 Morning is come, sing, sing for joy,' " 
 
 answered Jack. 
 
 And ever after there were two happy, bright-faced boys 
 in town, and their names were Tom and Jack. 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter HI, 2. 
 
 3. Dramatize the rhyme. Very little action is called for 
 here. It will be sufficient to have one child take the part 
 of mother and ask,
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 157 
 
 " Tell me, what does Bluebird say, 
 When he sings at peep of day ? " 
 
 Another child may be Jack and answer, 
 "Bluebird sings, 
 
 'Wake up, my boy, 
 Morning is come, sing, sing for joy.' " 
 
 4. Drill on new words. 
 
 5. Picturi study. (Primer, page 124.) Why did Jack 
 wake so early? Why did he leave his window open? 
 Did Bluebird sing for Jack ? Where is he singing ? 
 What does he sing ? Does his song make Jack happy ? 
 See Chapter III, 5. 
 
 6. Reading from the Primer. Pages 124-138. 
 
 The dialogue beginning on page 132 may be read as 
 suggested for a similar exercise under rhyme XIV. That 
 is, some children may represent Squirrel and [Pages39;2; 
 others Bluebird. Be sure that the children get pp- ^o-^i] 
 the connected thought of the whole exercise. 
 
 7. Phonics. Direct pupils' attention to the similarity in 
 
 the endings of certain words, as — 
 
 pi ay me s ing 
 
 ^ -^ . ^ [Pages 19-21] 
 
 w ay. tr ee spr ing 
 
 d ay he br ing „ , 
 
 ^ ^ [Pages 26-27] 
 
 s ay s ee 
 
 A rapid review of the rhymes will form the best intro- 
 duction to this study of sounds. For this purpose the 
 rhymes may be taken up something as follows, using the 
 last one for illustration.
 
 158 LEARNING TO RP:AU 
 
 Tell me, what does Bluebird say, 
 When he sings at peep of day ? 
 
 Bluebird sings, " Wake up, my boy, 
 Morning is come, sing, sing for joy." 
 
 What word sounds something like say ? The answer — 
 da>/. With what sound does say begin ? day ? With 
 what sound do both words end ? Pronounce distinctly, 
 day, say. What word sounds like hoy? With what 
 sound does hoy begin? joy ^ With what sound do both 
 words end ? Pronounce distinctly, hoy, joy.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE FIRST READER, PAGES 3-5 ; THE CHART, PAGES 
 
 22-24 
 
 Rhyme XVIII 
 
 Fly, little birds, to the tall tree. 
 
 Fly to your nest and little birds three. 
 
 fly tall your nest tliree 
 
 (Chart, p. 22 ; First Reader, p. .'].) 
 
 Classes that use and complete the Primer before taking 
 up the First Reader will need very little help in reading 
 the first pages of the First Reader, as most of 
 the words are already familiar. Nearly all the 
 consonant sounds have been thoroughly learned. The 
 various drills and seat work have developed such inde- 
 pendence as will enable the pupils to master the new 
 work rapidly and with ease. 
 
 Pupils who have not read the Primer, but who go di- 
 rectly from the Chart into the First Reader, will advance 
 more slowly at first. They have not the vocabulary, not 
 the same amount of training in independent work, and not 
 the practice in reading, which those have had who work 
 through the Primer. They will probaljly need to spend 
 yet considerable time with the various drills and seat work 
 which continue to be outlined. Every teacher must be 
 
 159
 
 160 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 her own judge, however, of the extent to which her pupils 
 need the training afforded by the various exercises here 
 suggested. Every one of these exercises is designed to 
 serve a definite purpose. When that purpose is accom- 
 phshed, the exercise should not be continued. 
 
 The last pages of the Chart overlap the first pages of 
 the First Reader. The last two rhymes of the Chart are 
 identical with the first two rhymes of the Reader. The 
 stories following each of these rhymes are similar in Chart 
 and Reader, the Chart stories being somewhat fuller than 
 the Reader stories. This overlapping makes the transition 
 from Chart to Reader easy, even for those who now take 
 up their first book. Rhymes and stories should be read 
 first from the Chart, then from the book. 
 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. This story is very 
 similar to the story introducinor a previous 
 
 [Pages 2-4] . . -^ . . 
 
 similar rhyme, rhyme X in the Primer. 
 
 Robin's Escape 
 
 One bright morning in spring, James stood at the win- 
 dow looking out at two robins. The birds were looking 
 for worms, and very hard they had to work, too. For up 
 in the tall tree near the porch was a little nest, and in the 
 nest three baby birds. What hungry little robins they 
 were ! They could only say, " Peep ! peep ! " which means, 
 ^' More ! more!" but they said that from morning till 
 night. So the father and mother robins were kept busy,
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 161 
 
 I can tell you, looking for more, more, and more worms 
 to feed their little ones. 
 
 This morning they were especially busy, for, you see, 
 the babies were one day older, and so one day hungrier 
 than they had been yesterday ; so, of course, they wanted 
 more food. 
 
 Father Robin was pulling a big fat worm from the 
 ground, and Mother Robin was busy looking for another, 
 with her head cocked to one side, so that neither saw nor 
 heard pussy as she came creeping over the grass. Even 
 James was so interested watching the robins that he did 
 not see her either. 
 
 Softly pussy crept over the grass. Nearer and nearer 
 and nearer to the little birds she crept. Then she crouched 
 down, just ready to spring, w4ien James saw her. Quickly 
 he knocked on the window and called, 
 
 "Fly, little birds, to the tall tree. 
 Fly to your nest and little birds three." 
 
 Off flew the two robins to their nest. How disappointed 
 pussy looked ! She looked at James as much as to say, 
 " I would have caught at least one of these robins for my 
 breakfast if you had not called, 
 
 ' Fly, little birds, to the tall tree, 
 Fly to your nest and little birds three.' " 
 
 But the father robin flew to the tree top and, looking 
 down at pussy, sang as loud as he could, " Cheer-up ! 
 Cheer-up ! Cheer-up ! "
 
 162 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Chapter III, 2. 
 
 3. Dramatize the story. See Chapter XII, 3. 
 
 4. Drill on new words used in the rhyme. 
 
 5. Picture study. (First Reader, page 3.) What is 
 the little girl saying to the birds ? (Use rhyme for the 
 answer.) Where is the tall tree ? Call attention to tall 
 tree in .background, note fence, evergreen tree, and hill 
 
 back of tall tree. Can vou see the nest in the 
 
 [Pages 7-8J n o i 
 
 tall tree ? Why not ? Turn to picture on 
 page 5. Here we see the tall tree nearer to us. Is it the 
 same tall tree we saw on page 3 ? How do you know ? 
 Note again fence, evergreen tree, and hill back of tall 
 tree — also the general shape of the tall tree. Now can 
 you see the nest ? See what the parents are doing ? 
 
 6. Reading^ from Chart and First Reader. Chart, pages 22- 
 24 ; First Reader, pages 3-5. 
 
 7. Seat work. See Chapter XII, 7. 
 
 8. Phonics. Pupils who have worked through the Primer 
 have now had all the consonants and their sounds that are 
 
 to be learned by special drill, except ch, k, qu, 
 and V. Those who have reached this point with- 
 out the use of the Primer have still to learn, in addition to 
 the preceding, k, iv, y, sh, tli, and loh. 
 
 The consonants still remainins; to be learned should be 
 taken up in connection with the first words in which they 
 occur as initial consonants, whether these words are met 
 in the regular reading or in the word series. (See Chapter 
 XXIII.)
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 163 
 
 The first series contains words liaving h, w, y, sh, and 
 th as initial consonants ; the second series has a word be- 
 ginning with irJi ; the fourtli series, a word beghming with 
 V ; and the eleventh series, words beginning with ch, k, and 
 qii. Words beginning with these initial consonants are also 
 nsed in the text of the First Reader at the time or soon after 
 the above series are taken up. 
 
 The drill with the consonant cards and other forms of 
 drill already suggested (see Chapter X, 10) should be kept 
 up until pupils recognize accurately and instantaneously 
 the sound of any consonant, no matter where it is seen. 
 Pupils should become accustomed, by constant practice, to 
 applying their knowledge of consonant sounds in their 
 efforts to master new words. 
 
 Work with the word series will begin when page 13, of 
 the First Reader, is reached. Preparation for this work 
 should be made by taking up or continuing the exercise 
 suggested in Chapter XVII, 7.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE FIRST READER, PAGES 6-10 ; THE CHART, 
 PAGES 25-27 
 
 Rhyme XIX 
 
 Fly, little birds, 
 
 To the place you love best, 
 
 To the tall tree 
 
 And your dear little nest. 
 
 place dear best love you 
 
 (Chart, p. 25; First Reader, p. 6.) 
 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 The Captured Robins 
 
 It was evening. The squirrels had gone to their beds. 
 The birds had stopped chattering in the trees. All was 
 quiet but for some peeping that came from the 
 robins' nest in the tall tree by the porch. 
 
 " Peep ! peep ! peep ! Peep ! peep ! peep ! " 
 
 You never heard such a peeping in all your life ! 
 
 " Just listen to those little birds," said James. " I 
 think they are going to stay awake all night." 
 
 " What can be the matter with them ? " asked Mother. 
 " It is surely time all little birds and boys were asleep." 
 
 " I did not hear Father Robin sing his good night song," 
 
 104
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 165 
 
 said James. ^'Did your fatlier forget to sing you to sleep, 
 little birds ? " he asked, looking up into tlie tree. 
 
 " Peep ! peep ! Peep ! peep ! " answered the little birds. 
 
 " There must be something the matter with them," said 
 Mother. " I never knew^ them to act so before." 
 
 Just then a man, carrying a large cage, walked up to 
 the porch. 
 
 "Want to buy two fine birds?" he asked. 
 
 "What kind of birds?" asked Mother. 
 
 "Robins." 
 
 "Where did 3'OU get them?" said Mother. 
 
 " I caught them in a net this morning," was the 
 answer. 
 
 "You wicked, wicked man," said Mother. "Don't you 
 know you can be punished for catching robins or any song 
 birds? Do you want to be arrested ? I think I shall send 
 for a policeman." 
 
 This frightened the man, and he dropped the cage on 
 the floor of the j)orch and ran away as fast as he could go. 
 
 Mother lifted the cage and said to James, " Come, my 
 boy, open the door of this cage and set the little prisoners 
 free. They want to go home to their nests, I know." 
 
 James opened the door and sang, 
 
 " Fly, little birds, 
 To the place you love best. 
 To the tall tree 
 And your dear little nest." 
 
 Out came the frii^htened little birds and flew to the
 
 IGG LEARNING TO READ 
 
 porcli railing. There they hopped about, looking around 
 tliein. Then James sang once more, 
 
 " Fly, little birds, 
 To the place you love best, 
 To the tall tree 
 And your dear little nest." 
 
 As he sang the birds listened to the little bird.-; above 
 them calling "Peep! peep! peep!" 
 
 With soft little cries, they flew straight to the nest in 
 the tree top. 
 
 What a chattering ! What a peeping m that nest — first 
 the little birds, then the old birds, and then the babies 
 again ! 
 
 " The little birds are telling their mother and father 
 how they have missed them ; how afraid they were alone 
 in the dark ; and how glad they are to see them home 
 again," said James. 
 
 "Yes," answered Mother, "and the father and mother 
 birds are telling their babies how glad they are to see them 
 again. Come, James, it is time my little boy was in bed, 
 too." 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. See Cbapter III, 2. 
 
 3. Drill on new words. See Chapter T, Sec. 6. 
 
 4. Picture study. (First Reader, page G.) What are 
 the children doing? Where are they having their pai'ty? 
 
 What are the little birds looking for? Will the 
 
 children o-ive them some crumbs ? Then what 
 
 will they say to the little birds? (Answer in words of
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 167 
 
 rhyme.) Will the little birds carry the crumbs to the 
 nest? What will they do with them? (Pages 7 and 8.) 
 What is the little boy saying to the birds? (Rhyme.) 
 (Page 9.) What are the bh'ds doing? What have they 
 found to eat? What have two of them brought in which 
 to carry home the dinner? To whom will they carr^^ it? 
 The picture helps the pupil to get new words, as that on 
 page 9. What are the birds doing? They are flying. 
 They is a hard word to teach as a mere sight word, but 
 when tliey means the four little birds in the picture, it is 
 soon learned. ArenndfJi/ing, having been used naturally 
 by the child in a sentence, are easily grasped. 
 
 5. Reading from Chart and First Reader. Chart, pages 
 25-27; First Reader, pages 6-10. See Chapter I, Sec. 12, 
 11-15. 
 
 6. Seat work. See Chapter XIII, 7 ; also Chapter II, 
 Sec. 7.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE FIRST READER, PAGES 11-14 
 
 Rhyme XX 
 
 Robin, Robin Redbreast, 
 Singing on the bough, 
 Come and get your breakfast, 
 I will feed you now. 
 
 bough Robin breakfast will 
 
 get Redbreast feed 
 
 (First Reader, p. 11.) 
 
