Cultivating Speaking and Listening Skills in the Primary Grades

Looking back on my early years as a teacher, one thing I wish I had learned sooner is how to effectively teach young students how to speak and listen to one another. These foundational skills are crucial for learning and socializing. However, as children spend increasing amounts of time on screens at home and at school, their communication skills are declining. Now more than ever, new teachers need to explicitly teach speaking and listening in the classroom.

The good news? There are many engaging and effective strategies to develop these interpersonal skills, and most are easy to incorporate into daily classroom routines. I use the strategies below to directly teach, model, and practice these essential communication skills at a developmentally appropriate level: turn-taking, small group speaking and listening, whole group speaking and listening, and accountable talk.

1. Teach Turn-Taking with Fun Talk Prompts

Young children often struggle to wait their turn in conversations. You can teach, model, and practice turn-taking with fun talk prompts, especially during morning meetings. Once students master this, introduce academic turn-and-talk strategies during lessons.

You can start by assigning each student a partner, and designate them as Partner A or Partner B. Then teach the steps, model the process, and post a visual anchor chart.

Directions for students:

1. Face your partner.
2. Partner A speaks first while Partner B listens.
3. Partner B listens for a pause and asks, “Are you done sharing?”
4. If Partner A is finished, Partner B speaks while Partner A listens.
5. Partner A listens for a pause and asks, “Are you done sharing?”

Extensions: Teach students to summarize their partner’s response, ask follow-up questions, or build on the topic.

Sample talk prompts:

• What did you have for breakfast?
• Would you rather travel to space or the ocean?
• If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
• What’s your favorite thing to do with a friend?

You can find more prompts in the article “105 Conversation Starters for Kids of All Ages.”

2. Teach Small Group Communication with Hands-On Props

From sharing materials in table groups to project planning, small group discussions are common in primary classrooms, but they require explicit instruction. One effective strategy is using a “talking object” to guide turn-taking.

How to do it:

• Introduce a talking object (e.g., a fidget or small toy) that the speaker holds while talking.
• Decide whether students pass the object in a set order or choose their own.
• Teach the steps, model, and post a visual anchor chart.

Steps:

1. The first speaker holds the talking object while responding to the prompt.
2. Listeners face the speaker, stay quiet, and think about their response.
3. The speaker hands the talking object to the next person, becoming a listener.

Extensions: Use sentence stems (e.g., “I agree because...”) to help students articulate their thoughts or graphic organizers to record ideas.

3. Teach Whole Group Speaking and Listening

One of the biggest mistakes I made early in my teaching career was to assume that students already know how to participate in whole group discussion. This skill needs explicit teaching and reinforcement throughout the year.

How to do it:

• Decide on a designated whole group meeting area and seating arrangement. I like to teach my whole group up at the front of my classroom; students are assigned spots in rows on a carpet next to assigned partners. I call these their “learning spots” and “learning partners,” but I’m sure you can come up with something more creative.
• Teach the steps, model, and post a visual anchor chart.

Steps:

1. Teach students how to move to their learning spots.
2. Establish hand-raising expectations.
3. Model what it looks and sounds like to be called on (speaker) and to listen (listener).
4. Teach active listening skills (e.g., facing the speaker, making eye contact, staying quiet).
5. Practice by role-playing active listening.

Extensions: Have students summarize a speaker’s point, build on ideas using accountable talk, and practice keeping discussions on topic.

4. Teach Accountable Talk with Sentence Stems

Accountable talk encourages students to listen actively and respond thoughtfully, making discussions more meaningful. It’s particularly useful for literature and science discussions.

How to do it:

• Create and display an anchor chart with accountable talk sentence stems.
• Focus on one skill at a time (e.g., how to agree, disagree, or add on).

Steps:

1. Teach students what it means to agree, disagree, or add on.
2. Model conversations using sentence stems such as “I agree because…,” “I disagree because…,” and “I would like to add on…”
3. Practice in partnerships with fun talk prompts before applying accountable talk to academic discussions.

Extensions: Use Popsicle sticks with sentence stems, praise students who use accountable talk, and display student quotes on a bulletin board.

Supporting Diverse Learners with UDL Strategies

Not all students communicate in the same way, and some students will find this work particularly challenging. Using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework and recommended supports and accommodations ensures that all students can develop speaking and listening skills successfully.

Flexible grouping: For students with difficulty speaking and/or listening, consider a strong peer model as a partner, or a triad so the student can watch two students communicate successfully.

Use visual supports: Display clear rules, routines, and anchor charts.

Create a flexible environment: Allow students to practice in quiet spaces if needed. Recognize that some students need to move while speaking and listening.

Offer support: Utilize classroom aides, special education staff, volunteers, and peer helpers.

Use technology: Text-to-speech and other assistive tools can help students participate.

Check biases: Recognize and value diverse communication styles. Avoid rigid expectations for “correct” speaking and listening methods.

Teaching speaking and listening skills in the primary grades is one of the most impactful things you can do as an educator. By explicitly teaching, modeling, and practicing these skills, you create a strong foundation for meaningful academic and social interactions for your students.