This giveaway is now closed. We’re giving away copies of Tessie Tames Her Tongue to five lucky readers! Tessie’s constant talking gets her into trouble at home and school . . . until her counselor helps her learn to tame her tongue and listen as much as she talks.
To Enter: Leave a comment below describing how you help kids learn to listen. This giveaway is now closed.
For additional entries, leave a separate comment below for each of the following tasks that you complete:
Each comment counts as a separate entry—that’s four chances to win! Entries must be received by midnight, September 22, 2017.
Each winner will be contacted via email on or around September 25, 2017, and will need to respond within 72 hours to claim his or her prize or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Winners must be U.S. residents, 18 years of age or older.
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Throughout the day in school, every moment is a teachable moment. When I see or hear things that are said wrong I remind those involved what their actions can do to harm others. I also ask how they could of said things differently to not isolate themselves or others.
Although I have moved into more of an administrative role I believe consistency and knowing what to expect is very helpful when trying to help children listen. I primarily work with infants to preschoolers so having some sort of visual aid or schedule posted lets them know clean up time comes next and makes it much smoother.
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I use books to enhance students’ knowledge. As Arthur she said, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Where ever they start, when a child is exposed to great books and uses the tools that are taught, he/she is able to do what they can to become a greater reader.
I love using books to teach all skills!
To keep kids attentive and listening I act like a total nutcase. One of my favorite character is “Dumb Dora.” I tell them I have a visitor taking my place for a little while. I go into the hall, change my appearance by making my clothes look different, putting my long hair up, and turning my eyeglasses upside down. This really gets their eyes and ears alive and well!
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I am a 4K-7 school counselor and I use books to help students with social-emotional learning. I am always looking for new resources to use.
We use breathing to calm down and focus, then, speak in a quiet voice, making listening essential. We try to be concise, age-appropriate and high interest, always aware of our audience.
We make sure that our “listening ears” are on as we talk about what is appropriate and how we can sometimes say things that we shouldn’t. Our children discover through group chat how to communicate with others without “telling” on one another.
I love teaching with books. I se my voice to empower the story with voice changes
so this whould be a wonderful book to capture their listening skills.
I use the whole body approach. what does a good listener look like, sound like, act like…show me the parts of your body that show that you are a good listener. We practice and act out scenario’s where it is important to be a good listener and what happens when we are not.
I am a counselor teaching manners etc U help kids everyday with social issues!
Lots of referencing to Whole Body Listening – with reference to what it looks like, feels like and sounds like and reinforcing when I see “whole body listening” versus pointing out when I don’t see it.
Begin by being an example – Listen when children are talking.
I first acknowledge where they are in the moment and validate them. Instruct them what I would like them to do. Ask or check if they understood my instruction and wait for their response. Use praise to keep their attention and focus. Be sure they are not sitting in one place for more that 10-15 min. Use hands on activities to verify comprehension and understanding.
Sometimes we play the silent game and whisper. Other times I will clap a specific rhythmic pattern and the children clap back. Last, I ask the children to turn on their ears by rubbing my fingers together by my ear.
We use the whole body listening approach and remind kids of why the message is important
I ask students if they heard what their classmate just said — it was very important!! We also talk about what a “good audience member” looks and acts like and why it is important to be respectful of others talking (one reason is because you want them to listen to you when you talk)
First I get everyone’s attention by whispering! It’s amazing how quickly children stop and focus when you whisper! Then I begin reading or talking to the children a little louder and more exaggerated as a go. When/if they need to be reigned in again, I begin to whisper again. Works like a charm!! Also reading in different voices really gets their attention too.
I am a child mental health provider. We work with kids that struggle with ADHD among other things and staff could use this book to read with them.
Sometimes we talk about counting to 10 in your head before saying what pops into your mind and deciding whether it’s still relevant. Sometimes we talk about the other person’s perspective and keeping that in mind. Sometimes we talk about asking a question relevant to the other speaker before talking about one’s own interest or idea. We create a bingo card with various skills – planning before school to try one or two and then marking them on the bingo card. We also do “post mortems” analyzing what went on in an interaction- what the other person or people might have thought or felt and then how the interaction might have gone better based on what the child says or suggests. Sometimes we make a “thought journal” and have the child write their thoughts so they won’t forget them and then figure out what is their priority to communicate (good training for executive function skills too!) It’s all about collaboration, self awareness and buy in for the strategies.
I help my kids learn to listen by having patience, there will be times where they may be somewhat anxious about life, so I try to be the best I can and put patience first, then, a good old fashioned talk.
