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How do I know which level of dictation to do in Preparing? Do I just sort of guess where to place my son or is the level related to grade? He did dictation last year in Beyond, and he almost always got every dictation passage correct. I'm guessing I should go with level 4 because I believe he's ready for that, but want to make sure I'm not missing something in picking! Thanks!

jacynamommy wrote:How do I know which level of dictation to do in Preparing? Do I just sort of guess where to place my son or is the level related to grade? He did dictation last year in Beyond, and he almost always got every dictation passage correct. I'm guessing I should go with level 4 because I believe he's ready for that, but want to make sure I'm not missing something in picking! Thanks!

Did you mean Bigger, rather than Beyond, or did you skip a guide?

The dictation passages aren't meant to be related to grade, but are simply meant to be done in order, starting in Bigger Hearts. So, if you did level 2 with Bigger, then you would do level 3 in Preparing. If you did level 3 in Bigger, then you would do level 4 in Preparing.

Yes, I did mean Bigger...sorry! There is only one dictation list in Bigger and there is no "list number" assigned to it that I can see. It looks like, though, that the List 2 in Preparing is the same in Bigger now that I've compared. I guess that means it would be natural to go to list 3 this year...but if that's the case, then why is List 4 even in Preparing as an option? I'm confused!

Hmmm, that's a good question. I had to pull out both of my guides and take a look as I didn't realize Preparing also had Level 4. I'm not sure why it's included, unless it's for students who start HOD with Preparing and are ready for Level 4 dictation. One thought for you is that you could go ahead and start with Level 4 and if all is going well, stick with it, but if your son starts to make several mistakes, bump back to Level 3. Maybe Carrie or Julie could answer this better? Perhaps if they don't see this thread, you could PM Carrie and I'm sure she answer you.

Yes you would move into level 3 if you completed 2 in Bigger. Level 4 is in there for people using Preparing in the extension range or if a kid is advanced and needs to move ahead in dictation. The same with level 2 being in there for kids who weren't ready for dictation with Bigger.

As always, thanks ladies!

With my two doing dictation I've found that they get to a point occasionally where they need to jump ahead a bit with dictation. My oldest went from somewhere in level 2 in Preparing to working through the first 1/4 of level 4. So it's possible to need all three levels.

Which reminds me I haven't been doing dictation with them since before summer.... I need to get on that