Developing Communication Skills

This is an activity that can be used to help pupils talk, speak out and share their own
mind. TeachingChannel.com shares some fun Talk Moves, a strategy that gives the opportunity
to children to re-voice, re-state and apply reasoning as part of enhancing communication skills.
To make talk move more fun, the teacher may include in the activity a small ball that
can be tossed around without causing damage. In the class, the teacher may pick the pupil who
will start the ball rolling either by appointing or by drawing lots. The first part is the Re-voicing.
The pupil who has the ball will say something then throws the ball to the pupil who she/he
wants to re-voice what he/she said. Re-voicing simply means that the pupil needs to repeat,
word per word, what the other pupil has said. The goal is for the pupil to repeat exactly what
the other has said. After successfully re-voicing, the pupil then says something and throws the
ball to the next pupil. This may continue for 5-6 times or depending on the teacher.
Using the same ball being tossed randomly, the teacher may start the second part of the
game. He/she says something then tosses the ball to a pupil and let him re-state what he/she
has said. Re-stating means being able to say what the other has said using your own words. The
goal is for the pupil to convey the same original meaning but using his or her own words. After
successfully doing so, the pupil who has the ball says something and throws the ball to the next
pupil.
The last part of the game is to apply reasoning. In this part the pupils must react and
share their own thoughts by either agreeing or disagreeing with what the other pupil has said.
In here, the teacher may emphasize that they need to tell the reason why they agree or
disagree.
Talk Moves fosters talking, enhances communication skills. This activity can be done as
an ice breaker, as an opening motivation, or an integrated activity for language subjects. This
activity is more applicable to the higher grade levels like the 5 th or 6th grade. The teacher may
add more game rules to fit his/her class better.
FIDELA L. MASLANG

Teaching Channel: https://www.teachingchannel.org/video/developing-communication-skills

https://www.inquirybydesign.com/talk-moves-create-a-culture-of-talk-fostering-student-talk-and-classroom-dialogue-part-3/