Words in Lessons 3, 17, 39, and 40 illustrate a third phase with the development of root words and derivatives which will be taught formally in the seventh grade. These lessons bring together words which have a common root. The teacher should be continually on the watch for these common roots and call the attention of the children to them. In undertaking to develop a spelling consciousness there is probably nothing that will help so much as this phase of the work. In agree, agreeable, disagreeable, and agreement, agree is the common part. Children do not always recognize this, as shown by the fact that children spell the derivative with a lower degree of accuracy than they spell the root word. (See page [19] of this manual.)
Enunciation
Along with the teaching of the various sounds of the vowels and consonants should come at this time a strong effort to impress the need of clear enunciation. Great care should be taken that a vowel is given its true value, that all sounds are given, that silent letters are not sounded, and that the syllabication is correct.
Poor enunciation is a common source of error. Do not permit “in” for “ing,” final “ed” to be sounded like “t,” or “body” to be pronounced “buddy.” Remember that a word correctly pronounced is half spelled.
Teaching of Rules
In the text of the earlier grades, emphasis has been frequently directed toward the changes in words in forming plurals and adding suffixes and prefixes. Very little has been said when the only change has been the adding of “s.” This regular form causes no great trouble.
During the fifth year a few simple rules are presented. These have been frequently illustrated in earlier grades. The rules presented are those for which there is frequent use.
On pages 14, 17, and 19 the rule for writing derivatives of words ending in y preceded by a consonant is given with many illustrations. Throughout the year’s work, however, these words are occurring. Such words will be found in Lessons 20, 32, 34, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 50, 59, 91, 114, 115, 156. On page 28 the rule for writing the plurals of nouns ending in f or fe is given with illustrations. After these rules are taught the teacher should take every advantage offered for fixing the rules.
Spelling Demons
Spelling demons have been described as words which give trouble and need to be attacked as the knights of old attacked and overcame dragons and demons that brought trouble to mankind.