Enhancing Speaking and Listening Skills: 25 Activities for the English Language Arts Classroom
From Silence to Brilliance: Elevating Learning with Dynamic Speaking and Listening in the Secondary ELA Classroom
I think one of the hardest things to implement in any classroom, let alone an English Language Arts classroom, has got to be incorporating opportunities for students to speak to one another about content. Talking with teachers, many of them voice concerns about the management of speaking and listening activities and being afraid of the “chaos” that might ensue when we put students in charge of talking about what they are learning. If we as teachers are brave enough to let out students focus on speaking and listening skills and strategies, it might just be the key to unlocking great reading and writing learning. Effective communication lies at the heart of language arts education. Developing strong speaking and listening skills is crucial for students to express themselves confidently, comprehend information, engage in meaningful discussions, and collaborate effectively. In this blog post, we will explore 25+ strategies that all educators (not just ELA) can implement in any classroom to promote and enhance students' speaking and listening abilities.
What are the speaking and listening standards?
Speaking and Listening: The speaking and listening standards for the Common Core refer to a set of expectations and skills that students should develop in the areas of effective communication, active listening, and meaningful collaboration. These standards aim to equip students with the necessary abilities to engage in purposeful and productive discussions, deliver clear and coherent presentations, comprehend and evaluate information from various sources, and actively participate in academic and real-world conversations.
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What are the goals for the speaking and listening standards:
Think about the BIG 5:
Comprehension and Collaboration: Students are expected to actively participate in discussions, collaborations, and presentations, demonstrating their ability to comprehend and respond to the ideas and perspectives of others. They should also effectively integrate information from different sources and evaluate the credibility and accuracy of the information they encounter.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: Students should be able to present information and ideas clearly and effectively to different audiences. They should use appropriate audiovisual aids and techniques, such as multimedia presentations or visual displays, to enhance their message. Students should also adapt their speech to different contexts and purposes.
Interpretation of Literature: Students are encouraged to analyze and interpret literary texts, including stories, poems, and plays. They should discuss the key elements of the text, such as plot, character, theme, and language, and provide evidence to support their interpretations. Students should also compare and contrast different works and explore cultural and historical contexts.
Evaluation of Information and Arguments: Students should be able to evaluate and analyze the credibility, relevance, and accuracy of information presented in different media formats. They should assess arguments and claims, identifying logical fallacies and providing evidence-based counterarguments. Students should also engage in respectful debates and discussions, supporting their opinions with well-reasoned arguments.
Collaboration and Discussion Skills: Students should actively listen to others, ask relevant questions, and contribute to group discussions and collaborative projects. They should engage in productive exchanges, respectfully challenging ideas and building upon the contributions of others. Students should also demonstrate effective communication skills, including appropriate use of language and nonverbal cues.
What are some example speaking and listening activities?
Example Speaking Activities:
Partner Practice: Practice your response with a partner that you will share with the whole group
Think Pair Share: Structured response to pair people up and share about a given topic
Movement-Based Discussion Strategies: Choose a side/Four Corners
Partner Share: Two people share out about a given topic
Small Group Discussion (Variety of strategies)
Whole Group Discussion (Variety of strategies)
Present to a small group or whole group
Use media to present to a small group or whole group
Use technology to help moderate small group and whole group discussions such as Nearpod, Flipgrid/Flip, Mentimeter, (All have free versions), etc.
Example Listening Activities:
Traits of a good audience member (Active listening, audience participation, etc)
Listening to understand, not respond
Prepping for a discussion (Small or whole group)
Ending, summarizing, or wrapping up a discussion
Setup two-column note-taking for listening
Understanding tone, inflection, volume, and emphasis
Practice disagreement and counterclaim where appropriate
Check out THIS RECOMMENDED RESOURCE! the Literacy Toolkit Resources: https://www.literacyta.com/literacy-standards/common-core/speaking/6/english
How often should I be doing speaking and listening activities in my classroom?
Speaking and listening activities can be done on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis in the secondary ELA classroom or any classroom. In the ELA classroom, there are natural opportunities for students to speak to one another after they read any material or when they are working on writing projects. I have seen some districts set an expectation that speaking and listening activities need to happen at least once a week, some require more. The amount of speaking and listening activities can vary from classroom to classroom; however, the goal is always to add more skills and strategies so students are the ones doing the talking.
How do I start to set up my classroom for a culture/climate that allows for collaboration, discussion, and speaking about important topics?
Each classroom is different; however, start small with partner sharing or think, pair, share. You can also model for students how movement and volume levels will look before, during, and after each activity to set up expectations. Some of these activities with speaking and listening can be highly structured. Here are some great recommendations:
Use a timer for transitions. Have students talking to more than one partner? Time their movement.
Use music for transitions. You can make this fun and it can bring a class to life that is less than excited about doing partner work.
Positive talk great interactions. When you start small with a partner share activity, walk around the room, and give praise to those groupings that are doing a great job.
Use graphic organizers to kids feel less pressure to “have the right thing to say” on the spot. For example, you can use two-column notes or guided notes to help kids structure their ideas.
Use sentence starters as you would for writing, but make it verbal. You can post these on the board or provide them on a handout. I remember one amazing classroom I observed, the teacher had helper students hold up sentence starter signs as a cue for students to know how to frame their thinking. It was awesome to see students helping other students get ideas out into the air.
Insert high-interest content or choice if you have students that seem disengaged. Kids naturally love to debate. Kids also love to be able to choose what they are going to talk about for a given assignment.
What are some different activities that I can try in my classroom?
