Sentence Dictation

Students must transfer knowledge from writing words in isolation to writing words in sentences. How often have you seen children spell a word correctly on a spelling test and then misspell it 5 minutes later when writing?  Here are some tips to remember:

• Again, DIFFERENTIATE! Some students may need word lines with dictation. Some students can just write sentences, paragraphs, and essays! We are giving them the tools they need to help them be successful. Give them what they need and pull back as they are becoming more independent.
• CUPS+Expansion:  Remember to teach this important self-editing step.  Capitalize the beginning of the sentence and proper nouns. Be sure you can understand the sentence. Is it neat? Does it make sense? Is there proper usage? Place correct punctuation at the end of your sentence. Spell the words correctly. Then have students expand the sentence such as adding a prepositional phrase or adjective to the sentence. 
• Rewrite the sentence.  Use CUPS+ again to be sure all the corrections were made!
• Reread the sentence for automaticity and fluency.  Again, students should be able to read fluently without having to sound out every single word.  

Practice, Practice, Practice! Practice writing sentences as often as possible. You can have a writing center where they are practicing the steps to sentence dictation. Record your sentences. Then, have students listen and do the steps without you!