Listening And Following Directions

Teach your students to listen to directions and follow directions, using simple classroom activities

Listening And Following Directions

(Published in Directory : Language Arts : Listening Skills)

We should work on:
a) Rhyming sounds:
b) Auditory memory: recall a minimum of three items.
c) Sequence of listening: use a minimum of two items in sequence.
d) Listening to specifics: listen to the letter sounds, rhymes, sounds, etc.
e) Following directions: use a minimum of two stage directives.

1. Echo: the teacher or a child says a word, a phrase a sentence or a rhyme. The children have to repeat exactly what they hear. Body position, clear diction and a loud voice are important. This activity also helps to give confidence to the children who are learning a new language or are very shy.(a, e)

2. Follow the leader - the teacher taps, claps rhymes, the children imitate the sounds. "Simon says" is another variation to this activity. (a, d)

3. Read each group of items. They are not in order. Children name the items in the correct order or sequence. (b, c)
a. shoe, sock, foot (foot, sock, shoe)
b. eat, school, breakfast (breakfast, eat, school)
c. hurt, trip, fall (trip, fall, hurt)
d. eat, cook, food (food, cook, eat)

4. Read each group of items. Children identify the largest or the smallest object in the list. (b, d)
a. cow, house, cat, tomato, bench (house, tomato)
b. moon, banana, lamp, dictionary (moon, banana)
c. peach, sofa, dog, brush, girl(sofa, peach)
d. coat, pencil, piano, truck (truck, pencil)
e. hat, planet, pond, button (planet, button)

5. Read each word, children identify each item as natural or man-made. (b, d)
Soup (man-made)
balloon (man-made)
Stone (natural)
stars (natural)
Mountain (natural)
shells (natural)
Cheese (man-made)
rain (natural)
Candle (man-made)
paper (man-made)

6. Folding paper (hat, boat) the teacher gives the instructions and does it together with the children. (e)

7. Identification of initial, middle, final sounds, rhyming words... by clapping, tapping, standing up... (a, d)

8. Describing a sequence, omit one. Children have to identify the missing event. E.g. clouds gather, rain falls, ... (the umbrellas open, puddles are formed, etc) (c, d)

9. Listening to sentences and discriminating: which are nonsense, which factual; which are true, which are false; reality and fantasy. E.g.: "I jump over the moon." (fantasy) "The moon is bright." (fact) (d)

About the Author

Name: Carole Elkeles

Bio: I am a retired educator and school principal from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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Recent Member Comments

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Marcus J. wrote on Feb 26, 2005	quote options
Thanks for all the very helpful ideas on training students to listen. It's such an obvious yet often overlooked issue; if the children don't know how to listen, their ability to learn is seriously impaired!
Humphrey Nowlin wrote on Feb 27, 2005	quote options
Definitely! Quote 3. Read each group of items. They are not in order. Children name the items in the correct order or sequence. (b, c) a. shoe, sock, foot (foot, sock, shoe) b. eat, school, breakfast (breakfast, eat, school) c. hurt, trip, fall (trip, fall, hurt) d. eat, cook, food (food, cook, eat) We used to do something similar to this, only it was with pictures, that you had to place in chronological order. I realize, that way it has nothing to do with listening, but it was still a good exercise.