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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Feb 20 2010 at 6:37am | IP Logged
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Instead of using a curriculum, does anyone use a dictation method to teach spelling? I use copywork and dictation to teach about sentence structure, punctuation, etc., but I've never used it as my only source of spelling instruction. I emailed All About Spelling with some questions, one of which was how to do spelling with 3 different kids at 3 different levels. I love AAS but it is taking too long. She suggested the dictation method for my oldest dd (going into 6th grade) instead of going on to the next level in AAS. Here is a quote from the email she sent:
"You could also consider having your daughter do copywork or dictation for spelling by taking passages from her readers or perhaps Bible verses she is learning--whatever might work for your family. Talk through how to analyze the words for the spelling patterns they follow, and which patterns have to be discerned visually etc... That might be a way to increase the difficulty of words she studies. Ways I have used this:
1-give my kids a passage on Monday to do as copywork.
2-I have them identify 5-10 words that they don't know how to spell.
3-We analyze these during the week. Any words that don't follow patterns they have already learned in AAS will be provided for them, either on scratch paper or on a board, or on their paper (leave blanks for the words she WILL spell and fill in the hard words for her).
4-Review the words throughout the week and then do the dictation on Friday"
Does anyone do spelling this way? Does it work?
I'd also just like to say that I really appreciate the time this person took to email me back. She didn't try to "push the product" to sell more, she sincerely tried to help me out, even by giving me a suggestion that meant I wouldn't be buying the next level of AAS. That doesn't happen very often
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Feb 20 2010 at 1:25pm | IP Logged
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I always hated traditional spelling methods.. writing the words 10 times each.. using each word in a sentence etc. But writing was always a chore for me.. I mean the physical act of it. So I would jump at the chance to combine some things.. you can always give it a try and see how it works for your family.
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Feb 21 2010 at 10:46pm | IP Logged
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Hi, Becky~
We do "spelling" this way, but my dc are still young, so probably not the experience-level that you're looking for  . But, I'll share what we do anyway in case anyone with the younger crowd is reading. And I have some links for you too.
I like dictation a lot! I think it's FUN!  We just started this past fall when my girls were 7 and 8.5 at the time. We had done copy work until then, but otherwise, no real spelling program. So, we're easing into it with simple sentences.
::On Monday, they have a sentence/s on their "weekly sheet."
::They copy it in their language arts notebook and then work on it for the next couple of days.
::Between Mon and Thur, they identify words that will be challenging and work on those words. We talk about them, find other words that are similar and talk about any phonics rules or exceptions that may be applicable.
::Then they "study" each word that they need to learn. "Study" means:
1) to look at the word
2) close eyes and try to see it spelled correctly in their mind
3) Practice writing the word. They may also SAY the word aloud. Or write the word in the air or on a surface with their finger.
::They work a little each day (4/week). Sometimes it's only for a minute or two, sometimes longer, depending on the words/sentence.
::We do a "mom-dictation" on Thursday where I say the passage aloud, and they write it.
I pull the sentences from different sources, Harp and the Laurel Wreath or Spelling Wisdom for example. Or.....they are sentences pulled from what we are reading or learning about. For example, last week one of the sentences was from a middle-ages book that we were reading. Here are some other recent examples:
--For he who closes his eyes when he should watch, God let him never prosper. ~Chanticleer and the Fox
--Until the year 1100 or so, books were very rare and most were written by monks. (learning about the middle ages)
--In good time, Hans Brinker became one of Holland's finest doctors--and also one of the kindest. For even as a great man, he never forgot what it was to be poor, and in need. Hans Brinker
--Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel. ~week of the Feast of the Presentation
--Karol is chosen as the new pope and takes the name John Paul II on October 16, 1978. ~The Young Life of Pope John Paul II
::Obviously, your daughter in 6th grade would have longer, more complicated passages.
::There some good info about dictation at Higher Up and Further In blog.
::And, there are some archived threads on dication that may be helpful to you too.
You can see how Charlotte Mason describes dictation here. Scroll down to page 240-XII-Spelling and Dictation. Part of it is here from page 242:
Quote:
Steps of a Dictation Lesson.––Dictation lessons, conducted in some such way as the following, usually result in good spelling. A child of eight or nine prepares a paragraph, older children a page, or two or three pages. The child prepares by himself, by looking at the word he is not sure of, and then seeing it with his eyes shut. Before he begins, the teacher asks what words he thinks will need his attention. He generally knows, but the teacher may point out any word likely to be a cause of stumbling. He lets his teacher know when he is ready. The teacher asks if there are any words he is not sure of. These she puts, one by one, on the blackboard, letting the child look till he has a picture, and then rubbing the word out. If anyone is still doubtful he should be called to put the word he is not sure of on the board, the teacher watching to rub out the word when a wrong letter begins to appear, and again helping the child to get a mental picture. Then the teacher gives out the dictation, clause by clause, each clause repeated once. She dictates with a view to the pointing, which the children are expected to put in as they write; but they must not be told 'comma,' 'semicolon,' etc. After the sort of preparation I have described, which takes ten minutes or less, there is rarely an error in spelling. If there be, it is well worth while for the teacher to be on the watch with slips of stamp-paper to put over the wrong word, that its image may be erased as far as possible. At the end of the lesson, the child should again study the wrong word in his book until he says he is sure of, and should write it correctly on the stamp-paper.
A lesson of this kind secures the hearty co-operation of children, who feel they take their due part in it; and it also prepares them for the second condition of good spelling, which is––much reading combined with the habit of imaging the words as they are read. |
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Suzanne in ID
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Feb 22 2010 at 6:54am | IP Logged
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Thankyou for such a helpful post Suzanne. I will check the sites you linked to. Since my dd's struggle is not with actual spelling lists, but in her everyday writing, dictation just seems like a better way to approach spelling with her. I'm off to check those links!
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Dictation for Spelling?
