Running dictations - develop recall skills... and fitness!

 My PE colleagues are constantly griping at how student fitness is way down, especially since COVID, so here's a fun activity to help your students boost their cardio! 

This is an old one (I got it from the legendary Gerard McLoughin at IH Barcelona) and it's great for waking your students up. 

Put students into pairs (maybe threes, but big teams don't really work). Around the room (or at the end of the corridor, or outside) put up small pieces of key information you need the students to know. One partner runs to the first, memorises it, runs back, dictates it. Then they switch roles, like a relay. Spacing out the information avoids queues and crashes.

Not only is this great for cardio, but you are helping students build their memorization and recall skills, both crucial for exam success (not that I'm a fan of exams as a form of assessment, but they are the reality of much of the educational landscape). More immediately, exercise creates endorphins, which is a massive mood booster and leads students to associate feeling good with your lessons. There's no better boost to engagement and learning than students who are happy to be there. 




 

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