Listening

Listening is making sense of oral language. It is constructing meaning by attending, anticipating, predicting, focusing, visualizing, making connections, generalizing, and evaluating. Listening is the first language mode that children acquire and it provides the basis for the other language arts (Lundsteen, 1979). It is one of the most basic and most used of the language arts (Tompkins, Bright, Pillard, & Winso, 1999, p. 298).

Young children use listening to begin the process of learning to comprehend and produce language. By listening to the language around them, they construct their knowledge of oral language as well as get an introduction to reading and writing. Hearing stories read and told to them, they begin connecting what they hear and see on the printed page with what can be read and written. Listening and speaking are essential to sharing ideas and communicating in the classroom, and are the basis of students' learning and thinking (Barnes, 1993; Watson, 1988).

When developing students' listening skills and strategies, consider the following guidelines. A sample planning guide and teacher checklist are also provided at the end of this section to support the development of students' listening abilities.

1. Provide many opportunities for students to listen and respond to what they hear.

Listening can be improved in a variety of ways when it is taught in the context of meaningful oral language experiences (Cox, 1999, p. 152). Teachers should engage students in listening with a purpose, and support and encourage them to do this. Many opportunities for teaching listening skills and strategies can be incorporated into daily classroom language experiences.

Reading Aloud: Read aloud every day to students. It is an important means of teaching listening and a powerful means of developing and expanding students' language repertoire and vocabulary. It is also important for modeling reading strategies (Trelease, 1996).

For students in the Emerging and Early Developing Phases, establish a practice of reading to the class from a variety of fiction and nonfiction books at least once a day. Use good quality children's literature and read at the same times each day, establishing this as a regular and enjoyable routine. Read nonfiction books to students as well - choose topics from science, social studies, health education, or other areas of study. The following activities enhance students' listening skills and strategies (as well as supporting the other language strands): reading along, choral reading, tape recordings, and sing-alongs.

For students in the Developing Phase, in addition to fiction and nonfiction books, read interesting articles from newspapers, magazines, and resources relevant to studies in other subject areas. Students, as a follow-up, should summarize what they have heard, put events in order, dramatize the story, answer questions about who did what, or participate in other activities to support their learning.

Provide many opportunities for students to hear a range of oral texts including: announcements, apologies, awards, concerts, conversations, dialogues, directions, discussions, dramas, explanations, speeches, songs, illustrated talks, improvisations, instructions, interviews, introductions, invitations, jokes, meetings, monologues, newscasts, oral interpretations, proverbs, problem-solving groups, puns, radio plays, reader's theatre, rebuttals, riddles, rules, slogans, songs, speeches, storytelling, sports casts, talking circles, testimonials, tributes, voice mail messages, weather forecasts, and others.

Teachers should read aloud a poem each day (i.e., poetry pauses) to help students develop an awareness of the language, rhythms, and imagery of poetry. Teachers can share humourous poems, thoughtful poems, rhymed verse, as well as free verse. Students also enjoy songs, limericks, chants, and raps. Students can set up a poetry corner where a variety of poetry books, student-generated poems, and class anthologies can be placed for students to read, reread, and share. Encourage students to write and share their own poems.

Selected Stories, Poems, and Books to Read Aloud

Teachers may find some of the following titles in their school library collections.

Grade 1
Alderson, S. Bonnie McSmithers
Aylesworth, J. The Gingerbread Man
Bourgeois, P. The Amazing Dirt Book
Brown, M. The Barn
Dunbar, J. Baby Bird
Galdone, P. The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Jeram, A. All Together Now
Lee, D. Alligator Pie
Lobel, A. Frog and Toad Are Friends
Lunn, J. Amos
McLoskey, R. Blueberries for Sal
Miller, R. I Went to the Bay
Milne, A. Now We are Six
Munsch, R. Love You Forever
Munsch, R. We Share Everything
Sendak, M. Where the Wild Things Are
Spalding, A. A World of Stories
Stuve-Bodeen, S. Elizabeti's Doll
Wildsmith, B. The Lazy Bear

