When I’m researching through old books, I keep an eye out for educational guides, as education was often more rigorous in the ‘olden days.’ Don’t you agree? We would have never thought to teach much of the left column below. But the point then, as now, is that when we teach spelling, we need to remember to teach relevant and necessary words and not just what’s on a spelling list.

THE LESSONS INCLUDE SPELLING WORDS, NEW CONCEPTS, AND SHORT POEMS
The short poems are my favorite part of these spelling books. No, it’s the beautiful artwork. Then, the poems. Isn’t this a beautiful page from the 5th-6th grade textbook?




1916 TEACHING TIPS FOR SPELLING
This 1916 Spelling Curriculum begins with alphabet learning, making sure the student knows that well before moving on to spelling everyday words, then more difficult words.
There is a full Teacher’s Manual book, as well as books for sets of grades: 1-2, 3-4, and 7-8. There is also a book for 5-6 that seems to be put into a larger set of 3-6.




how to download the OLD SPELLING CURRICULUM THAT IS STILL RELEVANT TODAY
The books may be downloaded in various formats. I suggest .pdf if you would like to print some or all of the pages. There is also a Kindle option, as well as others. You’ll see the list of download options in the right sidebar next to the book details.
Here are the links to each of the available 1916 Spelling Curriculum books
After flipping through the books, I think this is a wonderful find for those searching for a well-written spelling curriculum. But do go through the books to see if they’re appropriate for your students. I am not able to preview every page, and only you know what your students need.
- The Aldine Speller, Part One, for Grades 1-2
- The Aldine Speller, Part Two, for Grades 3-4
- The Aldine Speller, Part Three, for Grades 5-6
- The Aldine Speller, Part Four, for Grades 7-8
- The Teachers Manual




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