I am so excited about two words we don't hear used often in the modern education system. They are copywork and dictation. I had a bit of experience with dictation when I was a child-student. We were "co-op-ing" and an elderly German woman named Detta Drake was teaching German to 6 or 7 of us, ages 11 to 14. She had us take dictation of German nursery rhymes. It was all very exciting- first, because the nursery rhymes were so bloody and violent, I couldn't believe Germans actually read them to their small children, and second, because she seemed to expect us to be able to write every word she read in a language we could neither speak nor understand. Our parents had never asked this of us, so even if it had been in English we would have failed. And fail we did, when later she asked us to take dictation in our Greek mythology class. Success was so completely out of our reach that I just enjoyed the newness of this strange and demanding method of Frau Drake. Were there actually kids who could do this? Yes there were and there are. The people who have mastered this discipline are excellent note takers, and spellers. They are the people who can impress us all by quoting literary classics relevent to the moment. I am not one of those people, so I plan to join my children on this journey of copywork and dictation.
Copywork:
"Copywork is the method used to teach and give practice in handwriting skills. As the child carefully copies a noble poem, a Scripture passage, an inspirational quotation, or the lyrics to a hymn, he also absorbs grammar and punctuation rules. Copywork lessons should be short with an emphasis on giving one’s best effort rather than hurrying to fill the paper with words. Keep a child’s copywork in a dedicated notebook, journal, or tablet. You’ll be amazed at how much the child’s handwriting improves over time with short, concentrated effort every day or so. Once your student has mastered the mechanics of handwriting, he can begin doing transcription. In copywork the student copies letter for letter; in transcription the student looks at the word, writes it from memory, then immediately checks his spelling. Transcription is great preparation for dictation lessons."
Dictation:
"Dictation is the method used to teach spelling and reinforce grammar and composition skills to students. For a dictation exercise, give the child a copy of a selected passage and instruct the child to study the passage until he is sure of the spelling of all the words and knows of all the capitalization and punctuation. When the child is ready, dictate the passage one line or sentence at a time, saying each line or sentence only once and pausing while the child writes it. Be on the alert to catch any misspelling and correct it immediately. Start with short passages for younger children and progress to paragraphs and pages for older children. started using dictation exercises with children around the third or fourth grades."
I am going to use traditional dictation (the method described above) for Samuel who is in 7th grade. Samson, who is in 5th grade, will also do traditional dictation work, but I will ease him into it by first having him do something I am calling fill in the blank dictation. After doing the copywork on a passage, I will give him the same passage written in my hand or typed, but difficult words, or words I want him to practice spelling, will be omitted (left blank). As I read, he will have to read along with me. When he comes to a space that has been left blank then he will have to fill it in with the correct spelling. After this we will follow the traditional method in the same lesson. Joshua (4th grade) and Imana (2nd grade) will do fill in the blank dictation. One day a week I will have Joshua do the traditional dictation practice with 3-5 sentences.
Google Charlotte Mason for more information about traditional education practices. I am sure there are many websites dedicated to her methods. Almost every homeschool website mentions her and her techniques. Another website is http://simplycharlottemason.com
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