Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities

1. Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Early Years Oral Games & Activities

2. Sound and Word Awareness / Listening Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Detection of Sound Equipment required: blindfold How to Play: A blindfolded student stands in the middle of the circle of students. A child in the circle makes a sound / says a word. The blindfolded child identifies the student who made the sound. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

3. Sound and Word Awareness / Listening Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Musical Statues Equipment required: music (recorded or played) How to Play: Students move freely to the music. When the music stops the children must freeze. The last child to freeze is out. The winner is the student left after ever child has been eliminated. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

4. Sound and Word Awareness / Listening Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Repeat Teacher Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher tells the students a sequence of numbers, animals, names, colours etc. Student/s repeat the sequence back to the teacher Early Years Oral Games & Activities

5. Sound and Word Awareness / Listening Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Sound Discrimination Equipment required: Items for creating noises How to Play: Students listen to two sounds (eyes closed) – whistle, bell, clap etc, Students identify if the sounds are the same or different Repeat this with words NB This activity can provide some initial information about student hearing loss. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

6. Sound and Word Awareness / Listening Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Sound Discrimination 2 Equipment required: Instruments How to Play: Teacher uses a hidden triangle, drum, tambourine – link a movement to each instrument (eg marching = drum, shaking = tambourine, tiptoe = triangle) When the children here each instrument they move to match it. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

7. Sound and Word Awareness / Listening Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Clapped Rhythm Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher claps a simple rhythm pattern. Students copy the rhythm. Students can be selected to lead the rhythm. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

8. Sound and Word Awareness / Listening Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Making Sounds Equipment required: Tissues How to Play: Teacher makes a single phoneme / sound. Students copy the sound. Students feel their throat, cheeks etc as they are making the sound. Eg mmm Students watch each other create phonemes – watching what is happening with tongue, lips Students hold a tissue in front of their mouth, and identify if a sound uses breath or not eg ‘p’ – yes, ‘n’ – no Early Years Oral Games & Activities

9. Sound and Word Awareness / Listening Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:What’s Left Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher says a number of compound words. Then identifies one of the words which make up the compound word. Eg rainbow – bow The student identifies the word that is left. Eg rain. Other words Starfish, midnight, cowboy, sandpit, hilltop, Early Years Oral Games & Activities

10. Sound and Word Awareness / Listening Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Compound Words Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher identifies a word. Students make up as many compound words using this word. Eg book – bookshelf, bookbag Foot – football, footpath Sun – Sunday, sunrise, sunset Early Years Oral Games & Activities

11. Sound and Word Awareness / Listening Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Syllables Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher models clapping out the beat of syllables in words – particularly words from familiar texts Students join in clapping out the syllables with teacher. Students lead in the clapping of syllables. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

12. Rhyming Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Rhyming Pairs Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher says two words, then identifies if the words rhyme or not (hold up yes/no card, or make a ‘ding’ sound for yes/ ‘bahbow’ sound for no Students identify if the words rhyme or not Student can lead the rhyming game Variation: Teacher says three words Students identify the word that doesn’t rhyme. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

13. Rhyming Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Rhyming Snap Equipment required: Cards with rhyming pairs How to Play: Students play snap Students win when they snap on rhyming pairs Early Years Oral Games & Activities

14. Rhyming Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Rhyming Match Equipment required: Images of a variety items How to Play: Teacher says a word Students identify an image/word which rhymes with the word Students can take on the role of teacher – identifying a word for the students to find a rhyme with Early Years Oral Games & Activities

15. Rhyming Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Rhyming in Texts Equipment required: familiar texts How to Play: Students identify words that rhyme in familiar texts. Students can develop rhyming games based on the texts. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

16. Rhyming Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Oral Rhyming Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher says a word Students provide a rhyming word, orally Early Years Oral Games & Activities

17. Rhyming Games Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Finish the Rhyme Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher says a sentence / poem. Eg ‘there once was a cat who was very …’ Students provide a rhyming word to complete the sentence eg. ‘fat’ Early Years Oral Games & Activities