 1. Tell the story, introducing the rhyme. 
 
 RoBix Redbreast's Breakfast 
 
 One morning Robin Redbreast flew from his nest to 
 
 look for some breakfast for himself and his little birds. 
 
 He looked all over the garden and all over 
 
 the field, but either Robin had bad luck that 
 
 morning, or the worms had good luck, for not a single 
 
 worm could he find. 
 
 Now such luck as Robin had would be enough to make 
 some people fuss and others cry, but Robin only flew to 
 the tip-top bough of the tall tree and sang and sang, 
 '^ Cheer-up, cheer-up ! Cheer-up, cheer-up ! Cheer-up, 
 cheer-up ! " 
 
 168
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 1G9 
 
 Gray Greedy Pussy heard Robin and came creeping 
 under the tree. In her mouth she carried a little piece 
 of bread. Looking up at Robin, she said in her softest 
 
 voice, 
 
 " Robin, Robin Redbreast, 
 Singing on the bough, 
 Come and get your breakfast, 
 I will feed you now." 
 
 But Robin knew what Pussy wanted, so he said, " No, 
 no. Gray Greedy Pussy, no, no. I saw you kill a little 
 mouse j^esterday, but you shall not kill me." 
 
 Then Gray Greedy Pnssy crept away. 
 
 Next, Mr. Sly Fox heard Robin's song and came sneak- 
 ing nnder the tree. He held np a little piece of meat that 
 he had stolen and said, 
 
 " Robin, Robin Redbreast, 
 Singing on the bough, 
 Come and get your breakfast, 
 I will feed you now." 
 
 But Robin said, " No, no, Mr. Sly Fox, I saw you kill a 
 little chicken yesterday, but you shall not get me." 
 
 And Mr. Sly Fox had to trot off to the woods without 
 any robin for breakfast. 
 
 Soon little Mary heard Robin singing. Quickly she 
 filled a bowl with crumbs and ran to the tall tree. 
 Holding up her bowl she said, 
 
 " Robin, Robin Redbreast, 
 Singing on the bough.
 
 170 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 Come and get your breakfast, 
 I will feed you now." 
 
 Then she placed the bowl under the tree and ran back to 
 the house. Robin sang, " Thank you ! Thank you ! " 
 until Mary was out of sight ; then down he flew and 
 found all the breakfast he and his babies could eat. 
 
 2. Teach the rhyme. 
 
 3. Dramatize the story. 
 
 Characters : Robin, Gray Greedy Pussy, Mr. Sly Fox, 
 and Mary. A chair may represent the tall 
 
 [Pages 10-13] ^ •;, • , 
 
 tree. Follow the events m the story. 
 
 4. Drill on new words. 
 
 5. Picture study. (First Reader, page 11.) Where is 
 Robin? What is he singing? What is the little girl's 
 name ? What is she saying ? (Rhyme.) What is in the 
 bowl ? 
 
 6. Reading from the First Reader. Pages 11-14. See Chap- 
 ter I, Sec. 13, 1-5. 
 
 7. Phonics. Series 1, on the Phonic Chart. See Chap- 
 ter XXIII; Chapter I, Sec. 7, 2-4, 8-13, and Sec. 9, 1-7.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE FIRST READER, PAGE 15 TO THE END 
 
 1. Teaching the rhymes. The rhymes on pages 15, 17, 
 25, 28, 33, 37, 45, and 51 are to be committed to 
 memory as they are reached and used for refer- 
 
 . . . [Pages 4-7] 
 
 ence in reading the stories. Usually no story 
 by the teacher will be needed to introduce these rhymes; 
 after the experience they have already had, children will 
 memorize them quickly. 
 
 2. Dramatizing. The dramatizing should be continued 
 in con?iection with the rhymes and readino; 
 
 ■^ ^ [Pages 8-13] 
 
 lessons. Only those stories and rhymes well 
 adapted to this purpose should be dramatized 
 The rhyme on page 28 — 
 
 " Come, little leaves," said the wind one day, 
 " Come over the meadows with me and play," 
 
 with the accompanying picture, suggests a very pretty 
 little play. 
 
 The pupils should study the picture — note ho\v lightly 
 the Wind skims over the ground, how he beckons with liis 
 finger, the pipes upon which he blows; let them note also 
 the leaves, \vhirliug and dancing about him, how glad 
 they seem. 
 
 171
 
 172 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 The child who personates Wind may carry pipes made 
 of two new lead pencils. He flits through the aisles, 
 beckoning to different children and blowing on his pipes, 
 while the class recites the rhyme. The children thus 
 called rise from their seats and follow the Wind, whirling 
 as they go. The children at the seats, or the teacher, 
 may continue the rhyme, 
 
 " Dancing and whirling, the little leaves went, 
 Winter had called them and they were content ; 
 Soon fast asleep in their earthy beds, 
 The snow laid a coverlet over their heads." 
 
 As the last two lines are recited the children who are 
 leaves drop softly to the floor and another child — the 
 snow — goes to each one and makes believe cover him 
 with snow flakes. 
 
 The rhyme on page 33 is also very easily dramatized. 
 Several children, the birds, are flying around. The wind 
 flies over to them and after blowing on his pipes, 
 " Oo-oo-oo," to attract their attention, points to them 
 
 and says, 
 
 " Come, little birds, 
 Stop your play, 
 Snow is coming down, 
 You must hide away." 
 
 As soon as the little birds hear this, they fly at once far 
 away to the warm southland — their desks. 
 
 The poem on page 101, '• The Little Plant," may be 
 dramatized as follows : A child — the little plant — is
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 173 
 
 curled up on the floor " fast asleep." Another child — 
 the sunshme — touches the little plant gently and says, 
 " Wake ! and creep to the light." Then several children 
 — the raindrops — gather around her and touch her softly, 
 softly — the patter of the rain — and say, " Wake ! wake I 
 wake!" The little plant stirs, opens her eyes, stretches, 
 sits up, then stands erect, and says, " How wonderful the 
 outside world is !" 
 
 The selection on pages 103-104 should be read as a 
 dialogue by two children. One asks the question and the 
 other — a butterfly — answers. 
 
 The poem, '' The Dandelion," on page 118, is to be read 
 in the same way. If the teacher wish, she may have four 
 children read it as follows : — 
 
 First Child 
 
 dandelion, 3'^ello\v as gold, 
 What do you do all day ? 
 
 Dandelion 
 
 1 just wait here in the tall green grass 
 Till the children come to play. 
 
 Second Child 
 
 dandelion, yellow as gold, 
 What do you do all night ? 
 
 Dandelion 
 
 1 wait and wait till tlie cool dews fall 
 And my hair grows long and white.
 
 174 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 Third Chud 
 And what do you do when your hair is white 
 And the children come to play ? 
 
 Dandelion 
 They take me up in their dimpled hands 
 And blow my hair away. 
 
 The children should also dramatize some of the stories 
 they read from the book. This work should be largely 
 the children's own efforts. The work of the teacher is 
 simply to suggest or guide the children. 
 
 The story on page 70 — " Rose, Daisy, and L'ily " — is an 
 easy one with which to begin. Three children represent- 
 ing Rose, Daisy, and Lily stand in front of the room. 
 The children at their seats are the other flowers OTOwins!: 
 all around them. Rose, Daisy, and Lily carry on the con- 
 versation much as it is given in the story. 
 
 "The Star," page 74, may be dramatized as follows: 
 A table, or the teacher's desk, may represent the bank of 
 clouds over which little star looks down on the flowers — 
 several children sitting on the floor. A child for the star 
 and another for Mother Moon carry on the conversation 
 of the story. As little star says, " I will, I will. Good-by, 
 good-by," she quietly joins the flowers in the meadow. 
 
 '' The Dandelion's Friends," on page 77, is a continua- 
 tion of the star story and may be dramatized with it. 
 
 "The Caterpillar," page 114, is simply dramatized by, 
 two children — the Caterpillar and the Lily — followhig 
 the incidents and using the conversation of the story.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 175 
 
 3. Picture study. Every picture is in perfect harmony 
 with tlie story or incident which it ilkistrates. 
 
 . [Pages 7-8] 
 
 Every picture adds thought and interest to the 
 
 text, and should be studied carefully. See suggestions 
 
 for picture studies in previous chapters. 
 
 4. Phonics. Pupils must be made to depend more and 
 more npon their growing knowledge of phonics [Pages i6 37; 
 to help them in the mastery of new words, pp- ^^-esj 
 As their dependence on phonics increases, their depend- 
 ence on sight words learned in rhymes diminishes. 
 Even wdiile the rhymes continue in nse, pupils should be 
 applying such knowledge of phonics as they have to the 
 learning of new words. 
 
 The study of the word series from the Phonic Chart, 
 begun in the last chapter (see Chapter XX, 7), will be 
 kept up constantly. The order of taking up the series 
 is indicated in Chapter XXIII. 
 
 The vocabulary, arranged alphabetically at the end of 
 the First Reader, may profitably be used for drill in the 
 sounds of certain combinations of consonants which occur 
 frequently. Looking under h in that vocabulary, we find 
 six words beginning with hi, nine beginning with hr; 
 under c, there are nine beginning with d, and seven be- 
 ginning with cv; under d, there are five beginning with 
 dr, and so on. The drill should consist in a careful and 
 distinct pronunciation of these words, the child's atten- 
 tion being directed to the combination of initial conso- 
 nants as he pronounces them. Practice should then l)e
 
 176 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 given in pronouncing other words containing the same 
 combinations of consonants. Such words may be both 
 supphed by the teacher and found by the pupil in his 
 reading and in the wo.d series. 
 
 5. Reading. Let the teacher not forget for a moment 
 
 that readinjj; is thinkinar under direction ; that 
 
 [Pag33 38-56] ° ? • ^^ ,1 1. 
 
 every story or poem is a series oi thoughts 
 growing into one harmonious whole ; that reading the 
 story or poem consists primarily in thinking those 
 thoughts, incidentally in giving them appropriate expres- 
 sion, using the words of tlie printed page. 
 
 The stories read should be talked over and retold, 
 briefly or at length, by the children. 
 
 6. Seat work. Children learn to read by reading — to 
 read independently by reading independently. The best 
 seat work in reading is silent reading at the desks. For 
 this purpose pupils should have access to several easy and 
 interesting books. Every first-grade room should be pro- 
 vided with one copy each of a large number of different 
 
 Primers and First Readers, or books of similar 
 grade, in addition to those to be read in class. 
 These books are to be read silently and independently by 
 the children at their seats. But they should be given op- 
 portunity, as often as possible, to read aloud to the rest 
 of the class from the books thus read at the seats. They 
 should also be trained to tell stories they have read.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE SECOND AND THIRD READERS 
 
 1. Phonics. With the completion of the First Reader 
 the first fifty-seven series of words have been studied on 
 the Phonic Chart. The order in which the remaining 
 series may best be taken up is indicated in Chapter 
 XXIII. These series are not to be taken up once, how- 
 ever, and then dropped. They must be constantly re- 
 viewed, even from the beginning of the Chart. It is often 
 well to review in succession several series in which occur 
 the same vowel and vowel sound, as series, 35, 67, 149, 
 150, 157 ; then the pupils' grasp of that vowel in con- 
 stantly changing consonant combinations may be tested 
 with series 175. The index on the first page of tlie Chart 
 enables the teacher to find at once all the series based on 
 the same vowel sound, also the corresponding test series. 
 
 The study of these phonetic series constitutes the foun- 
 dation work which goes along with the reading of the 
 Second and Third Readers, the text of which is especially 
 adapted to the application of the phonetic principles em- 
 bodied in the series. These series are studied, not for 
 their own sake, but for the sake of developing in the pupil 
 power to master the sounds of varying combinations of 
 vowels and consonants as he meets these combinations in 
 
 177
 
 178 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 his reading. To accomplisli this, the pupil must be re- 
 quired to apply constantly the knowledge of these combi- 
 nations of letters and their sounds which he has learned 
 from the chart. This will necessitate constant reference 
 to the chart. Suppose, for instance, a pupil is not able at 
 once to pronounce a word which belongs to a series already 
 studied, as the word scorn, which is used for the first 
 time in the second lesson of the Second Reader. He 
 should not be told the word, but should be referred to 
 series 39 on the chart and required to find out tlie pro- 
 nunciation for himself. It may be found advisable to run 
 through in review the whole -orn series. 
 
 ThrouLi-liout the Second Reader there are introduced 
 words belonging to series already studied which are not 
 listed as new words at the beij-inning!; of the lesson, 
 although they have never before been used in the text. 
 These words afford the pupil an excellent opportunity to 
 apply his knowledge of phonics. While studying a new 
 lesson, and in his individual supplementary reading, the 
 pupil should have free access to the Cliart, and should be 
 trained and encouraged to use it whenever necessary. 
 
