Sunday, October 22, 2023

Home Education - Reading - Part 1

The American Spelling Book 
Noah Webster, 1824


PART 1: LEARNING TO READ

What is the best way to learn how to read?  The older, successful way relied on the syllabic method, using a "Speller" to teach children how to spell.  They first learned how to spell all words, so that they could then learn to read and write.  Students learned how to spell and pronounce words, even if they did not fully understand their meaning.  Noah Webster wrote his first spelling book in 1789, at age 25.  He largely standardized the American English written language.  By the 19th century, the sale of Webster's "Blue-Backed Speller" in America was second only to the Bible.  But toward the middle of the 19th century, in spite of America's high literacy rate, education reformers began the push to flip-flop this process, attempting to teach young children reading first, using whole-word recognition, and years of spelling lists and grammar.  An essay by retired teacher Geraldine Rogers, summarizes why Noah Webster's American Speller was so effective:

"Why Noah Webster's Way was the Right Way", Rogers, 2004 

Most modern phonics reading programs are still built on the ineffective word meaning method, introducing bits of phonics gradually, working only with words the child easily understands, rather than the spelling method.  This long process that relies on 100% teacher interaction, as phonics and spelling are spoon-fed to children over the course of six or eight years, is, in my opinion an orchestrated plan for reduced literacy.

“Spelling is the foundation of reading and the greatest
ornament of writing.”  --- Noah Webster, 1783

Did you ever wonder why there were so few "children's" books in colonial days?  Children seemed to miraculously transition from the New England Primer, or Webster's "Blue-Backed" Speller, to reading the bible!  This is because they were taught how to spell thoroughly, before they began to read.

My recommendations for learning to read are:
  1. learn the letters of the alphabet
  2. learn the 70 phonograms of the English language
  3. learn to spell with Webster's 1824 Speller


1. The Alphabet

Alphabet books are great for learning why we use letters and words - to represent real things.  However, the goal is to have your child recognize the names of the letters without being associated with a particular picture.  He should also know the cursive form of the each letter, and begin to write his letters.

An Alphabet of Saints, Benson, 1906 
 
The Ark Alphabet, McLoughlin, 1868 (***omit back cover)

C Is for Country: A Farmer's Alphabet, Hiebert, $6.05

2. The Phonograms

Stephen Kurkinen of EnglishStreams.com advocates the Webster method, providing a complete reading program called ABC Journey.  He also has free instructional videos and free downloadable phonogram flashcards. 

English Streams' ABC Journey, Stephen Kurkinen
 
70 Free Phonogram Flashcards Download

If you teach your child the Roundhand script that I recommend in the Home Education - Writing post, then you will have to make your own flash cards by hand, or use this downloadable computer font:

"Exmouth", DaFont.com - free download

Mr. Kurkinen has also created these helpful videos: 

"How to Teach Vowels and Consonants"
 
“How to Teach All English Phonics Sounds”


3. The Speller

Reading specialist Don Potter has posted on his excellent website,  http://www.donpotter.net/ an updated, printable version of Noah Webster's 1824 American Spelling Book:

Webster’s 1824 Speller - free

Mr. Potter also has a helpful instructional video on how to implement Webster's Speller:

"Noah Webster Syllabary", Potter

Mr. Potter points out that, after 1829, the Webster Spellers gradually began to change, acquiescing to the demand for the new (less effective) educational models.  If you would like to purchase a reprint of Webster's 1824 American Spelling Book in its original format, it's available here:

American Spelling Book, Webster (Applewood Books) $12.99

A scanned copy of the 1822 edition of Webster's American Spelling Book can be found here:

American Spelling Book, Webster, 1822



~~~~~

EXTRA HELP

Webster’s Speller contains all the basic spelling rules.  But Romalda Spalding’s The Writing Road to Reading also includes a helpful, concise list found here:

Spalding Spelling Rules 1-29 – free

If even more help is needed, Spalding's The Writing Road to Reading provides an even greater kinesthetic approach:
The Writing Road to Reading, Spalding
Several excellent article links about overcoming reading difficulties can be found on Don Potter's web-page:

"Reading Instruction and Research", Don Potter
  • "Can Dyslexia Be Artificially Induced in School?" Miller
  • "Miscue Analysis: Training Normal Children to Read Like Defective Children", Blumenfeld
  • "Dyslexia, the Disease you Get in School", Blumenfeld
  • "How to Cure Dyslexia", Blumenfeld
  • "Why America Still has a Reading Problem", Blumenfeld
  • "Effects of Pictures and Contextual Conditions on Learning to Read.", Samuel et al. 

~~~

Once you have worked through the Webster Spelling book with your child, he is ready to begin the Reading Book List:

Home Education - Reading - Part 2...Coming soon!


JUST FOR FUN:

"School Days", Byron G. Harlan, 1907



 

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