Here is a picture from a couple years ago. I printed the Webster’s Syllabary in large print so the whole class can see it. This large print syllabary is available for free on the Spelling Book Page of my website.
The Syllabary is a tremendously powerful tool for teaching students to read without guessing. It overcomes the distortion that inevitably accompanies trying to sound out strings of isolated phonemes. As linguistics know, coarticulations means that speech sounds overlap and are modified by the sounds around them.
Using the syllabary is very helpful for students who have problems blending or sounding-out words. Syllables also avoid the problem of guessing since the meaning of the syllable is in the acoustic field and not in the semantic field. Students who learn syllables first will not be tempted to guess the meaning of words from shape or context. Student should be taught both to read and spell (using oral letter names and written letters). Teaching syllables will go a very long way in preventing the unwanted symptoms of dyslexia. Syllables are also a very valuable ally in overcoming dyslexia.
Mrs. Brown has a very helpful movie that explains she how teaches the Syllabary. You can download the Syllabary I am using in the picture above at: Webster 1908 Syllabary. Here is a Student Progress Chart that I made for Webster. The Progress Chart will work with any printing of the 1908 Elementary Spelling Book.
At the end of my edition of Webster 1908, there is a chart that gives the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Equivalent (level) for the Webster’s practice sentences. It is very informative to learn that there is a very smooth progression from grade level to grade level, from beginning to very high literacy levels. Mrs. Brown tells that her students find their progress through the grade levels very motivational.