 A fundamental rule for the teacher is never to tell a 
 child a word whose pronunciation he is capable of making 
 out for himself. And by the time the Second Reader is 
 reached most children will have developed suflicient 
 knowledge of phonics so that they should be encouraged 
 to try the pronunciation of any phonetic word, even 
 though they have never studied the series to which it
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 179 
 
 belongcs. Even words that belonsr to no series, irreg-ular 
 words, the pupil should be trained to analjze, to find out 
 the parts that are familiar, to sound it part by part, and so 
 to pronounce it. Take, for example, the word Lainbikin. 
 The pupil knows the two little words am and 'ui ; he also 
 knows the consonant sounds. By analyzing and applying 
 this knowledge he should be able to get the whole word. 
 He may sound the h ; but, usually, after a first sounding, 
 he will drop it of his own accord. If he does not, he may 
 be told that h is silent ; but, at most, this is all he should 
 be told. 
 
 If pupils' knowledo-e of the consonant sounds 
 
 ^ ^ ^ . . . [Pages 23-25] 
 
 IS not perfect, they should be given drill with 
 the consonant cards. 
 
 Teachers who first take up this method with the Second 
 Reader should familiarize themselves thoroughly with the 
 plan and purpose of teaching phonics, by studying care- 
 fully the following : Chapter I, 6-10, and Chapter II, 4. 
 
 2. Dramatizing. The stories in the Second and Third 
 Readers are especially well adapted for dramatization ; 
 they abound in action, they contain much conversation. 
 The action interpreted and the conversation together com- 
 plete the story. The dramatizing of these stories calls for 
 few accessories in the way of stage settings. Dramatizing 
 should be left more and more in the hands of the pupils, 
 the teacher suo:Q;estinoj and cruidins:. 
 
 To illustrate one method of dramatizing a storj^ let us 
 take the storj' of " Bilh' Biuks," page 117, of the Second
 
 180 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 Reader. After the pupils have read the story as it is given 
 in the book, let them read it again in dialogue form. The 
 same children keep the parts of the different characters all 
 the way through the story. Each reads just what the char- 
 acter he represents says, and reads it exactly as he thinks 
 the character in the story would say it. Thus — 
 
 Pony. — Where are you going, Billy Binks? 
 Billy Blnks. — I am going to seek my fortune. 
 Pony, — May I go, too? etc. 
 
 After the story has been read through thus — if the pupils 
 really enter into the spirit of the story, the expression will 
 be perfect — the children representing the different animals 
 take their places at intervals around the room. Billy Binks, 
 walking around the room, meets each in turn, converses 
 with him, and is followed by him as he continues on his 
 way to seek his fortune. A child in a distant corner repre- 
 sents the hob-goblin. Billy Binks and the animals rush 
 on the hob-goblin, making all the noise they can. Billy 
 yells, the horse neighs, the cow moos, etc. Thus they 
 frighten the hob-goblin away by their noise, but without 
 doing all the damage described in the story. 
 
 Whenever possible the stories should be read in dialogue 
 form and then dramatized. The dramatization should be 
 spontaneous, and should follow the first reading of the story. 
 After the experience pupils have already had in dramatiz- 
 ing, they will be able to dramatize a story at once. Such 
 dramatization is only a more complete form of reading.
 
 THE METHOD APPLIED 181 
 
 No practice, for the sake of a finished product, is desired. 
 This exercise is not for the sake of the drama, but of 
 the pupils. After a story has been dramatized, it should 
 be re-read. The expression will be found to have 
 improved nuich on account of the dramatization. The 
 effects of dramatization will be found to extend beyond 
 the selections dramatized, even to the reading of the 
 poetry. 
 
 The poems in these books have been carefully selected 
 for the opportunities they afford of teaching good expres- 
 sion in reading poetry. They are to be studied and read 
 again and again. If pupils are well taught, they thoroughly 
 enjoy reading such poems and will ask to read them over 
 and over, instead of turning the leaves rapidly when they 
 see a page of verses. 
 
 Second and third grade teachers should study thoroughly 
 Chapter I, 4, to become familiar with the general plan 
 and purpose of dramatization ; they should also read the 
 specific directions for dramatizing certain stories, as given 
 in Chapters III-XXT. 
 
 3. Reproduction of stories. Even after these stories have 
 been studied, dramatized, and read they are not to be for- 
 gotten. They have been collected from the world's store 
 of folk lore and are well worth remembering. They are 
 the best possible kind of stories for reproduction work in 
 language, both oral and written. The language is that 
 of the ordinary child's vocabulary ; the sentences are 
 generally short and simple ; many of the stories contain
 
 Ig2 LEAKNiXG TO HEAD 
 
 frequent repetitions of words, expressions, and sentences; 
 the subject-matter is interesting to children. 
 
 4. Reading and expression. See Cliapter I, SeciS. 12 and 13, 
 
 5. Seat work. In addition to the regular reading books, 
 each class should be provided with a number of different 
 books for silent reading at the desks. These books should 
 of course contain stories that appeal to the children's 
 interests. The reading sliould be easy, within the pupils' 
 power to grasp the thought as well as their ability to read 
 the words. These books may be single copies of second 
 or third year books, or they may be sets carefully selected 
 by the teacher and sent from the public library. 
 
 From time to time a pupil should be allowed to read 
 aloud to the class from the book read at the seat. Some- 
 times a pupil may be asked to tell the story he has read. 
 This gives the teacher an opportunity to judge whether 
 the child gets the thought as he reads, whether he is 
 reading intelligently or not. 
 
 Then, too, by noting just what most interests each indi- 
 vidual pupil, what kind of a story pleases him, which books 
 he tries to get for his silent reading, the teacher may by a 
 suggestion or guiding word direct the pupil's independent 
 readino; along the best lines. 
 
 6. Pictures. All pictures illustrate and help to interpret 
 the text ; they should be studied carefully. See Chapter 
 I, Sec. 3 ; also detailed suggestions for picture study as 
 given in Chapters III to XIX. 
 
 7. Spelling. See Chapter II, Sec. 4, 9-13.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE PHONIC CHART 
 
 The Phonic Chart should be in constant use for two 
 years or longer. Work with it should begin soon after 
 taking np the First Reader. The series are best taken 
 np in order, each one at a certain point in the [pages 16-34; 
 reading of the First and Second Readers, as pp- 62-68] 
 indicated below. Taken in this order it will be found 
 that the first word or words of the series occur in the les- 
 son being read from the book. Usually, the first word of 
 the series has been previously learned as a sight word and 
 is now being used to aid the child in pronouncing a new 
 word of the same series. For instance, it is directed below 
 that series 10, II, and 12 be taken when page 38 of the 
 First Reader is reached. The first words of these series 
 are respectively, get, let ; iviU, till ; and sing, icing. Turn- 
 ing to page 38 of the First Reader, we find that get, loill, 
 and sing, sight words already learned, are used as type 
 words to suggest the pronunciation respectively of let, till, 
 and iving. In teaching each of these new words in prepa- 
 ration for the lesson which follows, the whole series of 
 words to which the new word belonsrs is to be tausjlit. 
 
 Series already taught should be reviewed constantly. 
 Pupils must form the habit of applying the knowledge 
 
 183
 
 184 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 of vowel sounds thus learned whenever there is oppor- 
 tunity. If a pupil does not recognize at once -et, -iU, 
 •ing, or any other type combination which he has had, he 
 should not be told, but should be referred to tlie series 
 of which that combination forms the base, and the series 
 should be reviewed. Just as, in the ...^ginning of their 
 work, pupils had to refer to the rhymes for words not 
 recognized, so now they must refer to the series for vowel 
 combinations not recognized. 
 
 It is profitable frequently to go over in succession sev- 
 eral series which contain the same vowel or vowels with 
 the same vowel sound. All the series containing the same 
 vowel and vowel sound are readily found from the index 
 on the first page of the Chart. 
 
 Much variety should be introduced into the phonic 
 drills. As soon as pupils have gained some power in the 
 pronunciation of series, sounding and combining readily 
 the initial consonant or consonants with the constant 
 vowel combination, they may take more difficult exercises. 
 The teacher ma;^ write on the board the base of any series, 
 selecting more or less familiar ones according to the power 
 ot the pupils, as -at or -ent. She then names different con- 
 sonants, as h, .<?, /, sjj, which pupils are to prefix to the 
 given base. The teacher should be careful to give only 
 such consonants as combine with the base to make real 
 words. This exercise is entirely oral. 
 
 With several bases on the board, as -ell, -ill, -it, -ick, -oat, 
 etc., the teacher may name a consonant and require pupils
 
 THE PHONIC CHART 185 
 
 to prefix it to as many of the bases as possible, making 
 real words. With the consonant h, the pupil may give 
 hell, hill, hit, and hoat; with k, kill ami kick. If pnpils are 
 made thoughtful in this exercise, it may prove of much 
 value in enlarging their vocabulary and in teaching them 
 to spell, as well as in drilling them in sounds and their 
 combinations. They sliould not be allowed thonghtlessly 
 to combine sounds which make no word ; they should be 
 constantly required to tell the meaning of the words they 
 make or to use them in sentences. 
 
 It is safer to make this an oral exercise, as many words 
 will be made quite correctly as to sound but incorrect in 
 spelling, if vrritten. For instance, in the above illustra- 
 tion, koat might be given. In this case, let the teacher 
 say, " No, coat is not spelled with a k. What other letter 
 has the same sound?" If the pupils are as familiar with 
 the consonants and their sounds as they should be at this 
 time, they will be able to answer at once. Then let the 
 teacher require them to spell coat correctly. 
 
 Many simpler exercises which have been begun before 
 taking up regular drills with the series should still be kept 
 up. Some of the best of them are the following : (1) The 
 teacher sounds a letter or a combination of letters ; the 
 pupils name the letter or letters. (2) The teacher names 
 a letter or combination of letters; pupils give sound. 
 (3) The teacher spells words by giving the sounds of the 
 letters in order ; the pupils pronounce. (4) The teacher 
 spells words by naming the letters ; the pupils pronounce.
 
 186 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 (5) The teacher pronounces words and the pupils spell 
 them, both by sounding and by naming the letters. Thi'^ 
 exercise should be written as well as oral, just as soon as 
 the pupils are able to write. 
 
 These spelling exercises are of the greatest advantage in 
 perfecting the pupil's command of sounds and of letters 
 representing sounds. They are an aid to reading and 
 spelling alike. They must not be done carelessly or me- 
 chanically either by pupil or teacher, but always thought- 
 fully and intelligently. The pupil to whom a word is first 
 given must spell it. He must be made to feel that the 
 word is his, that he alone is responsible for the correct spell- 
 ing of it, just as in reading he is made to feel that he must 
 make out every word in the selection which he is reading. 
 As in reading, the teacher may give such assistance as will 
 help the child to help himself ; as, for instance, she may 
 suo-crest a more familiar word in the same series, or she 
 may help him to fix his attention on each sound of the 
 [^Pag3 36 ;4; word in order. The common practice of letting 
 pp. 37; 5] ^ child stand dumb and helpless for a minute, or 
 of allowino; him to make one or two vag:ue and misdirected 
 efforts at the spelling of a word, and then passing it on to 
 the " next " or to a volunteer, is not teaching to spell ; it 
 is merely finding out who can spell. 
 
 There are two hundred series in all. The time for tak- 
 ing up each of the first 1G7 only is indicated below. Se- 
 ries 168 to 200 are special test series. All the words of 
 each of these series contain the same vowel and vowel
 
 THE PIIOXIC CHART 
 
 187 
 
 sound, but the consonants which follow, as well as those 
 which precede the vowel, vary. These series are used to 
 advantage in testing the pupil's j)ower to recognize vowels 
 and consonant sounds in constantly changing combina- 
 tions. The use of these test series is not to be deferred 
 until all the preceding series have been taken up. One 
 test series, it will be observed, is devoted to each of the 
 principal vowel sounds which have occurred in the regular 
 series. After taking up a few of the regular series based 
 on a given vowel and vowel sound, the test series based 
 on the same vowel should )je taken. For instance, series 
 170 is based on a. This series may well be tried after 
 pupils have had the regular series, 5, 13, 27, 48, which 
 are also based on a. Work with series 170 should be re- 
 viewed frequently as other regular series in a, as 79, 84, 
 110, etc., are reached. 
 
