Running Dictation

---

The Situation

You want your students to learn new vocabulary.

---

The Solution

Writing definitions down in a workbook can be incredibly boring. Running Dictation is a fun way to get students moving around the room, utilising their short-term memory and interacting positively.

1. Present students with the following slide:

---

---

2. Explain to students that they will be learning some new words. Instead of writing down the words and definitions from the board, they will instead need to collect them.

3. Explain that around the room, you have cut out the definition on a strip of paper. You will need to prepare something like the image below and print the page. Cut the definitions up into individual slips and blue tac them to the wall. If you have a large area, you can be creative about where you place them.

---

---

4. Students work in pairs (Partner A and B). Partner A will stay at the desk with a pen and paper. Partner B will move around the room (No running, just briskly walking) and locate the definitions. Once Partner B has found a definition, he or she will need to memorise the sentence, return to their partner and recite the definition. If they are unable to remember the definition, they need to go back and remind themselves. This process continues until Partner A has recorded word for word what Partner B has stated about the definition.

5. Inform students that they cannot

• take their workbooks up to the definition.
• take take photos of the definitions.

6. Students need to rely solely on their memory to get the definitions down on paper.

7. Once students have completed this task (Give them 5 minutes to do so), complete a call and answer to check for understanding. Check any misconceptions that students might have and connect with their prior knowledge.