Grade by Grade
Strand A: Foundations of Language and Mathematics · Talking, Listening, Reading and Writing

Listening and Talking Together

A1.1 A1.2 A1.3About 20 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can listen when someone is talking and wait for my turn.
  • I can tell about something I did, with details.
  • I can ask questions to find out more.
  • I can notice how faces and voices show feelings.

Words to know

listen
To use your ears and your brain to understand what someone says.
take turns
One person talks, then the other person talks.
question
Something you ask to find out more. Questions often start with who, what, where, when or why.
detail
A little extra piece of information, like a colour, a size or a name.
feelings
How we feel inside, like happy, sad, angry, scared or surprised.

Hello, talker!

(Grown-up: read this lesson aloud and do it together.)

Do you like to talk? Talking is fun! We talk to tell people things. We talk to ask for help. We talk to share our ideas.

But talking has a partner. Its partner is listening.

A grown-up and a child sit on a park bench under autumn maple trees, turned toward each other as they talk.
A grown-up and a child are taking turns talking and listening. See how they turn toward each other? That shows they are listening. AI-generated image

Good listening

When someone talks to you, you can use your whole body to listen:

  • Eyes look at the person.
  • Ears hear the words.
  • Mouth is quiet for now.
  • Body is calm and still.
  • Brain thinks about what they say.

When they finish, it is your turn to talk. Talking, then listening, then talking again is called taking turns. It is like passing a ball back and forth.

I went sledding!talkslistenseyes look, ears hear,mouth is quiettaking turnsthen switch!
Talking and listening is like passing a ball. One person talks while the other listens. Then they switch.
👀👂🤐🧠
Eyes looking, ears listening, mouth quiet, brain thinking. That is a listening body!

Faces and voices talk too

People tell us things without words. We can look at their face and listen to their voice.

A big smile can mean happy. Tears can mean sad. A loud, fast voice can mean excited or upset. A soft voice can mean tired or shy.

FaceHow the person might feel
😀happy
😢sad
😠angry
😮surprised
😨scared
Look at each face. Make the same face yourself!

Telling with details

When you tell about something you did, add details. Details are extra bits that help the listener make a picture in their head.

  • Without details: "I played."
  • With details: "I played in the snow with my big sister. We made a snowman with a carrot nose."

Use the best word you know. Say "toque" instead of "thing on my head". Say "excavator" instead of "big truck", if you know that word!

Worked example

Let's tell about our day together

A grown-up asks: "What did you do at the park?"

  1. Start: Say what you did. "I went on the swings."
  2. Add a detail: Say who or what it looked like. "I went on the red swings with Grandpa."
  3. Add a feeling: "I felt happy because I went really high!"
  4. Listener's turn: The grown-up asks a question to learn more: "Who pushed you?" Then you answer.

"I went on the red swings with Grandpa. He pushed me really high. I felt happy!" That is a great telling, with details and a feeling.

Asking questions

Questions help us find out more. Many questions start with these words:

  • Who? (a person) "Who is coming to dinner?"
  • What? (a thing) "What is in the box?"
  • Where? (a place) "Where are my mittens?"
  • When? (a time) "When can we go skating?"
  • Why? (a reason) "Why do leaves fall?"

Your voice goes up a little at the end of a question. Try it: "Can I have a snack?"

Remember

Listen with your whole body. Wait for your turn. Use details when you tell. Ask questions to learn more.

Just for fun

What has ears but can’t hear a thing?

Corn! 🌽 (An ear of corn.) Good thing your ears are great listeners.

Hands-on activity

Talking stick game

You need: a spoon, a stick or a toy to be the "talking stick".

  1. Sit together. Only the person holding the talking stick talks. Everyone else listens.
  2. The grown-up holds it first and tells about their day in 2 or 3 sentences.
  3. Pass it to the child. The child asks the grown-up one question about what they heard.
  4. Now the child tells about their day. The grown-up asks a who, what or where question.
  5. Keep passing it back and forth.

Talk about it: "How did you know it was your turn?"

Your turn

1

Show me your listening body. What are your eyes, ears and mouth doing?

2

😢 How might this person feel?

3

😀 How might this person feel?

4

Tell me one thing you did today. Then add one detail.

5

Ask me a question that starts with where.

6

Say "I lost my mitten" in a sad voice. Now say it in a silly voice.

7

If two people talk at the same time, what can happen?

More practice: warm-up

1

😠 How might this person feel?

2

😮 How might this person feel?

3

Point to your ears. What do we use them for?

4

Is this a question or a telling? "Do you like pancakes?"

5

Wave at me without talking. What does a wave mean?

More practice: on your own

1

Make your own sentence better with a detail: "I saw a dog."

2

Ask a who question about our family.

3

Your friend's face looks like this: 😨. What could you say to them?

4

Tell me what you did yesterday, using the words first and then.

5

What is a better word than "thing"? "I wear a thing on my head when it is cold."

Challenge

1

A grown-up says: "I went to the store and bought milk, bread and bananas." Can you tell me back what I bought?

2

Ask me two different questions about my favourite food.

3

Your friend is talking, and you remember something exciting. What should you do?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Your friend is talking to you. What should you do?

2.

Which face looks happy?

3.

Which one is a question?

4.

Which sentence has the most details?

5.

Someone nods their head up and down 🙂. What does it usually mean?

For parents and teachers

Why this matters: Talking and listening are the foundation of reading and writing. Children who hear and use lots of words, and who can tell about their experiences in detail, have more to draw on when they start to read and write.

How to help at home:

  • Have real back-and-forth conversations every day (at meals, in the car, at bedtime). Ask open questions like "What was the best part?" instead of yes/no questions.
  • When your child says something short, expand it: Child: "Big truck!" You: "Yes, a big yellow dump truck is carrying sand."
  • Name feelings as they happen: "You look frustrated. Your face is scrunched up."
  • Use real names for things (snow plough, cardinal, colander).

Common difficulties: Interrupting is normal at this age. Use a talking object to make turns visible. Some children are quiet or shy, or are learning English as an additional language. Let them answer by pointing, gesturing or using their home language. All of these are communication, and the home language helps English grow.