10:00 - 10:30 am: MATH QUIZ OR DAILY DICTATION
In 2G, the 10:00 - 10:30 am time slot is devoted to whole- or split-class instruction. The “quizzes” alternate: Math (see earlier blog post) and Daily Dictation (today).
If 2G is running a little “hot” they may get two Daily Dictations in a row, the easier to bring everyone back to the Just Right for Learning brain gear!
These “quizzes” are really… shhhh!… targeted instruction in disguise!
NOT YOUR OLD FRENCH TEACHER'S DICTATION
As a lad in an English boarding school, I was required to take French. And French dictation exercises were akin to having one’s fingernails pulled.
In 2G, all fingernails remain firmly attached.
• Divide and… Instruct!
Ms. Erin and I each dictate daily. Our groups are always random, chosen by our trusty Bucket of Randomness. Random big/small groups and random pairs adds a charge that promotes attention and engagement.
If I’m always with my BFF I might get a bit lazy and goofy, but if I’m with, “Him!” or “Her!” the brain turns over a little faster.
• Sentences
Our go-to sentences for dictation are those from our Explode the Code phonics series.
(I once had a parent who thought Explode the Code was a computer-coding series. He was THRILLED that his 7-year-old was learning to code! Alas, the “code” is the English-language code, and this book series helps children quickly and efficiently decode English words!)
(Perhaps the series should have been titled, Explode De Code.)
Recently, I’ve added sentences from the Magic Tree House series. When words like “dragon” or “ninja” are in sentences students are KEEN to write!
In my 1/2-class Daily Dictation group today, sentences came from Afternoon in the Amazon.
• Essential Processes
Essential processes are easy for adults because… they’ve done them so many times it’s now second nature. But essential processes need CONSTANT reinforcement in 2G:
Ensure holes AND red line need to be on the LEFT
Spell “Daily Dictation” correctly (daily)
Write name in TOP RIGHT corner
Know the date
Write the date in the TOP LEFT corner
Only write the number 1 to the LEFT of the red line: if we have a long sentence, writing may go into your pre-written #2
• “She was peeking out of the treehouse window.”
After students write a sentence, I stop and we review spelling. Nothing like striking when the did-I-spell-it-right? iron is hot and language-arts interest at a feverish peak!
(When students spell words right right they often cheer, raise their arms and shout, “I KNEW it!" — even when they didn’t write what they knew!)
How doe you spell she? Capitalized?
Peek or peak? What’s another common way to get the long e sound?
In peeking, what is the root word? what’s the ending?
How do you spell out? Can you spell about? How about spout?
How do you spell house? Can you now spell mouse? louse? spouse?
How many syllables in window? How do you get the long o sound at the end of window?
• “He pulled out the rainforest book.”
How do you spell pull? How about full?
What about “full” at the end of a word like care-ful?
In English, how do you usually get the /d/ sound at the end of a word like pulled?
Review: How do you usually get the /r/ sound at the end of a word like center? batter? better?
Long a sound in rain? What are the other two ways? Do we find -ay in the middle of words (e.g., rayn)?
Forest: one R or two?
How do you spell book? look? took? rook? cook?
• “They ran past the hanging vines and mosses.”
Pass or past? What’s the difference in sound and meaning?
Can you spell fast? last? blast?
Hanging: root word? ending?
Review: What’s the FLOSS RULE? — loss, toss, stuff, fluff, pull, full — two consonants follow short vowel
So how to spell moss? mosses?
Always: first letter capitalized? punctuation at end?
• “She pointed to a big log rocking at the edge of the river.”
I takes a while to build up to longish sentences, but 2G is there now!
You can all read point, but can you spell it? Use your eyes!
How might you spell joint?
You can all read edge, use your eyes to spell
In English, the /ej/ sound is sometimes -edge as in edge and ledge
The /uj/ sound is sometimes –udge as in budge, budget, judge and fudge
• Daily Dictation can be fun… and competitive
2G enjoys Daily Dictation, and the time flies.
Afterwards, when the randomly split-class groups mingle, we hear…
How many sentences did you do?
We did nine!
Our sentences were longer than yours!
We got bonus points in our group!
We don’t didn’t do bonus points, it takes up too much time!
HOW DO YOU SPELL TIGGER (WINNIE-THE-POOH)?
By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40335855
The deeper question: How well do you know your Winnie-the-Pooh?
• Ray’s sharing today
As Wikipedia attests:
Tigger never refers to himself as a tiger, but as a "Tigger".
When Tigger introduces himself, he often says the proper way to spell his name and that is "T-I-double-Guh-Er", which spells "Tigger".