Developing Listening Skills to Deepen Understanding

Live Oak’s youngest learners are developing this skill when kindergartners welcome in visitors from around campus and listen to what important jobs people do within a school, asking informed follow-up questions and recognizing their guests around campus afterwards; when first graders sit down with a classmate and listen to their partner read their personal narrative writing pieces while offering a thoughtful piece of reflection afterward; when third graders listen to a classmate lead their class in a daily language practice exercise on the board and engage with constructive input that helps the whole class refine their grammar skills. Such a simple task can be so easily taken for granted, but employed intentionally within Live Oak’s classrooms these day-to-day listening tasks and activities ensure that Live Oak’s young learners continue to sharpen their listening skills on their way to growing into more empathetic peers, more thoughtful collaborators, and more impactful teammates.