How to Teach Phonics | Page 9

attention to the digraph "oa" which he has already learned to pronounce as long "o." Most
pupils however, meeting the word in a sentence--as, "The caterpillar's coat is
green"--would, if reading thotfully recognize the word by the context.
8. Drill on obscure sounds should be omitted the first year. Unphonetic words should be
taught as sight words: as: one, many, been, said, they, ought, eight.
9. Begin to combine words and syllables into longer words as soon as possible: door-step,
in-deed, hand-some, be-fore, ham-mer-ing, in-no-cent, for-get-ful, car-pen-ter, side-walk,
mis-take.
10. Give time increasingly to analytic-synthetic word study, e.g.--"eight" and "rain" are
taught as sight words.
eigh t r ain Analysis: eigh ain w eigh p ain w eight pl ain Synthesis: n eigh com plain n
eigh bor com plain ing

ARTICULATION
Exercises to correct faulty articulation and secure flexibility should be given frequently.
Constant vigilance is necessary in overcoming the common errors shown in the following
examples.
"I will eat you," said the troll. (not "e-chew") Dear little baby, close your eye. (not
"clo-zhure eye") "I will then," said Red Hen, and she did. (not "an' she did.") Put your
right hand in. (not "put chure") --you, and you, and you. (an' Jew.) Father will meet you
(meat chew) at the station. The leaves turned to red and gold. (red Dan gold) "No matter
what you hear, (what chew) no matter what you see, Raggylug, don't you move." (don't
chew) Tender flowers come forth to greet her. (gree-ter) It is not at all (a-tall) like the
mother bird.
Have the pupils practice such exercises as:--
Did you? Don't you? Would you? Should you? Could you? (Not "did Jew," "don't chew"
etc.) Where shall I meet you? (not meat chew) When shall I meet you? She sells sea
shells.
Pupils usually have difficulty with words ending in sts, dth, pth. Lists of such words
should be drilled upon:--
Nests, vests, posts, hosts, boasts, fists, mists, frosts, length, breadth, depth.
"He thrusts his fists against the posts, And still insists he sees the ghosts."

(If necessary show the pupils how to adjust the vocal organs to make the different
sounds.)
m, n, ng (nasal)
p, b, w, m (lips) f, v (lips and teeth) t, d, s, z, n (tongue and hard palate.) j, ch, (tongue
and hard palate-back) k, g, ng (tongue and soft palate.) y, l (tongue, hard palate and soft
palate.) p, b, d, t, j, k, h, g, ch (momentary) w, f, v, s, l, r, y, th, sh (continuous)
The majority of children learn the sounds by imitation and repetition. The above is to
help the teacher in giving the sounds correctly.

SECOND YEAR

_I. Review Single and Blended Consonants, Digraphs, Short and Long Vowels, and All
Phonograms._

II. Continue Pronouncing Exercises, Teaching New Phonograms.
Continue word study by the analytic-synthetic process. These phonic drills will deal
largely with the new words that occur in the daily reading lessons.

III. Syllabication.
In mastering the pronunciation of new words, pupils should acquire the habit of analyzing
them into syllables.
The ear must be trained to hear syllables, they should be _separately pronounced, and
clearly imaged_. This makes for effective spelling later. Most of the difficulties in
spelling are removed when the habit of breaking up a complex word into its elements is
acquired.
re mem ber ther mom e ter sep a rate in de pen dence dan de lion mul ti pli ca tion beau ti
ful re frig er a tor
IV. Teach the Long Vowel Sounds.
We have found that the short vowels predominate in the English language. The long
vowel sounds come next in frequency. When the child has mastered the letters and
combinations representing these two sounds, he is able to recognize a large majority of
the phonetic words in our language.
Phonetic words follow definite rules of pronunciation. These rules are not to be formally

taught in the first and second years, but pointed out by examples, so that the visual and
auditory image may be associated.
To illustrate: When there are two or more vowels in a word of one syllable, the first
vowel is long, and the last silent, as: came, leaf, coat, rain.
"When there is one vowel in the word and it is the last, it is long," as: me, he, fly.
All vowels are short unless modified by position.
Have the children notice the effect of final "e" upon some of their short vowel words.
These lists will furnish good pronunciation drills.
mat mate bit bite tap tape pan pane rod rode fad fade fat fate hat hate mad made can cane
pin pine rat rate not note rob robe pet Pete man mane din dine dim dime cap cape fin fine
spin