 ORDER OF TAKING UP THE SERIES 
 
 Page 
 
 13 
 15 
 17 
 21 
 26 
 30 
 33 
 38 
 40 
 
 (The First Reader) 
 
 
 Serieii 
 
 Page 
 
 Series 
 
 1 
 
 45 
 
 18, 19 
 
 2,3 
 
 48 
 
 21 
 
 4 
 
 52 
 
 22 
 
 5 
 
 56 
 
 20 
 
 6 
 
 60 
 
 23, 24 
 
 7,8 
 
 67 
 
 25, 26 
 
 9 
 
 69 
 
 27-20 
 
 10-12 
 
 73 
 
 30 
 
 13-17 
 
 74 
 
 31, 32
 
 188 
 
 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 Page 
 
 Series 
 
 Page 
 
 
 
 Series 
 
 83 
 
 33 
 
 107 
 
 
 
 47-49 
 
 8i 
 
 34 
 
 110 
 
 
 
 50,51 
 
 86 
 
 35,37 
 
 114 
 
 
 
 52, 53 
 
 90 
 
 36, 38-40 
 
 118 
 
 
 
 54 
 
 95 
 
 41,43 
 
 120 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 102 
 
 42, 44, 46 
 
 122 
 
 
 
 66 
 
 105 
 
 45 
 
 125 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 
 (The Second Reader) 
 
 
 
 Paye 
 
 Series 
 
 Page 
 
 
 , 
 
 Series 
 
 3 
 
 58 
 
 81 
 
 113, 
 
 116, 
 
 118, 119 
 
 6 
 
 59-61 
 
 82 
 
 
 
 117 
 
 8 
 
 62-66 
 
 84 
 
 
 
 120-125 
 
 12 
 
 67, 68, 70 
 
 93 
 
 
 
 126, 127 
 
 16 
 
 69, 71-76, 83 
 
 94 
 
 
 
 128-130 
 
 26 
 
 77-79, 81 
 
 95 
 
 
 
 133 
 
 36 
 
 80, 82, 84-87 
 
 
 134, 
 
 135, 
 
 137, 145 
 
 46 
 
 89, 90, 93 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 131 
 
 53 
 
 88, 92 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 136 
 
 55 
 
 91, 95, 96 
 
 107 
 
 139, 
 
 149, 
 
 159, 165 
 
 60 
 
 97-99 
 
 115 
 
 
 
 140 
 
 62 
 
 100 
 
 ir. 
 
 138, 141 
 
 -144,157,161 
 
 63 
 
 101 
 
 133 
 
 
 
 146 
 
 64 
 
 102-104 
 
 138 
 
 
 
 147, 154 
 
 68 
 
 105, 106 
 
 145 
 
 
 
 148 
 
 70 
 
 108 
 
 151 
 
 
 150- 
 
 -152, 156 
 
 71 
 
 109 
 
 160 
 
 153, 
 
 155, 
 
 160, 163 
 
 73 
 
 107, 110 
 
 
 164, 167 
 
 77 
 
 111, 112, 114, 115 
 
 172 
 
 
 158, 
 
 162, 166
 
 THE rHUNlC CHART 
 
 189 
 
 THE PHONIC CHART 
 
 Index by Series 
 
 Voicels 
 
 Serien 
 
 a as 
 
 in pi ace 
 
 a " 
 
 " b ack 
 
 a " 
 
 " gl ad 
 
 a " 
 
 " 111 ade 
 
 a " 
 
 " hv ag 
 
 a " 
 
 age 
 
 a " 
 
 '' in aid 
 
 a " 
 
 " s ail 
 
 a '* 
 
 " r ain 
 
 a '' 
 
 " f aint 
 
 a " 
 
 " f air 
 
 a " 
 
 " w ake 
 
 a " 
 
 " p ale 
 
 a " 
 
 " w alk 
 
 a " 
 
 " all 
 
 a " 
 
 " am 
 
 a " 
 
 " c ame 
 
 a " 
 
 " c an 
 
 a " 
 
 " and 
 
 a " 
 
 " c ane 
 
 a • '' 
 
 " h ang 
 
 a " 
 
 " th ank 
 
 a " 
 
 " pi ant 
 
 
 E 
 
 Vojrels 
 
 Series 
 
 e as 
 
 in p ea 
 
 e « 
 
 " r each 
 
 6 « 
 
 " head 
 
 iVo. . 
 
 Paf/e 
 
 161 
 
 19 
 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 167 
 
 20 
 
 79 
 
 12 
 
 145 
 
 18 
 
 83 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 6 
 
 loo 
 
 19 
 
 46 
 
 8 
 
 27 
 
 5 
 
 110 
 
 15 
 
 109 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 o 
 
 59 
 
 9 
 
 48 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 32 
 
 6 
 
 152 
 
 18 
 
 57 
 
 9 
 
 69 
 
 10 
 
 85 
 
 13 
 
 Vowels 
 
 a 
 
 il 
 a 
 a 
 a 
 a 
 a 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 a 
 a 
 a 
 
 a 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 a 
 a 
 a 
 a 
 
 Xo. 
 
 Pii(/e 
 
 105 
 
 15 
 
 90 
 
 13 
 
 45 
 
 7 
 
 Series 
 
 as in h 
 
 St 
 
 we 
 h 
 c 
 h 
 
 (I u 
 U li 
 
 a (I 
 
 a K 
 
 u a 
 
 ii a 
 
 ii a 
 
 u li 
 
 ii li 
 
 II u 
 
 li II 
 
 II II 
 
 II II 
 
 u u 
 
 II II 
 
 II II 
 
 II II 
 
 tl II 
 
 II II 
 
 (( a 
 
 ap 
 
 ar 
 
 ar 
 
 ard 
 
 are 
 
 ark 
 
 arm 
 
 art 
 
 ash 
 
 ask 
 
 ass 
 
 ast 
 
 aste 
 
 at 
 
 atch 
 
 ate 
 
 atter 
 
 ave 
 
 aw 
 
 awn 
 
 ay 
 
 aze 
 
 Vo'iels Series 
 
 e as in d eer 
 
 e " " feet 
 
 e " " eiL'ht 
 
 -A^o. Puge 
 
 58 9 
 
 35 6 
 
 116 16 
 
 149 18 
 75 11 
 67 10 
 
 150 18 
 157 19 
 
 91 13 
 
 153 18 
 
 95 14 
 
 21 5 
 
 115 16 
 
 23 5 
 
 165 20 
 
 84 13 
 
 156 19 
 
 113 15 
 
 34 6 
 
 131 17 
 
 5 2 
 
 143 18 
 
 JVo. P<ige 
 
 74 11 
 25 5 
 
 142 18
 
 190 
 
 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 VoicelA 
 
 Se 
 
 vies 
 
 Ko. 
 
 rage 
 
 Voirels 
 
 
 Series 
 
 No. 
 
 r,igc 
 
 e as in 
 
 sp eak 
 
 77 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 as 
 
 ill 
 
 tell 
 
 19 
 
 4 
 
 e * 
 
 I <( 
 
 m eal 
 
 122 
 
 16 
 
 e 
 
 li 
 
 11 
 
 felt 
 
 141 
 
 18 
 
 e ' 
 
 ( u 
 
 dr eaiu 
 
 102 
 
 14 
 
 (5 
 
 i( 
 
 (( 
 
 til en 
 
 73 
 
 11 
 
 e ' 
 
 C (I 
 
 b ean 
 
 147 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 ii 
 
 a 
 
 ■\vli ence 
 
 99 
 
 14 
 
 e ' 
 
 I a 
 
 1 eap 
 
 103 
 
 14 
 
 C 
 
 a 
 
 11 
 
 end 
 
 132 
 
 17 
 
 e ' 
 
 ( u 
 
 n ear 
 
 28 
 
 5 
 
 c 
 
 li 
 
 u 
 
 w ent 
 
 47 
 
 8 
 
 e ' 
 
 ( a 
 
 east 
 
 70 
 
 11 
 
 (3 
 
 u 
 
 ii 
 
 matt er 
 
 156 
 
 19 
 
 e ' 
 
 I (I 
 
 eat 
 
 50 
 
 9 
 
 e 
 
 ti 
 
 a 
 
 clev er 
 
 139 
 
 17 
 
 6 ' 
 
 i a 
 
 w eatlier 
 
 Gl 
 
 9 
 
 e 
 
 u 
 
 ii 
 
 ov er 
 
 55 
 
 9 
 
 e ' 
 
 I u 
 
 1 eave 
 
 134 
 
 17 
 
 e 
 
 n 
 
 li 
 
 f ern 
 
 148 
 
 18 
 
 6 ' 
 
 I u 
 
 n eck 
 
 117 
 
 16 
 
 e 
 
 li 
 
 a 
 
 dr ess 
 
 108 
 
 15 
 
 6 ' 
 
 i a 
 
 bed 
 
 oO 
 
 6 
 
 C 
 
 11 
 
 a 
 
 n est 
 
 4 
 
 o 
 
 e ' 
 
 i a 
 
 s ee 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 e 
 
 n 
 
 ii 
 
 get 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 e ' 
 
 ( i( 
 
 f eed 
 
 29 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 str etch 
 
 164 
 
 20 
 
 e ' 
 
 i u 
 
 s eek 
 
 m 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 n 
 
 a 
 
 el ever 
 
 339 
 
 17 
 
 e ' 
 
 i u 
 
 feel 
 
 166 
 
 20 
 
 ew 
 
 li 
 
 a 
 
 gr ew 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 e ' 
 
 i 11 
 
 s eeu 
 
 53 
 
 8 
 
 ew 
 
 a 
 
 li 
 
 ii ew 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 e * 
 
 i a 
 
 p eep 
 
 43 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Vo 
 
 <celii 
 
 Series 
 
 No. 
 
 Page 
 
 as in 
 
 ice 
 
 78 
 
 12 
 
 
 ch ick 
 
 72 
 
 11 
 
 
 did 
 
 37 
 
 7 
 
 
 h ide 
 
 22 
 
 5 
 
 
 or ied 
 
 86 
 
 13 
 
 
 il ies 
 
 88 
 
 13 
 
 
 1 ife 
 
 125 
 
 16 
 
 
 cl iff 
 
 133 
 
 17 
 
 
 1 ift 
 
 96 
 
 14 
 
 
 big 
 
 52 
 
 8 
 
 
 n ight 
 
 20 
 
 4 
 
 Vor 
 
 els 
 
 as 
 
 Series 
 
 in in 
 
 No. 
 
 49 
 
 Page 
 8 
 
 
 
 find 
 
 70 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 f ine 
 
 94 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 s ing 
 
 12 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 s ingle 
 
 126 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 th ink 
 
 81 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 t ip 
 
 82 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 th is 
 
 93 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 g irl 
 
 151 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 sk irt 
 
 101 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 tw ist 
 
 146 
 
 18
 
 THE rilONlC CHART 
 
 191 
 
 Vowels 
 
 Se 
 
 vies 
 
 ^^o. Pa ye 
 
 I 
 
 as in 
 
 W ill 
 
 11 3 
 
 I 
 
 a a 
 
 h im 
 
 54 8 
 
 i 
 
 « « 
 
 it 
 
 44 7 
 
 as 111 
 
 fly 
 
 Voirels Series 
 
 1 as in k ite 
 
 h ive 
 
 2^. Page 
 
 26 5 
 68 10 
 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 Voicels 
 
 
 S 
 
 'riei< 
 
 Ko. 
 
 Paqe 
 
 VinceU 
 
 Seriett 
 
 Ko. 
 
 Page 
 
 6 
 
 as 
 
 \n 
 
 oak 
 
 140 
 
 ]8 
 
 6 as in 
 
 t op 
 
 38 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 li 
 
 r oar 
 
 144 
 
 18 
 
 6 ' 
 
 
 ni oi'n 
 
 39 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 li 
 
 li 
 
 c oat 
 
 97 
 
 14 
 
 ' 
 
 
 r ose 
 
 71 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 (C 
 
 ii 
 
 r ob 
 
 89 
 
 13 
 
 6 ' 
 
 
 m OSS 
 
 98 
 
 14 
 
 6 
 
 ii 
 
 a 
 
 r ock 
 
 64 
 
 10 
 
 6 ' 
 
 
 1 ost 
 
 112 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 a 
 
 (( 
 
 s oft 
 
 n4 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 
 n ot 
 
 66 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 (( 
 
 (( 
 
 1 og 
 
 104 
 
 15 
 
 o ' 
 
 
 n ote 
 
 136 
 
 17 
 
 o 
 
 li 
 
 a 
 
 w oke 
 
 124 
 
 16 
 
 oil ' 
 
 
 1 Olid 
 
 65 
 
 10 
 
 o 
 
 u 
 
 a 
 
 old 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 oil ' 
 
 
 ought 
 
 ()0 
 
 9 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 li 
 
 li ole 
 
 121 
 
 16 
 
 oil ' 
 
 
 f ound 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 
 o 
 
 u 
 
 ii 
 
 roll 
 
 106 
 
 15 
 
 oil * 
 
 
 out 
 
 87 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 i( 
 
 11 
 
 d ome 
 
 135 
 
 17 
 
 6 * 
 
 
 1 ove 
 
 92 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 (( 
 
 11 
 
 p ond 
 
 159 
 
 19 
 
 ' 
 
 
 r ove 
 
 107 
 
 15 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 11 
 
 sh one 
 
 51 
 
 8 
 
 6 * 
 
 
 over 
 
 k)h 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 i( 
 
 11 
 
 1 ong 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 ' 
 
 
 gr ow 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 oo 
 
 li 
 
 li 
 
 g ood 
 
 123 
 
 16 
 
 ow * 
 
 
 h ow 
 
 100 
 
 14 
 
 00 
 
 a 
 
 li 
 
 r oof 
 
 138 
 
 17 
 
 ow ' 
 
 
 owl 
 
 128 
 
 17 
 
 00 
 
 li 
 
 11 
 
 .1 ook 
 
 16 
 
 4 
 
 ' 
 
 
 own 
 
 162 
 
 20 
 
 6o 
 
 a 
 
 11 
 
 c ool 
 
 63 
 
 10 
 
 ow ' 
 
 
 d own 
 
 50 
 
 8 
 
 6o 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 s oon 
 
 31 
 
 6 
 
 oy ' 
 
 
 boy 
 
 158 
 
 19 
 
 6o 
 
 ii 
 
 11 
 
 h oot 
 
 137 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 

 
 192 
 
 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 
 
 U 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 "owels 
 
 
 faerie -^ 
 
 JV^o. 
 
 rage 
 
 J o«'«M 
 
 
 ,9f 
 
 riex 
 
 Ko. 
 