 Grade 2
Child, L. I Will Never Not Ever Eat A Tomato
Cleary, B. Henry Huggins
DePaola, T. Strega Nona
Fitch, S. There's A Mouse in My House
Gilmore, D. When Vegetables Go Bad!
Gilmore, R. A Screaming Kind of Day
Galdone, P. Puss in Boots
Munsch, R. Ribbon Rescue
O'Neill, M. Hailstones and Halibut Bones
Pawagi, M. The Girl Who Hated Books
Rattigan, J. Dumpling Soup
Richler, M. Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang
Seuss, Dr. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
Taback, S. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Thurber, J. Many Moons
Viorst, J. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Wallace, I. The Sandwich

Grade 3
Blades, A. Mary of Mile 18
Borden, L. Good Luck, Mrs. K.!
Buff, M. and C. The Apple and the Arrow
Cleary, B. Ramona and Her Father
Cuthand, B. Little Duck Sikihpsis
Eyrindson, P. The Wish Wind
Goble, P. The Gift of the Sacred Dog
Lawson, J. Bear on the Train
Lindgren, A. Pippi Longstocking
McDermott, G. Anansi the Spider
Munsch, R. Paper Bag Princess
Parrish, P. Amelia Bedelia
Sangwine, J. A Turtle Called Friendly
Silverstein, S. Where the Sidewalk Ends
Spalding, A. Me and Mr. Mah
Stevens, J. Anansi
Thompson, R. The Follower
Wilson, B. Harold and Harold

 Grade 4
Atwater, R. & Atwater, F. Mr. Popper's Penguins
Birdseye, T., Tarantula Series
Clement, G. The Great Poochini
Jam, T. The Stoneboat
Kellogg, S. The Three Sillies
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Lowell, S. The Bootmaker and the Elves
Silverstein, S. Where the Sidewalk Ends
Smith, D. A Taste of Blackberries
Bannatyne-Cugnet, J. Grandpa's Alkali
Van Camp, R. Things You Know About Horses

Grade 5
Alexander, L. The Book of Three
Bishop, H. Tunnels of Time: A Moose Jaw Adventure
Burnford, S. The Incredible Journey
Fitzhugh, L. Harriet the Spy
Freeman, B. Prairie Fire!
Harelkin Bishop, M. Tunnels of Time
Kjelgaard, J. Big Red
Konigsberg, E. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Kusugak, M. Arctic Stories
Mayer, M. Shibumi and the Kitemaker
O'Brien, R. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Lunn, J. The Spirit of Canada (excerpts)
Lunn, J. The Canadian Children's Treasury
Polacco, P. Thank you, Mr. Falker
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter
Silverstein, S. Where the Sidewalk Ends
Woodbury, M. Jess and the Runaway Grandpa

Note: This list is provided as a starting point. Teachers should consult the bibliography and subsequent learning resource materials updates for other titles.

Talking and Sharing Circles: Give students, in small groups or as a class, an opportunity to share and discuss their ideas, stories, puppet plays, and written work. In turn, they give their peers an opportunity to practise listening behaviours and to provide helpful feedback.

Listening and Media Centres (taped stories): Listening centres can be used in addition to reading aloud to students. Listening centres give students opportunities to experience a text a number of times. In a listening centre, students can use tapes to listen for enjoyment, to listen as they "read along" with the printed text, or to listen to oral texts accompanied by listening guides. Teachers can use a range of commercially prepared tapes as well as those prepared by students, the teacher, or other adults in the school or community. Blank tapes can also be placed at the listening centre so students can record themselves reading. A tape for the year can be assigned to each student and students can record their oral reading monthly.

Listening Games: Listening games can help students focus their listening, concentrate, and learn a number of listening skills and strategies. Listening games provide practice in a fun setting. Some favourite listening games include the following.

I Packed My Bag: Each student "packs a bag" by naming an article beginning with successive alphabet letters (Temple & Gillet, 1989). Students try to repeat in order each item previously packed (e.g., "I packed my bag and in it I put an apple, a banana, a car, a dog, an elephant, and a fridge.")

I Spy: Students can be seated on the floor. One is elected to begin. That student looks around the room, decides on one object, and then says to the others, "I spy with my little eye something beginning with P (or a letter that starts the word of the object sighted)." The others look around the room and guess what the object might be. Whoever guesses correctly chooses the next object, and so on.

