US2091555A - Phonic game - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 31, 1937.

w. B. MESSINGER PHONIC GAME Filed May 20, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 A T TORNE Y.

[Jim/@450 w. B. MESSINGER 2,091,555

PHONIC GAME Filed May 20, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Aug. 31, 1937.

Aug. 31, I w B MESSINGER PHONIC GAME Filed May 20, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 AT RNEY Patented Aug. 31, 1937 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE 15 Claims.

My invention relates generally to the improvement of reading, and presents a means enabling a novel and improved method of presentation of phonics by primary teachers, or in the home, .in the form of games, riddles and the like. The attention of the child, necessary to produce lasting memory impressions, is best attained and held through an appeal to more than one of the five senses, and my device appeals to the senses 10 of touch, hearing and sight.

It is my object, by picturing, grouping and associating most frequently used words or phonograms, either involving consonants or vowel combinations, or both, in various interesting ways, to

L3 'provide a key to reading, and by riddles, games and the like, to provide a purpose or goal to which the child works with intense interest or concentration that gains the quick translation desired. It is my purpose to equip the small 20 child with a tool by which he can fulfill all the five requirements necessary to achieve greater ability in reading. (Dr. A. I. Gates book, The

Improvement of Reading, pages 154 and 155.)

More specifically, it is an object to group like word elements or phonograms, providing a key to the pronunciation of the dominant sound or characteristic of each group, and to provide other word elements, letters or phonograms for combination with the group phonograms to com- 30 'plete the word, one or the other of the word elements having pictured objects associated with the letter, word element or phonogram, so that by association with the pictured object the child unconsciously associates the sound of the phono- 35 gram with the object which also appears upon the card or like device which carries the phonogram.

It is a further object, in association with the grouping of the basic phonograms, to provide a key means whereby the child can have a pictured sound, corresponding to the sound common to (the group of phonograms, or a picture which he associates with a single definite vowel sound, which key element is grouped or associated with the phonograms of that particular vowel sound.

My invention, and its various objects in addition to those indicated above, will be more clearly apparent from a study of the attached drawings,

50 bf this specification and of the claims terminating the same.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention embodied in a form which is convenient for school use, it being understood that 55 the principles thereof may be embodied in various forms,for instance, in blocks, in cards like playing cards, and the like.

My invention comprises the novel parts and elements, and the novel assembly and relative jdisplay thereof as shown in the accompanying 5 drawings, disclosed in this specification, and as will be more particularly pointed out by the claims which terminate the same.

Figures 1 and 2 are perspective Views of the left and right ends of a display stand, showing my invention set up in position of use.

Figure 3 is a similar view of portions of such a stand, showing a slightly modified form of the phonogram cards.

It will be understood that the particular form in which my invention is assembled may vary widely. I have found it convenient for school use to employ as the support a board 9 which has a plurality of longitudinal slots 95, the board being usually supported by a brace or easel back (not shown), by means of which it can beset up in inclined position where it is easily seen by all of the pupils. This arrangement can be varied at will. While I shall refer hereafter to the phonograms as printed upon cards and certain of these cards arranged in the form of houses in streets, it will be understood that the phonograms may be upon blocks, as has already been indicated, or other devices, and that they may take the form of animals, houses, toys, or various other devices which are familiar to the child, and which oiTer a means of grouping them.

On such cards, designated by the numerals l,

2, 3, 4, and 5, formed as houses, are placed family phonograms recognized by educators to be of most frequent usage, grouped in the separate streets of d, i, 6, 12. These vowel sounds are preferably indicated by means of coloring the cards differently, and by coloring certain areas of the board 9 in corresponding colors, each color corresponding to a given vowel sound. Thus, for instance, the area 9| is in red, and the cards I bearing the word elements II], are printed in red. This particular street, as it may be called, .being composed of different houses or phonograms, is all in red, and all of the vowel sounds represent the short letter a. To indicate this sound to the child, a key card Il may be printed in red, and grouped with the cards i, this representing, for instance, a baby in the act of uttering the characteristic sound of the short letter ;a. The letter a is indicated at l2 on the card II, and thus all of those houses which are grouped in the area 9| may be called a street, giving. the letter the short sound.

