SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS
As stated on the preceding page, the foundation of this work is phonetic. The author believes that children may profitably learn many words without reference to their phonetic composition, and that among these certain key-words should be selected from which the elementary sounds of the language may be developed. These elements will give the pupils the power of acquiring new words. For example, observe the following key-words and the sounds developed from them:—
| Page 5, | flag; | teach f, l, ă, g. |
| Page 7, | fan; | teach n. |
| Page 8, | can; | teach c. |
| Page 10, | has; | teach h, s̝. |
| Page 10, | get; | teach ĕ, t. |
| Page 12, | cap; | teach p. |
| Page 13, | drum; | teach d, r, ŭ. |
| Page 14, | am; | teach m. |
| Page 15, | not; | teach ŏ. |
| Page 15, | big; | teach b, ĭ. |
| Page 16, | see; | teach s, ē. |
| Page 17, | ball; | teach a̤. |
| Page 17, | play; | teach ā. |
| Page 18, | jump; | teach j. |
| Page 19, | bird; | teach ĩ. |
| Page 19, | fly; | teach ȳ = ī. |
| Page 21, | wall; | teach w. |
| Page 24, | good; | teach oo. |
| Page 25, | with; | teach th. |
| Page 31, | some; | teach ȯ. |
Observe the great number of easy and common words that may be developed from the sounds thus learned from the first ten key-words named above. The list includes an, as, ran, had, pan, man, tan, let, met, pet, bet, men, pen, fig, did, bit, little, not, lot, got, hot, log, and a great many more. Similar key-words emphasizing the remaining sounds should be selected as the work proceeds. Teachers preferring to introduce the sounds less rapidly, may teach these first words as words and select others later in the book to serve as key-words. The blackboard should be in constant use, and the pupils' ingenuity in forming new words and new sentences should be tested at every recitation. The few exercises in script given at the beginning of the book are suggestive of the manner in which much additional drill in reading may be presented on the blackboard. The diacritical marks should not be taught to the children.
a flag a flag
| a flag | |
| I have a flag I have a flag |
I have a fan. I see the fan. See the fan. See the fan I have.
I have a fan. I see the fan. See the fan I have.
See the flag. I have the fan. I can see the flag. I have a dog. Can the dog have the flag? The dog can see the flag. Can I see the dog? Can I see a fan? Can the dog see the fan?
can fan flag dog
I see a flag. I see a fan. I see a dog. The dog can see. The dog can have the flag. I can have the fan. I can see the dog.
I see a flag. I see a fan. I see a dog. The dog can see. The dog can have the flag. I can have the flag. I can see the dog.
has get boy
See! The dog has the flag. The boy has the dog. Can the boy get the flag? I can get the flag.
I have the dog. I can get the flag.
girl and
See the girl and the fan.
cap hat
cap hat The boy has a cap. The girl has a hat. I see the girl and the hat. I see the boy and the cap. I have a hat and a cap. Can the dog have the cap? The boy has a cap and a flag.
run drum run drum See the dog run. The boy has a drum. The dog has a hat. Can the boy get the hat? Can the dog get the drum? The girl can run. The girl can get the drum.
am my little
I am a boy. I am a little boy. See my drum and my cap.
not big is
| I am a girl. I am not a big girl. I am a little girl. I have a big fan. See the fan I have. The girl is not a big girl. The fan is not a little fan. A little girl can not have a drum. The girl has a cap and a fan. The boy and the girl can run. |
cat you me to
I see you. I see you, little cat. Can you not see me? Run, run to me, little cat. The big dog can not get you.
I can run to you, little girl. Can you run to me? I am not a big cat. I am a little cat. I see you and I run to you.
ball play catch it
The ball! Get the ball! Can the girl play ball? Can the boy catch the ball?
Run, little boy, and catch it. See, I can play ball. I have it. I can catch it. You can not get it, little boy. You can not catch a ball. The little girl and I can play ball.
jump hop like
See the big boy and the little boy. Can the little boy jump?
Jump, jump, jump! Hop, hop, hop! Can you hop to me, little boy? I can not hop to you. I can jump to you. I like to run and jump. I see you can jump, little boy. You can jump like a big boy.
bird fly
I see a little bird. The bird can fly. Fly, little bird, fly. I like to see you fly. Can you fly, little girl? Can you fly like me? I like to fly. I am a bird.
