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Of course, cost is always a consideration. Workbooks may be the way to go if youd prefer
to pay a little at a time. Multi-year curricula, while typically more expensive at the outset,
tend to be a better value over the long haul. If the word free makes your heart happy, be
sure to take a look at some free spelling options, such as BigIQkids, Splashes from the
River, Spell By Color, and CK12.orgs Basic Speller. Other websites provide free spelling lists
or worksheets, such as www.TLSbooks.com, www.SoftSchools.com, and
www.HomeSpellingWords.com.
After youve done some research and narrowed the field to a few options, follow these tips
to avoid pitfalls:
Read reviews. Start with more objective reviews, such as Cathy Duffy Reviews
(www.cathyduffyreviews.com) and HomeSchool Reviews (www.homeschoolreviews.com).
You may then find it helpful to read some user reviews. Simply Google the name of the
spelling curriculum with the word review added to your search terms.
Examine sample pages if they are available. I found samples of different curricula on their
own websites and other reseller websites, such as www.christianbook.com.
Look for curricula that offer a money-back guarantee. Some spelling programs are pricey,
and very few of us have money to burn.
Spending a little time now is a wonderful investment in selecting the spelling program that
will meet your familys needs, however that may look: pencil-and-workbook, computer-andheadphones, word tiles, online games, or a blend of activities. A firm foundation in spelling
leads to strong literacy and communications skills, both of which will serve your children
well, not just in school, but in life.
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Some Historical Tidbits About English Spelling
English is a hodgepodge language. The small island that was to become the hub of the great
British Empire was itself subject to numerous invasions: the Romans, the Angles and
Saxons of Germany, the Jutes of Denmark and, of course, the Normans. The ancient Britons
were either pushed back to the edges of BritainWales, Cornwall, up into Scotlandtaking
their original Celtic languages with them, or they were absorbed into the invading peoples,
as was their language. Norman French actually overshadowed Old English (Anglo-Saxon) for
three hundred years as the favored language of the royal court, the legal system, and the
aristocracy.
The emerging common English was a kaleidoscope with Celtic, Germanic, and French roots,
slowly changing, developing, absorbing. Literacy rates were low. Written materials were
produced by hand. Professional scribes were paid to produce written materials such as legal,
business, and personal documents. Books, many of which were considered works of art,
were typically the work of monks and took years to create. For hundreds of years there
were no regular spelling norms in the English language.
Enter Johannes Gutenberg and the printing press. Books, once within reach of only the
extremely wealthy, could now be produced much more quickly and inexpensively. In fact,
the printing industry initiated a revolution. Ideas and news spread wide in books, tracts,
pamphlets, maps, and newspapers. Literacy rates rose. But early on, people were still
nonchalant about spelling; writers and printers spelled as they pleased, and they were often
pleased to use a variety of spellings for the same word. Even Shakespeare spelled his own
name inconsistently.
By the mid eighteenth century, English printers saw the need for some sort of spelling and
grammatical standardization. Dictionaries had been in existence for some time, but they
were often poorly researched and disorganized and tended to focus on difficult technical
words instead of commonly used words. These word books were nonetheless the beginning
attempts to categorize the English lexicon (lexicon: a fancy word meaning an entire stock of
words). They were the strong foundation to Samuel Johnsons herculean work of 1755.
Samuel Johnson, the famous Dr. Johnson, was an English poet, dramatist, essayist, and
biographer. In 1746, a group of printers came to Johnson, asking him to take on the project
of a new English dictionary, one that would serve as an authority on the language. Nine
years later, A Dictionary of the English Language was published. Containing more than
42,000 words, a section on the history of the English language, and a grammar, it was
enormous and expensive. It was also a grand success. Nothing came close to it until the
publication of the Oxford English Dictionary near the end of the nineteenth century.
Even if reading dictionaries is not your cup of tea, its still fun to take a look at facsimile
pages of Johnsons Dictionary, as it is sometimes called. It is available online (of course!) at
johnsonsdictionaryonline.com. Make sure to click the Page View option to see what it
really looks like. While youre there, pop over to the History of the English Language
chapter to view a sample of the book of Luke in Old English (what Johnson calls Saxon)
compared to Middle English (circa 1380). Yes, its hard to believe, but they are both really
English!
Several years ago, a British friend and I got into an amusing discussion about the spelling of
certain words. When I pointed out that the dictionary concurred with my spelling, he
responded derisively: But thats Webster. The upstart.
Yes, it was Noah Webster, to be precise. A couple of decades after Johnson published his
dictionary, Noah Webster began work on his distinctly American prescriptive (think rules to
follow) A Grammatical Institute of the English Language for schools. It was published in
three volumes, the first of which was the speller in 1783. Commonly called the BlueBacked Speller because of its blue covers, the speller was hugely successful.
For more than a hundred years, the blue-backed speller was the authority in American
classrooms, instructing children how to pronounce and spell in American English. In fact,
over several editions, Webster altered spelling standards, such as dropping the u in words
like colour. Webster went on to publish in 1828 American Dictionary of the English
Language, which took him twenty-seven years to complete. This work of 70,000 words
presented American spelling rules and original American words that had never before
appeared in a dictionary.
So there you have it. In a nutshell, English spelling rules are strange because English itself
is a strange amalgamation of several languages. Then the printing industry explosion and
soaring literacy rates among common folk demanded some sort of language
standardization, both in Britain and in America. The time had come for prescriptive
grammar and spelling rules.
Ellen Barski and family call the Deep South home, where they live amid barely controlled
chaos. Ellen writes about her life, home education, household management, and literary
pursuits at bluestockingbelle.blogspot.com.
Copyright 2012, used with permission. All rights reserved by author. Originally appeared in
the December 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, the family education
magazine. Read the magazine free at www.TOSMagazine.com or read it on the go and
download the free apps at www.TOSApps.com to read the magazine on your mobile devices.