 Pii(ie 
 
 U 
 
 as ii 
 
 1 1 uck 
 
 62 
 
 10 
 
 li 
 
 as 
 
 ill 
 
 b uncli 
 
 160 
 
 19 
 
 U 
 
 
 ' b ud 
 
 130 
 
 17 
 
 u 
 
 
 a 
 
 J line 
 
 119 
 
 16 
 
 u 
 
 
 ' bl lie 
 
 42 
 
 7 
 
 u 
 
 
 (( 
 
 up 
 
 40 
 
 7 
 
 u 
 
 
 * sn ug 
 
 120 
 
 IG 
 
 11 
 
 
 (( 
 
 c 11 rl 
 
 127 
 
 17 
 
 ti 
 
 
 ' en oiigh 
 
 129 
 
 17 
 
 u 
 
 
 u 
 
 li usli 
 
 154 
 
 19 
 
 u 
 
 
 ' d nil 
 
 118 
 
 16 
 
 11 
 
 
 a 
 
 m ust 
 
 33 
 
 6 
 
 u 
 
 
 ' j ump 
 
 80 
 
 12 
 
 u 
 
 
 a 
 
 but 
 
 163 
 
 20 
 
 ti 
 
 
 * s im 
 
 41 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Miscellaneous Words for Application and Drill 
 
 Vawel Sounds 
 
 .Vo. 
 
 Page 
 
 Vowel Sounds 
 
 JVb. 
 
 Page 
 
 short 
 
 168 
 
 20 
 
 er 
 
 185 
 
 24 
 
 long (final e) 
 
 169 
 
 20 
 
 ie 
 
 186 
 
 24 
 
 a, 
 
 170 
 
 21 
 
 I 
 
 187 
 
 25 
 
 at 
 
 171 
 
 21 
 
 I 
 
 188 
 
 25 
 
 9. 
 
 172 
 
 21 
 
 I 
 
 189 
 
 25 
 
 a 
 
 173 
 
 22 
 
 ir 
 
 190 
 
 26 
 
 31 
 
 174 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 191 
 
 26 
 
 ar 
 
 175 
 
 22 
 
 6a 
 
 192 
 
 26 
 
 au 
 
 176 
 
 22 
 
 00 
 
 193 
 
 26 
 
 aw 
 
 177 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 194 
 
 26 
 
 ^ 
 
 178 
 
 23 
 
 or 
 
 195 
 
 26 
 
 au 
 
 179 
 
 23 
 
 ou 
 
 196 
 
 27 
 
 ge 
 
 180 
 
 23 
 
 oi 
 
 197 
 
 27 
 
 ea 
 
 181 
 
 23 
 
 ti 
 
 198 
 
 ■27 
 
 6 
 
 182 
 
 24 
 
 u 
 
 199 
 
 27 
 
 6 
 
 183 
 
 24 
 
 ti 
 
 200 
 
 27 
 
 ea 
 
 184 
 
 24 
 
 

 
 THE PHONIC CHART 
 
 193 
 
 Index hy Sounds 
 
 aZ 
 
 Series 
 
 Voicela 
 
 Series Vo>c 
 
 els Series Voti 
 
 •els Series 
 
 Voicels 
 
 Seri"* 
 
 5 
 
 ar 
 
 35 6 
 
 4 1 
 
 11 
 
 00 
 
 31 
 
 13 
 
 
 67 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 
 63 
 
 27 
 
 
 149 
 
 19 
 
 37 
 
 
 137 
 
 48 
 
 
 150 
 
 36 
 
 44 
 
 
 138 
 
 79 
 
 
 157 
 
 47 
 
 49 
 
 
 193 
 
 84 
 
 
 175 
 
 73 
 
 52 
 
 
 
 110 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 54 
 
 6o 
 
 16 
 
 113 
 
 au 
 
 176 
 
 108 
 
 72 
 
 
 123 
 
 115 
 
 
 
 117 
 
 81 
 
 
 
 143 
 
 a 
 
 6 
 
 132 
 
 82 
 
 or 
 
 39 
 
 152 
 
 
 109 
 
 139 
 
 93 
 
 
 195 
 
 161 
 
 
 178 
 
 141 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 170 
 
 
 
 164 
 
 126 
 
 ou 
 
 18 
 
 
 au 
 
 179 
 
 182 
 
 133 
 
 
 65 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 183 
 
 146 
 
 
 87 
 
 83 
 
 aw 
 
 34 
 
 
 188 
 
 
 196 
 
 145 
 
 
 131 ea 45 
 
 189 
 
 
 
 155 
 
 
 177 
 
 61 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 171 
 14 
 
 ee 
 
 1 
 
 25 e 
 
 184 ^ I 
 55 ^1 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 29 
 
 139 
 
 bb 
 
 ow 
 
 50 
 
 17 
 
 
 43 
 
 148 
 
 71 
 
 
 100 
 
 23 
 
 
 53 
 
 156 
 
 106 
 107 
 
 
 128 
 
 32 
 
 
 74 
 
 185 
 
 
 
 57 
 
 
 111 
 
 
 121 
 
 oy 
 
 158 
 
 55 
 
 
 166 i 
 
 20 
 
 124 
 135 
 
 
 197 
 
 59 
 
 
 180 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 69 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 136 
 
 u 
 
 42 
 
 91 
 
 ea 
 
 28 
 
 68 
 
 162 
 
 
 119 
 
 156 
 
 
 56 
 
 70 
 
 191 
 
 
 198 
 
 165 
 
 
 76 
 
 78 6a 97 
 
 u 
 
 33 
 
 167 
 
 
 77 
 
 94 
 
 140 
 
 
 40 
 
 172 
 
 
 90 
 
 125 
 
 144 
 
 
 41 
 
 
 
 102 
 
 187 
 
 192 
 
 
 62 
 
 21 
 
 
 103 
 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 85 
 
 
 105 1 
 
 101 6 24 
 
 
 118 
 
 95 
 
 
 122 
 
 151 
 
 38 
 
 
 120 
 
 153 
 
 
 134 
 
 190 
 
 64 
 
 
 130 
 
 173 
 
 
 147 
 181 
 
 
 66 
 89 
 
 
 154 
 160 
 
 174 
 
 
 
 
 98 
 
 
 163 
 
 
 le 
 
 186 
 
 
 104 
 112 
 114 
 159 
 194 
 
 a 
 
 200 
 
 127 
 199 
 
 [1]
 
 194 
 
 ] 
 
 .p:aiining to 
 
 READ 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 pest 
 
 bray 
 
 s ee 
 
 fly 
 
 old 
 
 t est 
 
 tray 
 
 be 
 
 sky 
 
 bold 
 
 V est 
 
 str ay 
 
 b ee 
 
 by 
 
 old 
 
 e 
 
 way 
 
 m e 
 
 my 
 
 bold 
 
 5 
 
 sw ay 
 
 he 
 
 try 
 
 fold 
 
 say 
 
 jay 
 
 ye 
 
 wh y 
 
 gold 
 
 day 
 
 st ay 
 
 sh e 
 
 sly 
 
 in old 
 
 may 
 
 a 
 
 the 
 
 cry 
 
 s old 
 
 gay 
 
 6 
 
 w e 
 
 dry 
 
 told 
 
 hay 
 
 all 
 
 tr ee 
 
 bii y 
 
 o 
 
 lay 
 
 fall 
 
 thr ee 
 
 pry 
 
 4 
 
 play 
 
 hall 
 
 fee 
 
 spry 
 
 n est 
 
 clay 
 
 call 
 
 flee 
 
 fry 
 
 b est 
 
 slay 
 
 tall 
 
 kn ee 
 
 ply 
 
 w est 
 
 nay 
 
 stall 
 
 free 
 
 wry 
 
 rest 
 
 pay 
 
 ball 
 
 1 ee 
 
 shy 
 
 cr est 
 
 ray 
 
 w all 
 
 gl ee 
 
 sty 
 
 ch est 
 
 dr ay 
 
 sm all 
 
 ee 
 
 spy 
 
 jest 
 
 pray 
 
 squ all 
 
 e 
 
 y 
 
 lest 
 [2] 
 
 gray 
 
 a
 
 THE PHONIC CHART 196 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 pill 
 
 si ing 
 
 fl ew 
 
 grow 
 
 get 
 
 spill 
 
 .br ing 
 
 bl ew 
 
 bl ow 
 
 let 
 
 sill 
 
 spr ing 
 
 f ew 
 
 snow 
 
 yet 
 
 still 
 
 str ing 
 
 h ew 
 
 low 
 
 m et 
 
 rill 
 
 k ing 
 
 (1 ew 
 
 fl ow 
 
 n et 
 
 dr ill 
 
 th ing 
 
 m ew 
 
 si ow 
 
 j 6t 
 
 skill 
 
 sting 
 
 new 
 
 b ow 
 
 pet 
 
 frill 
 
 wring 
 
 kn ew 
 
 tow 
 
 set 
 
 sbr ill 
 
 sw ing 
 
 p ew 
 
 m ow 
 
 w et 
 
 tr ill 
 
 i 
 
 J ew 
 
 sow 
 
 fret 
 
 qu ill 
 
 13 
 
 st ew 
 
 sh ow 
 
 e 
 
 cb ill 
 
 m ade 
 
 8 
 
 know 
 
 11 
 
 ill 
 
 sli ade 
 
 gr ew 
 
 row 
 
 will 
 
 i 
 
 spade 
 
 br ew 
 
 cr ow 
 
 till 
 
 12 
 
 fade 
 
 cr ew 
 
 tbr ow 
 
 fill 
 
 s ing 
 
 w ade 
 
 dr ew 
 
 gl ow 
 
 bill 
 
 w ing 
 
 tr ade 
 
 scr ew 
 
 st ow 
 
 hill 
 
 r ing 
 
 gr ade 
 
 str ew 
 
 str ow 
 
 mill 
 
 cl ing 
 
 bl ade 
 
 thr ew 
 
 
 
 kill 
 
 fling 
 
 a 
 
 [3]
 
 196 
 
 L^A 
 
 lRNing to ] 
 
 READ 
 
 
 14 
 
 t an 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 shell 
 
 gl ad . 
 
 clan 
 
 b ack 
 
 f ound 
 
 sm ell 
 
 h ad 
 
 D an 
 
 cr ack 
 
 b onnd 
 
 d\v ell 
 
 bad 
 
 than 
 
 J ack 
 
 r ound 
 
 dell 
 
 brad 
 
 pi an 
 
 pack 
 
 gr ound 
 
 e 
 
 fad 
 
 van 
 
 h ack 
 
 h ound 
 
 20 
 
 lad 
 
 an 
 
 1 ack 
 
 m ound 
 
 n ight 
 
 clad 
 
 a 
 
 bl ack 
 
 p ound 
 
 in ight 
 
 m ad 
 
 16 
 
 si ack 
 
 sound 
 
 r ight 
 
 pad 
 
 look 
 
 cl ack 
 
 ou 
 
 br ight 
 
 s ad 
 
 took 
 
 knack 
 
 19 
 
 f ight 
 
 sli ad 
 
 rook 
 
 rack 
 
 tell 
 
 si ight 
 
 a 
 
 cook 
 
 tr ack 
 
 w ell 
 
 fl ight 
 
 15 
 
 book 
 
 s ack 
 
 fell 
 
 s ight 
 
 c an 
 
 h ook 
 
 tack 
 
 bell 
 
 t ight 
 
 r an 
 
 nook 
 
 stack 
 
 svv ell 
 
 bl ight 
 
 m an 
 
 brook 
 
 qn ack 
 
 cell 
 
 pi ight 
 
 f an 
 
 crook 
 
 wh ack 
 
 sell 
 
 f r ight 
 
 pan 
 
 sh ook 
 
 sm ack 
 
 yell 
 
 light 
 
 span 
 
 00 
 
 a 
 
 spell 
 
 i
 
 
 THE 
 
 PHONIC 
 
 CHART 
 
 197 
 
 21 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 br ake 
 
 1 ast 
 
 at 
 
 long 
 
 kite 
 
 dr ake 
 
 fast 
 
 h at 
 
 song 
 
 wh ite 
 
 sli ake 
 
 past 
 
 cat 
 
 gong 
 
 wr ite 
 
 flake 
 
 bl ast 
 
 bat 
 
 d ong 
 
 b ite 
 
 sn ake 
 
 cast 
 
 fat 
 
 pr ong 
 
 qu ite 
 
 a 
 
 mast 
 
 tat 
 
 wr ong 
 
 s ite 
 
 28 
 
 vast 
 
 til at 
 
 str ong 
 
 sm ite 
 
 n ear 
 
 a 
 
 ch at 
 
 o 
 
 i 
 
 h ear 
 
 22 
 
 m at 
 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 sh ear 
 
 h ide 
 
 p at 
 
 feet 
 
 w ake 
 
 d ear 
 
 side 
 
 sp at 
 
 meet 
 
 m ake 
 
 fear 
 
 ride 
 
 rat 
 
 beet 
 
 b ake 
 
 rear 
 
 bride 
 
 s at 
 
 sw eet 
 
 cake 
 
 tear 
 
 pr ide 
 
 vat 
 
 gr eet 
 
 lake 
 
 y ear 
 
 w ide 
 
 si at 
 
 fleet 
 
 rake 
 
 sp ear 
 
 t ide 
 
 flat 
 
 sh eet 
 
 sake 
 
 sm ear 
 
 gl ide 
 
 gn at 
 
 str eet 
 
 t ake 
 
 cl ear 
 
 slide 
 
 plat 
 
 sleet 
 
 qu ake 
 
 ear 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 
 ee 
 [5] 
 
