Listening games and following instructions
English · Early Years · The School
Hearing and listening
HEARING happens by itself. Sound reaches your ears. LISTENING is different. It means your brain is working on the sound. It gets ready to use it. That is the extra step. That is the skill. You can hear the television and still have no idea what was said. That is hearing without listening.
One step, then two
Start easy. "Touch your nose." One step. Now try two. "Touch your nose, then clap." You must hold the first step in your head while you do it, so you remember the second. That holding-on is what listening games train. Try three steps once two feels easy. Touch your nose, then clap, then sit down.
Which sound was that?
Close your eyes. A grown-up makes three sounds: a clap, a tap, a jingle. Which one came first? Which came last? Picking one sound out from several is real listening. It is much harder than it sounds. Your ears have to sort the sounds into an order, and hold that order in your head.
ROUND ONE: "Simon says touch your head." One step, easy. ROUND TWO: "Simon says touch your head, then turn around." Two steps — you must remember the first while doing the second. ROUND THREE: "Touch your head." No "Simon says" this time — so you should NOT move. If you moved, you were hearing, not truly listening for the trick. Each round asks for a little more.