Pass the Whisper (or The Listening Circle): Everyone sits in a circle. The teacher whispers to one student a statement or short series of statements that are part of a story. The first student then passes the statement or story to the next student by whispering it. This continues around the circle until the last student has heard it. The last student then tells the group what he or she heard, and this is compared to the original. A useful starting stem is: One day a little bird landed on my shoulder and began to talk with me. He said it was a good day for playing soccer in the park.

Place Names: Students focus on sounds in the words for places and take turns giving another place name that begins with the last letter of the previous name (e.g., Flying Dust-Tessier-Red Pheasant).

Progressive Story (or Add-a-Sentence): Students sit around a circle and build a group story as each student adds successive sentences to a starter sentence (e.g., "It was a dark and stormy night."). Alternatively, students can develop summaries of special events, field trips, experiments, and so on. Students can also work in pairs. One student composes a sentence orally while the partner transcribes it; then, the first transcriber composes the next sentence and the partner writes it down. This continues until the story is concluded.

Simon Says: The leader gives a series of commands such as "Clap your hands; hop three times; stand up". If the leader inserts "Simon says," before the command, students are to obey. If the leader does not say "Simon says", students must not follow the directions. Students can take turns being the leader. As a variation, students can pantomime actions (e.g., "pat the dog") or respond to rhyming directions ("Says Pat, bring the bat") while ignoring non-rhyming directions (e.g., "Says Simon, hit the ball.") (Temple & Gillet, 1989).

Twenty Questions: The teacher chooses a word and gives students its category (i.e., animal, vegetable, or mineral) and then the students can ask a maximum of twenty questions to see if they can guess the word. The teacher answers only "yes" or "no". Students have to listen carefully to what responses have been given to the previous questions.

Yes, I Can: A student asks a question such as "John, can you run on the spot?" and John then responds, "Yes, I can run on the spot", and mimes the action. John then poses a new question to another student and so on.

2. Give students guidance and explicit instruction that develop active listening skills and strategies. Balance direct instruction, guided listening, and independent listening.

Model and discuss effective listening behaviours and strategies. Listen actively to what students are saying. Invite them to say things again, to clarify, or to choose different words. Respond by reflecting back on and extending the meanings. Help students develop listening strategies. Charts for posting can be developed with the class:

Sample Grade 1-3 Chart

When I listen, I:
  • pay attention to the speaker or reader
  • concentrate
  • make pictures in my head
  • think of questions to ask.
When I work with a partner, I:
  • listen to my partner
  • think of questions to ask
  • take my turn talking
  • think about my partner's ideas.


Sample Grade 4-5 Chart

Before Listening
What is the speaker's purpose?
What is my purpose for listening?
Will I need to make notes?
Which strategies could I use?
Which one would work best?


During Listening
Is my strategy still working?
Am I putting information into categories?
Is the speaker giving me clues about the organization of the message?
Is the speaker giving me non-verbal cues such as gesture and facial expressions?
Is the speaker's voice giving me other cues?


After Listening
Do I have questions for the speaker?
Was any part of the message unclear?
Are my notes complete?
Did I make a good choice of strategies? Why or why not?
(from Hoskisson & Tompkins, 1987, p. 79)


Ensure students in the Developing Phase have the opportunity to use active listening skills in a variety of activities including discussions, collaborative group activities, listening to instructions and presentations, and viewing multimedia presentations. Encourage students to listen for specific purposes and to monitor their own listening.

Guided Imagery: When students listen to presentations that have visual images, details, or descriptive words, encourage them to form mental pictures to help them remember while listening.

LAPS: LAPS stands for listen, ask, picture, and summarize. Before students listen, they ask themselves two or three questions and record them. They picture what they hear in response to their questions and quickly sketch that. They then summarize what they have heard in a paragraph (Matchullis & Mueller, 1996).

Listen-Think-Pair-Share: Students listen to a presentation or view a video. They work individually to record what they heard (in notes, on a diagram, on a listening guide) and then team with a partner to discuss their ideas. They can add to their notes. Partners often share the ideas with the whole class. Another variation is having students, after they listen, practise retelling the story or main ideas with a partner (McTighe & Lyman, 1992).

Guided Listening: Teachers guide students through the steps they will use when listening for various purposes. For example, when students are listening to fiction, plays, and poetry for enjoyment, teachers can help students before, during, and after listening as follows.

