Wall Dictation

Level: All

Age: 8-9 years old (Third or fourth grade)

Organization: groups

Aims: To read, dictate and write missing words in a text; to collaborate and take turns in groups; to use communication strategies appropriately.

Language focus: The verb to be, have got, present simple, transports, adjectives of size, Where are they?

Materials: Essential: short texts on coloured card (one for each group) (write the names of the transports in brackets on the example below are for reference only; they should not appear on the texts.) / Optional: pictures witch match the texts.

Procedure

1. Divide the class into groups of 4-6.

2. Assign a coloured card with a text to each group.

3. Stick the cards on the classroom walls away from where the groups are sitting.

4. Explain that the objective of the activity is for the groups to get the text from the card on the wall into their notebooks as fast as they can. Explain and demonstrate that one person from each group should go to their text, read and remember one or more sentence and then go back and dictate it to the rest of the group. Point out that the rest of the group can ask any questions they like, e.g. Can you repeat that please? How do you spell “wheels”?

5. Whenever you say Change! the person who is dictating must immediately sit down and another member of the group takes over.

6. While they are dictating, children leave a gap in the text in their notebooks which they can complete later. Once they have finished, ask the groups to take their text off the wall, compare it to what they have written and correct any spelling or other mistakes. If you have pictures which match the texts, stick these on the board. Ask the groups to read their text again and identify the description they have got: (Answers: 1A 2D 3B 4C)

A B C D

Comments and suggestions

• As a follow-up, children can work in different groups and play a guessing game, e.g. Has your transport got wheels?

• Wall dictations integrate listening, speaking, reading and writing skills and help develop children’s memory. They also provide a framework for encouraging children to collaborate, listen to each other and take turns.

• Children generally enjoy the physical movement during the activity. However, for safety reasons you need to ensure that there is nothing to trip over and that children do not run.

• It is usually a good idea to have different texts for each group so that they cannot listen in and copy each other. The texts can either be related to the same topic, as with transports, or they can be separate paragraphs from a longer text or story. In this case, children from different groups can then work together to decide on the best order of their paragraphs to make the complete text.

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