Jayden can often be found with a marker in hand, drawing the final details on her princesses and ready to begin a dictation of her latest story. What she doesn't know is that story dictation, when a child tells a story and an adult writes down the child’s words, exactly as the child has is a fundamental part of her literacy development. Less obvious, but much more important is that the very act of dictating a story gives a child the gift of the teacher’s full attention, helping to build a secure and trusting relationship between teacher and child.
Think about a typical school day. Most early literacy activities take place in groups. Picture books are read aloud to groups of children during story time. Groups of children are encouraged to play letter games. But during story dictation, children enjoy and truly benefit from the one one one attention of a teacher, which provides an unusually supportive setting where children are more likely to express themselves, think creatively, and try out new words and ideas. When adults listen attentively to what a child says and shows her respect for his words by carefully writing them down (even when the words aren't the ones we as adults would have chosen.)
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