The Elementary Spelling Book [Spiral-bound]

Noah Webster (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The Webster Spelling book, commonly called the "Blue-Backed Speller," was originally published in 1788, revised as "The American Spelling Book" in 1829, and revised by Webster again in 1841 as "The Elementary Spelling Book." For over a century this book has provided America with a standardize system of spelling, grammar and word usage. The book thus became the "National Standard" in education, with over 100 million copies sold.

This revised Elementary Spelling Book contains: * 152 Spelling and Reading Lessons graduated from elementary to advanced word usage. * A complete analysis of letter and word usage. * Keys to pronunciation -- with use of accents, vowels, consonants, syllables, silent letters, and pronunciation symbols. * Covers use of adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, marks of punctuation, prefixes, capitalization, abbreviations, and numbers. * Explains words of irregular orthography and words difficult to spell. * Contains seven fables that teach a moral lesson.

The "Elementary Spelling Book" is an ideal tool for home education, personal tutoring, private schools, or just to supplement public education.

This edition of Webster's Spelling Book is a reprint of an 1866 edition, but the type has been enlarged and many portions have been re-typeset in modern type. It has a plastic spiral binding which allows the book to lay flat making it easier for children to use and read.

The Elementary Spelling Book is proof that the education of the past was of a higher quality and taught moral principles which are absent from schools today.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 176 pages
• Publisher: Weisman Pub; 3rd edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966892119
• ISBN-13: 978-0966892116
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,059,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A useful piece of American literary history, May 18, 2000

By 

MR DONALD HUMPHRIES - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Elementary Spelling Book (Spiral-bound)

Noah Webster's book is fascinating reading for today's students and teachers alike, as well as for the average citizen, as there is much to learn from it. While it may be inappropriate to resurrect it as an official school text, it certainly has a place in every school library. One of the most notable features is the comprehensive phonetic system used, with diacritical marks (accents) applied to all relevant vowels and consonants; words are divided according to syllables and stress. It also spells the names of letters of the alphabet; something which tends to be ignored in modern teaching. The terminology of traditional grammar is used, and there are copious word lists, with words grouped according to common factors. I have no hesitation in recommending this book to all students of the English language for the above reasons and for many other interesting aspects (now-archaisms:thy/thou...; foreign words and phrases; abbreviations explained; punctuation; etc). This book should remain a spelling classic.