Gloria Rolton

Introduction Listening skills checklist Speaking skills checklist Getting started: introduce active listening skills Listening units 1 Listening for pleasure using novels 2 Listening for pleasure using poetry and picture books 3 Listening for pleasure using short stories 4 Listening to reports and speeches 5 Listening to current affairs and news bulletins 6 Listening to and exploring new ideas 7 Listening to instructions 8 Following instructions 9 Following directions 10 Persuasive language: bias 11 Persuasive language: fact and opinion 12 Persuasive language: advertising Speaking units 13 Discussion 14 Hypotheticals 15 Class meetings 16 Making announcements 17 Introducing and thanking visitors 18 Readers theatre 19 Preparing for an interview 20 Conducting interviews 21 Oral report 22 Persuasive language: argument 23 Introduction to debating Appendix

4 6 7 8

10 13 15 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 35

37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 60

Introduction
Speaking and listening skills are essential to all learning and should not be seen as separate subject areas. However, some processes and skills need to be taught separately to ensure that students learn and communicate effectively. This resource supports teachers to identify, introduce and practise these processes and skills with students.

Listening
Because much of the information students receive in the primary years of schooling is delivered orally, children need to be taught that listening is an active, not a passive, operation. The promotion of active listening skills should be incorporated into everyday classroom practice. Students who become active listeners will be advantaged in all curriculum areas. It is important teachers model active listening. Whether interacting with an individual or the whole class, students should be aware that the teacher regards what they say as important. Some of the listening activities include the study of novels, poetry, picture books and short stories. The selected titles are readily available to schools. Teachers read the text aloud and then introduce an activity that is designed to gauge students understanding of what they have heard. Other listening activities aim to help students develop critical listening skills. Students will be required to: listen, analyse and interpret what is presented orally infer meanings that are not directly stated examine and assess the value of information supplied.

Speaking
The speaking activities support students to: share information students share ideas and information through informal class discussions and more structured class meetings deliver information students learn how to deliver information when making announcements, introducing or thanking a visiting speaker and preparing oral reports elicit information students learn how to frame open-ended questions and conduct interviews.

Strategies for learning

This resource utilises activities or approaches that are commonly used in primary school classrooms. The following strategies may be used by teachers to introduce, assess, extend or consolidate a skill. Role-play uses drama to raise students awareness of different points of view. It encourages students to go beyond imagining how another person might feel or act. It asks that they become that person; thinking their thoughts, acting as they would act and speaking as they would speak. Brainstorming is a simple but powerful method of generating a number of ideas to arrive at a more creative solution to given problems. Students will readily engage in brainstorming sessions when their ideas are accepted

Attention! Developing listening and speaking skills

without criticism and they can build on the ideas of others. After the initial brainstorm, students may work together to evaluate the suggestions and find the ones that best fit their problem. PMI is a valuable strategy to use in classroom discussions. Participants are provided with a situation/idea/suggestion and asked to consider all the positive outcomes, all the minus outcomes and those outcomes that are neither positive nor negative, merely interesting. This activity can help students overcome tunnel vision and encourage them to be open to new ideas. Readers theatre is a group presentation in which students read from a set script. Readers theatre differs from a play as there is not a stage or any props, costumes or actors. The individual characters and the narrator face the audience and are identified by labels. Readers theatre helps students build skill and confidence in oral reading and presentation. Y charts are graphic organisers that students use to record new ideas. Students imagine or visualise a new situation and then record how it looks, sounds and feels on a Y chart.

Assessment
Successful speaking and listening skills rely on students having an understanding of what they are doing and why they are doing it, and an awareness of improvements in their performance. The use of simple self-assessment checklists allows students to identify areas of improvement and areas needing further work. (See the checklists on pp 6 and 7.)

Introduction

UNIT 4

Listening to reports and speeches

To begin
1

students will understand the common structure adopted in reports or talks, and take notes from an oral report based on this structure

3 4 5 6

Explain that an oral report usually includes: an introduction that states the subject of the report several points with information to support them a conclusion that sums up or restates the introduction. Explain that you will read a short report and when you nish, students must identify the subject of the report and the main points and key words that support the point. Explain that key words are single words, not phrases or part sentences. Read aloud Being Left-handed (p 60) in a normal speaking speed. When you have nished, ask students to identify the subject. Write this on the board. Students then determine the main points and several key words associated with each. Record these on the board. When all points have been addressed, individual students use the recorded information to summarise the report.

Going further
Over the next few days, repeat the previous activity, using Invented Words (p 60) and Who Discovered Australia? (pp 61) for further practise.

Extending the focus

1 2 3 4 Distribute activity sheet 7 (p 19). Read The First Men on the Moon (p 61) aloud while students take notes. Students then write a paragraph from their notes, summarising the report. Discuss how much of the information in their summary was from their notes and how much from remembering the oral text. This should show that writing up notes soon after hearing a report improves the quality of the summary.

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Attention! Developing listening and speaking skills

Activity Sheet 7

1 2 3 4

Use this page for note taking. Write only two to four key words for each idea. Key words are those that are essential to understanding the idea. Do not use sentences or parts of sentences, only single words. Do not be concerned about correct spelling, especially peoples names. Errors can be corrected when you prepare a nal draft of your work.

Subject:

First main point:

Key words: Second main point:

Key words: Third main point:

Key words: Fourth main point:

Key words: Use the key words to write a brief summary of what the report was about.

Attention! Developing listening and speaking skills Gloria Rolton 2006

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UNIT 5

Listening to current affairs and news bulletins

To begin

students will learn how to identify and record facts

1 Explain that when gathering information, ve Ws and an H are basic to nding facts. 2 Record these on the board as shown, making sure the ovals are large enough to hold additional text.

WHO

WHEN

3 Advise students that information for each of the headings may not be present each time, and that the information may be presented in any order. 4 Read Typhoon Hits Japan aloud (p 62). 5 Students then suggest words that will answer who, when, where, why, what and how about the article. Record these words on the board in the appropriate oval. 6 When most of the relevant facts have been recorded, individual students attempt an oral summary, using the words suggested.

? ?
WHY

WHERE

: Find facts by asking

HOW

WHAT

Going further
1 2 3 4 Revise the method used to nd facts described in the previous activity. Read Cane Toads to Hit Sydney (p 62) aloud. Students suggest words to match each heading. Record these on the board. Individual students use the recorded words to produce a short oral report on the topic.

Extending the focus

1 Distribute activity sheet 8 (p 21). 2 Read Smuggling Australias Wildlife (p 63) aloud while students record key words in the appropriate place on their sheet. 3 Students then use their notes to write a short summary of the article. 4 Follow up with discussion time to identify any difculties students encountered. 5 Students can use the same activity sheet to take notes from current affairs on television or radio.
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Activity Sheet 8

Use this sheet to record information from a news report or current affairs program. Write a short paragraph to summarise what you heard. Remember: there may not be information to record for each heading. Subject: Who: What: Where: When: Why: How: Summary

Attention! Developing listening and speaking skills Gloria Rolton 2006

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