Listening Comprehension Step 6: Classroom Talk
Step 6 of 6. Longer passages that sound like a teacher giving a mini lesson or an announcement, read aloud with the words hidden, with questions on the main point, key details and a new word. 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.
Good morning, everyone. Tomorrow we are going on our field trip to the science museum. The bus leaves at eight thirty, so please be in the classroom by eight fifteen. Bring a packed lunch in a bag with your name on it. You do not need money because the museum is free for schools. If it rains, we will still go, so bring a jacket.
Where is the class going?
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
Play the passage once while the student just listens, then again while they jot one or two key words on paper, the way they might in class. Read each question aloud or press its speaker. The vocabulary questions ask about words like habitat and evaporation that the talk itself explains, so ask the student which sentence gave the meaning. Use this step to connect strategy practice to real classroom moments.
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
- Question promptAsk a story-grammar question: who, where, what was the problem, what happened next?Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two possible next parts of the story and let the student pick and say it.Log as cued
- ModelTell that part yourself; the student tells it back in their own words.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer parts, and keep a first-next-last visual on the table.
Ask for the retell without the pictures, with a feeling or a reason added to each part.
Matching IEP goal
Given a picture or story prompt, Student will state the main idea and two supporting details in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than one question prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Step 6 practises the kind of listening a classroom asks for every day. The passages sound like a teacher talking: a field trip announcement with times and things to bring, a mini lesson on the water cycle and evaporation, project directions with steps and a due date, and a food drive for the community pantry. Each is read aloud with the words hidden, and questions ask for the main point, key details such as when to arrive, and the meaning of a new word explained in the talk.
What to listen for
Notice whether the student catches numbers and times, which are easy to mix up when heard once. Watch for main point answers that pick an exciting detail, such as the pizza party, over the real purpose. Note whether jotting key words helps or distracts. If the student does well here, try real announcements from their own classroom.
Carrying it home
At home, give a short set of plans for tomorrow with a time and two things to bring, then ask your child to tell them back. Listen to the school newsletter or a radio announcement together and ask what the main point was. Let your child give you instructions for a game and see if you can follow them.
What's in this activity
- Where is the class going?
- The science museum
- The zoo
- The library
- When should students be in the classroom?
- At eight thirty
- By eight fifteen
- At noon
- What should students not bring?
- A jacket
- A packed lunch
- Money
- What is this lesson mostly about?
- The water cycle
- How to swim safely
- Kinds of fish
- What does evaporation mean?
- Rain falling from clouds
- Water turning into a gas
- Water freezing into ice
- What happens when the drops get heavy?
- They turn into gas
- They float higher
- They fall as rain or snow
- What should students do first?
- Choose an animal
- Draw a picture
- Write their names
- When is the project due?
- Tomorrow
- Next Thursday
- In a month
- What is a habitat?
- What an animal eats
- A kind of poster
- The place an animal lives
- What is the school collecting?
- Cans of food
- Old books
- Winter coats
- Why should students not bring glass jars?
- They are too heavy
- They can break
- The pantry is full
- What is the main point of the announcement?
- A pizza party for everyone
- A new lunch menu
- A food drive for families
Questions
- Who is this for?
- Students in grades 4 through 6 who need practice following classroom talk, lessons and announcements.
- 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.