Talking and Listening in the classroom provides a great opportunity for class discussion. However, this can also cause problems – as in who’s turn it is to speak, and who should be listening.
There are a number of ways to combat this. The simplest being, a set of rules. In my classroom, I would set clear rules from the beginning, so there is no confusion with expectations. My rules would be:
- We talk one at a time
- We do not interrupt
- We make eye contact with the speaker
- We respect everyone’s ideas
I do feel it would be beneficial for the children to make up their own set of rules as a class. Obviously, with a little direction from the teacher to make them sensible. This gives them a sense of feeling included, and may make them more conscious of them – hopefully!
If I was to create a lesson plan around the following outcome *see below*, I would base it on the book Katie Morag Delivers the Mail.
“I can show my understanding of what I listen to or watch by responding to literal, inferential, evaluative and other types of questions, and by asking different kinds of questions of my own.” – LIT 2-07a.
Learning Intention: To listen to a story and discuss and evaluate the storyline as a class. Also, I will come up with my own questions about the story, as well as discuss my peers’.
Success Criteria: I will be able to listen to and follow the short story. I will be able to come up with my own questions about the story, and answer my peers’.
Assessment: To assess whether ot not the pupils meet the success criteria, I will evaluate how well they listen to the story and how relevant their questions are to the story and discussion.
How will I achieve this? I will use emotive language to engage the children in the story. I will allow them to complete a short paired task related to the story using sequencing cards, so they can gain a better understanding of the storyline. This gives them the opportunity to listen, interact with each other and then bring their learning to a conclusion with a discussion.
