Diacritical Marks

The child has no need of diacritical marks at this time; indeed he has little need for them until the fourth year, when the use of the dictionary is taught.  The new dictionaries greatly simplify the matter of mastering the diacritical marks, and lessen the number needed, by re-writing unphonetic words in simple phonetic spelling.

During the first three years do not retard the child’s progress, and weaken his power to apply the knowledge which his previous experience has given him, by marking words to aid him in pronunciation.  At best, the marks are artificial and questionable aids.

PHONIC PLAYS

Much necessary drill can be made interesting by infusing the spirit of play into an exercise that would otherwise be formal.

1. "Hide and Seek"

“Hide and Seek” at once suggests a game.  The teacher introduces it simply by saying:  “We’ll play these sounds are hiding from us.  Who can find them?”

Place the consonant cards on the blackboard ledge.  The teacher writes any consonant on the board and immediately erases it.  A pupil finds the card containing the same consonant, sounds it, and replaces the card.

Teacher writes several sounds on the board, then erases them.  Pupil finds corresponding sounds on cards, in the order written.

2. "Fishing"

(Fish in pond.) Cards placed in a row on black board ledge. (Catching fish.) Pupil takes as many as he can sound correctly.

Single and blended consonants, and digraphs written on cardboard cut in form of fish, and put into the mirror lake on the sand table.  Children “catch fish” in turn.

3. "Guess."

A pupil thinks of a word containing a known phonogram, which is communicated to the teacher.  The child standing before the class then says, “I am thinking of a word belonging to the “an” family.”  The word, we will say, is “fan.”  A child who is called on asks, “Is it c an?” The first child replies, “It is not can.”  Another asks, “Is it m an?” etc., until the correct word is discovered.

4. "Run Home."

For reviewing phonograms and fixing the vowel sounds as well, the following game is used.

Draw pictures of several houses on the board, writing a different phonogram in each, explaining that these are the names of the families living there, as, “ed,” “eg,” “est,” “en,” etc.  Distribute to the class cards containing a word with one of these endings, and let “the children run home.”  Those holding the words ten, pen, men and hen, will run to the house where “en” lives.  The children holding rest, best, nest, etc., will group themselves at the house of “est.”

Again let several children represent mothers and stand before the class holding phonograms.  As Mother “ed” calls her children, those holding cards containing red, led, fed, Fred, and bed, will run to her.  If a child belonging to the “est” family should come, she will send back the stray child, saying pleasantly, “You do not belong in my family.”  A little voice drill as practiced in the music lesson may be used here.  The mother calls “Children” on 1 and 8 of the scale (low and high do thus: