ADVANCED. A SPELLING-BOOK FOR THE USE OF GRAMMAR BY J. H. STICKNEY, AUTHOR OF "STICKNEY'S READING SERIES," ETC. BOSTON, U.S.A.: PUBLISHED BY GINN & COMPANY. 1897. KD 33038 HARVARD Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, by in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. TYPOGRAPHY BY J. S. CUSHING & Co., BOSTON, U.S.A. PRESSWORK BY GINN & Co., BOSTON, U.S.A. PREFACE. THE HE seeming transparency of a spelling-book is sometimes a blind to its really distinctive aims and characteristics. Easier than most books to compass in its surface features, it for that very reason more easily escapes recognition in its more vital one, the use it makes of the material which all such books hold in common. A brief statement of the considerations which have governed the preparation of the following lessons may be of use in commending them to the notice of those educators in whom the choice of books and systems is vested. Subject-Matter. The material used well represents the vocabulary of English words as it belongs to pupils in our common schools to know them. It will be seen that the proportion of long and unusual words is smaller than in other current books. The method of treatment is relied upon to develop accuracy of observation, and carry it during school years to its legitimate end: viz. a trustworthy habit of mind, which shall make every subsequent printed page a means of continuing its profitable exercise. If it shall be found desirable to introduce test words to provide for examinations and competitive work in highest classes, they will be added in a special edition for those classes. For the general needs of the student, odd and rare words require least of any to be taken into account. The difference between a person instructed in the rudiments and one not so favored will appear in this, he will instinctively observe the unusual feature of a word containing it—a y where he would have looked to see i, an oeu in manoeuvre for a simple u, and it will be fixed in mind by 3 its strangeness, while to one who has learned miscellaneous spelling-lessons, one by one, taking the order of letters as a happening of language, amenable to no law, the same occasion will but increase the mental confusion under which he is liable to misrepresent the most ordinary word. Method. -There are two natural ways in which to present words for study: first, as they are actually put to use in speech and written discourse; and second, in their varied sorts or kinds, according to a systematic classification. The difficulty of covering the required ground by the first of these suggests their combination in what, if it were possible to carry it out, would be an ideal method; viz. the selection of typical examples by the first, followed by the use of each as the nucleus of a class, according to the second. Something akin to this has been attempted in the present volume, by means of an accompanying Teacher's Edition, fuller explanation of which is given elsewhere. [See Preface to Teacher's Edition.] Thus the pupil's edition contains in columns the important words of more than forty chosen selections from standard authors, which selections are presented in an interleaved copy for the teacher's use, to be read or dictated to the class for the purpose of showing in the best possible manner their signification and use. The literary extracts made for this purpose are from among writers of most direct and forceful English, and the pupil has them, as it were, unstrung, or released from their temporary thought connection, that his undivided attention may be given to their form. In lessons devoted to systematic classification each of the prominent points of word structure and inflection has been separately presented: the single vowel with, or between, single consonants; constant vowels, digraphs, or diphthongs, with varying consonants; constant single, double, or treble, initial or terminal consonants; silent letters, both vowel and consonant; word-derivation, by means of signi ficant prefixes or suffixes; and derivations from given Latin and other roots. There are few if any merely arbitrary collections of miscellaneous words, lessons appearing to contain such being the unstrung elements of a choice passage or interesting anecdote or fable, the key to which is to be found in the teacher's copy. Liberal but not extravagant use has been made of the system of grouping by which words miscellaneous in form hold natural connection by means of the association of the ideas represented. These are intended to be more than mere spellinglessons. If well chosen, such a group should gather words which, when grasped, can be retained for the most part, and held in memory by natural suggestion a mental exercise which in its place is invaluable, and for which no other subject of study presents equal opportunity. All roads lead to Rome in a book constructed on a wise and comprehensive plan. The end sought in all the successive lessons is a clear discrimination in the pupil's mind between what is known and what is not known. In a conglomerate language like ours, words are constantly meeting us whose orthography must be then and there sought. The merely English scholar will find these at every turn, so various are the sources from which they come, and the logical sequel to the spelling-book is the dictionary. During the studies of the last lessons, or following it, every pupil should have in hand, or at least have easy access to, a dictionary; and whether the lesson given be a selection from some supplementary reader or other like source, or words chosen at random, difficult words should be noted for subsequent dictionary study. A few lessons have been introduced to inaugurate such instruction, and their meanings given in dictionary form at the close of the book. The study should be continued until the value of such reference has been plainly taught. If upon putting the system to actual use, which is the real test of its worth, deficiencies shall appear, teachers will confer a favor by suggesting them. It is our purpose to provide the material and plan for thorough and successful work. |