 st ake 
 
 ea
 
 198 
 
 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 
 29 
 
 sl ain 
 
 32 
 
 34 
 
 car 
 
 feed 
 
 pain 
 
 and 
 
 saw 
 
 mar 
 
 need 
 
 m ain 
 
 1 and 
 
 paw 
 
 t ar 
 
 d eed 
 
 vain 
 
 s and 
 
 caw 
 
 jar 
 
 b eed 
 
 ch ain 
 
 b and 
 
 jaw 
 
 sc ar 
 
 s eed 
 
 train 
 
 st and 
 
 law 
 
 sp ar 
 
 w eed 
 
 str ain 
 
 str and 
 
 raw 
 
 a 
 
 reed 
 
 dr ain 
 
 gr and 
 
 straw 
 
 36 
 
 gr eed 
 
 stain 
 
 brand 
 
 fl aw 
 
 bed 
 
 f r eed 
 
 Spain 
 
 hand 
 
 cl aw 
 
 red 
 
 bl eed 
 
 spr ain 
 
 a 
 
 draw 
 
 Fred 
 
 sp eed 
 
 ai 
 
 33 
 
 gnaw 
 
 led 
 
 ee 
 
 31 
 
 m ust 
 
 th aw 
 
 fled 
 
 30 
 
 s oon 
 
 j ^ist 
 
 d aw 
 
 sled 
 
 r ain 
 
 m oon 
 
 gnst 
 
 squ aw 
 
 bled 
 
 pi ain 
 
 n oon 
 
 crust 
 
 a 
 
 Ned 
 
 gr ain 
 
 spoon 
 
 d ust 
 
 35 
 
 fed 
 
 br ain 
 
 loon 
 
 r ust 
 
 star 
 
 wed 
 
 gain 
 
 c oon 
 
 trust 
 
 far 
 
 sh ed 
 
 lain 
 
 oo 
 
 
 bar 
 
 e
 
 THE PHONIC CHART 109 
 
 37 
 
 did 
 hid 
 bid 
 kid 
 lid 
 r id 
 slid 
 
 i 
 
 38 
 
 top 
 
 st op 
 
 dr op 
 
 li op 
 
 1 op 
 
 m op 
 
 pop 
 
 sop 
 
 cr op 
 
 pr op 
 
 sh op 
 
 41 
 
 flop 
 
 sun 
 
 ch op 
 
 f 11 n 
 
 str op 
 
 r iin 
 
 slop 
 
 b 11 n 
 
 
 
 d iin 
 
 39 
 
 gun 
 
 m orn 
 
 nun 
 
 b orn 
 
 p un 
 
 c orn 
 
 sp un 
 
 b orn 
 
 st un 
 
 sc orn 
 
 sli un 
 
 til orn 
 
 u 
 
 o 
 
 42 
 
 40 
 
 blue 
 
 up 
 
 d ue 
 
 c np 
 
 h ue 
 
 Slip 
 
 s lie 
 
 pup 
 
 c ue 
 
 u 
 
 ue 
 
 
 n 
 
 43 
 
 p it 
 
 p eep 
 
 tit 
 
 d eep 
 
 fl it 
 
 k eep 
 
 si it 
 
 w eep 
 
 qii it 
 
 sw eep 
 
 grit 
 
 steep 
 
 spit 
 
 cr eep 
 
 i 
 
 sh eep 
 
 45 
 
 si eep 
 
 h ead 
 
 ee 
 
 d ead 
 
 44 
 
 1 ead 
 
 it 
 
 read 
 
 sit 
 
 br ead 
 
 bit 
 
 tr ead 
 
 fit 
 
 dr ead 
 
 hit 
 
 st ead 
 
 lit 
 
 spr ead 
 
 m it 
 
 thr ead 
 
 w it 
 
 ea
 
 200 
 
 LEARNING TO 
 
 READ 
 
 
 46 
 
 48 
 
 tin 
 
 51 
 
 prig 
 
 f air 
 
 c arae 
 
 win 
 
 sh one 
 
 sprig 
 
 air 
 
 n ame 
 
 p in 
 
 st one 
 
 i 
 
 h air 
 
 game 
 
 ch in 
 
 b one 
 
 53 
 
 1 air 
 
 dame 
 
 sp in 
 
 c one 
 
 s een 
 
 p air 
 
 fame 
 
 skin 
 
 drone 
 
 green 
 
 ch air 
 
 fl ame 
 
 . gr in 
 
 hone 
 
 qii een 
 
 stair 
 
 same 
 
 th in 
 
 tone 
 
 scr een 
 
 ai 
 
 tame 
 
 twin 
 
 zone 
 
 ee 
 
 47 
 
 1 ame 
 
 i 
 
 o 
 
 54 
 
 w ent 
 
 bl ame 
 
 50 
 
 52 
 
 h ini 
 
 s ent 
 
 fr ame 
 
 d own 
 
 big 
 
 dim 
 
 b ent 
 
 sh ame 
 
 town 
 
 dig 
 
 rim 
 
 d ent 
 
 a 
 
 g own 
 
 fig 
 
 brim 
 
 c ent 
 
 49 
 
 clown 
 
 pig 
 
 pr im 
 
 1 ent 
 
 in 
 
 brown 
 
 wig 
 
 tr im 
 
 r ent 
 
 b in 
 
 or own 
 
 rig 
 
 sw im 
 
 t ent 
 
 d in 
 
 dr own 
 
 jig 
 
 sk im 
 
 sp ent 
 
 fin 
 
 fr own 
 
 twig 
 
 si im 
 
 e 
 
 sin 
 
 ow 
 [8] 
 
 brig 
 
 i
 
 
 THE PHONIC 
 
 CHART 
 
 201 
 
 55 
 
 57 
 
 1 ap 
 
 cl am 
 
 ver 
 
 hang 
 
 y^^p 
 
 cram 
 
 cl o ver 
 
 s ang 
 
 map 
 
 tr am 
 
 D ver 
 
 bang 
 
 n ap 
 
 sh am 
 
 Rover 
 
 el ang 
 
 tap 
 
 si am 
 
 dr ver 
 
 fang 
 
 sap 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 gang 
 
 strap 
 
 60 
 
 56 
 
 r ang 
 
 slap 
 
 ought 
 
 eat 
 
 spr ang 
 
 snap 
 
 th ought 
 
 b eat 
 
 si ang 
 
 trap 
 
 br ought 
 
 li eat 
 
 tw ang 
 
 wrap 
 
 b ought 
 
 ra eat 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 f ought 
 
 n eat 
 
 58 
 
 59 
 
 s ought 
 
 p eat 
 
 h ap 
 
 am 
 
 ou 
 
 s eat 
 
 rap 
 
 sw am 
 
 61 
 
 bl eat 
 
 cji ap 
 
 dam 
 
 w eath er 
 
 cli eat 
 
 clap 
 
 ham 
 
 f eath er 
 
 tr eat 
 
 flap 
 
 jam 
 
 h eath er 
 
 wli eat 
 
 gap 
 
 ram 
 
 1 eath er 
 
 ea 
 
 cap 
 
 S am 
 
 ea 
 
 m
 
 202 
 
 LEARNINC; TO 
 
 READ 
 
 
 62 
 
 64 
 
 66 
 
 67 
 
 69 
 
 1 lick 
 
 rock 
 
 n ot 
 
 h ark 
 
 th ank 
 
 st uck 
 
 cock 
 
 lot 
 
 d ark 
 
 b ank 
 
 (;1 uck 
 
 bl ock 
 
 blot 
 
 sp ark 
 
 bl ank 
 
 pi uck 
 
 f r ock 
 
 c ot 
 
 b ark 
 
 cl ank 
 
 R uck 
 
 flock 
 
 cl ot 
 
 m ark 
 
 crank 
 
 t uck 
 
 lock 
 
 dot 
 
 p ark 
 
 dr ank 
 
 str uck 
 
 mock 
 
 got 
 
 1 ark 
 
 fl ank 
 
 d uck 
 
 knock 
 
 hot 
 
 sh ark 
 
 fr ank 
 
 tr uck 
 
 stock 
 
 jot 
 
 a 
 
 h ank 
 
 u 
 
 sh ock 
 
 knot 
 
 68 
 
 1 ank 
 
 63 
 
 cr ock 
 
 pot 
 
 h ive 
 
 pi ank 
 
 c ool 
 
 cl ock 
 
 pi ot 
 
 1 ive 
 
 pr ank 
 
 fool 
 
 sock 
 
 rot 
 
 dive 
 
 rank 
 
 sp ool 
 
 
 
 shot 
 
 five 
 
 s ank 
 
 pool 
 
 65 
 
 si ot 
 
 str ive 
 
 sh ank 
 
 tool 
 
 loud 
 
 spot 
 
 tlir ive 
 
 d ank 
 
 stool 
 
 pr oud 
 
 tot 
 
 al ive 
 
 sp ank 
 
 sch ool 
 
 cl oud 
 
 trot 
 
 drive 
 
 tank 
 
 00 
 
 ou 
 
 
 
 [10] 
 
 i 
 
 a
 
 70 
 
 find 
 k ind 
 bind 
 h ind 
 mind 
 w ind 
 
 r ind 
 
 gr ind 
 
 bl ind 
 
 i 
 
 71 
 
 r ose 
 
 tb ose 
 
 n ose 
 
 b ose 
 
 p ose 
 
 pr ose 
 
 cl ose 
 
 o 
 
 THE 
 
 PHONIC en Ail 
 
 LT 
 
 203 
 
 72 
 
 73 
 
 75 
 
 76 
 
 cb ick 
 
 tb en 
 
 care 
 
 east 
 
 qu ick 
 
 b en 
 
 d are 
 
 1 east 
 
 tick 
 
 d en 
 
 b are 
 
 f east 
 
 Dick 
 
 men 
 
 b are 
 
 b east 
 
 kick 
 
 p en 
 
 bl are 
 
 y east 
 
 lick 
 
 ten 
 
 fare 
 
 ea 
 
 n ick 
 
 wben 
 
 fl are 
 
 77 
 
 p ick 
 
 wr en 
 
 gl are 
 
 sp eak 
 
 s ick 
 
 e 
 
 m are 
 
 creak 
 
 w ick 
 
 74 
 
 p are 
 
 squ eak 
 
 crick 
 
 d eer 
 
 r are 
 
 w eak 
 
 stick 
 
 peer 
 
 stare 
 
 beak 
 
 prick 
 
 b eer 
 
 sp are 
 
 bleak 
 
 cl ick 
 
 cb eer 
 
 sb are 
 
 fr eak 
 
 br ick 
 
 jeer 
 
 sn are 
 
 leak 
 
 tr ick 
 
 sn eer 
 
 sc are 
 
 peak 
 
 tb ick 
 
 qu eer 
 
 tare 
 
 str eak 
 
 si ick 
 
 st eer 
 
 Av are 
 
 Avr eak 
 
 i 
 
 ee 
 
 a 
 
 ea
 
 204 
 
 LEARNING TO 
 
 READ 
 
 
 78 
 
 page 
 
 81 
 
 82 
 
 83 
 
 ice 
 
 s age 
 
 th ink 
 
 tip 
 
 s ail 
 
 m ice 
 
 st age 
 
 dr ink 
 
 sk ip 
 
 sn ail 
 
 d ice 
 
 w age 
 
 rink 
 
 drip 
 
 n ail 
 
 1 ice 
 
 a 
 
 1 ink 
 
 slip 
 
 bail 
 
 n ice 
 
 80 
 
 blink 
 
 ch ip 
 
 fail 
 
 price 
 
 jump 
 
 cl ink 
 
 cl ip 
 
 h ail 
 
 r ice 
 
 li limp 
 
 ch ink 
 
 d ip 
 
 jail 
 
 si ice 
 
 b limp 
 
 si ink 
 
 gr ip 
 
 mail 
 
 sp ice 
 
 cl limp 
 
 p ink 
 
 h ip 
 
 p ail 
 
 spl ice 
 
 d ump 
 
 m ink 
 
 lip 
 
 rail 
 
 thr ice 
 
 1 ump 
 
 w ink 
 
 nip 
 
 trail 
 
 tr ice 
 
 pi ump 
 
 s ink 
 
 r ip 
 
 f r ail 
 
 tw ice 
 
 pump 
 
 t ink 
 
 s ip 
 
 tail 
 
 vice 
 
 r ump 
 
 br ink 
 
 sh ip 
 
 w ail 
 
 i 
 
 si ump 
 
 shr ink 
 
 sn ip 
 
 qii ail 
 
 79 
 
 st ump 
 
 prink 
 
 trip 
 
 flail 
 
 age 
 
 til ump 
 
 k ink 
 
 wh ip 
 
 vail 
 
 c age 
 
 tr ump 
 
 ink 
 
 pip 
 
 ail 
 
 rage 
 
 u 
 
 i 
 [12] 
 