I remind children to count their ears, then to count their mouth. Since I work with 3 – 4 year olds, they will stop and count then tell me 2 ears and 1 mouth; I remind them that we have TWO ears because we are to listen more than we speak. When we listen first then we can use our brains to think about what another person is saying before we respond.
Would be so lucky to win this book. I help kids learn by using good books that help them see the best of themselves.
We practice listening and put on our “listening ears.” I have them put one hand over their mouth when they raise their hand so they don’t blurt out their answers and let others finish.
In my social skills groups I us a large decorative paper clip. The students are not able to talk only listen unless they have the paper clip in there posession.
Give me 5:
1-Eyes watching
2-Ears listening
3-Voice quiet
4-Body still
5-Brain thinking
Play a game or say a rhyme to get children to sit down. Have them close their eyes and play 123 pick me. I count 123 pick me then I pick a student to speak and share. The other children use their listening skills to give the picked child a chance and opportunity to speak and share. I use 123 pick me until every child gets a turn.
I often sing my own songs, make it up as I go kind of thing. I sing instructions or during a transition. Sometimes I hear the children singing a song to remember a task. For example, While they wash their hands they sing scrub together the tops and bottoms until all the soap is gone. This reminds them to use soap and scrub all over. I find singing a quiet tune catches their attention more often then talking.
I teach students appropriate posture when they are listening to a partner. They must turn and look at the partner. I also often give students roles of listener or speaker so they learn to take turns during a conversation.
We have used a “microphone”- the child holding the microphone (we use a plastic one) is the one who everyone should be listening to. When it’s someone else’s turn to speak, the child passes the microphone. Helps young children with self-regulation.
I am a firm believer that listening is a skill that needs to be acquired. The way I get my preschoolers to listen is by asking them to close their eyes and not say a word for 1 minute (I set the timer) so they can listen to their breathing. After the 1 minute is up, ask them to slowly open their eyes. This is a good way to practice listening.
I like to use rhymes or songs to get the younger children to listen. Sometimes we will play games such as Simon Says, Stop and Go, Duck Duck Goose, the children enjoy these ideas and respond well to listening when we help to make it enjoyable. It is also important to pay attention and listen to what the children are sharing, it is a mutual respect thing, if I know you will listen to me, I am more likely to listen to you in return.
Silent game
Two ears one tongue, listen twice as much as you talk
establish the key things we do as a listener does- what do good listeners do- I have a visual cue sheet and I have a puppet that goes with a story by Heidi Butkus to help kids develop their listening skills.
Whole Body Listening!
By reducing background distractions and noise
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I model listening skills and play games such as Simon says
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Catch them Listening! Pointing out the positives when they are listening can encourage the students to listen more often.
By playing Simon Says, Red Light Green Light and other games that promote listening and self regulation.
I help children learn and listen by being a role model myself or using puppets.
Listening like many skills doesn’t come easily or naturally to every child. Like other skills it takes practice. That’s why I like to use partner talk to help children learn to listen to each other as well as have a chance to express themselves as well.
I start whispering or pretending to talk, which forces them to be quiet enough to hear what I’m saying!
I work with preschoolers and we review our classroom rules daily and talk about what those rules mean. We turn on our listening ears and turn them up loud.
First, we teach the behavior we want to see. We also do social stories and modeling of expected behavior.
I try and turn lessons into games so it is fun and not perceived as a lesson.
I use a chime (wind chime hanging from ceiling) to get my students to stop talking/listen and freeze. This works well. We also do a clapping rhythm sometimes to change it up a little bit. These work well and Kindergarten students respond well to them.
I teach “whole body listening” 1)Looking at the speaker with your eyes 2)hearing with your years 3)mouth closed 4)hands/feet still 5)brain thinking about what the speaker is saying.
I picked up the idea at a training somewhere. I can’t take credit for thinking of it.
I enjoy using music and movement to help children hone their listening skills. We also often play snippets of different music during our snack time to see if the children can identify what sound or music they are hearing.
I give their parents ideas about how to help their children listen at home and at school in my newspaper columns and website–www.supportingsuperstudents.org.
I sing a song.
I do a few different activities. One of my favorite listening activities is an activity where students get a sheet of paper of a map and we talk about different things on the map, but I give them certain directions throughout the discussion on what to color a certain item or to make a certain shape around an item. They really have to use their listening skills to follow along!
Another activity is a questionnaire – I tell students the first thing they should do after they write their name is to read the directions. In the directions it tells them to only do a certain amount of questions, rather than all of them.
As a teacher that teaches preschool age children, listening can be hard for little children to do. We use Tucker Tucker as an example, and say what would Tucker do? Sit quiet, take 3 deep breathes, and count to 5. Then I can start our morning routine, or have each child take turns to talk about what we are discussing. This also helps with learning to wait and taking turns.
