Review Lists
Throughout the book, review lists are common. The time usually allotted to the spelling lesson is short and, therefore, only those words which have been shown by investigation to need reviewing occur in these review lists. Words presenting the most difficulty are often repeated in the same and succeeding grades. The words which are recurring constantly in the written vocabulary of children are the words which they need to be sure that they have mastered. Including only such words for review will enable both teacher and pupil to conserve the time of the school day. The lessons are short and it is expected that each word is to be carefully taught the first time. If this is done and the pupil’s list of the misspelled words is kept, the need of long reviews will be minimized.
Other lists in the form of reviews consist of groups of words especially alluded to by other authors. For example, at the close of the work of the third grade will be found the hundred commonest words in the English language. Ayres points out that these words with their repetitions constitute about one-half of all the words we write. There is no question about the need of thoroughly mastering them early. On pages 42 and 43 of the fifth year work and pages 84 and 85 of the sixth year will be found lists of words taken from the 1,000 commonest words of the English language. At the end of other grades will be found lists of known trouble makers which should be carefully reviewed.