Picture dictation

Picture dictations are great for providing an overview of a topic so that students have some hooks on which to hang the new knowledge they might encounter during the study.

Students divide a page into a grid (in this example, with 12 squares). Number each square.

The teacher reads each sentence out twice. Students listen carefully and draw a picture (stick figures are fine) in the appropriate grid square to represent that sentence.

It can be very useful, especially for students who have little or no prior knowledge of the topic, to display posters and images around the room for them to refer to for ideas. Some of us find it very challenging to think of images, let alone to draw them. It is important to stress that the drawings do not have to be works of art, and the occasional word or number is acceptable. When the dictation has been completed, students get into pairs and tell each other about Gallipoli (or the appropriate topic), using their drawings as stimulus material.

What happened at Gallipoli?

Picture dictation key points:

1. French and German battleships tried to force their way through the Dardanelles to Constantinople in February 1915, but were badly damaged by mines and withdrew.
2. The Allies then decided to send an army of British, French, and ANZAC troops to attack the Gallipoli Peninsula and cut across land to the Dardanelles.
3. The plan went wrong from the start when the Royal Navy landed the Australians on the wrong beach at dawn on the morning of 25 April 1915.
4. Instead of plains and low hills, the Australians were landed on a narrow beach with steep cliffs.
5. Twelve thousand Australians landed, but they were disorganised by the rough ground (ridges and deep valleys) in front of them, so they didn't attack the high ground as planned.
6. While the Australians were getting organised, the Turkish soldiers, led by Colonel Mustafa Kemal, counter-attacked.
7. As the Turks advanced, the New Zealanders began landing. The Auckland Battalion was first ashore.
8. The fighting was terrible. All the New Zealand officers and non-commissioned officers (sergeants and corporals) were killed or wounded that first day.
9. About 3100 New Zealanders landed on Anzac Day. Fifteen hundred actually fought and there were 600–700 New Zealand casualties.
10. All the ANZACs could do was dig in on that narrow strip of land – and pray.
11. The wounded were evacuated by ship, but it was impossible to keep accurate records, so many families back in New Zealand had to wait for months to find out if their men were alive or not.
12. The ANZACs hung on for nine months, losing thousands of men without gaining any land. The Gallipoli Campaign was a disaster.