Title – Dictations, Please!

By – Joan M. Diez

Subject – Language Arts

Grade Level – Grades: 3 – 5

Subject Area(s): reading, writing

General Topic(s) or Theme(s):

– Listening Comprehension

– Spelling

– Dictation

– Vocabulary Acquisition

Objectives:

To improve the kids’ listening comprehension and spelling abilities.

Materials:

– The text/s you want to dictate.

Introductory questions to stimulate discussion:

1. Do you make many spelling mistakes?

2. Are you reading enough?

3. Can you understand what you read?

4. Are you a good listener?

5. Can you remember a long string of words? (Check with your own examples!)

Introduction Activity:

Ask the kids for their favorite words. Let them write sentences with them for a few minutes. Kids could read their sentences out and aloud while someone copies them on the blackboard. Check meaning and spelling.

Body:

In general, students are not particularly fond of dictations. However, you may wish to give them one now and again to improve their spelling, their vocabulary range or their listening abilities. Dictations are useful. Try this teaching activity for a dictation with a difference!

To begin with, it is a good idea to choose a text which sounds familiar to students (e.g. one you have dealt with over the past few weeks.) Your text should not be too long, as dictations require concentration and can be a bit stressing. And it would be nice if you read the text to your students -at normal speed- before actually dictating it: this will improve their comprehension and will have a direct effect on their performance. When you proceed to dictate the text, do not dictate word by word but choose short meaningful bits instead: John lives – in a beautiful house – in Oxford. It often helps if you care to read the whole text again at normal speed when the dictation has been completed, as this gives students a chance to check their work before you mark it. Should your students be over-anxious about their marks, let them find the mistakes themselves (after all, we are talking about teaching, not testing.)

If you already follow the above suggestions and keep getting hair-raising results, here are a few more tips:

Let your students have the transcription of the dictation handy, so they can have a look at the text if necessary. Before the dictation begins, ask the class to write the following in a corner of their sheets: A/B/C. Read the following and explain:

During the course of the dictation, students will be allowed to check the original text -for a maximum of 5 times- if they get lost or want to check the spelling of a particular word PROVIDED they tick (X) under “A” BEFORE doing so. Emphasize that they should be honest. When the dictation has been finished, the students count the number of ticks and write it under “A” (e.g. 3). They should write the number of mistakes under “B” (e.g. 5) and the sum of both numbers under “C” (8 in this example.) We could say that students whose amount expressed under C is 10% or lower of the total number of words in the dictation have done a good job (9 would be the passmark for a text of about 90 words.) In this way, your students will no doubt overcome their fears and, with practice, they will improve their talents, which is what we all want. After some time you may lower the percentage of the passmark and, if all goes well, you will be giving exciting dictations on new topics before long!

Conclusion Activity:

Think hard for a minute and write your longest sentence EVER. Make sure it makes sense and that it is spelt correctly! Write it on the blackboard for everybody to see.

Vocabulary Terms:

– Anything goes, depending on students’ needs and interests.

Evaluation Activity:

Keep your dictations handy and see how you improve your spelling with time!

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Joan

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