 i 
 
 ai
 
 
 THE 
 
 PHONIC 
 
 CHART 
 
 205 
 
 84 
 
 pant 
 
 rout 
 
 89 
 
 91 
 
 gate 
 
 rant 
 
 st out 
 
 rob 
 
 ash 
 
 ate 
 
 slant 
 
 sp out 
 
 c ob 
 
 d ash 
 
 K ate 
 
 ch ant 
 
 sh out 
 
 bob 
 
 flash 
 
 late 
 
 a 
 
 sc out 
 
 fob 
 
 crash 
 
 fate 
 
 86 
 
 tr out 
 
 hob 
 
 cl ash 
 
 gr ate 
 
 cried 
 
 sn out 
 
 job 
 
 h ash 
 
 h ate 
 
 died 
 
 ou 
 
 kn ob 
 
 1 ash 
 
 ni ate 
 
 dried 
 
 88 
 
 m ob 
 
 m ash 
 
 pi ate 
 
 f r ied 
 
 fl ies 
 
 sob 
 
 s ash 
 
 rate 
 
 lied 
 
 skies 
 
 o 
 
 rash 
 
 crate 
 
 spied 
 
 ties 
 
 90 
 
 sm ash 
 
 sk ate 
 
 tried 
 
 dries 
 
 reach 
 
 trash 
 
 si ate 
 
 tied 
 
 dies 
 
 peach 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 ie 
 
 fries 
 
 pr each 
 
 92 
 
 85 
 
 87 
 
 1 ies 
 
 beach 
 
 1 ove 
 
 plant 
 
 out 
 
 sp ies 
 
 bl each 
 
 d ove 
 
 c an't 
 
 ab out 
 
 tr ies 
 
 teach 
 
 sh ove 
 
 gr ant 
 
 g out 
 
 cr ies 
 
 each 
 
 gl ove 
 
 ant 
 
 p out 
 
 ie 
 [13] 
 
 ea 
 
 o
 
 206 
 
 LEARNING TO 
 
 READ 
 
 
 93 
 
 sh ine 
 
 rift 
 
 99 
 
 dirt 
 
 this 
 
 wh ine 
 
 sift 
 
 wh ence 
 
 flirt 
 
 miss 
 
 th ine 
 
 gift 
 
 th ence 
 
 girt 
 
 h iss 
 
 tw ine 
 
 shift 
 
 pence 
 
 ir 
 
 k iss 
 
 brine 
 
 thr ift 
 
 fence 
 
 102 
 
 bliss 
 
 i 
 
 • 
 
 1 
 
 h ence 
 
 dream 
 
 1 
 
 95 
 
 97 
 
 e 
 
 team 
 
 94 
 
 grass 
 
 coat 
 
 100 
 
 b eam 
 
 fine 
 
 pass 
 
 goat 
 
 how 
 
 cr eam 
 
 pine 
 
 mass 
 
 b oat 
 
 bow 
 
 gl eam 
 
 d ine 
 
 glass 
 
 float 
 
 cow 
 
 ream 
 
 k ine 
 
 lass 
 
 
 
 now 
 
 s eam 
 
 line 
 
 class 
 
 98 
 
 brow 
 
 steam 
 
 mine 
 
 brass 
 
 moss 
 
 pi ow 
 
 ea 
 
 nine 
 
 ass 
 
 toss 
 
 mow 
 
 103 
 
 spine 
 
 a 
 
 boss 
 
 ow 
 
 leap 
 
 tine 
 
 96 
 
 cr oss 
 
 101 
 
 reap 
 
 w ine 
 
 lift 
 
 gloss 
 
 sk irt 
 
 heap 
 
 sw ine 
 
 swift 
 
 loss 
 
 sh irt 
 
 ch eap 
 
 vine 
 
 drift 
 
 
 
 [14] 
 
 squ irt 
 
 ea
 
 
 Tin 
 
 i PHONIC ' 
 
 CHART 
 
 207 
 
 104 
 
 106 
 
 108 
 
 gale 
 
 112 
 
 log 
 
 roll 
 
 dress 
 
 m ale 
 
 1 ost 
 
 frog 
 
 toll 
 
 gu ess 
 
 s ale 
 
 c ost 
 
 bog 
 
 poll 
 
 bl ess 
 
 st ale 
 
 frost 
 
 cog 
 
 troll 
 
 1 ess 
 
 scale 
 
 
 
 d og 
 
 droll 
 
 m ess 
 
 V ale 
 
 113 
 
 fog 
 
 str oil 
 
 press 
 
 whale 
 
 g ave 
 
 flog 
 
 knoll 
 
 e 
 
 Yale 
 
 s ave 
 
 hog 
 
 
 
 109 
 
 a 
 
 brave 
 
 dog 
 
 107 
 
 w alk 
 
 111 
 
 c ave 
 
 jog 
 
 rove 
 
 t alk 
 
 s eek 
 
 1 ave 
 
 o 
 
 stove 
 
 balk 
 
 p eek 
 
 pave 
 
 105 
 
 w ove 
 
 stalk 
 
 cr eek 
 
 rave 
 
 pea 
 
 c ove 
 
 ch alk 
 
 ch eek 
 
 sh ave 
 
 s ea 
 
 cl ove 
 
 a 
 
 Greek 
 
 si ave 
 
 tea 
 
 drove 
 
 110 
 
 1 eek 
 
 w ave 
 
 1 ea 
 
 gr ove 
 
 pale 
 
 meek 
 
 cr ave 
 
 fl ea 
 
 str ove 
 
 t ale 
 
 si eek 
 
 gr ave 
 
 pi ea 
 
 thr ove 
 
 bale 
 
 w eek 
 
 kn ave 
 
 ea 
 
 
 
 d ale 
 
 [15] 
 
 ee 
 
 a
 
 208 
 
 LEARNING TO 
 
 READ 
 
 
 114 
 
 117 
 
 120 
 
 pole 
 
 124 
 
 soft 
 
 neck 
 
 sn ug 
 
 wh ole 
 
 aw oke 
 
 loft 
 
 d eck 
 
 dug 
 
 sole 
 
 sp oke 
 
 cr oft 
 
 p eck 
 
 bug 
 
 
 
 broke 
 
 oft 
 
 ch eck 
 
 hug 
 
 122 
 
 coke 
 
 
 
 fleck 
 
 jug 
 
 m eal 
 
 joke 
 
 115 
 
 speck 
 
 lug 
 
 steal 
 
 poke 
 
 t aste 
 
 e 
 
 mug 
 
 d eal 
 
 str oke 
 
 p aste 
 
 118 
 
 pug 
 
 heal 
 
 sm oke 
 
 h aste 
 
 dull 
 
 pi ug 
 
 seal 
 
 ch oke 
 
 b aste 
 
 h ull 
 
 rug 
 
 V eal 
 
 y oke 
 
 waste 
 
 gull 
 
 shr ug 
 
 w eal 
 
 woke 
 
 a 
 
 cull 
 
 si ug 
 
 z eal 
 
 
 
 116 
 
 skull 
 
 tug 
 
 ea 
 
 125 
 
 w ear 
 
 u 
 
 drug 
 
 123 
 
 life 
 
 b ear 
 
 119 
 
 u 
 
 good 
 
 w ife 
 
 sw ear 
 
 J une 
 
 121 
 
 stood 
 
 fife 
 
 t ear 
 
 t une 
 
 h ole 
 
 h ood 
 
 kn ife 
 
 p ear 
 
 d une 
 
 stole 
 
 w ood 
 
 str ife 
 
 ea. 
 
 u 
 
 mole 
 [16] 
 
 GO 
 
 i
 
 
 THE 
 
 PHONIC CHART 
 
 209 
 
 126 
 
 129 
 
 132 
 
 134 
 
 137 
 
 s in gle 
 
 e n ougli 
 
 end 
 
 1 eave 
 
 h oot 
 
 t in gle 
 
 r ough 
 
 s end 
 
 w eave 
 
 b oot 
 
 ra in gle 
 
 t ough 
 
 b end 
 
 cl eave 
 
 1 oot 
 
 sh in gle 
 
 ou 
 
 bl end 
 
 h eave 
 
 root 
 
 j ill gle 
 
 130 
 
 1 end 
 
 ea 
 
 s oot 
 
 i 
 
 bud 
 
 m end 
 
 135 
 
 t oot 
 
 127 
 
 ni ud 
 
 rend 
 
 d ome 
 
 00 
 
 c url 
 
 c ud 
 
 sp end 
 
 h ome 
 
 138 
 
 furl 
 
 sc ud 
 
 t end 
 
 gnome 
 
 roof 
 
 h url 
 
 u 
 
 tr end 
 
 Rome 
 
 h oof 
 
 u 
 
 131 
 
 e 
 
 t ome 
 
 pr oof 
 
 128 
 
 y awn 
 
 133 
 
 
 
 w oof 
 
 owl 
 
 d awn 
 
 cliff 
 
 136 
 
 GO 
 
 gr owl 
 
 f awn 
 
 stiff 
 
 n ote 
 
 139 
 
 c owl 
 
 1 awn 
 
 skiff 
 
 m ote 
 
 cl ev er 
 
 f owl 
 
 p awn 
 
 sniff 
 
 V ote 
 
 n ev er 
 
 h owl 
 
 sp awn 
 
 wh iff 
 
 r ote 
 
 s ev er 
 
 prowl 
 
 brawn 
 
 if 
 
 wr ote 
 
 ev er 
 
 ow 
 
 aw 
 
 i 
 [17] 
 
 
 
 e
 
 210 
 
 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 
 140 
 
 143 
 
 146 
 
 149 
 
 152 
 
 oak 
 
 bl aze 
 
 tw ist 
 
 h ard 
 
 c ane 
 
 cl oak 
 
 gl aze 
 
 m ist 
 
 y ard 
 
 V ane 
 
 cr oak 
 
 cr aze 
 
 fist 
 
 1 ard 
 
 b ane 
 
 s oak 
 
 graze 
 
 grist 
 
 b ard 
 
 1 ane 
 
 oa 
 
 h aze 
 
 list 
 
 gu ard 
 
 ra ane 
 
 141 
 
 ^ 
 
 h ist 
 
 card 
 
 pane 
 
 felt 
 
 144 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 
 pi ane 
 
 m elt 
 
 r oar 
 
 147 
 
 150 
 
 crane 
 
 belt 
 
 s oar 
 
 b ean 
 
 arm 
 
 sane 
 
 dw elt 
 
 b oar 
 
 m ean 
 
 f arm 
 
 w ane 
 
 kn elt 
 
 oar 
 
 cl ean 
 
 h arm 
 
 a 
 
 p elt 
 
 oa 
 
 1 eari 
 
 ch arm 
 
 153 
 
 sp elt 
 
 143 
 
 w ean 
 
 a 
 
 ask 
 
 e 
 
 m aid 
 
 ea 
 
 151 
 
 b ask 
 
 142 
 
 paid 
 
 148 
 
 girl 
 
 c ask 
 
 eight 
 
 1 aid 
 
 f ern 
 
 wh irl 
 
 flask 
 
 fr eight 
 
 raid 
 
 stern 
 
 tw irl 
 
 m ask 
 
 w eight 
 
 braid 
 
 t ern 
 
 sw irl 
 
 t ask 
 
 ei 
 
 ai 
 
 er 
 
 ir 
 
 a 
 
 [18]
 
