El Dictado Made Easy: Your 5-Day Plan for The Most Effective Spanish Spelling Routine

If the word 'dictado' gives you flashback to high school Spanish class, then you're not alone!  But in a bilingual K-1 classroom?  Dictado is the most powerful and effective, low-prep routine that you can use to build word work, phonics, spelling, and listening skills -- every day.

And when it's done right, your students will love it!

But first, would you like a free Spanish center for your K-1 Dual Language or Bilingual Classroom?  If so, click the image, and download it right from my store on Teachers pay Teachers.

El Dictado: What is it and how does it work? 

A lot of teachers avoid Dictados because:

• It sounds old-school
• They're not sure how to scaffold it for early readers
• They think it's just about spelling (it's about way more!)

Here's the truth about El Dictado Trifecta Spanish Phonics Mega Bundle:

El Dictado strengthens the exact skills bilingual students need: decoding, encoding, listening comprehension, and sentence structure.  

You just need the right framework:

1. Digital Dictados (Visual support for young learners with embedded daily plans for you = 0-Prep!) A lot of encoding and listing comprehension happens here.
2. Shared Reading (Lectura Compartida) These are digital + printable when you use the Mega Bundle.  I have a video that will show you the 5-day embedded plan for Shared Reading.  The plan is phenomenal.  Decoding happens here, and with Lecturitas!
3. Illustrated Sentences (Lecturitas). These are also digital and printable with the Mega Bundle.  These are essential because kids can read the sentences for fluency because the sentences are all based on the syllables for that Dictado for that week.
   
   
   

Start Small, Stay Consistent

El Dictado doesn't need to be fancy.  It just needs to be:

• Daily
• Short (no more than 20 minutes)
• Targeted (focus on specific syllables or patterns) 

Here's how I use El Dictado Trifecta with my K-1 Dual Language - Bilingual Students:

I have created a trifecta with the 

1. dictado
2. shared reading 
3. lecturitas.  

Here's my typical Dictado flow in a nut-shell:

Day 1:  Pre-test + mini lesson showing corrections.  Students use special 'papel cuadriculado'

Day 2:  Dictate and show text written correctly, students self-correct.  On this day a lot of work work and phonics practice will happen.

Day 3:  Partner Work:  Partner A dictates as Partner B writes, then reverse the roles

Day 4:  One last quiz for students to check  their skills

Day 5:  Final Dictado 'Test' for the week

Step 1:  El Dictado Routine

I have created and implement a 5-day plan in detail....

Day 1 you as the teacher dictate syllables, or words or a sentence to the class as a pre-test.  Young learners will use 'papel cuadriculado'.  After giving the pre-test, you give a mini-lesson to teach the class what they need to know in order to write the sentence or the words correctly.  

Day 2 you dictate the words or sentences to the kids and let them self-correct using the principles from your mini-lesson from day 1.  Teach them to circle the words in sentences, and the syllables in the words.  

Day 3 you have the kids work in pairs, or with a partner where one student dictates, and the other one writes, then they switch roles.

Day 4 you dictate to the whole class as a last practice test, and on 

Day 5 give your final test.

Teaching words and sentences

If you are teaching sentences, then teach your class to put a space between words, to write using an upper-case letter at the beginning of the sentence, to write with end-marks, and how to spell by recognizing and using 'sílabas directas'.  I have all this spelled out on super simple, projectable slides that are simply project-and-go! Lesson plans are embedded!!  Yay!  That is ZERO PREP for you!

If your class is not quite ready for sentences, I've got you covered!  My Dictado Trifectas are also differentiated!  You can use the slides that are intended for syllables and words only.  These slides have words and illustrations of the words so that your students can learn the meaning of the words as well, increasing their vocabulary.

Both sets of slides teach the same syllables for the same key words.  That way if you have the need to teach 2 different groups in your room, then you are all set!

Step 2:  Teaching Shared Reading or Lectura Compartida

Lectura Compartida also has a 5-day easy to follow plan, is perfect to use right after the Dictado because they go together!  If you're more of a video person, here's a VIDEO that you can check out.

Day 1 is a quick intro to the passage where you use your pre-made anchor chart of the shared reading and simply read it to the class.

On day 2, similar to the Dictado, give the class their own copy of the passage.  I have my class paste the sheet in a spiral notebook so that they can refer to the passages frequently.  Copies come printed in color and black and white in the Mega Bundle.  For extra practice, there is a traceable version for kids as well. 

On the anchor chart you put a dot under each word when you are reading the passage with the class.  Get creative and use Dab-a-Dot or circle stickers.  If you do not have these, simply use a marker.  

On my slides I have moveable pieces that you or a student can place over each word.  If you do not wish to use the slide like this, you do not need to, but the option is there for you. 

Be sure to give the class a few minutes to mark dots under the words on their individual sheets as well.  The purpose of the dots under the words is to help students understand how separate words look on paper as they read, and for young readers to learn to point under the words as they read the text later on.

This is a skill that is perfect to teach in pre-k and kindergarten, and by the middle of 1st grade you need to wean kids off of pointing to the words as they read.

Day 3 of shared reading is circling the syllables.  Again the slides have circles as moveable pieces.  On your anchor chart you can simply circle the syllables to model, or better yet, project the sheet and model more precisely.  Make sure the class does the same with their own words on their sheets.

Day 4 you introduce the song!  Once you have sung the shared reading with the class, teach them to point to each word as you sing.  Repeat on day 5!  This is so much fun, and the kids love it.

Each sheet of shared reading has a suggestion for very well known kid-tunes that you can sing the passage to.

Step 3:  Lecturitas

These are simple illustrated sentences for building fluency using the syllables from the dictado and shared reading.  It all becomes super practical when students can use their new skills to actually read.  It really is like magic!

So as you are teaching new syllables and words, the 'lecturitas' will take those syllables and words and put them into an illustrated context of one sentence.

The kids love this routine because they see themselves reading!  You will love it more because your kids will read, and their levels will move along!

Lecturitas are both printable booklets and digital slides in the Mega Bundle.

Ready to make El Dictado Trifecta part of your daily routine--without reinventing the wheel?

Grab my El Dictado Spanish Phonics Mega Bundle and get full color + black & white print-and-go resources that compliment each other every single day.  You can use the resources for whole-group instruction, small group intervention and even homework and don't forget the amazing centers!!

This trifecta has been the most effective way for me to teach initial literacy skills in Spanish.  I use El Dictado with embedded mini-lessons to teach a skill for the week, then I put that skill into practice with shared reading and Lecturitas!  My students learn quickly with this routine.

I have a bundle of Dictados that teach the syllables in the same way that you would find them taught in an authentic setting.  

Check out my bundle here and save time, effort and money!  Each Dictado has a printable PDF file with bonus material to help you out.  You can download vocab cards and make up games with them like Memory or Go Fish.  You can print the vocab cards double-sided with syllable boxes on one side.  Your students can either write in the syllables or you can teach them how many syllables are in the words using the cards.  I print and laminate my cards for durability.

You have 8.5 x 11 sheets with the vowels printed on them so when you are teaching the vowels you can just post those in your room.  And some of the dictados come with extra-EXTRA bonus black and white printable activities.  

Here is a video to show you more details of El Dictado Trifecta!

Here is a video to show how to put the Shared Reading into action!

Save this pin for later.