Enhancing Listening Skills in the Classroom: Engaging Activities for Occupational Therapists and Teachers
Are you grappling with students who seem to struggle with listening and following directions? As an occupational therapist or teacher, instilling the importance of attentive listening is crucial for a successful learning environment. This blog post explores effective strategies and engaging resources designed to promote fine motor skills, listening comprehension, and reading skills in your classroom or therapy sessions.
Promoting Active Listening with Directions: Kickstart the academic year on a positive note by emphasizing the significance of listening to directions. A simple yet effective activity involves using a blank sheet of paper for students to follow basic instructions. For instance, instruct them to “Draw a square in the middle of your paper, write your name in the bottom left-hand corner, draw a tree in the top right corner, draw a triangle in the center of the square.” Encourage students to compare their completed pages with a partner, fostering discussions on interpretation differences. To add a motor component and introduce a multi-step challenge, incorporate activities like “Draw a person on the back of your paper, then stand up and jump 3 times.”
No-Prep Worksheets for Skill Building: For educators seeking pre-made solutions, no-prep worksheets offer a convenient way to address listening and following directions challenges. These worksheets serve a dual purpose by integrating coloring pages with fine motor, listening comprehension, and reading skills. Ideal for occupational or speech therapy sessions, early finishers, or purposeful classroom activities, these worksheets require students to listen or read the directions carefully to complete the coloring pages accurately. Themes are available individually, or you can opt for the comprehensive bundle for added savings and future additions.
Navigating Listening and Reading Challenges: Addressing the prevalent issue of students struggling with listening and reading directions, this blog post introduces resource bundles and individual sets that have proven effective. Designed to make learning enjoyable and purposeful, these activities offer a unique blend of creativity and skill-building. Explore the full range of direction following resources available for various seasons and holidays, ensuring versatility throughout the school year. As an educator, you can even incorporate these activities as brain breaks, combining them with gross motor movements for an interactive and engaging experience.
Playing a simple game of Simon Says can also work on listening skills. Check out this list in my Free Resource Library.
My students’ ability to follow directions seems to be worse than ever. I have created these fun ways to work on listening and reading skills. Many of these resources are some of my best sellers, so I know I am not alone in the struggle to get students to listen and/or read and then follow the directions. Check out the bundle or the list of individual sets for each season and holiday. A few sets can also be used at any time throughout the year. Click on the image below to check out a free version of these resources.
Still not sure…Check out some of what teachers and therapists are saying about these resources.
- “I use these literally every day with my students who have difficulty following directions on worksheets in the classroom. This has been such a lifesaver. I love that I can just grab it and go.” Jessica F.
- “Following directions & listening are huge skills to build for a first grader and this bundle lets me practice those skills on a regular basis-all ready to go at my fingertips! GREAT bundle to have all year long! :)” Denise K.
- “These are AWESOME for first graders! I love the following direction piece of it. It works well as a morning activity or an early finisher activity. Thank you so much :)” Shelby P.
- “Love this! My students enjoy doing these and ask for them constantly!” Grecia O.
and so many more.
In the quest to enhance listening skills, the tools and activities discussed in this blog post serve as valuable assets for occupational therapists and teachers alike. By integrating fine motor skills, listening comprehension, and reading into enjoyable activities, educators can foster a positive and conducive learning environment. Whether used as standalone activities or in combination, these resources aim to alleviate the challenges associated with students not listening or struggling to follow directions.
My mission is to help you find creative ideas to incorporate fine motor, visual perception, gross motor, and social-emotional learning into your lessons. Hopefully, these help your students work on building their skills in a fun and engaging way. Thanks for your interest in my resources and ideas.
Cindy@CreativeCOTA LLC
About the Author
I am a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) and have been working in a public school system for more than 25 years. My resources can be found on TPT, BOOM Learning, Made by Teachers, Classful, and Your Therapy Source. I appreciate your interest wherever you wish to shop.
My mission is to help you find creative ideas to incorporate fine motor, visual perception, gross motor, and social-emotional learning into your lessons.
I hope you consider signing up for my Free Resource Library with your Email. I send out emails about once a week and share resources, tips, and planning ideas for your classroom or occupational therapy needs. Hopefully, these help your students work on building their skills in a fun and engaging way.
