All Modules B6-Development Matters in the early years | Page 17
Playing and Exploring, Active Learning, and Creating and Thinking Critically support children’s learning across all areas
3. Communication and Language: Listening and attention
Positive Relationships:
Enabling Environments:
what adults could do
what adults could provide
19. Listens to others one to one or in small groups,
when conversation interests them.
20. Listens to stories with increasing attention and recall.
21. Joins in with repeated refrains and anticipates key events
and phrases in rhymes and stories.
22. Focusing attention – still listen or do, but can shift
own attention.
30-50 months 23. • Is able to follow 3 steps directions ( if not intently
focused on own choice of activity).
24. Follows motion in a movement activity
25. Maintains attention, concentrates and sits quietly
during appropriate activity.
26. Two-channeled attention – can listen and do for
short span
27. Shows understanding by asking and answering
relevant questions
28. Provides ideas relevant to context clearly
29. Contributes ideas to theme of the month and
construct new ideas in conversations
30. Follows multiple steps directions (3 to 4 steps)
40-60+
months
31. Asks to be reminded of steps if needed
See literacy area
Early Learning Goal
Children listen attentively in a range of situations. They
listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and
respond to what they hear with relevant comments,
questions or actions. They give their attention to what
others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in
another activity.
.
• Model being a listener by listening to children and taking
account of what they say in your responses to them.
• Cue children, particularly those with communication
difficulties, into a change of conversation, e.g. ‘Now we
are going to talk about…’
• For those children who find it difficult to ‘listen and do’,
say their name before giving an instruction or asking a
question.
• Share rhymes, books and stories from many cultures,
sometimes using languages other than English,
particularly where children are learning English as an
additional language. Children then all hear a range of
languages and recognize the skill needed to speak more
than one.
• Introduce ‘rhyme time’ bags containing books to take
home and involve parents in rhymes and singing games.
• Ask parents to record regional variations of songs and
rhymes.
• Play games which involve listening for a signal, such as
‘Simon Says’, and use ‘ready, steady…go!’
• Use opportunities to stop and listen carefully for
environmental sounds, and talk about sounds you can
hear such as long, short, high, low.
• Explain why it is important to pay attention when others
are speaking.
• Give children opportunities both to speak and to listen,
ensuring that the needs of children learning English as
an additional language are met, so that they can
participate fully.
•
Ask children recall questions and model
•
• When making up alliterative jingles, draw attention to
the similarities in sounds at the beginning of words and
emphasise the initial sound, e.g. “mmmmummy”,
“shshshshadow”, “K-K-K-KKaty”.
• Plan activities listening carefully to different speech
sounds, e.g. a sound chain copying the voice sound
around the circle, or identifying other children’s voices
on tape.
• Help children be aware of different voice sounds by
using a mirror to see what their mouth and tongue do
as they make different sounds.
• When singing or saying rhymes, talk about the similarities
in the rhyming words. Make up alternative endings and
encourage children to supply the last word of the second
line, e.g. ‘Hickory Dickory boot, The mouse ran down
the...
• Set up a listening area where children can enjoy rhymes
and stories.
• Choose stories with repeated refrains, dances and
action songs involving looking and