RUN, READ, DICTATE!

RUN, READ, DICTATE

Age level: children and teenagers

Proficiency level: basic and low intermediate

Objective: To practice reading, speaking, and writing in a kinesthetic, fun manner

Materials: two sets of slips with the words, sentences, parts of a sotry, or dialog lines for a dictation

 Prepare two sets with the same number of slips. You can practice vocabulary items, simple sentences, or more complex dialog lines. It also works if you cut a short text into smaller segments. Here are some examples: 

Vocabulary (very basic)

1 - refrigerator                                  2 - couch

3 - bedroom                                     4 - bathroom

5 - living room                                  6 - kitchen

A dialog

1 - Hello. How can I help you?         2 - Yes. I'm looking for jeans.

3 - What size do you wear?              4 - I'm not sure. Maybe 30...

5 - Let's see... I think a 32 will do.    6 - OK. Let's try them on.
      

....

A story

1 - It was a dark, stormy night. Jeffrey and Paola were driving through a deserted road.

2 - They were having an argument because Paola didn't like to travel at night.

3 - Suddenly, the car started making funny noises until it stopped completely.

4 - Jeffrey tried to start it many times, with no success. 

.....

 1) Place the odd-numbered slips on one side of the classroom and the even-numbered ones on the opposite side.

Pair students up. Decide which student in each pair is going to read the odd-numbered and the even-numbered sentences. Tell tehm to get a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. Odd number students stand up, run to their side of the classroom, read the first slip, run back to their seat and dictate what they read. As soon as the even number student finishes writing, they run to the other side, read the first slip on that wall, run back and dictate what they've read. This goes on until everybody has finished, but the first pair to finish and get everything right is the winner. 

VARIATION: If you choose to work with a text or story, you can leave the ending out and ask the pairs to come up with an interesting, intriguing ending to it. They tell the group what they came up with.

Earthquake!

Age - Teens and older

Proficiency level - Low intermediate and above

Objective - To practice asking questions in the past continuous

Materials - slips with clues for students to mime

You will need to make slips with clues (subject/verb). The funnier, more unusual the verbs you choose, the more challenging and interesting the activity. Some examples: you/count your money; your parents/snore; your baby sister/play with the dog; you and I/fight; our teacher/take a nap in class;etc.

1) Pair students up.

2) Stick the slips to their backs. Students cannot see their slips.

3) Set the scenario. "Yesterday at around 6 p.m. there was a big earthquake in (your city). You were really scared and traumatized. As a result, you had a temporary memory loss and can't remember what was happening when the earthquake happened. Your friend, however, lost the ability to speak but not his/her memory, so he/she will try to help you by miming the activity you and others were involved in. As questions to find out what these activities were."

4) Model the questions on the board: "Was I.....?"; "Were my friends....?"; "Was my sister....?"; etc.

5) Students take turns miming the activity described on their peer's slip. They also have to indicate who was performing that activity. No words, just miming!!!!

Erase and win!

Age level: Children and Teens

Proficiency level: any

Material: slips with the tasks you want your students to perform (two sets); board markers; tissue paper to serve as eraser

Objective: To practice a grammar topic, vocabulary, reading comprehension, etc.

Divide the class into two groups. Give each student a piece of tissue paper to erase the board. Divide the board into two parts and draw a square in each part. Inside the square, draw any shape you want (a heart, a flower, a circle, anything). The shapes and squares have to be as similar as possible. Number the members of each group and seat them in a semi-circle facing the board.

1                       8                              1                       8

  2                   7                                 2                   7  

     3            6                                         3            6

         4    5                                                  4    5

Give each group a slip with the same task and ask them to discuss and agree on an answer. When they are done, call a number. Both students with that number have to run to the board, erase the shape inside the square (without leaving any mark and without erasing the square) and go back to their seat. The one who sits first gets to give the group answer, this time without any help from the peers. Give the group a point for each correct answer.

Contribution made by Lisel Fleury, from Brasília, Brazil.