WWE Placement

[CoastalGal]

I ordered WWE Strong Fundamentals and just administered the Level 2 Mastery Evaluation.

 

My son passed the narration portion with flying colors, but stumbled with the dictation. I'm trying to figure out if we should order WWE Level 2 or 3.

 

This is the dictation passage:

 

Peter put the eggs into this hat and set it on the lagoon. It floated beautifully.

 

At the same moment the bird fluttered down upon the hat and once more sat snugly on her eggs.

 

This is what my son wrote: (I have bolded the differences.)

 

Peter put the eggs in this hat and set it in the lagoon. It floated lovely.

 

At that same moment the little bird fluttered down and sat snugly on her eggs. (left out upon the hat and once more)

 

What would you do?

 

- start with Level 2

- do some more dictation practice and then start Level 3

- another option??

 

Thanks in advance...

[deeinfl]

I think you can start level 3 with no problem. My son passed the level 3 test, but his spelling needed lots of work and it had been a while since we had done this type of narration/dictation work, so I decided to put him in 2 and it was the best decision I made. But my son just turned 10 in the fourth grade. I think that you are safe to go with 3 and you can always slow down a bit if he's having difficulty as opposed to it being too easy and dull for him.

 

Just my humble opinion...

 

Dee

[CoastalGal]

Thanks Dee! :)

 

Another quick question: Did you struggle with your son not wanting to ask for help with spelling?

 

My son would rather attempt it and get it wrong than ask for help. (I tell him beforehand, "Please ask for help spelling any words you aren't sure of.")

 

So, he had 4 words that were spelled incorrectly...and was frustrated with himself when I pointed it out and asked him to correct them. He says things such as, "I never do it right." "I'm a bad speller."

[deeinfl]

You know, most times I correct the spelling as he's writing the dictation, but lately I'm more interested in that he keep the thought in his head since that is the basic premise of the program.

 

I always tell my son beforehand to look at any words that may be difficult for him and if he misspells them that that's okay, we can correct them and move on. I give lots more praise for remembering the sentence/phrase than I do for the spelling. I try not to make it so much about spelling since we do a dictation program for spelling already.

 

I have noticed that when I'm relaxed about the spelling, he relaxes as well, and I make comments like "That is okay, that's a difficult word to remember." Or I'll say something like "It's okay baby, it's not really about the spelling, it's more about remembering the sentence." I noticed little things like these can set the tone for the rest of the lesson and lessons to come. And always, I'll say, "Great job on remembering the sentence....or a specific spelling, or a punctuation."

 

Always start off the lesson really positive and end it with praise. Some boys need this more than others.

 

HTH,

 

Dee

 

ps An example. Today my son spelled "ponies" as "pones." I decided not to stop the rest of the dictation since they were two pretty long sentences. He went on to spell everything else correctly and there were words in there that we haven't even touched upon in our spelling. At the end of the dictation, I realized he actually remembered both sentences and only misspelled "ponies" so I took his paper and said, "Wow, you did a great job remembering those two full sentences and you only have one little error." I had him look at the word he misspelled and he instantly said, "Oh, I know, an i goes in there...I was planning to go back, but I didn't want to forget the rest of the sentence." I told him that that was fine, he made the correction, and I told him how pleased I was. We put away the book for the day and he had a smile on his face.

[CoastalGal]

I did praise him for remembering the two sentences and getting them on the paper. (Getting two sentences memorized and on paper is HUGE for us...)

 

I pointed out the spelling errors AFTER praising him and it was then that he got frustrated -- more with himself than with me.

 

One thing he said was, "This is babyish." :001_huh: I don't consider dictation babyish...if anything I wish someone had taught me the WTM way.

 

After thinking about it, I'm wondering if he is struggling because it's different than anything we've done before. :confused:

[RootAnn]

I would do some more dictation practice & go ahead & order Level 3. However, considering how your son reacted to the dictation, I'd consider doing your practice dictation from your studies as part of that subject. Either you or he summarize with one or two sentences something from history or science. Have him repeat it over & over again until he has it straight in his head, then write it himself. Do it at least twice a week until your WWE3 arrives.

 

I have no advice on the spelling front. I have my own issues with that with my dc. Mine ask for help on simple words they already know but are too lazy to think about. :001_huh:

[CoastalGal]

I would do some more dictation practice & go ahead & order Level 3. However, considering how your son reacted to the dictation, I'd consider doing your practice dictation from your studies as part of that subject. Either you or he summarize with one or two sentences something from history or science. Have him repeat it over & over again until he has it straight in his head, then write it himself. Do it at least twice a week until your WWE3 arrives.

 

Thanks!! I think I can do this...WWE 3 is on order from Amazon. :)

 

I have no advice on the spelling front. I have my own issues with that with my dc. Mine ask for help on simple words they already know but are too lazy to think about. :001_huh:

 

Doesn't this make you want to scream!?!? My oldest daughter (17) just finished writing a paper for her CC class...I think she asked me fifteen bazillion times for spelling help. (I know I taught her how to use a dictionary and spell-check.) :banghead:

[robsiew]

I would go with 3 as well. I would echo the idea of practicing dictation though. It's tough, especially for kids who haven't been exposed to it. It's a training of the brain process and takes time.

 

I wonder if your ds **thought** he should be able to do it and was surprised that it was as difficult as it is. (Not that he did badly... I think he did quite well!) It's a new skill and not an easy one. :001_smile: I'd take it slow, but also not back down on the dictation. It works, but you have to stick with it. Also, don't be afraid to repeat sections over and over until he gets it in his head. I make sure my kids know it well before they write it. I do whatever it takes to help them.

 

I watch over my kids as they write and correct the spelling as they go. Mine would rather know as they are writing. In your ds's case I would say... "You might want to look at that word again." as he's writing so he can hopefully fix it on his own.

[CoastalGal]

I would go with 3 as well. I would echo the idea of practicing dictation though. It's tough, especially for kids who haven't been exposed to it. It's a training of the brain process and takes time.

 

I wonder if your ds **thought** he should be able to do it and was surprised that it was as difficult as it is. (Not that he did badly... I think he did quite well!) It's a new skill and not an easy one. :001_smile: I'd take it slow, but also not back down on the dictation. It works, but you have to stick with it. Also, don't be afraid to repeat sections over and over until he gets it in his head. I make sure my kids know it well before they write it. I do whatever it takes to help them.

 

I watch over my kids as they write and correct the spelling as they go. Mine would rather know as they are writing. In your ds's case I would say... "You might want to look at that word again." as he's writing so he can hopefully fix it on his own.

 

Thank you for your thoughts...I think I'm going to try this tomorrow w/ History and/or Science.

 

Do you read a selection more than 2x? (The instructions in WWE said to read the sentences through twice, pausing for commas and pausing longer for periods.

 

However, I noticed that SWB read the selection way more than 2x in her YouTube video where she is doing dictation with her son Daniel.

 

Any advice on how to pick out "good dictation material"??