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My dd has begun dictation this year...she has been a struggling speller, but so far is doing pretty well with the dictation. We've completed the first seven passages of level 2 in the Preparing...guide. Of those seven, she only had errors in two of the passages and they actually were not spelling errors, but punctuation instead. Anyway, my question is how difficult should it be? If she's had mistakes in two of the passages does that mean she's in the right level or is that too 'easy' and I should move her to level 3? I just want to make sure she is progressing enough to do better on the spelling section of her SAT in the spring....closer to grade level, kwim? What do you think?

I would start with that level. If you flip through the levels in the Preparing manual, you'll see that they get significantly more difficult as you go (like by level 4). Grant started with that level last year in Bigger, and spelling comes naturally for him. He breezed through them, only making occasional mistakes. Usually for punctuation. But, the point of dictation is writing the passage correctly, so practice doing that even without having to repeat many will still be helping you. I know I've heard Carrie and Julie say that they've had boys who breezed through the 1st 2 levels, too. So I think if I were you, I'd hang out there. Then you won't be getting to a level that's frustrating too soon.

Kathleen

I am interested in the question too. Do you always finish out a level even if the child is finally making no mistakes? It sounds like the answer is just keep going in the level to complete it even if or when it becomes easy. Just to keep up practicing those grammar and spelling concepts.

inHistiming,

Here are two threads that may be of help to you. Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5186
Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4763

Since your daughter has had a few struggles with spelling in the past, and she's thriving in dictation Level 2, I'd just keep her going. As Kathleen mentioned, the passages do get much harder as they go, and you wouldn't want to get to Level 4 passages too quickly!

Blessings,
Carrie

Thanks ladies....I am just going to leave her where she is so we can have a successful year and not so much of a struggle in that area. Now, two more questions. When writng the phrses after I've said it out loud, exactly how should it look on their paper? I know the spelling, punctuation, indentation, etc. should be exact. But I'm talking more about spacing, the words on each line,etc. Such as the following: (from my son's dictation level 5)

Hear the rain whisper,
"Dear Violet, come!
How can you stay in your underground
home?
Up in the pine boughs,
For you the winds sigh,
Homesick to see you
Are we-May and I."
-Lucy Larcom

Looking at the third line....is he expected to write it exactly as that's written with the only word on the fourth line being home?

My second question is, when she is repeating the phrase back to me, do I correct her if she gets it wrong?

inHistiming,

I think it's a good idea to leave your daughter in Level 2 for dictation. You want to make sure to allow her to feel some success in spelling.

As far as your questions go, I don't typically make my kiddos do the exact same line endings as those in the dictation text, unless it's a poem. When your daughter repeats back the passage orally before writing it, if she makes an error in what she's repeating, definitely correct her before she puts pencil to paper.

Good questions!

Blessings,
Carrie

So glad with the answer on the passages being copied exactly like they are in the text. I did not know how to word the question!!! My ds 7 is loving dictation. We are on 5 and he has not missed anything yet. This is good to build up his confidence. We just started Bigger and are having much fun already!. We are doing it half speed since he is in 1st grade. Taking 2 weeks to do 1 unit. Cursive we do daily and may I say that he loves "Cheerful Cursive and is doing great"! Good pick Carrie! We also split up LA to do a little everyday (some orally) and we do math everyday. We are starting DITHOR next week....So exciting!
He did notice even at half speed that the work increased and asked if he gets more to do as he gets in higher grades, but he did not seem to mind that.

InHisTiming - I'd keep going too, as 2 out of 7 is actually a good ratio for dictation IMO. I used to think to myself, "Oh, he just missed one period, or one comma, or one capital letter - he's doing so well this may be too easy for him." But, the one thing (whatever it is) is still a mistake. Sometimes, I'd even give the mistake away by saying, "Oh, look at that again, you're missing some punctuation". Probably no one but me does this, but... not a good idea. So, I'd keep going as perfection is the goal in dictation. Had he missed nothing at all, I'd say move ahead to the middle of the dictation level and give that a shot. But otherwise, I'd definitely keep going as dictation gets harder and harder.

In Christ,
Julie

moedertje wrote:So glad with the answer on the passages being copied exactly like they are in the text. I did not know how to word the question!!! My ds 7 is loving dictation. We are on 5 and he has not missed anything yet. This is good to build up his confidence. We just started Bigger and are having much fun already!. We are doing it half speed since he is in 1st grade. Taking 2 weeks to do 1 unit. Cursive we do daily and may I say that he loves "Cheerful Cursive and is doing great"! Good pick Carrie! We also split up LA to do a little everyday (some orally) and we do math everyday. We are starting DITHOR next week....So exciting!
He did notice even at half speed that the work increased and asked if he gets more to do as he gets in higher grades, but he did not seem to mind that.

HOORAY - glad to hear you are having an awesome year! Sounds like you're doing a super job of choosing a pacing that fits well for ds. Thanks for sharing!

In Christ,
Julie

moedertje,

I'm so glad that your little one is doing well in transitioning to Bigger Hearts. It sounds like he's making good progress, and you are finding a schedule that works well for both of you.

Thanks for sharing!

Blessings,
Carrie

Thank you so much ladies I appreciate your encouragement!