18. Beginning Sounds / Alliterations Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Same or Different Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher says two or a series of words. Students identify if the words start with the same initial sound (Yes/No) Students identify the initial sound of each series of words with the same initial sound. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

19. Beginning Sounds / Alliterations Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Minimal Pairs Equipment required: None How to Play: Students hold a tissue in front of their mouth. Teacher identifies minimal pairs (k/g, t/d, p/b) Students say the minimal pairs and identify the difference when speaking into a tissue. Place finger on the front of the throat and identify the way our voice vibrates for the following minimal pairs (s/z. sh/zh, ch/j) Early Years Oral Games & Activities

20. Beginning Sounds / Alliterations Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:What’s The Sound Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher says a word Students identify the starting sound Students take on the teacher role – says a word Other students identify initial sounds Early Years Oral Games & Activities

21. Beginning Sounds / Alliterations Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Students Name Equipment required: None How to Play: Students group themselves according the first sound in their first name Students group themselves according to the first sound in their surname. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

22. Beginning Sounds / Alliterations Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:I Spy Equipment required: A selection of objects (familiar for ESL students) How to Play: A selection of common objects (each with a different starting sound) are put on display for the whole class to see. One student is selected to go first, saying: ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with…’ The group call out the object beginning with that sound. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

23. Beginning Sounds / Alliterations Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Feely Box/Bag Equipment required: A selection of objects (familiar for ESL students), Feely Bag/Box How to Play: Feely bag/box contain a selection of familiar objects Students take turns to reach in and attempt to identify the object and the sound it starts with. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

24. Beginning Sounds / Alliterations Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Brainstorming Equipment required: None How to Play: Students sit in a circle Teacher identifies a target initial sound Students take turns to identify words that begin with with the target initial sound eg bag, ball, bike, bat Early Years Oral Games & Activities

25. Beginning Sounds / Alliterations Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Picture Dictionary Equipment required: Posters with letters of the alphabet on each sheet. How to Play: Students cut out pictures from magazines, draw pictures, Students place the pictures on the alphabet sheets – identifying initial sounds Early Years Oral Games & Activities

26. Beginning Sounds / Alliterations Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Odd One Out Equipment required: Picture cards with matching initial sounds How to Play: Teacher shows the students three picture cards – two picture cards have the same initial sound. Students name each picture and identify the matching initial sounds, then identifying the odd one out and the initial sound Early Years Oral Games & Activities

27. Beginning Sounds / Alliterations Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Tongue Twisters Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher says a tongue twister. Students repeat the tongue twister Tongue twisters start slowly and can be sped up. A challenge to say the tongue twister as many times without a mistake. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

28. Beginning Sounds / Alliterations Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Oral Close Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher says a sentence with a missing word. The initial sound of the missing word is provided as a hint.eg ‘I went shopping and I bought a m…’ ‘A boys name is D…’ etc Early Years Oral Games & Activities

29. Breaking words into Sounds Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Final Sounds Equipment required: Picture Cards How to Play: Teacher selects a Picture Card. Students identify the word Teacher and students break the word into sounds and identify the final sound Student selects a Picture Card Students identify the word and the sounds, then final sound. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

30. Breaking words into Sounds Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Final Sounds Chain Equipment required: None How to Play: Students sit in a circle Teacher says a word First student identifies a word that starts with the final sound of the teachers word (eg teacher’s word – bell, first student’s word – lion) Students take turns to say a word starting with the final sound of the previous word. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

31. Breaking words into Sounds Source: Early Childhood Listening and Speaking Games and Activities Compiled by Kelly Birkett 2005 Activity:Sort According To Sound Equipment required: Picture Cards How to Play: Students are given a selection of pictures. Students sort them according to the final sounds. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

