One of the biggest challenges language teachers face is how to get repetition of vocabulary and structures into a class period, keeping the activities comprehensible and at the skill level students need, and making the activities engaging.
Another challenge language teachers face is how to get movement into the class period so students are not trapped at a desk for long periods of time.
That is why sentence picture relay is a great after-reading activity. It is collaborative. It allows movement. It uses various modalities for learning that students love.
What is sentence picture relay?
Sentence picture relay incorporates a little bit of prep for the teacher but the payoff, in the end, is fun for students. Students will work in teams to translate sentences and match the sentence to an image. You can think of this a little like running dictation except all the students are working on the same task instead of having roles.
How to prepare
The teacher will prepare 10 – 15 sentences from the story. Turn the sentences into a video and a QR code leaving a space under the QR code for the translation to be written. For each sentence, draw a picture (stick figures are fine, or use clipart images if you are not an artist). Make a copy of the images and the sentence QR strips for each group. If you are planning on using the story again, print on cardstock and laminate. Cut the strips and pictures out. To save time, have the groups or a TA do the cutting for you.
How to play sentence picture relay
Sentence picture relay is a group activity. Students are divided into groups of 3 – 4 students. Their job is to match the sentence to the image. Pictures and sentences are stacked up in the back of the room (one set for each team). One team member will go to the pack and select one sentence and one image and bring it back to the team. The team will lay the picture on their workspace and work together to translate the sentence (write it under the QR code). If the sentence matches the image they place the sentence under the image. If it doesn’t match lay it to the side. Repeat this until all of the sentences have been translated and matched to a picture. The first team to do this accurately wins!!!
Why use sentence picture relay?
Sentence picture relay is a fun and engaging activity. It offers repetition with support from images. Students get to work with their peers while getting to move around the room and get out of their desks.
Tips
- If you have small classes, students can work alone or in pairs.
- Make sure students totally understand the activity before you begin.
- At the end of the game, students should put the story in order.
- Competition is real. Be prepared for it.
- This does not take very long to complete, if you want to extend the activity, break the sentences apart so students have to translate and connect the sentences.