1. Think-Pair-Share: Encourage students to think individually about a question or prompt, pair up with a partner, and share their thoughts before discussing them as a whole class. This is also called Stand-Up, Hand-Up, and Pair-Up; it involves high-fiving to form partners.
2. Socratic Seminars: Facilitate student-led discussions by posing open-ended questions and encouraging thoughtful responses and dialogue. It is helpful to have students create questions ahead of time and then have a way to track participation in conversations.
3. Class Debate: Organize structured debates where students research and present arguments on different topics, learning to articulate their viewpoints and listen actively to opposing arguments. This activity doesn’t have to be a huge organized project, you can start by teaching kids how to create claim statements.
4. Collaborative Group Work: Assign group projects or activities that require students to work together, communicate ideas, and listen actively to their peers. Decide ahead of time how students will maintain their groups (What happens if students don’t participate? How do you assign roles? How will these activities be graded?), etc.
5. Turn and Talk: Provide opportunities for students to turn to a partner and discuss a specific topic or question, fostering active listening and oral communication skills. This is a speaking opportunity that doesn’t involve the movement of a think-pair-share.
6. Literature Circles: Divide students into small groups to read and discuss a shared text, promoting meaningful conversations and developing comprehension skills. Need ideas? Check out Ideas for Middle School Graphic Novel Book Clubs and Setting Up Dystopian Book Clubs in Middle School
7. Presentation Skills: Teach students effective presentation techniques, including body language, eye contact, and vocal variety, to help them communicate ideas confidently. This can be done whole group or small group.
8. Peer Feedback/Peer Review: Encourage students to provide constructive feedback to their peers after presentations or discussions, fostering active listening and promoting growth in communication skills. I like to help students learn these skills by providing them with checklists of items at first, and then changing those items throughout the year.
9. Podcasting: Incorporate podcasting activities where students research, script, record, and present audio content on various topics, honing their speaking and listening abilities.
10. Interviewing: Have students conduct interviews with classmates, teachers, or community members, enabling them to practice active listening, formulate questions, and engage in dialogue.
11. Drama and Role-Playing: Engage students in dramatic performances or role-playing exercises that require them to assume different perspectives, fostering empathy, and enhancing communication skills.
12. Storytelling: Encourage students to share personal stories, helping them develop narrative skills and captivate an audience through spoken word. Often teachers will use personal narrative writing or poetry as a back-to-school activity to get to know the kids in their rooms. Check out Build Classroom Community with Where I'm From Poems and I Am Poems
13. Clockwork Partners: You can have students draw a clock or use a graphic organizer printout. Students can set appointments with different partners at 12, 3, 6, and 9. They rotate to the partner appointment when the teacher calls the time. This is a great strategy for peer review because new peer reviewers can look at one item at a time with a different partner. This post gives a great overview of using clockwork partners with creative writing.
14. Recitation: Assign students to memorize and recite poems, speeches, or literary excerpts, enhancing their delivery, enunciation, and listening comprehension. This can be less scary than coming up with their own ideas and sharing them with peers.
15. Class Discussions: Facilitate regular class discussions, establishing an inclusive and respectful environment that encourages students to share ideas, listen actively, and engage in meaningful dialogue. You can rotate skills to focus on for class discussions like coming prepared for the activity, active listening, and paraphrasing what someone else said.
16. Reflective Journals: Integrate reflective journaling activities where students write about their listening experiences, discussing the effectiveness of their own listening skills and strategies.
17. Language Games: Incorporate language-based games like Charades, Taboo, or Pictionary, which require students to communicate non-verbally and listen attentively.
18. TED Talk Analysis: Analyze and discuss TED Talks or other engaging speeches, encouraging students to identify effective speaking techniques and evaluate the impact of powerful storytelling. Check out 10 TED Talks for the Teacher Who Needs Inspiration
19. Guest Speakers: Invite guest speakers from various fields to share their experiences and insights, providing students with real-world examples of effective communication.
20. Critical Listening: Engage students in critical listening activities, where they analyze and evaluate persuasive techniques, logical fallacies, or biases in speeches or multimedia presentations. This is great if you are introducing ethos, pathos, and logos to your students and using a variety of texts and media to show different types of arguments as well.
21. Media Analysis: Analyze media sources, such as news articles, videos, or podcasts, to develop students' media literacy skills and enhance their ability to listen critically.
22. Fishbowl Discussion: Students in a small group hold a discussion while the rest of the class observes and takes notes.
23. Jigsaw Discussion: Students become experts on one part of a topic or text and then share their knowledge with their group. This is a great activity if the article is longer in length. Put students in charge of learning one sub-heading and teaching that part of the article’s information to a group.
24. Snowball Discussion: Students begin by sharing ideas with a partner, then join with another pair, and continue to share until the whole class is involved in a discussion. This is also great if you have ever used dialogue booklets where the prompts for a discussion are in small books that students can look through for discussion inspiration.
25. Hot Seat: One student is chosen to sit in the "hot seat" while the rest of the class asks them questions about a topic.
26. Reader's Theater: Students act out a scene from a play or book, focusing on characterization and dialogue.
27. Mock Trial: Students play the roles of lawyers, witnesses, and jurors to explore a topic or text.
28. Four Corners: Students move to one of four corners of the room based on their opinion or response to a question.
29. Panel Discussion: Students are assigned roles and present different perspectives on a topic.
30. Partner Note-Taking: Students practice active listening skills by taking notes during discussions and lectures. They can compare their notes with a partner to see what was missed.
31. Partner Mind Mapping: Students visually organize their ideas on a topic using a diagram. They share their ideas with a partner. Students could also complete a Venn Diagram with a partner to work together on similarities and differences.
32. Verbal Exit Tickets: Students respond to a prompt or question verbally before leaving class.