This is pretty much a simple dictation race with a slight twist. One student starts as the "reporter" and the other student is the "writer." However, to make things more interesting, the sentences are numbered, then shuffled and hung around the classroom for students to find. I have included the sentences I used with my JHS 1st and 3rd years, but you can make your own sentences to practice any grammar or vocabulary, and to suit any level.
Preparation:
1) Print off one copy of the sentences. Cut each sentence into its own strip.
2) Either before class or while students are doing something else, hang the 10 sentences around the room in random order. I try to put them in places that aren't too tricky to find, but make students really have to move around the room.
3) Get the students into partners and give each pair one answer sheet.
How to play:
1) Students decide who will be the first reporter and who will be the writer.
2) When the activity begins reporter 1 will go around the classroom looking for sentences 1-5.
3) When they find a sentence, they will read it, memorize as much as they can, then dictate the sentence to the writer.
4) The writer stays in their desk and writes down the sentence in the corresponding spot.
5) After a team has written down all five sentences, they must go to one of the teachers to have their sheet checked and they must correct any mistakes before moving on.
6) When they have everything correct and checked, partners switch roles and do the same for sentences 6-10.
First team to finish wins.
Rules:
-Writers must stay in their desks.
-Reporters must go to the writer's desk to tell them the sentence, no yelling across the room.
-Reporters can spell words for the writers, and can go back and forth between sentences as many times as needed.
-Reporters cannot write any notes or write anything on the answer sheet.
-Reporters do not need to do the sentences in order. They can dictate them as they find them so long as the sentence is a 1-5 sentence (or 6-10 for the second reporter), and they tell the writer what number the sentence is (ex. sentence 3 must be written in the 3 spot on the answer sheet)
We did also try this activity with elementary 6th graders, but to make it easier students only had to fill the blanks, instead of doing whole sentences.
My students really enjoyed this and I hope you do too!