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For those of you who follow the CM / HOD method of doing only dictation for spelling how has it worked for you? Have your children been able to become good spellers using dictation alone?

I would prefer to use only dictation for spelling. We have used dictation a fair amount for writing, but I always end up supplementing it with a spelling program (some urge from school I suppose). It would help with the time and balance of our days to trust the process of dictation for spelling and stay with it through all of the levels.

I would love to hear from those of you who don't supplement the dictation with a spelling program and do dictation alone for spelling. Is it working?

I was also curious how long Carrie puts dictation in the guides. I am actually hoping that it is at least through MTMM, and hopefully into High school.

Thank you ladies for all of your help lately in my planning for our next school year, and with my numerous questions.

Is anyone using the dictation without supplementing it with a spelling program?

How is it working?

We are only in the beginning stages, but I already see it working. We did do one level of Spelling You See, but it's methodology is very similar to HODs. It was just that my daughter needed a workbook to get over the fear of misspelling a word. So we did that instead of the spelling lists, and now we are back to dictation. I think a lot of her "good spelling" skills comes from her reading. She is almost always with a book in hand, and that is a huge help I think. We are flying through the first level of dictation. She has missed two words and one grammar mark in the first 50 or 60 passages (and the words were homonyms, so it was more word usage than spelling).

Thank you Stephanie. It is great to hear how it is working for you.

You bring up an interesting question I have wrestled with. What makes a good speller? I have thought over that one. Dictation I did see help my oldest the year I focused on it.

My oldest has been an avid reader for years, and his spelling is better but still needs much work at 12. He always has a book in his hands too. I keep hoping the spelling will fully sink in.

Your report reminds me though of the year he really focused on dictation. It makes me think it might actually be the best way to go for all 3.

Thanks!

I think there are cases where a child would need a spelling program that covers all of the rules. But there are SO many words that just don't make sense. And there are all the homonyms out there, so they have to learn when to use which rule anyways. A child that has a learning struggle like dyslexia might need the rules approach, but I think the average child is probably served equally well if not better by dictation (and the occasional review of common rules when they miss them).

Dictation is fantastic. It has helped my oldest more than I realized possible. She has mild dyslexia and her spelling improved significantly because of it. For my youngest, it is the only thing she has ever used. We love it and will stick with it.

Nealewill wrote:Dictation is fantastic. It has helped my oldest more than I realized possible. She has mild dyslexia and her spelling improved significantly because of it. For my youngest, it is the only thing she has ever used. We love it and will stick with it.

Thank you Daneale!

Your posts have often left me encouraged over the past year. I like hearing of others dictation success.

Blessings,

My oldest is a natural speller, and dictation has been great for her. It is quick and easy and she makes good progress with it, rarely making any mistakes.

My third born is a natural speller like my oldest, but he can be careless with his schoolwork, rushing through things. He has only just started dictation, but already I am noticing fruit. He has discovered that if he doesn't take time to look over the card and actually study it a little, he will most likely get it wrong! This is encouraging him to slow down and actually think!

My second born is the one for whom dictation has been truly golden. Unlike her siblings, she really struggled to learn to read. Since her father is dyslexic, I have long suspected that she is dyslexic too, but I never had her tested or anything. Well, before she started dictation her spelling was atrocious. When we did the spelling lists in Bigger she routinely missed 4 or more of the spelling words in the final "test," after doing all the things suggested in the guide. We switched to a different spelling program, with no improvement in her spelling. Then we switched to studied dictation, mostly because I was too busy with homeschooling all three kids to do much else with her spelling.

Just last week she finished her second year of dictation, and I have to say, "Wow!" She has improved in spelling more than I would have thought possible. (She is finally reading fluently, which I think really helps). In her written narration last week every word was spelled correctly except stopped ("stoped" - she still struggles with forgetting to double consonants). Dictation takes her a long time and she often has to redo them (sometimes up to 4 times). She also dislikes it, but we have plugged away and do it every day (not just 3 days a week as in the guide). I am a true believer! She has really made an incredible amount of progress doing dictation alone!

I cannot say enough good about dictation! It took my ds from being a premie baby who required speech therapy and struggled with spelling to a high school student who rarely misspells much of anything. Success! Here are some super threads to enjoy reading on this topic...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5645&p=41374#p41374
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4877
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5558
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5186

Also, dictation will be included in all of the high school guides for those students still completing it. Once students have completed Levels 2-8 of dictation, they are done!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you Julie!

Glad to help, and it's always a joy to hear from you, LovingJesus!

In Christ,
Julie

I'm doing just dictation this fall. WE've done years of AAS. She knows all the rules, she never uses them in her writing. Too much time and money for too little results. Her spelling improved this year as her reading took off. But again, not using the rules, just getting closer to the actual word. I think it's from seeing the words in books, so to me, that sounds like dictation is probably our best bet as it works with visualizing correctly spelt words.

I have 4 kids. With my first 2, I just couldn't (coming from a teaching background) let go of a spelling program. They did NOT do the spelling lists but did dictation and All About Spelling. One was a "natural speller" and has progressed out of dictation at 13. The other was a poor speller with dysgraphia and did not do well with AAS or anything else. He is making steady progress now (at 12) with dictation only.

With my younger 2, I decided to go all out CM and did the spelling lists. I was worried because it seemed they could spell NOTHING!! But now that they've begun dictation, they are learning rapidly.

So, from what I have experienced with both, I think some people are born to be good spellers and some are not. I think dictation is a good way to teach spelling, but other methods can also work.