Child's bad attitude towards prepared dictation

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  • March 24, 2011 at 11:51 pm
    Sue
    Participant

    I am rather frustrated because of the difficulties I’m having with 12yo dd over prepared dictation.  She keeps insisting that “prepared dictation doesn’t work for learning to spell” (with a sassy tone in her voice), and she does not want to put more than two or three minutes into actual preparation before I dictate to her.  She tells me (again, in a nasty tone) that she has known these words for several years, yet when she does not spend time studying, she does misspell several words.  Today, I told her to sit and study the passage (a portion of the Declaration of Independence) for a longer period of time–about 7 to 10 minutes–and she only misspelled one or two words.  This is typical:  when she insists that 2 minutes of study is enough, she misses 10 or more words in a passage.

    I recall trying to explain to her why we use prepared dictation, but she doesn’t want to revisit that.  In previous years, she had a spelling workbook with a list of 20-25 words that were studied Monday through Thursday and tested on Friday.  She always did well on those tests but didn’t necessarily retain the words.  When we do prepared dictation, she constantly interrupts and talks/complains while writing.  She does not allow me to cover up misspelled words as we go along…..she doesn’t even want me to watch as she writes.  Afterward, when I do point out the words she needs to work on, I usually underline them on the original and blot out the words on her copy….which she complains and argues about!

    I’m at my wit’s end.  Today, she was so intolerable that when we finished, I made her copy the passage three times as a consequence for her behavior (twice for the bad attitude and sassing during dictation, then once more for pitching a fit–a 15-minute fit–over having to copy it.)  Later, she apologized and finished the three copies, but I don’t want to keep having dictation sessions like this.  Any suggestions?  Anyone?

    Thanks, Sue

    March 25, 2011 at 12:08 am
    Scherger5
    Participant

    Sue~

    So sorry you had a tough day; 12 year olds can be rather unpleasant at times.  I don’t know if a different approach will help with your daughter’s attitude, but it might be worth a try.  This is how we do dictation at our house.  My daughter is 13 (almost 14) and is in the middle of book 3.  Every week, I give her just one passage, because they are kind of long.  She uses the passage as her copywork for two days, and then on Friday, I dictate a portion of the passage to her.  I choose what part to dictate and it usually amounts to three or four sentences.  

    As for sassing during dictation, I would stop everytime she starts to do it and make her begin the dictation again.  If the attitude continues, I would find some nice baseboards for her to scrub Wink.  

    Blessings, 

    ~Heather 

     

    March 25, 2011 at 12:14 am
    Sue
    Participant

    I do have a wall that needs some special attention….thanks, Heather!  Maybe the option to work on it as copywork first would make it seem more like what she was used to before.

    March 25, 2011 at 1:46 am
    Sonya Shafer
    Moderator

    You might try doing a little “pre-testing” before you dictate. When she says she’s “ready,” select a word or two that you think might give her some challenge and ask her how that word is spelled. If she can spell the challenging words correctly, you move ahead and do the dictation. If she misses one or more, both you and she knows that she needs to study it more and you haven’t “wasted time” doing the whole dictation to discover that fact.

    If she fusses about the pre-testing, you’ll have pretty clean baseboards. Wink

    March 25, 2011 at 2:05 am
    simple home
    Member

    I am just going to throw out a couple of positive suggestions. I have an 11 year old that does not spell well, and I have found it is just not his strength and probably will be something he struggles with. My husband is extremely smart and successful in his work, but he is a terrible speller. :). I, however, am a pretty good speller. It comes natural to me to retain the word. Anyway, I am just saying all this to suggest that you might want to sit down with your daughter (not during school, a relaxed way) and talk about ways that she and you can work together to help her improve. Let her know that you understand her frustrations, but of course a bad attitude will not be tolerated. Then go over a couple of fun incentives for working extra hard to do the dictation right.

    I have heard of some moms doing a token system, where one can earn tokens for doing the job right and improving on a skill. The tokens could be used for buying new books that she enjoys. Or something else that is kinda educational but fun! I am not big on rewarding for school and chores, I believe the reward should be the learning itself. But sometimes extra encouragement is needed, and what better way to encourage than rewarding with a good book to read. It seems like a win-win.

    Just a suggestion though! Sorry for your rough day. I hope you have a better one tomorrow!

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