Spelling Books

Spelling Book Method of Teaching Reading

Reference Page

by Donald L. Potter

Introduction

For the last five years, I have become increasingly interested in the old Spelling Book method of teaching reading. This page is dedicated to presenting everything on Internet that I can find with reference to the Spelling Book method. By the way, Spelling Books were used to teach reading and not just spelling.

Positional Statement: The old Spelling Book Method of teaching reading, with its Alphabet, Syllabary, and Tables of Words arranged by levels of difficultly and accent, produced high levels of literacy that remain unrivaled to this day. The old Spelling Book Method is perfect as a stand alone for beginning reading or as a supplement for advanced reading and spelling skills for students who have learned basic phonics with Word Mastery and/or Blend Phonics.

Positional Definition of Reading: "It should be always borne in mind that reading is the enunciation or pronunciation of words by syllables." Lyman Cobb 1842 Cobb's New Spelling Book in Six Parts. See Cobb's "Address to Teachers."

Positional Definition of Spelling Book: "A book for teaching children to spell and read." Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language.

Posititional Essay: WHY NOAH WEBSTER'S WAY WAS THE RIGHT WAY by Miss Geraldine Rodgers. The background history and theoretical orientation necessary to understand why Noah Webster's Spelling Book Method has remained unsurpassed and merits renewed use in today's classrooms.

Webster 1824 American Spelling Book

Our Recommendation: 1824 American Spelling Book newly formatted by Donald L. Potter and published in an easy-to-read version for reading instruction in the Twenty-first Century.

Supplements by Donald Potter for home school parents, and private school teachers, public school teachers,

1. Analysis of Sounds. An audio file demonstrating Webster's analysis of English speech sounds.

2. Vowel Key and Syllabary. An audio file demonstrating the Vowel Key and Syllabary

3. Webster's Syllabary, Quicktime slide presentation with audio.

4. Webster's Syllabary Wall Charts. Large print 8" x 11" Wall Charts printed in landscape mode.

5. Webster's American Spelling Book Flashcards. These flashcards teach the alphabet in print and cursive. They also include Webster's Syllabary.

6. Student Progress Chart for Webster's 1824 American Spelling Book This chart divides Webster's Tables into 16 Steps. I use it with all my tutoring students. You will be amazed at students' high reading levels and advanced spelling competence after they finish these 16 Steps.

Special Editions of Webster's 1824 American Spelling Book by Donald L. Potter.

1. Webster Without Pictures. This is a complete edition of Webster with the jpg pictures deleted to make it quicker to download. Everything is there except the pictures.

2. Webster in Uppercase Letters: This edition is designed for older students who have developed the guessing-from-configuration habit. Uppercase letters lack the ascenders (d-b-l-t-f-h) or ascenders (g-p-q-j-z-y).

3. Webster for Modern Public Schools. All pictures and religious material has been deleted. This edition is handy because there are far fewer pages, yet all the phonics material is there.

Other Editions of Webster:

1. This is a 1908 edition that I scanned some time ago (1829, 1857, 1866, 1880) Blue-Backed Speller for you to download to use in your teaching: Webster 1 - 20, Webster 21 - 40, Webster 41 - 60, Webster 61 - 80, Webster 81 - 100, Webster 101 - 120, Webster 121 - 140, Webster 141 - 160, Webster 161 - 174 Essay by Laurie Bluedorn: How to Use Webster's Speller. Here is the Google Book edition of Webster 1908.

2. Here is what I believe is an 1800 edition: Webster's Spelling Book It is virtually identical to my 1824 edition above.

3. Webster's Blue-Backed Speller This is older than the 1824 edition, and a bit different.

4. If you prefer to purchase a hard back copy of a pre-1829 edition, follow this link: Webster's Blue-Backed Speller, 1824.

5. Here is a edition of Webster's American Spelling Book, 1822. This is the same as my 1824 edition.

6. The year 1829 was a turning point for Webster's Spelling Book. He switched from figures (numbers/superscripts) for coding his sounds to dictionary diacritics and added some sight-words. Here is the 1829 edition in a 1833 printing: 1829 American Spelling Book Here is a 1832 printing: Webster 1829

Online Reference Works Relating to Webster's Life and Work

Here are some sample pages from Noah Webster and the American Dictionary by David Micklethwait. Lyman Cobb wrote critical reviews of the 1829 edition: 1830 Review, 1844 Review. Here is a book on the life and work of Noah Webster: Notes on the Life of Noah Webster (1912, Vol. 2)

Other Older Spelling Books with Syllabary and Tables
Charles Hoole's 1660 A New Discovery of the Old Art of Teaching transcribed by Thiselton Mark, 1912. Contains a description of how the old spelling books were taught. Not actually a spelling book.
Thomas Dyche 1707 Guide to the English Tongue.
Here is Dilworth's' 54th Edition published in 1793: New Guide to the English Tongue. Note use of double accent. Webster elected not to use double accents.

Mavor 1825 The English Spelling Book
And here is the 1726 Oxford Spelling Book.

Here is a book giving rare insights into how reading was taught from "THE BLACK-BOARD" by John Goldsbury, 1847..

Here is Lyman Cobb's Address to Teachers. Here is Cobb's New Spelling Book (1842). Here is Cobb's 1849 edition.
Here is The Pronouncing Spelling Book (1830) by J. A. Cummings.
This book is important because it shows how Webster's Syllabary was pronounced.
Check out this valuable 1846 book: The New English Spelling book Designed to Teach Orthography and Orthoepy.

Here in an invaluable 1853 spelling book both practically and theoretically: The Student's Spelling Book.

Here is Wright's Orthography.

Here is 1860 The Scholar's Companion. Unquestionable one of the best Spelling Books of all times.
William Russell's 1863 Spelling-Book, or Second Course of Lessons in Reading and Spelling. A good book, but beware of some of his other books.
Newer Spelling Books without Syllabary, but Phonetically Based v
The New Spelling Book (1846) While this book is not exactly phonetically based, I am including it because it teaches the Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Spanish, and Greek elements of English in a very systematic fashion.
American Speller by Henry Noble Day
Town's New Speller and Definer (1866) by Salem Towns. A profound work. Sander's Union Speller (1872) is somewhat similar
McGuffey's Eclectic Spelling Book, 1879. This was very popular in the Midwest for many years. It was used by my ancestors. I have a well used copy that they used. An excellent book, still in print at Amazon: McGuffey's Spelling Book.
Here is the 1896 edition of Pollard's Synthetic Speller. Here is the 1887 edition of Pollard's Advanced Speller
Spelling Book Indiana State Series, 1891. A good spelling book based on modern phonics principles.
The National Pronouncing Speller by Richard G. Parker and J. Madison Watson. A masterpiece! I have not seen their National First Reader: Primer of Word-Building. I am told that the Reader started with some sight-words and phony phonics, but I see no objectionable elements to this Speller.
And Ear and Eye Spelling Book: A Book on Word Study for the Primary Grades by Albert R. Sabin (1904). This is an excellent spelling book for first through fourth grade. It would, also, serve well as a beginning phonics method. Here is The Progressive Speller (1994) by F. P Sever.
Hyde's Derivation of Words: with Exercises on Prefixes, Suffixes, and Stems (1896). An excellent work for advanced readers.
A Study of English Words (1897) by Jessica McMillan Anderson. A reference book on the history, spelling, and usage of English words. Not a spelling book.
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This Spelling Book Reference Page was launched 8/11/08. Note this pages is underconstruction. Latest additions 10/30/08. .