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1st Grade Speaking and Listening Activities

30 1st grade speaking and listening activities. Teacher favorites: Describing Words Activity and Describing Nouns Adjective Activity. How teachers use these

1st Grade Speaking and Listening Activities

30 1st grade speaking and listening activities. Teacher favorites: Describing Words Activity and Describing Nouns Adjective Activity. How teachers use these

Activity
Activity1st GradeDescribing Words Activity

This describing words activity has 1st and 2nd Grade students match 8 picture cards with 16 adjective cards, with a recording sheet, practice page and answer key included.

Activity
Activity1st GradeDescribing Nouns Adjective Activity

This describing nouns adjective activity has 1st and 2nd Grade partners describe picture cards with adjectives and play a guessing game. Answer key included.

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Activity1st GradeLet's Talk Classroom Speaking Activity

This Let's Talk classroom speaking activity gives kindergarten through 3rd grade students role cards, topic cards and a self-check for small group talks. A practice page and answer key are included.

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Activity1st GradeUsing Clues to Describe Activity

This using clues to describe activity has 1st and 2nd grade students read three describing words, listen to a partner and find the matching picture. Answer key included.

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Activity1st GradeFeeling Words Activity

This feeling words activity has 1st to 3rd graders read a story, match clue cards to feeling words, and practice naming how characters feel. An answer key is included.

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Activity1st GradeGuess Who Matching Game Activity

UsingGuess Who Matching Game Activity, students take turns asking questions to figure out their partner's mystery person.

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Activity1st GradeClassroom Conversations Activity

This classroom conversations activity has K-2nd grade students play a describe-and-guess game as Speakers and Listeners, with picture cards and a practice page. Answer key included.

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Activity1st GradeTotal Recall Activity

This total recall activity for Kindergarten to 3rd Grade has kids tell about real memories, spin for a question word, and draw and write about one memory.

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Activity1st GradeDescribe It Figurative Language Activity

This describe it figurative language activity for 1st and 2nd Grade has kids match adjective word cards to the pictures they describe. Answer key included.

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Activity1st GradeExpress Your Feelings Character Education Activity

This express your feelings character education activity helps K-2nd grade students name six feelings with bracelets, charades and talk cards, then speak in full sentences. Answer key included.

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Activity1st Grade5 Minutes of Fame Read Aloud Activity

With this 5 minutes of fame read aloud activity, 1st-3rd Grade students practice and perform short poems with a paper microphone. A practice page and answer key are included.

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Activity1st GradeLet's Talk About It Activity

This Let's Talk About It activity gives Kindergarten to 2nd Grade students sentence starters for sharing, asking and agreeing in partner talks, with a spinner game. Answer key included.

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Activity1st GradeHelp Me Out Asking Questions Activity

The Help Me Out Asking Questions Activity is a matching game where children pair classroom mix-ups with the clear question that fixes each one. Made for 1st through 3rd grade, with an answer key included.

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Activity1st GradeGold Medal Reading Strategies Activity

This gold medal reading strategies activity gives 1st to 3rd grade students a model story and four organizers for story maps, retelling and connections. Answer key included.

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Activity1st GradeRead it Aloud Activity

This read it aloud activity has 1st-3rd Grade students order Three Little Pigs story cards, then read them aloud with expression. A buddy checklist, practice page and answer key are included.

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Activity1st GradeAsking Questions about a Story Activity

This asking questions about a story activity helps Kindergarten to 2nd Grade readers match question cards to answers from a short story. Answer key included, so checking the work is quick.

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Activity1st GradeWho What When Where Why How Activity

This who what when where why how activity is a newspaper card game for 1st to 3rd grade that builds key detail skills, with a practice page. Answer key included.

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Activity1st GradeAfter Reading Discussion Cards Activity

These after reading discussion cards give kindergarten to 3rd grade readers 24 story questions, a spinner and a book talk page for lively group conversations about any book.

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Activity1st GradeAsk Me About It Speaking and Listening Activity

This ask me about it speaking and listening activity gives Kindergarten to 2nd Grade children topic cards, question cards and a spinner to share, ask and answer, with an answer key included.

Activity
Activity1st GradeReading Questions Camping Activity

Try this reading questions camping activity with 1st to 3rd grade readers. Kids read a camping story and match question cards to answer cards; an answer key is included.

From our teachers' playbook

Talk, listen, take turns

What do 1st graders learn about speaking and listening?

First graders learn the basics of a good conversation: listen while someone else talks, take turns, and respond to what was just said. They ask questions to find out more ("What happened next?"), answer questions about stories read aloud, and describe people, places and events with details. They also practice speaking in complete sentences and telling a short story out loud in order. The click moment comes when a first grader raises a hand and says "I have a question about what Jayden said" instead of jumping in with their own story.

Our favorite ways to grow first grade talkers

Little kids have a lot to say. These moves teach them how to say it and how to listen back.

Wonder about a picture

Show a busy picture and ask kids to come up with as many "who, what, where, why" questions as they can. A partner tries to answer one. Pictures give every child something to talk about, even the shy ones.

Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).

Asking Questions About Pictures WorksheetTry it withAsking Questions About Pictures WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Practice working together

Teach and act out what good partners do: eyes on the speaker, wait your turn, say something kind back. Then give partners a simple shared task. Practicing the routine early saves you all year.

Why it works: kids understand an idea best when they touch it, then draw it, then write it, the order the U.S. Department of Education recommends for elementary math.

Working Together WorksheetTry it withWorking Together WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Tell it out loud

Tell a short story about your weekend using first, next, then and last on your fingers. Kids then tell a partner their own story with the same four fingers. Oral storytelling builds the bones of writing.

Why it works: showing first, practicing together, then letting kids try alone is the "gradual release" model teachers have relied on for decades (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).

Oral Storytelling WorksheetTry it withOral Storytelling WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Questions parents and teachers ask us

What speaking and listening skills do 1st graders learn?

First graders follow rules for discussions, take turns, ask and answer questions, and build on what others say. They also describe people, places and events with details and speak in complete sentences.

How can I help my 1st grader become a better listener?

Give two- or three-step directions and ask them to repeat them back. Read a story and ask questions afterward. Model listening yourself by putting down your phone when they talk.

My 1st grader interrupts a lot. What can I do?

It's very normal at this age. Teach a signal, like a hand on your arm, that means "I have something to say." Then acknowledge them quickly. Practicing turn-taking in games helps too.

How do I get my child to speak in complete sentences?

Model it by gently repeating their answer as a full sentence. If they say "a dog," you say "Oh, you saw a dog at the park!" Ask questions that need more than one word to answer.