My very first memory of writing was of dictating thank you notes. I talked, and my mother wrote down my exact words. Writing – even holding a pencil – was an excruciating process when I was young.
Dictation didn’t end there. In first grade I wrote a series of ~16 books, all about Leo the Lion and his friend George, all dictated. I was dreadfully proud of them. I told the stories that were burning in my heart, colored pictures above the text and was introduced to the joy of writing. Sometimes I copied out the adult’s printed words in my own handwriting (and later these were typed out into finished books), but most of these books I “wrote” before I learned to read. My teacher understood that the most important thing about writing was expression.
I’ve used dictation with my own kids since they were two. I use dictation the most to help my kids express their intense feelings when they are mad or crying (more in “Take Dictation from your Tot” in my book “It’s OK Not to Share…”) It works like a charm. Even in the midst of a temper tantrum, my son will stop screaming and come help me get the right words down on paper. (His latest dictated note: “I’m so mad I want to throw a house, a trash can, 30 cars and a hundred million gardens….”) Writing is important to him because he understands words have power; writing helps him express his deepest feelings.
A friend recently pointed out a beautiful blog post that sings the glories of dictation when teaching kids to write. I don’t see dictation used much these days. Why not? We seem to rush into letter recognition and that excruciating-holding-the-pencil process.
Adult writers still struggle to “find their voice” – that all important aspect of good writing. But kids can start out with their unique voice. I’d like to see kindergarten, first and second grade classes filled with children dictating their most fanciful stories and innermost thoughts. That’s fundamentally the most important part of writing: expression. That’s joyful literacy.
Have you ever used dictation in school or at home? Why do you think this tool is so powerful?
