Listening Comprehension Step 1: One Detail
Step 1 of 6. The student hears one short sentence with the words hidden and answers one who, what or where question about it. This is part of a six-step listening comprehension ladder: one detail, two details, short story facts, order and main idea, listening between the lines, and classroom talk.
This device has no voice — read the passage aloud to the student.
The boy is eating a red apple.
Who is eating an apple?
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Press Listen and let the student hear the sentence before they look at the choices. Read the question aloud too, or press the speaker next to it. If they miss it, play the sentence again before you give any other help. Show the words only as a later support. When the student answers most questions without a second listen, move on to Step 2, which adds a second sentence.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPress Listen so the student hears the passage with the words hidden; play it again before giving any other help, and show the words only as a later support. Present the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintReread the key sentence, or point back to the clue in the text or picture.Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two answers, the right one not always second.Log as cued
- ModelThink aloud: say how you worked it out, then the student says the answer and why.Log as cued
Adjust it
Read it aloud to the student and offer two choices from the start.
Ask the student to say which words gave them the clue, not just the answer.
Matching IEP goal
Given short texts or spoken prompts, Student will answer wh- questions in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
The first step of a listening comprehension ladder. Each question comes with one short sentence that the board reads aloud while the words stay hidden, such as a cat sleeping under the table or a frog jumping into the pond. The student listens, then picks who, what or where from three choices. One sentence and one detail keeps the load low so the student can focus on holding on to what they heard.
What to listen for
Notice whether errors cluster on one question word. A student who answers what questions but misses where questions may need more work on location words like under, by and into. Watch for answers that match a word they heard but not the question, such as choosing the dog because a dog was mentioned. Count how often they ask to hear it again, since that is a useful strategy and not a mistake.
Carrying it home
At home, say one sentence about something happening right now, such as the cat is on the chair, and ask one who, what or where question about it. Keep the sentence short and say it once before helping. Take turns so your child says a sentence and asks you a question too.
What's in this activity
- Who is eating an apple?
- The boy
- The dog
- The teacher
- What is under the table?
- A ball
- A cat
- A book
- Where is the bird?
- On the car
- In the box
- In the tree
- Who has a new bike?
- Grandma
- Mom
- The baby
- What did Sam drop?
- His cup
- His hat
- His shoe
- Where did the frog jump?
- Onto the bed
- Into the bag
- Into the pond
- Who is painting a picture?
- The girl
- The man
- The cat
- What is in the oven?
- Soup
- Bread
- Pizza
- Where are the shoes?
- On the roof
- In the sink
- By the door
- What is the dog chasing?
- A ball
- A car
- A bird
Questions
- Who is this for?
- Students in kindergarten and grade 1 working on answering simple questions about what they hear. It suits receptive language and WH question goals.
- How does the listening part work?
- Each question has a Listen button that reads the passage aloud with the words hidden. The student can listen again, and you can show the words as a support. On a device with no voice the words appear so you can read them aloud yourself.
- Can I change the passages?
- Yes. Open it in the Activity Studio to edit a passage or a question, add your own, or reorder them, and the board keeps the listening button.
- Is it free?
- Yes. It plays free in the browser with no login. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment to a student.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.