We use a couple songs in our classroom to help the kids with listening skills. I often use a whisper voice to get them to listen more carefully.
I have a song that we sing that prepares us for listening. I remind my student that listening helps us learn how to problem solve , helps us discover new things and we practice that everyday before each activity.
Whole brain teaching is an excellent method that my school system recently introduced in the elementary level. Getting the students attention, the physical interaction and immediate feedback from the student has made a world of difference.
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I teach kids to listen by stating what I want them to do, not what I DON’T want them to do. I also listen to them respectfully – communication goes both ways! If we want our kids to listen to us, we need to listen to them!
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As a school therapist, I help kiddos to listen by practicing it with them! Practicing in the therapeutic setting helps kiddos to learn across all settings!
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I am a counselor who works with younger children. Part of teaching communication skills is teaching a child to listen to others and be able to reflect what they have heard.
As a school therapist, I help kids to listen by practicing with them! Practicing in a therapeutic setting helps kiddos apply those skills elsewhere!
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Listening is truly a skill that needs practice. For everyone. I like to practice listening and following directions with my students.
I call out “1,2,3 eyes on me,” and the students say “1,2,3 eyes on you!” My expectation is reminding my students by saying I need your eyes on me and listening ears at attention!
I teach them to read body language to notice when someone needs a turn to talk and to remember (based on their age) people can listen for about ___ seconds/minutes before losing their attention. We use a timer to help.
To help kids learn to listen, we quiet or bodies by crossing our legs, taking a deep breath, and counting to ten in our head. The children open their eyes and are quiet. Ready to listen now.
I’m a librarian at a school for emotionally disturbed children and foster kids. We are always having conversations about appropriate behavior and this book would be a wonderful way to begin a conversation and facilitate good listening skills.
I am a home visitors and I like to encourage parents the importance to reading their kids in the daily routines or like 3-4 times a week. This action will help the children to be a good students in their future, incrementing their vocabulary learning new skills to communicate. BOOKS are so important in the children life.
Using social stories to help understanding a situation and teaching strategies to help with listening with whole body.
I ask the students to repeat back to me what I just said. I know they listened and heard me if they can do that.
Many students want to be heard and have a hard time actually listening to another student. We talk about feelings, role playing, and how it is important to know and understand what is being said. We do activities base off of learning to listen like the Telephone game.
Kids like to talk, and a lot of times, have little opportunity to do so. Sharing ideas with a partner, or working out solutions together gives them more chances to chat. I like to have my students “turn and talk” to someone they are sitting near to explore ideas and practice conversation skills at the same time.
I typically engage in a fun movement activity where they enthusiastically move arms, legs, and other body parts as we sing a song together. In addition, I ask for their suggestions and they want to contribute to what their classmates could be doing. After a physical workout, they are ready to sit in group and listen. Being structured and consistent with this routine greatly helps them to calm down and be content to sit in group. Now they are ready to look at me because they know I have something to share ,with visuals, to assist with the listening skills.
Setting a timer for two minute talk times, then letting a friend share back for 2 minutes. Giving them a topic is usually helpful.
I quiet myself and hold up my hand while just smiling at everyone.
As an Early Childhood School Social Worker, to get the students to listen i will either sing or whisper to them. This book will be a great asset to my library!
If I have “lost” my class, I will just break out into song. Maybe something silly, to get their attention back. (I am a preschool teacher)
Listening can best be done with non-verbals and quiet voices. We do exercises to practice our listening and strengthen our listening skills. Kids learn what listening actually means- at many levels.
I always hear teachers say “turn on your listening ears” but I have found that “learning eyes” (meaning making eye contact with me during direct instruction) are more effective to ensure and confirm that the child is listening and absorbing what I’m saying.
Motivate children to listen by asking them to listen for something, for example, listen to the birds chirping or leaves rustling.
Definitely talking softer… the kids get the idea you must have something really important to say.
We try to use props to keep the preschoolers attention. We sing and move to keep them busy.
I would use the old fashioned “telephone whisper game” to show students the importance of effective communication to get the correct message across.
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I sing “come on over & sit right down”.
Many times, just being quiet myself will quiet down the class. If you try to out yell kids, you’ll just give yourself a headache. Being quiet and setting the example is best.
As a school social worker, I teach my students to listen with their ears, eyes, and brain. This would be a super addition to my bibliotherapy books!
Listening is one of the key components in successful learning. Many times we use listening skills to start or culminate an actively. Checking comprehension and understanding prior to formalized testing is critical in making sure kids are not only hearing but listening to the message.