Dictation disaster

[Friederike in Persia]

I read recently on here, that you're meant to tell them a whole sentence at once, when doing dictation. When trying this with some rather long C.S. Lewis sentences we got so stuck on "learning" the sentence, that it didn't seem to be about spelling any more. Is this really what some of you're doing? Or do you break the sentences into more managable bits?

[ELaurie]

How old is your dc? I am just beginning dictation this year with my 8 yo ds who is a reluctant writer. I am dictating very short, simple sentences that are easy to remember such as "The kite was lost in the tree."
This way, he can focus on the mechanics of penmanship, spelling and use of punctuation, rather than trying to remember longer sentences. If your dc is older, however, it might be reasonable to expect more.

[dangermom]

When I dictate, I read the whole selection out loud to start, then the sentence, and then I break the sentence up into sections.

[Patricia in WA]

I try not to pick sentences that require alot of explaining. If they are lost before they even begin writing then I know I have lost them. With my oldest I tried funny things, or very descriptive things. With my middle child it was always some kind of information he was interested in. I did not want to make this into drudgery. Now they copy poems and we occassionaly work on dictation. I am just beginning this process with the youngest but just a few words at a time.

HTHs,

[LindaOz]

I think it depends on the child and the complexity of the sentence. In a longer and more complex sentence I would break it up into phrases.