WWE Dictation Quesiton

[Holly]

I'm a bit confused with how to handle spelling issues during our WWE dictation.  My kids often ask how to spell something.  Do I give them the correct spelling or have them write it to the best of their abilities?  If I hold off, do I have them correct it at the end?  Also, what do you do if they write it incorrectly.  For example today, one of my kids left out "that".  The sentence made sense without it, but it didn't match what they'd been given. 

[Miss Tick]

There are no hard and fast rules here. We do spelling as a separate subject, so outside of that subject I will always answer spelling questions (sometimes with an annoying mini-lecture of whatever rule it relates to. I will also correct spelling mistakes as I see then - as we go or at the end.

What to do about perfectly reasonable, synonymous sentences is more of a gray area. Having my dc repeat the sentence to me before they start writing helps over all success a lot. We still often end up with equivalent sentences rather than exact copies. For a single word or two I will have them caret in the word. Sometimes I just accept the difference, sometimes I catch them and we remediate, sometimes I just point out the equivalence. 

In the end, this skill will be used for holding sentences in their head until they can get them written down. Occasionally they will need exact wording, but more often, no. So I don't stress you much about it. 

[Milknhoney]

I ask dd if there are any words in the sentence she doesn't know how to spell before she starts writing. I'll name some of the words I think she might have a problem with, and she'll say yes or no. If I question her yes, I might have her spell it for me to be sure. Any words that she needs help on, I write out for her at the bottom of the page so she can copy it. I usually do this before she's committed the sentence to memory. I don't want any conversation to lead her to lose the sentence once it is in her head. 

I go for exact wording here, but it is a personal judgement call. As SusanC said, the skill you're trying to develop is for them to keep their thoughts in their head long enough to get it down on paper. When it's their own thought, of course they should have the liberty to change it as they write. But when it's someone else's thought, I feel that it should be copied exactly. But that's just me. Ideally, we should be watching over their shoulder as they write so that we can stop them as soon as they start to make a mistake. But in real life, it's too easy to take the opportunity to run into the kitchen and do some cleanup or start lunch. If a lot of writing follows the mistake, then I have to make an individual judgement call on how much work I'm going to make her go through to correct it.

[desertflower]

I skipped the dictation part in level 1 and 2 i think.  I am one of those who if I wrote it down incorrectly, then that is how I learned it. I am afraid my children will be the same way.

We did dictation in all about spelling. This way they had to write sentences with words that they should know how to spell.

Also, worked on memory by memorizing poems. Also reading books to them helps with learning how to write.

Hth.

[LMD]

Firstly, I have them repeat the sentence back to me out loud before writing.

If they get stuck, I ask them to read back what they've written out loud from the beginning, it usually triggers a reminder.

If they ask for spelling help I'll encourage them to try but will just tell them rather than letting them get too derailed. It's not a spelling test, the point is to hold a phrase in their heads long enough to get it on paper. After they have finished writing, I will ask them to compare to the model and correct spelling if necessary.

I remember in one of SWB's lectures she said that occasional slips (forgetting 'that') or synonyms aren't a huge deal, because again the point is to learn to hold a thought, put into a sentence, long enough to get it on paper. I make sure that the original, verbal, repeat back to me before writing was word-perfect correct, I correct the missed words afterwards but I don't make a big deal about it.

[hollyhock2]

I always help mine with spelling if they ask. If they miss a word, it doesn't bother me as long as the sentence still makes sense. Like the pp said, the point is to hold it in their heads long enough to get it on paper. If the "thought" is there, but not exactly (within reason), I let it go.

[Trelawney]

I often spell things I don't think my kid knows how to spell for them to write at the top of their paper before I dictate the sentence. I have my kid repeat the sentence(s) back to me until they are word perfect. If they miss or substitute a word, it depends. If they drop a "that" and it still makes sense, that's fine. I wouldn't take blue for azure, but I would probably ignore sleep for bed if the sentence was something ling going to bed for the night... 

[JMG221]

I spell the words DD doesnt know on the top of the page and if she is missing or replaces a word that doesn't change the meaning I have her reread the sentence(s) she wrote and tell her to look for what is different from what I said and to fix it. 

[ExcitedMama]

For DS I have him repeat it back before he starts. Sometimes he gets frustrated with a word and asks about it while writing but I tell him to skip it and write out the dictation before he forgets. Then at the end go back and sound it out. I also make sure he reads the whole page over to catch any mistakes. Sometimes it’s perfect and others he leaves something out or puts the wrong thing in. We go over it and I point anything out and we discuss. I want DS to to learn how to work through spelling and dictation on his own so for us this works. He gets stressed about remembering everything so it’s better to skip the word and finish the passage. Then he can sound it out at the end when he has more time to focus. Figure out what works for you both. You can always change it up as he gets more comfortable. I don’t think there’s any “right” way. The whole process is about learning.