The dog and the cat can play. The boy can hop and jump. The little girl can not fly like the bird.
in tree
I am a bird. I am in a tree. Can you see me, little boy?
nest by wall
The bird has a nest. The nest is in the tree. The tree is by the wall. Can you see the bird in the nest? I can see the tree by the wall. I can see the nest in the tree. The bird is not in the nest. Fly to the nest, little bird. Fly to the nest in the tree.
do sing let
I have a bird. My bird can sing to me. Do you see it in the tree? Let it fly and sing. I can sing to you, little boy. Can you sing to me? Sing to me, fly to me. I am in the tree. The tree is by the wall. I can not fly like you, little bird. You can not play like me. Do you like to play? You have a nest and can sing. You can not get me, little boy. The cat can not catch me. I am in my nest in the tree.
one two bed dogs
I have two little dogs. I have one cat. Do you see it? My dogs like to run and play. My dogs have a little bed. Do you see the dogs in the bed? I like my dogs and my cat.
milk drink good for
Run to me, little dogs. Do you like milk? I have a little milk for you. See the milk. Do you like it? Can you drink it? Is it good? I like to drink milk. I like to see you drink it. Milk is good for you.
doll pretty with here
The little girl has a doll. Is it not a pretty doll?
My pretty doll, I like to play with you. You can not run with the dogs. You can not sing with the bird. You can play here with me. I have a pretty bed for you. Here it is. Here is your bed. I like to play with my pretty doll.
Grace our sister she
The girl with the doll is Grace. She is our little sister. She is a good girl. She likes to play with the doll. She likes to sing to it. She sings about the bird in the tree.
will song
Will you sing to me, Grace? Will you sing me a pretty song? The bird will sing to you, sister. Little bird, pretty bird, Little bird in the tree, Sing a song, little bird, Sing to sister and me.
this rabbit how
See this pretty rabbit, Grace. I like this little rabbit. See how it can jump. Rabbit, run to me. Jump, rabbit. Let me see how you can jump. I like to play with you. I like to see you hop and jump. Do you like milk, little rabbit? Can you drink like my dogs? Do you have a pretty bed like the doll? My dogs will not catch you, rabbit.
Bennie brother many
This is Bennie. Bennie is my brother. See the little rabbits with Bennie. How many rabbits do you see? See how the rabbits jump and play.
about gray
Here is a song I sing about Bennie.
Our Bennie Boy has a little rabbit, Our Bennie Boy has a little rabbit, Our Bennie Boy has a little rabbit, One little rabbit gray. One little, two little, three little rabbits, Four little, five little, six little rabbits, Seven little, eight little, nine little rabbits, Ten little rabbits gray.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
look at top spin
Look, look, Grace! Look, sister! Look at my big top. See how I can spin it. Can you spin it, Grace? I can not spin a top, Bennie. I like to play with my doll. Boys like to spin tops. Girls do not like to spin tops.
come book give mother tell
Come here, Bennie, my little boy. Do you see this pretty book? I will give it to a good little boy. Will you give it to me, mother? Am I a good boy? I like a pretty book. I will tell sister Grace about it. Grace will like to look at it.
picture some of
Come here, Grace, and see this book. It is a pretty picture book. Come and look at the pictures with me. I will tell you about some of the pictures. How good mother is! How good she is to give you this book! See this picture of a boy and a girl.
See! Here is a picture of a dog. It looks like one of my dogs.
Here is a picture of a rabbit. It is a big gray rabbit.
Here is a picture of some boys. See the boys run and play.
Here is a picture of a little girl. She has a doll and a fan. She looks like you, Grace.
baby child love
This is our baby sister. Is she not a pretty child? I love our baby. Have you a baby sister?
walk talk far your
Can our baby walk? She can walk a little. She can not walk far. See how she can walk. Come, baby, come to your sister. See how far you can walk. The good child can walk to me. She can not talk to me.
well call soon too
Look, mother, look! Call the baby. See how well she can walk. See how far she can walk. Soon she can run and play. She will soon talk, too. She likes to look at pictures. I will let her look at my book. Come, baby! See this pretty book! I will let you see the pictures. Here is a picture of a flag. Here is a girl with a fan. Here is a dog with a hat. Call the dog, baby. Call the dog. The baby calls. The dog will not come. Our baby sister will soon talk. She will talk to mother and Grace.
ground found round eggs
Bennie, come here, come here. Look here on the ground. What have you found, Grace? I have found a nest. It has eggs in it. See the eggs. How round they are!
any oh no her we
How many birds are in this nest? Let me see the pretty nest. I do not see any birds in it. I see some eggs in the nest. How many do you see? Is the nest for me? Oh, no, no, no. Is the nest for you? Oh, no, no, no. The bird made the nest on the ground. The nest is not for me. The nest is not for you. The nest is for the good little bird. We found the nest on the ground. She loves her nest and her round eggs. We will not get any of her eggs.
kittens on what
Here is a picture of some cats. I see one big cat and two kittens. The mother cat is on some books. She calls the kittens. Come, kittens, come. See what is here. See what I have found. What can the mother cat see?
under they now
The mother cat is on the books. What can she see under the books? Now the kittens come and look. What can they see? They look on the books. They look under the books. They look in one book. What do they see now? Have you a little kitten? What can it do? My kitten plays with a ball. I give it milk to drink. Our brother Bennie has ten gray rabbits. Has he any little kittens? I can not tell you now. I will call Bennie. He can tell.
