In Lessons 64 to 75 the hundred words described by Dr. Jones as the Hundred Demons of the English Language are given. Each of these words has been previously taught, some of them as early as the second grade. It is very probable, therefore, that for some children only a few of the words are “demons,” for a demon conquered is a demon no longer.
These lessons, therefore, should be used as a test to find out which children need further drill or new presentations of these difficult words. These words should have been fixed in previous grades, but if any pupil has not mastered the word now is the time to attempt to master it. However, it is individual work, not class work, which is needed.
On page 42 have been collected 132 of the 1,000 commonest words as selected by Ayres. This list should be used in a similar way. All of these words have been taught. The method to follow, then, is to test first to see what words, if any, need to be taught again to the class, and then what words should be emphasized with individuals.
SUGGESTIONS FOR SIXTH YEAR
Words Used in the Schoolroom
In many courses of study the formal teaching of history begins in the sixth grade. The spelling work of this grade gives many lessons directly, or indirectly, connected with the teaching of history. Lessons 1 to 17, and 104 to 109, have for their foundation lessons on the flag and government.
However, there are always special words in various subjects of the curriculum which should be learned because of their use in the school work of the year, rather than for their general use in the world at large. These words are not included in the spelling book and should be taught as supplementary words as occasion requires. This is also true of local and proper names. Proper names, with very few exceptions, are not taught in this text. The teacher should make up a list of such local names as her pupils need to know, and teach the spelling of any that have spelling difficulty.
Dictionary Work
The dictionary work of the sixth year aims to establish the dictionary habit. Lesson 30 is the beginning of the use of the synonym, although this word is not used in the pupil’s text at this point. This lesson should be worked out very carefully under the immediate supervision of the teacher. The formal work on synonyms is presented in the seventh grade, but this preliminary work is of very great importance.
The rule for forming the plurals of nouns ending in o is given in Lesson 35, and for nouns ending in s, sh, ch, and x, is given in Lesson 36.