Listen and Following Directions - QR Code Listening Center, Assessment

We are keenly aware of the connection of listening skills and students' behavior.  Observe a class for a short period of time and you will quickly see which students need extra listening lessons.  Teachers with a "Listen Logan" may feel exhausted by the end of the day because of the extra time spent directing and redirecting their "Listen Logan".  Does this sound familiar?

• Logan, why aren't you lined up?  I blew my whistle twice.
• Logan, I told the class that everyone needs to push in his or her chair before you come to the carpet.  Why didn't you follow directions?
• Logan how many times do I have to ask you to . . . . 
• Logan, bring me your take-home folder . . . (5 minutes later) Logan, I need your take-home folder.  (another 5 minutes)  Where is your take-home folder, Logan?
• Logan, do you see what all of your classmates are doing? We clean up when I ring my bell 3 times.  Why aren't you cleaning up?

Listening skills are one of those unsung heroes of the academic skill world.  We often hear and read articles, books, and posts about phonics, phonemic awareness, addition, and subtraction.  What we often overlook is the impact listening skills have on students' academic achievement.

If a "Listen Logan" is not actively listening to your lesson, he or she will miss valuable content which overtime impacts academic achievement.

Back to school time is the perfect time to do a quick whole group assessment of your students' listening skills.  Your students will love the fun, non-threatening format of the Listen & Draw lesson - listening skills assessment.  You will love how quiet your class is during the lesson!  

My Listen & Draw files include teacher directions with 10 steps of directions that you will read to your class.  Your students will listen to your directions and then draw what you tell them to do in the picture box.  At the end they will write a sentence or sentences about the pictures.   This also makes a good writing sample to keep in their portfolio for conferences and RTI.

Most of my Listen & Draw files include:

• 10 - 12 Lessons with Teacher directions
• Answer key - sample
• Student worksheet
• Sign with Listen & Draw directions (listen to teacher, work quietly, etc.)

I just finished completely revamping the first Listen & Draw file that I made.  I am now calling this Listen & Draw Plus because of all of the additional resources this file now has.  Some of these are requests from teachers and others are things I thought would help with assessment.

GRADING CHARTS

All of the Listen & Draw directions are now on a half-page chart (shown in 2 pictures above).  If you look at the chart in the graphic titled "Assess Listening Skills" you will see a sample of how to grade.  I highlighted the words in the directions that the student did not follow.  In the comment section, I wrote the skills that this student needs extra practice:  color words, position/preposition, and plural nouns. 

COLOR CODE: In the picture above, I copied the grading charts on different colored paper.  Choose the lessons that you plan to use for each grading period.  Print those grading charts on a different color.  

DIFFERENTIATE YOUR GRADING:  You can give different expectations for the writing portion of this for different students, groups, or grading periods.  There are 3 different points charts - 10, 12, and 15 points - for teachers who differentiate the writing.  Example:

• Student A - Expectation: write 1 complete sentence = 1 point
• Use the 10 points chart
• Student B - Expectation: write more than 1 sentence = 2 points
• Use 12 points chart
• Student C - Expectation: You can set your own expectations.  Suggestion:  
• Student earns 2 points if he/she adds detail to picture that shows the setting of the picture.
• Students earns 3 points for writing 3+ sentences that include 5 or more words.

What do you do if some of your students need more practice but not all of them?  There are 12 lessons in this file.  If you use 4 of the lessons for Beginning of the year, 1st quarter, 2nd quarter, and 3rd quarter assessments, you will have 8 lessons to use with these students.  

Put students who need additional practice in a Listening Skill Group.  Don't have time to read the directions to your class?  No problem, you can use the QR Code listening center included with the Listen & Draw Plus.

To save time, put earbuds in a ziplock bag, punch a hole in the bag, and put the bag on a ring.  Put a label with students' name or number on the ziplock.  

Recognize and reward your Super Listeners.  There are Brag Tags and happy notes included to motivate all of your students.  Hopefully, with a little extra practice and motivation all of your students will become better listeners and you will come home with more energy!

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