Preparing a dictation and improving spelling
A dictation is prepared over the week, not the night before. KAÏDO, a screen-free voice companion, helps children aged 6 to 11 (CP to CM2) learn their words and practise: it dictates, the child writes in their notebook, and when a mistake happens KAÏDO guides them to the rule, without ever giving the correct spelling.
A dictation is won during the week
Revising a word list the night before means forgetting it two days later. A dictation is prepared in small touches: a few words each evening, a mid-week practice, a light review the day before. The trouble is you need someone to dictate, and that is not always possible.
KAÏDO plays that role as many times as needed, without tiring or losing patience. It dictates the week’s words, the child writes them in their notebook, and the sphere supports them at their own pace, one evening after another.
How KAÏDO works on a dictation
1
KAÏDO dictates, the child writes
One press on the sphere, and KAÏDO dictates the week’s words, one by one, in a calm voice. The child spells or writes them in their notebook: the pen stays in their hand.
2
On a mistake, KAÏDO guides to the rule
KAÏDO does not give the correct spelling. It steers: “this word ends with the [o] sound: are you thinking eau, au or o? Remember the rule”. The child corrects themselves.
3
They rediscover the pattern, the light confirms
When the child applies the rule and fixes their word, the sides of the sphere light up. It is not one more word learnt by heart: it is a pattern that will serve for ten other words.
Patterns, rather than rote learning
French spelling looks full of exceptions, but it is full of patterns: the sounds of the letter s, the plural of nouns, past-participle agreement. KAÏDO gets the child to look for the rule behind the word, so they spell by reasoning, not by memory alone.
- Learning the week’s words: spelling them, writing them, reviewing them spaced over time.
- Being dictated to at will: as many rounds as needed, without wearing anyone out.
- Finding the rule on a mistake: complex sounds, agreements, homophones.
- Spotting patterns: one rule understood beats ten words memorised in isolation.
Not the letter fed in. The rule rediscovered.
And you, you delegate the dictation
You no longer have to dictate the same list for the third time while dinner burns. KAÏDO takes over, and the parent app gives you a weekly picture: the words worked on, the rules still causing trouble. Not a mistake log: just enough to know whether Friday's dictation is ready.
The level of guidance adjusts from the app: more hints on a new rule, fewer once it is mastered. Never the correct spelling handed over directly. KAÏDO is designed in France, screen-free, with GDPR-compliant data that is never sold or used for advertising.
Your questions about dictation and spelling
How can we prepare a dictation without spending an hour the night before?
By spreading it over the week. KAÏDO dictates a few words each evening, the child writes in their notebook, and the review the day before becomes light. Five minutes a day beats one long last-minute session.
Does KAÏDO give the correct spelling if my child makes a mistake?
No, never. It points to the sound or rule at play and asks a question (“this plural, how do you hear it?”) so the child finds the correct spelling themselves. From the app, you set the level of hints, never as far as the answer.
My child learns their words but forgets them in the dictation. Why?
Often because they are memorised in isolation. KAÏDO gets the child to look for the pattern behind the word: a rule understood is reused, a word learnt by heart is forgotten. It also reviews words in a spaced way to anchor memory.
Do we need a screen to be dictated the words?
No. KAÏDO dictates by voice, the child writes in their notebook with their pen. Everything happens aloud and on paper: no screen, all attention on the writing.
A dictation prepared, without the evening chore.
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€49 with 3 months of KAÏDO+ included