As a classroom teacher, I am always looking for new ways to engage my students. Active listening is what I am after. I know if they are listening, engaged and participating then there is a greater chance of success.

Each child has the potential to become a better listener and to practice active listening skills. With so many distractions these days and the habit of constant stimulation in our young people, our job as teachers is even harder. We want our students to fully concentrate, understand, respond and then remember what is being said.

An active listener is someone who;

• pays attention

• looks at who is talking

• does not talk

• ask questions

• follows directions

• visualise what is being said

Try out these strategies in your classroom to teach your students to become more active listeners;

• students use post-it notes while listening to a video for note-taking. They record any key takeaways or keywords and feed back at the end.

• have chat station questions around the room for certain topics. As a small group, students rotate and discuss and answer the question.

• students give a thumbs up during class discussion to show they are following and actively listening

• think pair share. They must then report back to the class with what their partner said

• news - report back what the partner said

• to create a calming classroom so students are able to focus. Get into the habit of together taking three deep breaths after recess

• when giving instructions choose a couple of students to repeat back what is expected before moving off

• when asking questions and wanting students input, use the paddle pop system. Students names are written on a paddle pop stick and are chosen at random to answer the questions

• allow time to practice skills of eye contact, nodding, good posture, repeat and paraphrase what was just said

• ensure sitting with the 5 L’s - lips, legs, laps, look, listen - correct posture will make a difference. No slouching, lazing on cushion. Need to show with their bodies they are ready to learn

• avoid distractions as much as possible - close windows from noise outside, decrease disruptions from other classes, eliminate problem behaviours.

• teach summarizing - so they can summarize what has been said

• turn taking - put their hand up and wait. When someone is speaking, put your hand down. This shows respect and promotes a positive climate in your classroom

• have a word of the day - whenever you say it throughout the day students must clap to show they heard the word being used

Results of whether students are engaged or not will fall on the teacher/presenter and this has a lot to do with the way we deliver our content.

As teachers;

• try to make it interesting, without going over the top

• use your fingers to list things students need to do

• use good public speaking skills such as tone, expression, hand gestures etc.

• model respect and understanding when your students are listening and respond to their contributions showing you were actively listening to them

• most importantly, show your students you are passionate; that you find it interesting and there is a purpose to what we are learning

Have fun with this game with your students to get to know each other and to practice active listening. It may even help friendships.

To play, buddy students up and allocate one of them as student A and the other as student B. Student A must listen to student B for a specified amount of time, maybe five seconds for infants and one minutes for primary students. Instruct student B to finish the sentence “It’s not a secret that…” They can finish this sentence with any information about themselves, whether it’s their family structure, the classes they like best in school, their hobbies, their pets, their favourite or least favourite things or anything else they’d like to share. Student B repeats this sentence several times, completing it with a new piece of information each time. When the time is up, have students A and B switch roles, so A speaks while B listens.

Do you have to teach your students how to be good listeners? Do you believe listening is a skill that can be taught/learned? What active listening strategies do you implement in your classroom? We would love it if you joined the conversation and left a comment below.