The Return of the Dictée

According to some, "research shows" that children do not learn to spell by doing spelling tests. I don't believe it. I think that if you want to succeed in anything, practice is essential. In my reading in the field of education, I often come across this recurrent phrase: "the research shows that..." I find it particularly annoying because I rarely see any footnote referring the reading to actual studies that have been conducted in a scientific manner. I would say that it is a fair bet that the students of today have more difficulty with spelling than previous generations. How much more so for students of a second language! Therefore, after much thought, I am bringing back regular, weekly dictées. I've decided to give them every Monday unless otherwise noted. That way, you'll have the weekend to prepare. On Tuesdays, the children will write the new words in their agendas. I will also post the list on my blog.