Pam, I think the first grade is where I learned it. I was fortunate all through school that we had a half hour of spelling each day, and homework to complete, and no Spellcheck! General Patton, with his apparent dyslexia, was a very poor speller. He said anyone could spell a word the same way every time, but it showed imagination to think of new ways to do so! Once in the second grade, while reading before the class, I pronouced "island" as "is-land". When Mrs. Young informed me the "s" was silent, my response was that if it was silent, it should be left out! She was not amused. I supppose I am a born phonetisist. LOL Stan