running dictation

     Last year, I tried running dictation with my classes. For those unfamiliar, running dictation involves one person finding sentences in Spanish, one person writing down what the first person dictates them, and then the students organize the story correctly. The first time, I tried without having the students leave the room because I didn't want them to disturb other classes. It did not go well. Rather than going back and forth, the students simply yelled from the other side of the room. Having them all together defeated much of the point of the exercise.
     This time, I decided to try with just my Spanish 1. I had other plans for my other three classes because I didn't expect it to go well. I also had more plans for my Spanish 1 today, because I thought that running dictation would only take them fifteen to twenty minutes like it had last year. I was wrong. I was very wrong. I let my students into the hall and had the different sentences taped to the lockers. I used thirteen sentences this time in an attempt to get a full twenty minutes out of the exercise. It took them the entire class period. They did complain (because of course they did) but they were all engaged, working together, and off their cell phones! There were some off topic discussions, but they were in the midst of working, not instead of working, so that's not a problem for me. It went so well with Spanish 1 that I tried it with two of my Spanish 2 classes and it went much the same with them. Total engagement. This also gave me a chance I don't normally have to check in with my students who need a bit more personal attention during the back and forth. I'd totally recommend it if you have the space. I warned the closest class that my students were in the hallway and there was some talk as they went back and forth, but no complaints from the nearby teacher.
     I also recently tested out the Unfair Game with my Spanish 2s. Once again, way more fabulous than I expected! My students complained the entire time, but when I asked if that meant they didn't want to play again, they looked at me like I was crazy and asked me when we can play again. It's always nice to have something that's teenager approved. In this case, I got this version of it from TPT and I'll certainly be buying more of them.