iu u

Similarly, the area 92 may be in brown, and the cards 2 are in brown, and bear the word elements 20, which in this case, may be the short sound of the letter .e. Another key card 2| is employed at the head of this street, and the letter 6, shown at 22, gives the appearance of the letter the sound of which is represented. The pictured element on the key card 21 may be a deaf person in the act of uttering the questioning sound of the letter e, usually written eh. The next area 93, may be in green, and the cards 3 are printed in green, and bear the word elements 30 representing the short sound of the letter i. The area 94 may be in yellow, and the cards 4 are printed in yellow, and bear": the word elements representing the short sound of the letter 0. The key card 4|,at the head of 0 street, pictures a horn. which gives the sound of the letter 42 carried on this key card.

The area 95 may be in blue, and the cards 5 are printed in blue and bear the word elements corresponding to the short sound of the letter u. The key card 5|, bearing the letter it represented at 52, may picture, for instance, a pig in the act of grunting, which gives the short sound of the letter 11.. The cards described teach Dr. Gates requirement 1 and also, in his requirement 2, the similarities and differences of the phonograms are stressed.

There may be a miscellaneous "street or area, represented at 96 and 91, where various letters or combinations are to be found. For instance, the long sound of the letter 0 is represented at l; the long sound of 00 is represented at ill; the diphthong ow is represented at H; the ea sound is represented at 12; and the broad sound of a is represented at 13. These miscellaneous areas may be of a characteristic color, ,as orange, and the cards in these streets are likewise orange. Obviously no key card can be employed for such groups, but the suggestion as to pronunciation may be obtained from initial cards, which will now be described.

The cards thus far described bear word elements which would be the basis of a word. Usually, the word which would be made up with these base cards would be common monosyllables, and usually nouns, which can be pictured, but it is equally simple to make up verbs and like words, for actions can be pictured, and also to add terminal letters to form longer Words and polysyllables. However, to combine with the cards thus far described, it is my intention to use initial cards 8, each of which bears upon it an initial phonogram, as is indicated at 80, and bears also pictured representations of various objects or actions the names of which contain the same initial phonogram. These initial phonograms, on the diiferent cards 8, would be-different from those on other such cards. Thus, at the. left of Figure 1 the initial card 8 carries the letters 11, and there is pictured a flag and a fly.

A pictured initial letter card may be presented as riddles to the pupils, each naming the pictures on his riddle card. For instance, on the card bearing the letter 0, he names candy, cup, "c0rn, cap, coat, candle, car, and The pupils listening and watching his lips guess the'many times repeated sound of the letter 0, which sound the teacher designate-s as the nickname. of Mr. C. In this interesting manner, the children quickly learn the sounds of all of the alphabet and combinations, such as system can be employed to teach verbs.

st, sp, squ, sic, and so forth. A child three or four years old can soon learn by himself eachinitial sound because he repeats it each time he names a new picture on the card. The cards 8 teach Dr. Gates requirement 1.

The pictured objects on the initial cards 8 also suggest words to be made. Thus the child, seeing the flag, may wish to make the word flag by combining the initial card 8 bearing the letters fl witha card I bearing the phonogram an or he may make some other word, such as flap; with that card 8 which bears the phonogram thr, he may wish to make the pictured thread, and combines it with the proper house we find frighten made up of a card 8 bearing the phonogram fr and suggested by the frog and the fringe, and the house card 14 bearing the phonogram ight, and the terminal card 85 bearing the final syllable en. In like manner squirrel is built up, and in this instance, the house card may have borne the letters z'rt, for instance, but the terminal card 85 bearing the letters rel is so placed as to cover the t in irt.

