NOAH WEBSTER’S SPELLING BOOK METHOD FOR TEACHING READING AND SPELLING - An Adaptation for Twenty-First Century Students - bringing modern reading standards to high standards

Oct 6, 2026

Uploaded by dhado

NOAH WEBSTER’S SPELLING BOOK METHOD FOR TEACHING READING AND SPELLING presents an adaptation of Noah Webster’s 1908 Elementary Spelling Book for current students. The approach trains reading and spelling through the sounds of letters rather than guessing from word meanings, using structured elementary tables and exercises. Prefatory sections explain classification, pronunciation guidance, and the use of derivatives to support parts of speech and early grammar knowledge while keeping lessons progressive and engaging.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages167

Reading Time7 h 1 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

Excerpts from the 1866 Edition with Comments

Preface to the 1908 Edition

NOAH WEBSTER’S SPELLING BOOK METHOD FOR TEACHING READING AND SPELLING Teaching Students to Read from the Sounds of the Letters Rather than Guess from the Meaning of the Words An Adaptation of Noah Webster’s 1908 Elementary Spelling Book to the Needs of Twenty-First Century Students Bringing the Reading Standards of Today Up to the High Standards of Yesterday NOAH WEBSTER’S SPELLING BOOK METHOD FOR TEACHING READING AND SPELLING Copyright © 2014 Donald L. Potter All rights reserved ISBN-10: 1496153278 ISBN-13: 978-1496153272 [www.donpotter.net](www.donpotter.net) ii Dedicated to Miss Geraldine E. Rodgers, B.A., M. S. Retired Primary Grades Teacher with Twenty-Three Years of Experience Author of The Hidden Story: How America’s Present-Day Reading Disabilities Grew Out of the Underhanded Meddling of America’s First Experimental Psychologist, Young William James. ((1996, 1997, 1998) Why Jacques, Johann and Jan CAN Read. 1977-1978 Research in oral reading accuracy. (2005) The rediscovery of “objective readers” and “subjective readers.” The History of Beginning Reading: From Teaching by “Sound” to Teaching by“Meaning.” (1995, 2001) This is Mrs. Rodgers’ three-volume magnum opus of library research into the history of instruction in beginning reading America. No college library should be without this in-depth study. The Casefor the Prosecution: In the Trial of Silent Reading “Comprehension” Tests, Charged with the Destruction of American Schools. (2007) This is a book of essays from 1981 to 1983. “Why Noah Webster’s Way Was the Right Way.”(June 10, 2004) It was this essay that motivated me to start teaching Webster’s spelling book method of teaching reading and spelling. The happy results further motivated me to retype Webster’s method and republish it in the present format, which I use with my tutoring students of all ages. “Historical Introduction to Leonard P. Ayres’ A Measuring Scale of Ability in Reading.”(1984) Explaining the cumulative high frequency word effect. Born-Yesterday World of Reading “Experts” - A Critique on Recent Research on Reading and the Brain. (2003) This paper was prompted by a request from Dr. Patrick Groff. iv PREFACE Excerpts from the 1866 Edition with Comments In Syllabication it has been thought best not to give the etymological division of the Quarto Dictionary, but to retain the old mode of Dr. Webster as best calculated to teach young scholars the true pronunciation of words. [My experience proves that this is the best way to divide the words for purposes of teaching reading and spelling. This is basically the respelling division in the modern dictionaries.] The plan of classification here executed is extended so as to comprehend every important variety of English words, and the classes are so arranged, with suitable directions for the pronunciation, that any pupil, who has mastered the Elementary Tables, will find little difficulty in learning to form and pronounce any word properly belonging to our vernacular language. [Webster’s Speller is a “System” of English orthography in the true sense. It will enable students to develop the skills necessary to be proficient in English reading and spelling. It can be used on all levels: beginning, intermediate, and advanced.] The Tables intended for Exercises in Spelling and forming words, contain the original words, with the terminations only of their derivatives. The tables answer the important purpose of teaching the manner of forming the various derivatives, and the distinctions of the parts of speech, and thus anticipate in some degree, the knowledge of grammar; at the same time they bring into small compass a much greater number of words than could be otherwise comprised in so small a book. [The Spelling book concentrates an enormous amount of practice in reading and spelling into an exceptionally small space, allowing students to attain high levels of reading ability in an amazingly short period of time.]

FAQs

What teaching method does the book promote for reading and spelling?

It teaches reading and spelling from the sounds of the letters rather than guessing from the meanings of words.

How does the book structure practice for spelling and word formation?

It uses tables for exercises that provide original words and the terminations of derivatives, aiming to teach how derivatives are formed and to support distinctions in parts of speech.

Why are reading lessons adapted to children’s capacities?

The lessons are designed to match students’ gradual progress, helping learners understand words through sentences and enabling comprehension to grow alongside memory.

Oct 6, 2026

Uploaded by dhado