No repeating! Listening game

This is a great oracy activity to develop listening skills.

Choose a category, for example food. Each pupil, in turn, says a simple word or phrase from the category. So pupil 1 might say chips, pupil 2 might say mango, pupil 3 might say pizza, and so on. The turn passes around the group.

The most important thing is that every pupil has to say something different. This means they have to listen to what everyone before them said.

• Start them practising in small groups, for example trios. Build up to sixes, and eventually play the game as a whole class.

• The turns can continue a second or third time around the group so that each pupil says more than one thing – this increases the challenge of listening and remembering all the previous contributions.

• Make sure different pupils start each time you play.

• Other simple categories that work well for young children include animals and colours.

I hope your pupils enjoy the game!