It will be noticed that all of the initialcards 8 bear pictured representations of objects the names of which have as their initial phonogram the same initial phonogram carried at 8!) upon the cards. Thus the card 8 in the street 92 carries pictures of a light, a leaf, a lemon, a letter, a lamp, and a lid. To a considerable extent, these represent different vowel sounds, though in some instances they are alike. In Figure 2 it will be seen how a card 8 may bear a three-letter combination, as thr, a clearly perceptible part of the word. (Dr. Gates requirement 4)-An attempt, otherwise, to sound the t and h and r separately would be disastrous.

The employment of pictured representations on :the cards is purely for the purpose of inducing the child to associate a given sound (common to all the illustrations) with the associated letter or letter group, thereby teaching him the sound .of that letter or group. As a check, and as the -next step in learning to read, cards bearing such letters or groups, but omitting the illustrations,

may be employed as substitutes for the cards 8, or

the letters or groups may be upon the backs of the same cards, and as the child has learned the sound of that letter or group by association with and to makeup words of the objects which are pictured on the cards 8. Nevertheless, the same Thus, in Figure 2 we find the Verb see, which of course, can not be pictured, but by association the child has learned the sound of the letter s from theinitial car-d, and the sound of the ca on the phonogram card, and thus it becomes an easy step from the name of pictured objects to the name of objects which are not pictured, and

to verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and the like which so that now the cards l bear, in addition to the phonogram l9, pictures of words to be formed, as indicated at l5, the man, the fan and the pan, all of which may be made up through the the illustration, he continues to associate the sound with the letter or group, and commences combination with the phonogram III of other phonograms on different initial cards 8. In Figure 3 the child sees the flag on a card 8, and sees a flag at I5 on a card I, and by matching the two pictures he gets the idea of combining the two cards and pronounces the word by giving the name of the object which is pictured on both cards. Again, he may see the pictured fly on the card 8, and matches that up with the card 11, which bears a picture of a fly. Thus he forms the different words flag and fly, which words are similar in their common initial phonogram fl. (See Dr. Gates requirement 2Sensitiveness to similarity and differences in words) Authorities recommend that the entire word be presented first, then an analysis of its parts. In my device the childs first impulse is to form, words by matching pictures. The child does not notice the printed parts of the word until he has completed the word, vivid in its pictured meaning. Neither does he have to be told the pronunciation of its parts. He sees the word at once as a whole of clearly perceptible parts because all the clues are presented simultaneously. (See Dr. Gates requirements 3 and 4.)

In Figure 3 the child may match all the pictures on group card I forming the similar key words man, fan, and pan which rhyme. He is to think of another similar word not pictured which rhymes with man, fan, pan. If he utters the word can he recognizes the sound of c which sound he recognized when he uttered the pictured words cup, corn, coat, cow, etc. on 0 card 8. In his minds eye he recalls one or more of these pictures. Therefore he is able to find the 0 card and construct the word can. Likewise he can form t plan, bran, etc. (See Dr. Gates requirement 2Similarities and differences in words. Ability to see common word elements not only in isola tion or in familiar words, but in other words) Also to develop skill in several types of wordform analysis (requirement 2) games may be played. The cards have already been collected to form words with the group card an. The teacher forms a key word. The first child to recognize the Word captures the pictured initial letter card 8. In like manner the teacher forms with the same group card an each similar word. The child is greatly aided by seeing the pictured man-fan-pan key words with which his new word must rhyme. The one capturing the most cards 8 wins.

For phonetic synthesis-blending (requirement 3) the initial letter cards 8 may be dealt to the players. The group cards I may be placed face down on the table. When a group card I is turned face up the child sees the key words pictured such as man-fan-pan. The first child to form a similar word with his initial card 8 may capture the group card I. The object is to capture the most group cards I.

In Figure 1 at bottom of board 9 a slot may support cards into sentences. Thus, The cat will catch the mouse. The previously described riddles, word-form analysis and games and other clues have given an adequate foundation for sentence building. The expanded ideas in Figure 3 will include the pictures of key words on the group cards I. Teachers may form sentences to teach by the intrinsic method of presenting phonics within the reading situation. (See Dr. Gates requirement 5--Abi1ity to use several types of word-form perception simultaneously with word c0ntext.)

