Speaking, Listening and Understanding

Games and Activities for 5-7 year olds

Catherine Delamain, Jill Spring

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781351131094
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Speaking, Listening and Understanding is a practical resource packed full of games to improve young children's communication skills. The second edition of this bestselling resource contains a programme of games and activities to foster the speaking, listening and understanding skills of children aged from 5 to 7 years. The book seeks to address language and communication difficulties for primary-aged children by providing a range of fun and engaging activities. Suitable for whole classes or small groups of children, the activities focus on both understanding and using language in areas such as following instructions, thinking skills, inference, describing, narrating and playing with words.

Features include:

160 games and activities which are differentiated by stages and levels of ability;

A clear aim, equipment list and instructions for each activity;

Photocopiable templates for ease of use;

Supplementary resource sheets including pictures and scripts to use with the activities.

Now fully revised and updated in line with current policy and legislation, this book is suitable for young children in any school setting. It also includes material that may be used as an effective part of a speech and language therapy programme in consultation with a therapist. This is a unique manual that will be an essential addition to the materials used by professionals working with young children.

Understanding Spoken Language

Following Instructions

Stage I	Stage III
Making Statues	Puppet Show
Hoops and Beanbags	Round Up
Musical Beanbags	Dotty
Jewellery Shop	Chicken Food
Stage II	Stage IV
Curtain Up!	Holiday Snaps
Find It	Talkative Teacher
Witch’s Brew	Amazing Mazes
Magic Cauldron	Letter Strings

Stage I

Making Statues

Aim

To be able to follow two-stage instructions containing four ideas.

Equipment

None.

How to play

Tell the children to spread out around the room. Explain that they are going to turn into statues. You will tell them how to stand or sit, and they must then keep very still while you come around to check if they are doing the right thing. People who have not followed the instructions correctly are eliminated. The last child in is the winner.

Examples

Put one hand in the air and shut your eyes.

Open your eyes and put your hand down.

Put both arms up in the air and stand on one leg.

Put your arms down and sit on the floor.

Put one finger on your nose and shut your eyes.

Open your eyes and put both hands on your head.

Take your hands off your head and lie down on the floor.

Roll over on your tummy and close your eyes.

Tip

The instructions need to follow each other, as in the example above.

Extension

Vary the instructions by occasionally saying ‘Don’t … (put your arms down, open your eyes, take your hands off your head).’ This will eliminate quite a number of children! Then carry on as before.

Hoops and Beanbags

Aim

To be able to carry out instructions involving movement and position.

Equipment

A beanbag and a hoop for each child.

How to play

You need a large space to play this game – for example, the hall. Arrange the hoops and beanbags in a line, about a metre away from a wall, well spaced apart. Tell the children they are going to have a race game, but they must listen carefully and move in the right kind of way. If necessary do a demonstration. Call out an instruction, and when you say ‘Go!’ everyone must go to the right object, moving in the right way. Anyone who ends up by the wrong object, or moves in the wrong way, is out.

Examples

Run to a beanbag.

Crawl to a hoop. Jump in a hoop.

Walk sideways to a bean-bag.

Hop to a hoop

Stand beside a beanbag.

Sit in front of a hoop.

Examples

You can make this more competitive by removing a beanbag and a hoop after each instruction, so that one person will be out each time.

Musical Beanbags

Aim

To be able to follow two-stage instructions containing four ideas.

Equipment

A beanbag for each member of the group.

Music.

How to play

This game is essentially the same as musical chairs. However in this variation the children must move to the beanbags in the way you tell them. Anyone not moving in the right way is out. Scatter the beanbags on the floor around the room, well spaced. Give the instruction before you switch on the music. When you put the music on, everyone has to walk slowly around the room. When the music stops, each child should move to a beanbag in the way you told them.

Examples

When the music stops, crawl to a beanbag.

When the music stops, jump to a beanbag.

When the music stops, skip to a beanbag.

When the music stops, walk very slowly to a beanbag.

Tip

If possible, have another adult help to monitor the activity.

Jewellery Shop

Aim

To be able to carry out two-stage instructions involving number and colour.

Equipment

‘Jewellery shop’ template from Teaching Resources.

Enough coloured beads for each child, and a threading lace each.

How to play

Tell the children they are going to make some necklaces to go in the ‘jeweller’s shop’. You will call out which beads they are to use. Choose one of the bead pictures from the template, but do not let the children see it. Call out instructions that match your bead picture – for example, ‘Two red beads and then one yellow one.’ (Pause until everyone has finished.) ‘Three blue beads and then two green ones.’ (Pause again, and so on until the necklaces are completed.) Hold up your picture for the children to see, and let them compare their necklaces with it.

Tip

It may be useful to give the instructions again slowly as the children compare their necklace with the picture. Make the game more interesting by inventing customers for each necklace the children make – for example, a princess, a film star, a character from a story or a TV programme.

Stage II

Curtain Up!

Aim

To be able to carry out a realistic mime based on received information.

Equipment

Teacher will need to prepare scenarios with a role for each member of the group.

How to play

Tell the group that they are going to pretend to be characters in a play. Explain that you are going to read the instructions at the beginning of the play, and you want them to pretend to be doing the actions. Remind them that they will need to listen carefully for their names and remember the activity. Then read the short scenario. When you have read it, tell the children to get into position, doing their action. The length of this activity depends on the group. You may be able to repeat it two or three times within the session.

Examples

Scenario: It was Saturday afternoon. Amy was digging the garden; Ben was planting seeds; Sky was trying to catch the pet rabbit; Abdul was hanging out the washing, and Rashid was watching football on TV.

Find It

Aim

To be able to find an item by its description.

Equipment

Classroom items, see examples.

Preparation

Write descriptions of everyday items found in the classroom. Do not give too much information about each item – see examples below.

How to play

Divide the group int...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Introduction
• How to use this Book
• 1 UNDERSTANDING SPOKEN LANGUAGE
• 2 USING SPOKEN LANGUAGE
• 3 TEACHING RESOURCES
• Bibliography