morning bright sun sky
What a bright morning this is! It is a good morning for play. Look at the sun in the sky. Do you like to see the sun? How bright it is this morning!
kite high so as down
Look at my kite, brother. See how high it can fly. Oh, it is a good kite. It looks like a big bird. It can fly as high as a bird. I will run and it will fly high. See it! See it now! See how high in the sky it is! How bright it looks in the sky! Will it fly to the sun? Oh, no, no! It can not fly so high. The sun is too high. No bird can fly to the sun. Now, let it come down. Do not let it come down in the tree. Oh, how I like my pretty kite!
cradle may take make name
I see a pretty cradle. The cradle is high in the tree. Tell me about this little cradle. Tell me what is in the cradle. I see some birds in the cradle. One, two, three baby birds. What is your name, little bird? The bird will not tell you. What can you make, little bird? I can make a nest. My nest is high in the tree. It is a cradle for my little birds. Can you make a cradle, little boy? Oh, no, I can not make a cradle. I can not make a nest. May I take your nest? May I take it for our baby? She will like to play with it. No, no, little boy. The nest is not for your baby. It is for my three little birds.
Don care all time
Our baby is in her cradle. The cradle is not like the bird's cradle. Our big dog is by the cradle. The dog's name is Don. Can Don take care of the baby? He takes care of her all the time. What a good dog he is!
go stay must side
No, Don, you can not go with me. You must stay here with mother. You must take care of the baby. You must stay by her cradle. Take the baby with you, Grace. She can walk by your side. You may take the dog, too.
brook water sit
Now, baby, come with me. You and Don may walk with me. We will walk down by the brook. I like to see the pretty brook. We will sit here and look at it. How the water runs and runs! It runs all the time.
fall into from home
Sit here by my side, baby. See all the water in the brook. See how the water runs and runs. You must not fall into it. Water is good to drink. We do not drink it from the brook. The birds drink it. Don drinks it. How do birds drink? How do dogs drink? Soon we must go home. Mother will call and we must go. We can not stay here all the time. The birds sing in the trees by the brook. The rabbits come to see the water. Don must not catch the rabbits.
yes sir school Marian
Good morning, little girl. What is your name? Good morning, sir. My name is Marian. Do you go to school? Yes, sir, I go with my little brother. Bennie is my brother, too.
read father gave write
What do you do at school, Marian? Can you read? Can you write? Yes, sir, I can read a little. Here is my book. My father gave it to me. I can write, too. Let me see how you can write.
My name is Marian.
You can write well, little girl. Does your dog go to school with you? Oh, no, no, sir! Dogs do not care for books. They do not read. They do not write. The school is for boys and girls. It is not for dogs.
Rose wagon horse fine that
What little girl is this? Her name is Rose. She is in her little wagon. It is a pretty wagon. See what a fine big horse she has. Oh, that is not a horse. That is a big dog. Well, he looks a little like a horse.
Jo ho draw are where
The dog's name is Jo. He can draw the wagon for Rose. What a fine horse he is! Where will he go with Rose? He will take her to school.
Now, here we are at school. Ho! ho, Jo! You are a good dog, Jo. You must not go in with me. All the girls say, Good morning, Rose. Good morning, girls. Where will your horse go now? Will he go into school with you? Oh, no, he must go home. Dogs do not go to school.
ride Ned old hold know
See my pretty wagon, Bennie. You may have a ride in it. I will play that I am a horse. Where did you get this wagon, Ned? My father gave it to me this morning. Come, get into it. I will be your horse. I will draw the wagon with you in it. You are a good old horse, Ned. I like to ride in your wagon. You must not run away. Ho! ho! You must hold your horse, Bennie. You must not let him run. I know you will not run away, Ned. You will give me a good ride. Here we are at the old tree. Ho! Now we will go home. You may draw the wagon, Bennie. I will get into it and ride. How do you like to be a horse? I like to play that I am a horse.
going but day away
Our little baby boy is going away. Do you know where he is going? Is he going to school, mother? May he go with me in my wagon? Some day he may go with you. But he is not going to school now.
Shut Eye Town sleep say
Can you tell where the baby is going? Oh, I know, I know. He is going to sleep. He is going to Shut Eye Town. Will you go with him, Marian? Where is Shut Eye Town, mother? Is it far, far away? It is where baby is going. Baby is going to sleep. Now shut your eyes, baby. Shut your bright eyes and go to sleep. Now he is in Shut Eye Town. He will come home in the morning. He will say, Good morning, mother. He will say, Here I am, Marian. I have come home from Shut Eye Town.
ring train cars bell
Ring! ring! ring! Do you see our train? We are on the cars. Where is this train going? Is it going to Shut Eye Town? Oh, no! We do not go to that town. Ring the bell, sister. Here we go.