Dictation for dd..

[stephanie]

I know I've been posting frequently since my dd's test results so please bare with me. I've decided to hold off on our Grammar, formally, to work on reading and phonics. I am using WWE 2 with her which has been good for her. We did WWE 1 last year, and she did great. However, in level 2 there is dictation now. She isn't able to do the dictation exercise from the day 2 copywork though. The words are too hard for her to spell, and honestly, it's just too much for her right now. She's overwhelmed. So my question is should I continue with dictation, using only sentences with words she can spell, or should I stop dictation altogether until she's reading and spelling better? We use Sequential Spelling so I was thinking about using some of her words from her list to come up with a dictation. So....what do y'all think? Again.
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[Dobela]

If she is overwhelmed, stop. Increasing frustration levels does not increase learning from our experience. After her reading improves, come back to it.

[NCW]

I'm not familiar with the writing program you're using, but a nice stepping stone to dictation is to give her the sentence printed with a few blank spaces. Just read it to her as you normally would, and expect her to fill in blanks that you've strategically chosen for her to be successful with. It'll boost her confidence, and you'll feel like you're making progress (even if it's very s l o w toward your goal).

NCW

[siloam]

I know I've been posting frequently since my dd's test results so please bare with me. I've decided to hold off on our Grammar, formally, to work on reading and phonics. I am using WWE 2 with her which has been good for her. We did WWE 1 last year, and she did great. However, in level 2 there is dictation now. She isn't able to do the dictation exercise from the day 2 copywork though. The words are too hard for her to spell, and honestly, it's just too much for her right now. She's overwhelmed. So my question is should I continue with dictation, using only sentences with words she can spell, or should I stop dictation altogether until she's reading and spelling better? We use Sequential Spelling so I was thinking about using some of her words from her list to come up with a dictation. So....what do y'all think? Again.
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Steph,

I still do the dictation, I just give them the spelling any time I see them hesitate. I often don't even wait for them to ask for help, but give them the next letter as soon as I see them pause as long as I know it is a word that they would struggle with. If it is a word they should know I wait and let them try to puzzle it out.

Heather

[Laurie4b]

I know I've been posting frequently since my dd's test results so please bare with me. I've decided to hold off on our Grammar, formally, to work on reading and phonics. I am using WWE 2 with her which has been good for her. We did WWE 1 last year, and she did great. However, in level 2 there is dictation now. She isn't able to do the dictation exercise from the day 2 copywork though. The words are too hard for her to spell, and honestly, it's just too much for her right now. She's overwhelmed. So my question is should I continue with dictation, using only sentences with words she can spell, or should I stop dictation altogether until she's reading and spelling better? We use Sequential Spelling so I was thinking about using some of her words from her list to come up with a dictation. So....what do y'all think? Again.
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There are two major types/reasons for dictation:

1) Dictation that gives children an "ear" for good writing. For this type of dictation, the suggestion you've already gotten for giving the dictation selection with strategic blanks is excellent.
2) Dictation that requires a child with LD's to process capitalization, punctuation, spelling, handwriting, spacing, etc. without the added burden of thinking up the content. For this type of dictation, use words drawn from the spelling that she's working on plus some "most common words" (The, are, were, etc. Many common words are irregular. Just introduce a few at a time until they're mastered.) Only focus on one or two "mechanics" issues like a capital at the beginning and a period at the end. Wait a while to introduce a question in your dictation. This type of dictation is better made up yourself, so that you can incorporate yesterday's mistakes until they are tomorrow's successes.