Pace for dictation

[andreacress]

I was wondering how quickly we should be moving forward with dictation. This is our first year with the CM style learning. Right now I have my son in Level 5 of dictation for CTC (he's a 6th grader). It takes him a little over a week to complete one. His mistakes are almost always punctuation and leaving out words. He'll get something right one day and then get it wrong the next. He has no problem with the spelling words at this level. I really think most of it is careless mistakes. Even when he checks over his work, he can't seem to notice the words he's left out. Is this a typical pace or should I bump him down a level. Thanx!

[LynnH]

The goal is to only repeat 1 passage a week and only repeat it once. If he has to repeat more than that then yes he is at the wrong level. He should be able to get through 2-3 passages a week. When you say he is skipping words that made me wonder if you are just going a phrase at a time and having him repeat it back to you before he writes it. The point with CM style dictation is not memorization. If when he repeats it back to you he leaves out something then say the phrase again. If you have to go to really short phrases for awhile that is ok. You can then gradually move up to longer phrases. As far as the punctuation goes I have my ds say out loud where the comma's and periods are. He has also done it where he writes all the punctuation on the whiteboard with the word preceding the punctuation. I hope that makes sense.

[andreacress]

I didn't know the goal is to repeat a passage only once. He is definitely doing more than that. I do have him say back to me the phrases after I dictate them, but I think his hand can't keep up with his brain, so he leaves words out. I do the same thing when I write. I like your suggestion of giving him shorter phrases. I guess my next question is - when moving down a level, do you go to the beginning, middle, etc. of the lower level? He has no problem with the spelling at Level 5 so I don't want to make it too easy.

[LynnH]

You could try maybe 1/2 to 3/4ths through level 4 and see how he does with that. It really sounds like he just needs training in paying attention to the details like the punctuation when he is studying the passage and then when he is writing it. Especially since he is getting the spelling right. That is why I would have my ds write the punctuation on the white board as a way of studying it. The other thing I make sure my ds re-reads over it before he checks it. He often catches mistakes then. Also just a heads up. Make sure he is indenting if it calls for that. I did almost an entire level of dictation not having my ds do that before I saw a post on this board by Julie talking about how her son would sometimes forget to indent and that made it wrong. Somehow I had totally missed having him do that.

Oh and actually when I said 2-3 passages a week I forgot that I do dictation with my ds 4 days a week just for consistency, so for us it is a little different. So if you are doing it 3 days a week you still probably should get through 2 passages a week.

[andreacress]

Lyhn - thanks so much for your advice! I think I'll drop back to Level 4, 1/2 way, and see if he is more successful. I appreciate so much the wisdom and experience of this board!

[my3sons]

Lynn already gave such great advice that I'll just share that my ds absolutely needs me to read his dictation a phrase at a time, as in 4-6 words or so. Otherwise, he misses it. He is in level 6. My other ds, who is in Level 4, can remember longer phrases better, but then he is my auditory learner. Maybe your ds is just like my Wyatt, who needs it read in shorter phrases? Wyatt has become an excellent speller that writes with proper punctuation 99% of the time now, but it has taken many years of dictation (5 years to be exact) for him to grow in his abilities (which began as poor since he'd had speech difficulties early on). You may see a big difference by backing him up a bit and saying the dictation in shorter phrases. Just thought I'd share my experience with Wyatt, in case it may help you too!

In Christ,
Julie

[andreacress]

Thanks, Julie! That does encourage me to hear about your experience with your sons! I think shorter phrases at a lower level will build my son's confidence. I appreciate the reminder that it takes time to see progress