Before Listening: Teachers focus students' prior knowledge and build background. They explain the purposes of the listening activity and review one or more strategies students can use to help them understand what they are going to hear. Many teachers provide a graphic organizer to guide the listening.

Read Aloud to Students: As teachers read parts of the story aloud, they stop at key points to ask students to confirm or reject their predictions by answering questions such as: "Who do you think it is now? What do you think will happen next? What would happen if ...?"

After Listening: Students are invited to reflect on what they have heard by talking or writing about it. They are encouraged to voice their personal feelings, connections to their own lives, favourite events or characters, questions, and confusions. They can extend their responses by discussing the structure and language of the text, and by listening to additional selections, reading, writing, dramatizing, researching, or other activities.

When students are listening to nonfiction and other texts to gather information, teachers can help them in other ways.

Before Listening: Teachers focus students' prior knowledge and build background. They explain the purposes of the listening activity and review one or more strategies students can use to help them understand what they are going to hear. Many teachers provide a graphic organizer to guide the listening.

Presenting the Information: As students listen, teachers use both verbal and visual cues to direct students' attention to the important information being presented. The teacher encourages students to confirm, connect, visualize, judge, predict, and make notes. Teachers may wish to read informational texts twice - once for the experience and gist, and then for attention to the main ideas or important information.

After Listening: Teachers provide opportunities for students to discuss and clarify their understanding, and to apply the new information they have learned.

Listening Guides: Providing students with a framework or guide for listening can help them focus on the listening task and the purpose for listening. These guides can be prepared by the teacher or by the teacher and the students.

In the Developing Phase, have the class brainstorm ideas for questions or sentence stems to use in a guide (e.g., Pre-listening: What do I already know about the topic? What do I want to find out? During listening: What is the main idea of the speaker? What facts or evidence does the speaker provide to support the main idea? Post-listening: Did I find out anything new? Is there more I would like to know?).

Guides also can be prepared by the teacher and help students focus on following a sequence of instructions or events, capturing key details for later review and analysis, and other purposes.

Directed Listening-Thinking Activities (DLTA): The teacher reads a story or other piece of literature aloud to students, who actively listen to make predictions and to verify those predictions (Stauffer, 1980).

Before Listening: Teachers prepare students to hear the text by providing necessary background information related to the text or the author. Using the title, an illustration, or the first paragraph, teachers ask questions like: "What do you think a story with a title like this might be about? What do you think might happen in this story? Does this picture give you any ideas about what might happen?"

Read Aloud to Students: As teachers read parts of the story aloud, they stop at key points to ask students to confirm or reject their predictions by answering question such as: "What do you think now? What do you think will happen next? What would happen if …?"

After Reading Aloud: Students are invited to talk about the story, reflect on their predictions, and make connections to their own lives and experiences. They are expected to provide reasons to support their predictions and thinking. For example, the teacher might ask, "What in the story supports that idea? What in the story makes you think of that prediction?"

Short Dictation Exercises: Teachers can use short dictations of a daily message or short passage from a text to help students in the Developing Phase focus their listening and visualize some of the conventions of the language (e.g., punctuation, capitalization).

Transcribing "is an excellent activity that helps students sharpen their listening, handwriting, spelling, and punctuation all at once. When transcribing, or taking dictation, is used primarily as a listening activity, teachers should put emphasis on the accuracy of their listening and de-emphasize the encoding aspects of handwriting, spelling, and punctuation. If we demand a high degree of accuracy in all these aspects, we can make transcribing a very difficult and frustrating task. Focus on the main point - good listening - and work on neatness and accurate spelling at another time" (Temple & Gillet, 1989, p. 103-104).

Teachers can: Partner Retells: Students form groups and read a story independently. Each member thinks about the key elements and one member is designated to retell the story to the group. As the designated student is telling the story, the group members listen carefully. After the telling, the listeners go through their books and place a self-adhesive note on any pages that the storyteller included in the retell. They then compliment the storyteller with statements such as, "I noticed you included ...." If any key elements are missing, the group members note them after their compliments and provide page clues to the storyteller (Hoyt, 2000, p. 159). Alternatively, this activity could be structured in pairs.