Speaking and listening standards require students to develop a range of oral communication and interpersonal skills that facilitate various types of discussion and oral exchange. Students must learn to work together, express and listen carefully to ideas,
and integrate information from various sources, (e.g., oral, visual, quantitative, and media). Students must also gain skills in evaluating what they hear, use various sources to support what they are communicating, and adapt their speech to the content
and the task at hand.
Speaking and listening skills are necessary prerequisites for reading and writing. Oral language development precedes and is the foundation for writing. A student’s listening and speaking vocabulary sets boundaries on what that student can read and
understand no matter how well they decode. In addition, new technologies have expanded the role speaking and listening play in acquiring and sharing ideas, tightening their link with other forms of communication.
Students in kindergarten participate in discussions with peers and adults about grade level topics and texts they have heard read aloud or presented orally or through other media. They learn and practice rules of discussion such as taking turns and listening
to others. They ask and answer questions about key details in texts and other information presented orally. They also use questioning to acquire additional information and to clarify something that is not understood.
How to help your child with the Speaking and Listening Standards:
At dinner time or in the car, have conversations with your child to allow him/her to practice the art of conversation
Respond to your child in sentences to model for him/her the correct way to talk
Ask for details about books, movies, and television shows you are viewing with your child
Ask your child to tell you in his/her own words about what he/she hears and sees
Encourage your child to describe his/her feelings and ideas in phrases and sentences that are more descriptive than just one word
Use complete sentences when you talk to your child and encourage him/her to speak in the same way
Strands are larger groups of related standards. The Strand Grade is a calculation of all the related standards. Click on the standard name below each strand to access the learning targets and proficiency scales for
each strand's related standards.
Kindergarten
