Walking Dictations

Write some numbered target sentences on strips of paper and blu-tack them around the classroom. Divide the children up into pairs and appoint a dictator and a secretary in each pair. On the board write a number followed by a blank space for each sentence and get the secretaries to copy this in their notebooks. Next, the dictator of each pair has to stand up and walk over to one of the strips (they should be spread all over the room or even outside in the corridor) and try to memorise the sentence (or part of it!) and its number. The dictator then returns to the secretary and says ‘Number 3. The library is …’ which the secretary writes in the space prepared for sentence 3. Once the secretary has completed half the sentences, he/she switches roles with the dictator.