Bigger dictation

[StephanieF]

Hi,
Can anyone give me some examples of the dictation in Bigger? Is there just one level to choose from? Many thanks
Stephanie

[dawntx]

It starts with
1)
Sue has a bird.
It can call and sing.
king ring wing

50)
We have a big horse.
My brother and I feed him sugar.

101)
How much money do you have?
I have ten dollars, five cents, and a dime.
lime time honey

[StephanieF]

Thanks for that!

What do people do if it is too easy? Should I be buying the Preparing guide too? We will be using R&S3 I think
Stephanie

[dawntx]

Yes, Preparing TM has more levels.If Level 2 in Bigger is too easy you would want to purchase PHFHG manual! Here are some of those examples:
Level 3
1)
The children who did not study
their lessons last year are sorry
now.Are you one of these lazy children?

100)
Agnes has a small place in her
garden where she is raising tomatoes.
We all like them much
better than those we buy in the
market.

Level 4:

1)
Let us take pride in our school.
Children who make it a rule not to
scatter papers, and who pick up such
things when they find them, are forming
good habits


HTH! Dawn

[StephanieF]

Thanks Dawn, that has helped me -not my bank balance though lol!
Stephanie

[catbeth]

Breaking in to ask a question here....

Does the student study the dictation exercise first before it is dictated for them to write?

[mamabeavabjo]

That helps me also as I had the same question!

[pjdobro]

Julie shared the instructions on dictation in this post: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9045

Here is what she shared:

I'd be glad to explain dictation here. Here are the instructions for dictation from the HOD manual...

Special instructions for the dictation passages: Each student needs a notebook for dictation. A wide-lined notebook is best. On each dictation day, your student will study the dictation passage. It is helpful to write any difficult words on markerboard or paper for the students to focus on. New words are in bold. Also, call attention to any capital letters and punctuation marks in the passage. Discuss them briefly as needed.

When students feel ready, remove the dictation passage from the students’ sight. Call out the passage one phrase at a time. Pause after each phrase for students to repeat it back to you and write it. Continue until the entire passage has been dictated.

Give students a moment to look over their passage for mistakes. Then, have them compare their sentences with the key. Students should circle any mistakes they made on the key and correct the mistakes in their own notebook. If the passage was correct, place a checkmark next to the passage in the key. All items in the sentence must be correct, including punctuation marks, before going on to the next passage. If students made any mistakes, they’ll repeat the same passage as many days as it takes to get it right.

Always begin the next session where the student left off. If your child is repeatedly stuck on passages, he or she may need to move to an easier level of dictation passages. Three different levels of passages are provided in this guide.

That should help you envision how dictation is done with HOD.

[Daph]

I'm in the same place: we're planning on using Bigger and the dictation looks far too easy for my rising 4th grader. I don't think that she's ready for a few of the things in Preparing, though. I second-guess myself every other day. I really want her to have a good, solid year of American History, though.

[KellyB]

Please forgive my (likely) dense question....

So with the 101 sample Bigger is the most advanced for that year?

101)
How much money do you have?
I have ten dollars, five cents, and a dime.
lime time honey

I am still contemplating bigger for my rising 3rd grader, but the more I look, the more I think Preparing from the skill set listed....

She's a solid reader (probably 7th Grade level)
She is comfortable with narration
She can write in cursive (copied the better part of James 3) and actually prefers it.
She does an excellent job of creative writing/writing for summarization...ie reading something and then writing a few sentences about it without coaxing/encouragement.

I'm thinking of starting Preparing, but beginning 1/2 time and then picking it up in the fall. Hmmmmm

[pjdobro]

Please forgive my (likely) dense question....

So with the 101 sample Bigger is the most advanced for that year?

101)
How much money do you have?
I have ten dollars, five cents, and a dime.
lime time honey

I am still contemplating bigger for my rising 3rd grader, but the more I look, the more I think Preparing from the skill set listed....

She's a solid reader (probably 7th Grade level)
She is comfortable with narration
She can write in cursive (copied the better part of James 3) and actually prefers it.
She does an excellent job of creative writing/writing for summarization...ie reading something and then writing a few sentences about it without coaxing/encouragement.

I'm thinking of starting Preparing, but beginning 1/2 time and then picking it up in the fall. Hmmmmm

There is actually one more dictation passage after 101, but it would be similar so yes you are seeing a sample of the most difficult passage in the Bigger dictation passages. It sounds like from everything you've shared here about your dd's skills that your dd would be ready for Preparing.

[my3sons]

Hi Kelly - Here is a sample of PHFHG's dictation in case that helps...
Dictation Samples:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1221

Here also is a thread comparing the writing in BHFHG and PHFHG...
Amount of writing in Bigger vs. PHFHG:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3602

If you get a chance to print out the plans of BHFHG and PHFHG, and really look over in PHFHG the "I" boxes especially to see if your child can do those boxes independently, that will also help you make this decision...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/BHFHG-first-week.pdf
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/BHFHG-first-week.pdf

If you find yourself thinking, "That box would be alright, if I just read it instead of my child", or "If my child just dictated that box to me and I wrote his answers instead of writing it himself he could do that", or "If I set up that experiment for my child and helped him do it all, then he could do that box instead of him doing it independently", then BHFHG would be the better choice. I hope that makes sense! Proper placement is important, and it seems like if dc are placed too high in HOD they flounder. However, if they are truly ready for a guide, then that is the right placement, as we don't want to place dc below what they can really do either. I hope something here helps! Both are wonderful programs, so either will be an excellent choice as long as placement is correct.

In Christ,
Julie