This is from my ANATS book for Loly who is working with dictée in her classes this week:
Dictée: This is a powerful metacognitive tool that helps students attempt to match up the sounds of the language with what they can write. Again, we do not get a lot of language gains with this activity, but it has three huge benefits that I have noticed ever since introducing it into my classroom instruction fifteen years ago: (1) it gets the students into another part of their brain, (2) it quiets down a classroom almost instantly, and (3) the students enjoy it.
Students write in absolute silence. I end the activity if even one child speaks one word and you will see why if you don’t already do that yourself. The activity doesn’t work unless it is done in absolute silence from beginning to end.
On line 1 of the lined paper in their composition books I read chunks of sentences and give the students time to write each chunk. I read each sentence chunk three times. The first time I read at a normal pace and they listen. The second time I read it slowly as they write. The third time I read at a normal pace while they look over what they have written. I do not read it a fourth time. You will learn how to pace this.
Next, I reveal to the students the correct version of the (hidden) projected text, phrase-by-phrase, or chunk-by-chunk, and not sentence-by-sentence, which is too complex. They look at each chunk as it is revealed and make their corrections on line 2, bringing down onto line 2 any corrections of the text only if any are needed.
An option is to require that they copy the entire correct text on line 2. I grade both lines, whatever is correct from line 1 as well as any corrections made on line 2. In this way, the students are graded on what is correct, and not on what is wrong. They are graded on how well they can copy!
Line 3 can be used in two ways. I just use it as a blank line space to make everything clearer and easier to read, but another option is to have them write the English translation on that third line.
The dictated sentences don’t have to align perfectly with the story passage. In fact, small changes force deeper thinking by the students, and allow you to perhaps introduce a bit of new vocabulary. Just have any such changes in the text done before you begin this activity.
Dictée is one of the great ways to hit the reset button in a class, and that is why I use it often, up to two times per week, whenever needed. A dictée should last from about ten to no more than fifteen minutes each time.