32. Listening Source: A few ideas from Jean McDonald Aboriginal Hearing Katherine Education Office Activity:Dead Ants Equipment required: None How to Play: Children act out the movement of different animals as they are called out by teacher eg Jumping kangaroo, swimming fish, slithering snake etc. When the teacher calls out ‘dead ant’ the students lie on their backs with their arms and legs in the air Students take turns to give instructions. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

33. Listening Source: A few ideas from Jean McDonald Aboriginal Hearing Katherine Education Office Activity:Partners Equipment required: None How to Play: Work in pairs. You can only have the number of things touching the ground that I call out. Eg 5 – 2 feet, 1 bottom, 2 hands Try working with 3 or 4 in a group The number called out could be identified by the teacher or could be based on a dice roll / playing card Early Years Oral Games & Activities

34. Listening Source: A few ideas from Jean McDonald Aboriginal Hearing Katherine Education Office Activity:Hot and Cold Equipment required: Object How to Play: Hide and object – as a child searches for it, the other children say ‘hot’ if they are close and ‘cold’ if they are far away. Students can also grade the closeness to the item by using ‘warmer’ and ‘cooler’ You can use a bell or chime when the child looking gets close to the object. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

35. Listening Source: A few ideas from Jean McDonald Aboriginal Hearing Katherine Education Office Activity:Animals Equipment required: None How to Play: Children act out and make the sounds of: Dog, chicken, horse, monkey, snake, pig, sheep Early Years Oral Games & Activities

36. Listening Source: A few ideas from Jean McDonald Aboriginal Hearing Katherine Education Office Activity:Shhh – I Can Hear a … Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher says, ‘Shhh – I can hear a ….it makes the sound … eg barking Children guess the object. Students take the role of the teacher. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

37. Listening Source: A few ideas from Jean McDonald Aboriginal Hearing Katherine Education Office Activity:Related Words Equipment required: None How to Play: Children sit in a circle. Pass an object around – only the person holding the object can speak. Start with a word – children take turns to say a word that is related to the word said before eg ball, bounce, catch, kick, football, Essendon, bombers, etc Early Years Oral Games & Activities

38. Listening Source: A few ideas from Jean McDonald Aboriginal Hearing Katherine Education Office Activity:Celebrity Heads Equipment required: Board and chalk How to Play: 2 or 3 children sit with their backs to the board Write, draw or stick an image on the board behind the person Children ask closed (Yes/No) questions of the class about their word/drawing Early Years Oral Games & Activities

39. Listening Source: A few ideas from Jean McDonald Aboriginal Hearing Katherine Education Office Activity:Who Has My Tail? Equipment required: Board and chalk How to Play: Children sit in circle, one child in the middle with eyes closed. (Child could also be at the front of the class with back to class). Put a ‘tail’ (eg a ruler) behind the child in the middle Point to one child who takes the ‘tail’ and hides it behind his/her back. Child in middle says, ‘Who has taken my tail?’ The child who has the ‘tail’ says, ‘I have.’ The child in the middle has 3 guesses to identify the child with the ‘tail’. Early Years Oral Games & Activities

40. Listening Source: A few ideas from Jean McDonald Aboriginal Hearing Katherine Education Office Activity:What’s in the box? Equipment required: Objects and Box How to Play: Put an object in a box or a container. Children try to identify it by asking questions. Teacher only answers yes, no or maybe Early Years Oral Games & Activities

41. Listening Source: A few ideas from Jean McDonald Aboriginal Hearing Katherine Education Office Activity:Who is the Kitten? Equipment required: None How to Play: Children sit with their eyes closed. Teacher or selected student tiptoes around and gently touches someone on the shoulder. That person meows (or other noise). Other children guess who is the kitten Early Years Oral Games & Activities

42. Listening Source: A few ideas from Jean McDonald Aboriginal Hearing Katherine Education Office Activity:Oral Cloze Equipment required: None How to Play: Teacher leaves out an identified language structure/feature when telling or reading a story (eg the verbs) The children identify the missing word. Early Years Oral Games & Activities