Some oral communication strategies
Expanded from S. Richardson’s presentation, Nov. 30/07
1. Drum a rhythm and the students copy it—become increasingly more complicated
( bell work or end of class)
2. Students are given jokes and / or short amusing excerpts ( Reader’s digest, joke
books, Bathroom reader) and they must tell it to another student. That student
then does a ‘retell’ to a third student.
3. Play an old song with dialogue and a story line. The students listen to it, jot ideas
down, and in a pair/ share, retell it to a partner. The partner can also ask
prompting questions, and a writing assignment might also develop from it i.e.
summary.
4. Think/ Pair/ Share Two in a group. Each has an opportunity to read several
paragraphs while the partner listens. H/she then reads two prepared questions and
the listener must answer ( can refer to notes that were jotted down while
listening). They switch roles. Note: for some students they might have to know
the questions first, and have been taught the types of key words and phrases that
signal key information. Two-four higher level discussion questions about the text
are given to the pair to talk about at the end.
5. Listen to a comedic short story in group of 4. Using the placemat strategy
which divides a page into 4, with a central circle. Each person writes ( or draws)
down areas of the story which are / were similar to their own life experience. All
members share what is in their section of the placement. A question is given
which all four participants discuss and then fill in the central bubble—for
example-- in a short sentence or phrase, state the central theme of the story.
Groups can then present their work to the class.
6. Reverse think-alouds: Read text aloud. Have the students listen and put up their
hands when they think YOU should have a thought. When they do, stop and tell
them what you are thinking at the time. Some students may need a token to put in
a box etc. to signal they have participated, once they have used their turn to
interrupt your reading, their token goes in a box
7. Imagery: Students hear a selection of text read. On a “T” chart they write down
in the left hand column the actual images that come to mind as the story is being
read. in the right column they write any words they hear which brought those
images or situation to mind. ( note: some students may need to start from a picture
source, write the phrases and key words first. ( only adjectives, adverbs and nouns
that don’t directly label something in the story that would give it away. Then, they
could give their list of words and phrases to a partner, who, with a choice of 5
mystery pictures—chooses the photo that matches, and explains why.
8. Turn off the sound on a video of a race, hockey game or other video of interest
and have the students create the oral track, then listen to the variety of solutions
and presentations, discussing strategies that are most effective.
9. other ideas: ( curriculum expectations in brackets)
o listen to a newscast for specific information ( identify purpose)
o listen to a song to detect gender bias
o take turns speaking and avoid interrupting ( different listening strategies)
o ask questions after a presentation
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use a graphic organizer after listening to a video clip and summarize
deconstruct a speech in order to understand it
carry out a procedure after listening to instructions
write a summary of an oral story ( identify important information)
recreate an image to represent a scene of a play after hearing an audio clip
listen to part of a radio sports cast and explain how the announcer helps
listeners visualize the action (develop/explain interpretations of oral text)
several student interpret an oral text and then compare notes
listen to 2 audio versions of a same clip from a play or story and compare the
nuances of each actors’ performance.
Small group discussion of characters from an oral text—what might the
listeners have done in the same situation? ( extending understanding)
Outline similarities and differences of newspaper articles and radio broadcast
of same subject.
Listen to an advertising campaign to detect flawed logic.
Use public service announcement about drinking and driving –analyze the
tone and ideas that are emphasized .( analyze oral text)
Clip of expert panel discussion-evaluation how participants establish authority
and credibility.
Small group discussion of how different people react to major news events –
why do different people react differently to the same broadcast ?
Compare / contrast songs of several musical artists.
Global warming-expert panel—analyze perspectives of various participants on
this panel
In oral forms: Look at the use of technology, inflection, pitch, specialized
vocabulary, humour, rhetorical devices, anecdotes, level of language—to
persuade, entertain ( identify different presentation strategies)
Use reader’s theater to help reveal complex themes in a story or novel
Discuss rhetorical patterns used in formal speech