ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ATTENTION AND LISTENING AT LEVEL 4

 

Level 4

Listening, acknowledging their name and carrying out an action:

• Encourage the child to listen for their name when sitting in a circle. When they hear their name they need to catch a ball or beanbag that is thrown to them.
• In a group ask each child to listen for their name and then perform a simple action, for example stand up.
• Using a familiar story book, substitute the name of the characters in the story with children in the group. When a child hears their name they must put their hand up and say ‘that’s me’. For example, ‘Jack saw a mouse and the mouse looked good!’
• Play a parachute activity- the children listen for their names and swap places.

 

Remembering and carrying out a sequence of two items or actions:

• Give a simple action to do when the child hears a musical prompt. For example when they hear the drum they must run to the door.
• Give the child two actions to perform, for example “Touch your ear and your nose”. Extend this to play the ‘traffic light’ game- ‘Red’ means sit down, ‘Amber’ means stand still and ‘Green’ means run.

 

Identifying three named objects:

• Play a ‘washing line’ game with real objects or pictures. Give the child instructions involving three items, for example ‘hang out the dress, the sock and the pants’.
• Play shops. Let the child be the shop keeper. Visit the shop and ask for three items for example ‘can I have a carrot, a strawberry and some crisps?’

 

Copying a rhythm:

• Introduce this section by encouraging the child to copy a series of 2 or 3 simple actions, for example the adult can touch their nose, pat their head and clap. Can the child copy?
• Play with musical instruments and ask the child to copy a pattern of three beats. Do this whilst they look and listen, then, when they are confident, they can look away and carry out the activity just by listening.

• ‘Pass the beat’ around a group- the adult plays a beat and ‘passes it’ to the next person to copy.
• Repeat a clapping rhythm by looking and listening, then just by listening.