 
 THE PHONIC 
 
 CHART 
 
 211 
 
 154 
 
 156 
 
 tart 
 
 160 
 
 h ush 
 
 m at ter 
 
 d art 
 
 b uncli 
 
 br usli 
 
 1 at ter 
 
 ch art 
 
 1 unch 
 
 cr ush 
 
 p at ter 
 
 c art 
 
 m uuch 
 
 flush 
 
 b at ter 
 
 art 
 
 cr unch 
 
 gush 
 
 h at ter 
 
 a 
 
 h unch 
 
 mush 
 
 sp at ter 
 
 158 
 
 p unch 
 
 plush 
 
 ch at ter 
 
 boy 
 
 u 
 
 rush 
 
 cl at ter 
 
 joy 
 
 161 
 
 si ush 
 
 pi at ter 
 
 toy 
 
 pi ace 
 
 bl ush 
 
 sc at ter 
 
 coy 
 
 pace 
 
 thr ush 
 
 sh at ter 
 
 Troy 
 
 race 
 
 u 
 
 sm at ter 
 
 oy 
 
 brace 
 
 156 
 
 t at ter 
 
 159 
 
 trace 
 
 faint 
 
 a 
 
 pond 
 
 grace 
 
 paint 
 
 157 
 
 fond 
 
 face 
 
 saint 
 
 smart 
 
 b ond 
 
 lace 
 
 qu aint 
 
 start 
 
 bl ond 
 
 m ace 
 
 taint 
 
 p art 
 
 fr ond 
 
 sp ace 
 
 dd 
 
 m art 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 [19]
 
 212 
 
 LEARNING TO 
 
 READ 
 
 
 162 
 
 164 
 
 p eel 
 
 168 
 
 169 
 
 own 
 
 str etch 
 
 reel 
 
 m ad 
 
 made 
 
 kn own 
 
 wr etch 
 
 kn eel 
 
 rag 
 
 rage 
 
 sli own 
 
 sk etch 
 
 steel 
 
 d am 
 
 d ame 
 
 in own 
 
 f etch 
 
 wh eel 
 
 c an 
 
 c ane 
 
 s own 
 
 etch 
 
 ee 
 
 c ap 
 
 c ape 
 
 str own 
 
 e 
 
 167 
 
 h at 
 
 li ate 
 
 gr own 
 
 165 
 
 br ag 
 
 hid 
 
 h ide 
 
 tbr own 
 
 c atch 
 
 flag 
 
 mill 
 
 m ile 
 
 bl own 
 
 scr atch 
 
 cr asr 
 
 d im 
 
 d ime 
 
 
 
 h atch 
 
 dr ag 
 
 p in 
 
 p ine 
 
 163 
 
 1 atch 
 
 stag 
 
 r ip 
 
 ripe 
 
 but 
 
 m atch 
 
 sn ag 
 
 bit 
 
 b ite 
 
 c ut 
 
 patch 
 
 slag 
 
 r ob 
 
 r obe 
 
 hut 
 
 sn atch 
 
 bag 
 
 r od 
 
 rode 
 
 n ut 
 
 a 
 
 gag 
 
 Tom 
 
 t ome 
 
 rut 
 
 166 
 
 lag 
 
 n ot 
 
 n ote 
 
 sh ut 
 
 feel 
 
 rag 
 
 h op 
 
 h ope 
 
 str ut 
 
 h eel 
 
 tag 
 
 tub 
 
 tube 
 
 u 
 
 k eel 
 
 a 
 [20] 
 
 c ut 
 
 cute
 
 
 THE PHONIC CHART 
 
 213 
 
 170— a 
 
 171 -at 
 
 172-a 
 
 base 
 
 aim 
 
 fact 
 
 c a se 
 
 claim 
 
 tax 
 
 cli a se 
 
 w ai t 
 
 1 a mb 
 
 bathe 
 
 daily 
 
 c a mp 
 
 la the 
 
 dairy 
 
 shr a nk 
 
 r a nge 
 
 d ai sy 
 
 wr a n gle 
 
 ch a nge 
 
 r ai ny 
 
 sad die 
 
 str a nge 
 
 pi ai n ly 
 
 sh a d o\v 
 
 d a ix ger 
 
 d ai n ty 
 
 cr a ck le 
 
 man ger 
 
 f ai th 
 
 h a nd y 
 
 str a n ger 
 
 pr ai se 
 
 h a p pen 
 
 drape 
 
 str ai ght 
 
 thr a sh 
 
 crape 
 
 waist 
 
 h a m mer 
 
 scr a pe 
 
 waif 
 
 st a g ger 
 
 c able 
 
 a f r ai d 
 
 era b 
 
 table 
 
 com pi ai n 
 
 st a nip 
 
 st a ble 
 
 ex pi ai n 
 
 g a th er 
 
 in a pie 
 
 s ai 1 or 
 
 sea Ip 
 
 st a pie 
 
 j ai 1 er 
 [21] 
 
 ban ner
 
 214 
 
 
 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 
 173 -a 
 
 175 — ar 
 
 176 -au 
 
 b a th 
 
 b ar n 
 
 au nt 
 
 p a til 
 
 yarn 
 
 d ail nt 
 
 d a nee 
 
 st ar ve 
 
 fi au nt 
 
 gl a nee 
 
 searf 
 
 g an nt 
 
 el asp 
 
 tardy 
 
 h au nt 
 
 grasp 
 
 h ar dly 
 
 j aunt 
 
 1 a st ly 
 
 barb 
 
 taunt 
 
 V a st ly 
 
 sharp 
 
 V au nt 
 
 era ft 
 
 gii ar d 
 
 1 au nch 
 
 sh aft 
 
 st ar eh 
 
 s au nt er 
 
 mas ter 
 
 eh ar ge 
 
 h au ncli 
 
 pi a s ter 
 
 m ar ket 
 
 177 -aw 
 
 174 -a? 
 
 harsh 
 
 h aw k 
 
 calf 
 
 marsh 
 
 squ aw k 
 
 half 
 
 hart 
 
 d aw die 
 
 e al ves 
 
 sn ar 1 
 
 awl 
 
 h al ves 
 
 d ar ling 
 
 sh aw 1 
 
 c al m 
 
 f ar m er 
 
 f aw n 
 
 pal m 
 
 alarm 
 [22] 
 
 awe
 
 
 THE PHONIC CHART 
 
 215 
 
 178 — a 
 
 179 — au 
 
 181 — ea 
 
 w a rm 
 
 c ail gilt 
 
 str ea m 
 
 w a rm er 
 
 t ail gilt 
 
 t ea ch er 
 
 w a rmth 
 
 p ail se 
 
 squ ea 1 
 
 sw a rm 
 
 c au so 
 
 y ea r ly 
 
 w ard 
 
 cl au se 
 
 dr ea r 
 
 sw a th 
 
 d au b 
 
 dr ea r y 
 
 w a Itz 
 
 f au It 
 
 glea n 
 
 w a nt 
 
 d ail gli ter 
 
 wr ea th 
 
 war 
 
 n au gh ty 
 
 br ea the 
 
 war ble 
 
 s au ce 
 
 pi ea se 
 
 w a rn 
 
 s au cer 
 
 ease 
 
 wh a rf 
 
 s au cy 
 
 leaf 
 
 wh a rves 
 
 180 — ee 
 
 1 ea ves 
 
 s alt 
 
 b ee cli 
 
 r ea d 
 
 sc a Id 
 
 b ee f 
 
 r ea son 
 
 w art 
 
 s ee m 
 
 tr ea son 
 
 dw a rf 
 
 fi ee ce 
 
 cr ea se 
 
 a 1 ter 
 
 br ee ze 
 
 eagei 
 
 f a 1 ter 
 
 t ee th 
 [23] 
 
 eagle
 
 216 
 
 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 
 182 — e 
 
 183-6 
 
 185-gr 
 
 egg 
 
 left 
 
 h er 
 
 1 e ngth 
 
 th e ft 
 
 h er s 
 
 cr e pt 
 
 e dge 
 
 h er d 
 
 e Ise 
 
 w e dge 
 
 h erb 
 
 d e nse 
 
 b e neb 
 
 p er ch 
 
 d e pth . 
 
 wr e nch 
 
 s er ve 
 
 d e sk 
 
 flesh 
 
 t er m 
 
 st e p 
 
 thr e sh 
 
 V er ge 
 
 he Ip 
 
 tw e Ifth 
 
 186 — ?e 
 
 st e m 
 
 str e ngth en 
 
 brie f 
 
 held 
 
 184 — ea 
 
 ch ie f 
 
 web 
 
 d ea th 
 
 th ie f 
 
 p e b ble 
 
 br ea th 
 
 fie Id 
 
 r eb el 
 
 sw ea t 
 
 sh ie Id 
 
 tw e Ive 
 
 st ea d y 
 
 y ie Id 
 
 t e nth 
 
 m ea d ow 
 
 niece 
 
 shelf 
 
 m ea s lire 
 
 pier 
 
 next 
 
 pl ea s lire 
 
 p ie rce 
 
 m e d die 
 
 tr ea s ure 
 
 f ie rce 
 
 [24]
 
 187 — 1 
 
 wh 
 
 ile 
 
 sm 
 
 ile 
 
 r 
 
 ipe 
 
 str 
 
 i pe 
 
 s 
 
 ign 
 
 tr 
 
 i be 
 
 fr] 
 
 gilt en 
 
 br ] 
 
 ght en 
 
 cr ] 
 
 ime 
 
 ch 
 
 i me 
 
 sp i 
 
 re 
 
 qu i 
 
 re 
 
 S] 
 
 gh 
 
 spi 
 
 ke 
 
 m 
 
 ild 
 
 s i 
 
 ze 
 
 pr i 
 
 ze 
 
 r ] 
 
 L se 
 
 w i 
 
 se 
 
 THE PHONIC CHART 
 
 
 188 — 1 
 
 189- i 
 
 pr i nt 
 
 str i p 
 
 w i tch 
 
 wr i st 
 
 r i cl die 
 
 s i s ter 
 
 m i clg et 
 
 scr i pt 
 
 qu i It 
 
 r i nse 
 
 wr i g gle 
 
 w i dth 
 
 tr i g ger 
 
 cri b 
 
 br i t tie 
 
 br i dge 
 
 wr i t ten 
 
 i nch 
 
 pity 
 
 cri mp 
 
 gr i m 
 
 gl i mpse 
 
 gl i m mer 
 
 f r i nore 
 
 s i ik 
 
 cr i sp 
 
 pr i nee 
 
 br isk 
 
 m i X 
 
 d i sli 
 
 d i m pie 
 
 f i Im 
 
 spr i n kle 
 
 filth 
 
 pr i c kle 
 
 sw i tch 
 
 cr i ck et 
 
 spl i nt 
 
 217 
 
 [25]
 
 218 
 
 LEARNING TO READ 
 
 
 190— ir 
 
 192— oa 
 
 194-6 
 
 fir 
 
 road 
 
 trod 
 
 f ir m 
 
 loaf 
 
 lodge 
 
 f ir st 
 
 1 oa ves 
 
 pr mpt 
 
 th ir d 
 
 oa th 
 
 fl ss 
 
 b ir th 
 
 soap 
 
 cr tch 
 
 b ir ch 
 
 oats 
 
 clo th 
 
 sh ir k 
 
 thr oa t 
 
 tongs 
 
 ch ir p 
 
 gr oan 
 
 yon der 
 
 th ir ty 
 
 f oa m 
 
 be y nd 
 
 th ir teen 
 
 c oa rse 
 
 p ck et 
 
 191—5 
 
 goal 
 
 195— or 
 
 si pe 
 
 b oa st 
 
 n or 
 
 gl be 
 
 b oard 
 
 c or d 
 
 p st 
 
 193— 5b 
 
 stork 
 
 bolt 
 
 r 00 st 
 
 storm 
 
 r de 
 
 goo se 
 
 sh or t 
 
 p rch 
 
 shoot 
 
 sc or ch 
 
 spo rt 
 
 poor 
 
 b or der 
 
 w rn 
 
 st 00 p 
 [26] 
 
 c or ner
 
 
 THE PHONIC CHART 
 
 219 
 
 196— ou 
 
 198 -u 
 
 200 -u 
 
 h oil r 
 
 cu be 
 
 d usk 
 
 m ou th 
 
 cu re 
 
 tuft 
 
 spr ou t 
 
 duke 
 
 p u z zle 
 
 shr ou d 
 
 dupe 
 
 cr u m ble 
 
 m ou nt 
 
 plume 
 
 thr u st 
 
 f ou n tain 
 
 mule 
 
 sup per 
 
 h ou se 
 
 due 
 
 p u p py 
 
 c ou ch 
 
 u se 
 
 dr u g gist 
 
 ounce 
 
 199— ur 
 
 m u mps 
 
 197— oi 
 
 burn 
 
 judge 
 
 oil 
 
 spur 
 
 pi u nge 
 
 spoil 
 
 surf 
 
 cr u mb 
 
 V oi ce 
 
 b ur st 
 
 cr u tch 
 
 ch oi ce 
 
 ch ur ch 
 
 sw u ng 
 
 join 
 
 c ur b 
 
 bl u nt 
 
 coin 
 
 c ur d 
 
 stuff 
 
 j oint 
 
 p ur se 
 
 fl u t ter 
 
 m oi st 
 
 c ur ve 
 
 pud die 
 
 n oise 
 
 h urt 
 [27] 
 
 th u n der