According to the Beacon system, the initial consonants and a vowel comprise the basic phonogram, and terminal letters are added thereto. My device may be so arranged as to fit in with and enable the teaching of reading and spelling by the Beacon method, complemental cards being employed as terminal cards of like consonantal characteristics instead of initial cards as 8. Again, by placing the entire word upon the colored card, especially when associated with pictured objects, the child will quickly learn the vowel sounds as they are grouped in the appropriately colored areas and associated with the key card II, and this will permit the employment of my system and devices by those who desire to teach the word always as a single unit, not divided into parts.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A phonic teaching appliance comprising a plurality of groups of cards, each group bearing unlike word elements of like vowel characteristics, and the vowel characteristics of each group being different from the vowel characteristics of all other groups, complemental cards, each card bearing a complemental word element characteristic, and a support divided into areas of readily distinguishable characteristics, as color, and arranged to support the several card groups each in a separate area, and the complemental cards in juxtaposition to any adaptable card of a group selected to construct a word from the aligned word elements on such juxtaposed cards.

2. A phonic teaching appliance comprising a plurality of groups of cards, each group having varying terminal word elements of like vowel characteristics, initial cards, each bearing an initial word element, a support adapted to display the several groups each in a corresponding area, and the initial cards in juxtaposition to suitable cards of such groups with the initial and terminal word elements aligned tospell a word, and a key card for each of the several groups, each adapted to be supported in its respective group, and each key card having a pictured representation of the ruling vowel characteristic of its corresponding group, each card group and its corresponding key card having a distinctive color, and said support having areas of corresponding color to receive the several groups. p

3. A phonic teaching appliance comprising a plurality of groups of cards, each card of each group bearing a single phonogram which phonograms are related within the respective groups by the phonograms of each group incorporating a common vowel characteristic, and complemental cards, each card bearing a complemental phonogram, and adapted to be positioned adjacent to any suitable selected card of the groups with the phonograms on the adjacent cards aligned to spell a word, and a support divided into areas of unlike characteristics (as diiferently colored), and each group of cards being correspondingly distinguished, such as the cards thereof being colored alike, and like the area of the support corresponding to such group, said support having means to facilitate the positioning of the various groups of cards and complemental cards in proper juxtaposition.

4. A phonic teaching appliance comprising a support having means to facilitate the positioning of a plurality of cards, and having areas of unlike coloring and groups of cards, each group card'bearing a phonogram or word, and each group being colored to correspond to one of the support areas, the phonograms on all cards of each group having. related vocal characteristics, and differently colored key cards, one for each area, likewise supported each in its correspondingly colored area, and each key card having a pictured object associated with the vocal characteristic of that group.

5. An appliance as in claim 4, each group card having thereon a plurality of pictures representing words containing the individual phonogram thereon.

6. In a phonic teaching appliance, an assembly of members comprising groups, each ,member bearing a literary symbol and a pluralityof different pictured embodiments thereof, and each group constituting a unit distinguishable from all other groups by a characteristic, as color, common to all members of the given group and dif- :ferent from that characteristic which distinguishes the other groups, and the literary symbols onthe members in each group having a common vowel characteristic, in combination with a set of complemental shiftable members, each member of said set having on its face a literary symbol and a plurality of different pictured embodiments thereof, each of said last mentioned embodiments being identical with an embodiment on some member of said assembly, and a support divided into areas corresponding in the same characteristic, as color, tothe respective member groups of said assembly, and arranged to support the several member groups in such areas, and also to support members of said set in juxtaposition to members of said assembly having thereon an identical embodiment, thus to form by a combination of the literary symbols on such adjacent members the literary name of the common pictured embodiment.

7. The combination of. claim 6, and terminal members also adapted to be placed on the support in juxtaposition to suitable members of the assembly and the set to form therewith complex words.

8. A method of phonic teaching, which comprises displaying simultaneously a plurality of phonograms in segregated groups, each group including only phonograms having a common vowel characteristic, selecting a member from a mixed group of separate members, each bearing only one complemental phonogram, and placing such selected member in position to align its complemental phonogram with some displayed phonogram, appropriately selected from all those displayed so that the aligned phonograms will spell a word.

