PREFACE PRACTICALLY all modern Courses of Study for the primary grades outline drill on phonics or the elementary sounds of the English language. These drills are helpful to all classes of pupils, but are especially significant for children whose vernacular is not English. In all these cases it is highly important that the children shall have the benefit of drill on the phonic elements as early as possible in school life, and thus secure facility in their use. Other aims of phonic drill are, (a) the correction of defects in the organs of speech while pupils are still young, (b) the development of the power of correct pronunciation. The basis for these drills is found in the exercises of The Modern Word Book, which includes a vocabulary of nearly one thousand common words. At the beginning of this little book the pupil is taught the use of each letter of the alphabet, and throughout the words are grouped in such a manner as to show Word their similarities of form and sound, thereby assistGrouping ing the pupil in relating each letter, or phonogram, to its proper sound. Through the medium of these exercises, the pupils are rendered self-helpful and independent in learning new words. This result is of great pedagogic value, since it lies at the foundation of the pupil's success in reading. €28015 In general, the vocabulary of this book is presented in both print and script. It is believed that the presentation Script of both forms on the same page will assist the pupil in acquiring automatic facility in their use. A glance at many Primers, Primary Readers, and Spellers will satisfy you that no provision whatever is made in them for familiarizing pupils with the phonic elements and the use of script. Indeed, in many courses of reading, the responsibility for work along these lines is imposed on the teacher without even a helpful suggestion from the textbook. This Word Book supplies a definite body of phonic and word drill for use in the primary grades, so arranged that even inexperienced teachers can develop it with success. Pictures On the pages of this book, pictures play quite as important a part as they do in any Primer or Primary Reader. The pictures interest the children and relate directly to the vocabulary. From an artistic point they compare favorably with the best specimens of the illustrator's art. Each picture is a center of helpful suggestion, since it assists the pupil in apprehending the significance of the group of words with which it is associated. Gradation The phonic elements and the phonograms are introduced gradually, and each is made the subject of special drill. In Section One, the script is confined to single letters and words. In Section Two, words and phrases are presented in script. In Section Three, sentences in script are presented for reading and copying. By means of these carefully graded exercises, the pupil should acquire facility in using the vocabulary of this Word Book both in its spoken and written forms. Phonic TO THE TEACHER IN this Word Book it is assumed that the teacher will begin the work of phonic drill by appealing to the pupil's eye and ear. The pupil must realize that there is a relation between the letters which compose a word as it appears in his book, or on the blackboard, and the sounds which he hears when the word is spoken. Many elaborate devices have been employed to suggest this relation, but the value of most of them is negligible. The natural and direct method is for the teacher to write a word on the blackboard, pronounce it slowly, dwelling somewhat on each phonic element, and thus encouraging the pupil to relate each letter to its sound. For example: me, man,' or "mat may be used for this purpose. Most pupils will be able, after a little time, to discriminate the sounds of m-e, m-a-n, m-a-t, and from these they will advance readily to other sounds. Teachers should exercise care in these initial steps in phonics, and "make haste slowly." 66 Phonograms 99 66 Many teachers prefer to treat certain combinations of two or more letters, that occur somewhat frequently, as phonic units, rather than to analyze them into their separate phonic elements. For example:"and," which is composed of three elementary sounds, is considered as one phonogram, and may be treated. as a unit in the phonic drill on such words as the following: "b-and," "h-and," "l-and," "s-and," "br-and," "gr-and,' "st-and," etc. |