Excerpt from First Reader: With 4, 000 Words for Spelling by Sound This series of school books is based upon the principle that children may be taught to spell and read by sound thousands of English words as easily as words are taught in German schools. The method has long been followed in schools under the author's supervision and in the direction of the education of his children at home. The present irrational mode of spelling some English words and the unscientific methods often employed in teaching all our words have frequently proven an insuperable barrier against the acquisition of a knowledge of the art of reading by a large class of children who have not been able to go to school long enough to learn how to read with sufficient ease and fluency to gain a love of literature before they must leave school to engage in the fierce struggle of bread-winning. To change irrational spelling is beyond our power, but to pursue a scientific mode of teaching reading is open to all teachers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.