9. A method of phonic teaching, which comprises displaying simultaneously a plurality of terminal phonograms, each starting with a vowel, in segregated groups, each group including only phonograms having a common initial vowel characteristic, displaying simultaneously a plurality of pictures of objects, the names of which all start with a common initial phonogram and end each with a different one of the terminal phonograms displayed, each picture beside the displayed terminal phonogram incorporated in the name of the object-pictured, providing a single member bearing pictures similar to those displayed and bearing also the initial phonogram common to the names of such objects pictured, and successively matching the several pictures on'the initial phonogram member with the corresponding pictures simultaneously displayed beside the terminal phonograms, and. during each matching operation aligningthe initial phonogram with the terminal phonogram beside the picture matched, to construct of such successively aligned phonograms the names of the objects portrayed by the pictures as they are matched.

10. A phonic teaching device, comprising, in combination, means bearing a plurality of. phonogram groups, and displaying simultaneously all the phonograms of all the groups, each group consisting of a plurality of phonograms having a common vowel characteristic, such characteristic of each group being different fromthe common vowel characteristics of the other groups, and a plurality of separate complemental members, each bearing only one complemental phonogram, and each complemental member being adaptedto be disposed separately with relation to said means to align its complemental phonogram with a suitable group phonogram on said means, selected from one of said groups to form of such aligned phonograms a word.

11. A phonic teaching device, comprising, in combination, means divided into a plurality of sections, each section being distinguished from all other sections by a peculiar characteristic, such as color, and each section bearing a group of phonograms having a common vowel characteristic, such characteristic of each group being different from the common vowel characteristics of the other groups, and complemental means bearing complemental phonograms, and adapted to be disposed with relation to said first means to align a, complemental phonogram with a suitable phonogram selected from said groups to form of such aligned phonograms a word.

12. A phonic teaching device, comprising, in combination, means dividedinto a plurality of sections, each section being distinguished from all other sections by a peculiar characteristic, such as color, and each section bearing a group of phonograms having a common vowel characteristic, such characteristic of each group being different from the common vowel characteristics of the other groups, and a plurality of separate complemental members, each member bearing only one complemental phonogram, and each complemental member being adapted to be disposed with relation to said first means to align its complemental phonogram with a suitable phonogram on said means, selected from one of said groups to form of such aligned phonograms a Word.

13. A phonic teaching device comprising, in combination, a plurality of groups of separate members, each member of each group bearing a single phonogram, all the members in each group having a common characteristic, such as color, distinguishing the members of such group from the members of all other groups, and the phonograms on all the members in each group having a common vowel characteristic different from-the common vowel characteristic of the other groups, and complemental members, each bearing a complemental phonogram, and adapted to be disposed with its phonogram in alignment with the phonogram on any suitable member of said groups to form of such aligned phonograms a word. I

14. A phonic teaching appliance comprising supporting means bearing a plurality of groups of primary members bearing phonograms, which phonograms are related within the respective groups by the phonograms ot each group incorpo rating a common vowel characteristic, and complemental members, each bearing a complemental phonogram, and adapted to be positioned adjacent to any suitable selected phonogram of the groups with the phonogram on the complemental member and the selected group phonogram on said primary members aligned to spell a word, and said supporting means being divided into areas of unlike characteristics (as differently colored), and all the members bearing phonograms of each group being disposed in a separate area of said supporting means allocated to such group.

15. A phonic teaching device comprising, in combination, a plurality of groups of separate members, each member of each group bearing a single phonogram, said groups in combination displaying simultaneously all the phonograms of all the groups, and the phonograms on all the members of each group having a common vowel characteristic different from the common vowel characteristics of the other groups, and a plurality of separate complemental members, each bearing only one complemental phonogram, and each complemental member being adapted to be disposed separately with relation to a suitable group member with the phonograms on said members aligned to form of such aligned phonograms a word.

WINIFRED BAGLEY MESSINGER.

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