Book
Home Education (Home Education Series, Volume 1)
Charlotte M. Mason, Project Gutenberg, eBook 71087, 1886
Read the originalRead on October 17, 2026
- What it is
- The first volume of Charlotte Mason's six-volume Home Education series, which sets out her principles and her methods for teaching children to read, write, spell and compose. Its chapters on transcription and on spelling and dictation are the primary text for her approach to these exercises.
- How much weight it carries
- The original text, in the public domain and read here in the Project Gutenberg edition. It states Mason's own views from the 1880s and 1890s, so it describes her method rather than current classroom practice. Language and examples are of their time.
Facts taken from this source
- Mason described the common practice of dictation as a teacher who dictates clause by clause and underlines the spelling errors, sometimes in red ink, for the children to correct.
“The conscientious teacher draws her pencil under these errors, or solemnly underlines them with red ink” (Chapter XII, A Fertile Cause of Bad Spelling)
- In Mason's dictation lesson, the teacher writes each doubtful word on the blackboard, lets the child look at it until they have a picture, and then rubs the word out.
“These she puts, one by one, on the blackboard, letting the child look till he has a picture, and then rubbing the word out” (Chapter XII, Steps of a Dictation Lesson)
- In Mason's dictation lesson, the teacher is advised to be ready with slips of stamp-paper to cover a wrong word, so that its image may be erased as far as possible.
“it is well worth while for the teacher to be on the watch with slips of stamp-paper to put over the wrong word, that its image may be erased as far as possible” (Chapter XII, Steps of a Dictation Lesson)
- Charlotte Mason wrote that dictation, as commonly practised in schools in her time, was perhaps the most mischievous of the exercises children did at school.
“dictation, as commonly practised, is perhaps the most mischievous” (Chapter XII, Spelling and Dictation)
- In Charlotte Mason's dictation lesson, a child of eight or nine first prepares a paragraph, and older children prepare a page or two or three pages.
“A child of eight or nine prepares a paragraph, older children a page, or two or three pages.” (Chapter XII, Steps of a Dictation Lesson)
- In Mason's dictation lesson, the child prepares alone by looking at each word they are not sure of, and then seeing it with their eyes shut.
“The child prepares by himself, by looking at the word he is not sure of, and then seeing it with his eyes shut” (Chapter XII, Steps of a Dictation Lesson)
- Charlotte Mason wrote that after the preparation of a dictation lesson, which takes ten minutes or less, there is rarely an error in spelling.
“After the sort of preparation I have described, which takes ten minutes or less, there is rarely an error in spelling.” (Chapter XII, Steps of a Dictation Lesson)
- Charlotte Mason wrote that every misspelt word leaves an image in the child's brain that the right spelling does not erase, so the common practice of correcting dictation errors makes bad spellers.
“Every misspelt word is an image in the child’s brain not to be obliterated by the right spelling.” (Chapter XII, Spelling and Dictation: A Fertile Cause of Bad Spelling)
- Charlotte Mason wrote that transcription should be an introduction to spelling, with the child looking at a word and then writing it from memory.
“Transcription should be an introduction to spelling.” (Chapter XI, Transcription)
- Charlotte Mason said the earliest writing practice for children of seven or eight should be transcription, not letter-writing or dictation.
“The earliest practice in writing proper for children of seven or eight should be, not letter-writing or dictation, but transcription, slow and beautiful work” (Chapter XI, Transcription)