Years 3 and 4 English · Key Stage 2 · Spoken language

Years 3 and 4 listening and group discussion: a parent guide

In Years 3 and 4, listening and talking become things children do deliberately, for a purpose and in groups. They learn to listen for particular information, to ask questions that go deeper than yes or no, to work out and use richer vocabulary across the subjects, and to take a full part in group discussions, including helping the class decide what makes a good discussion in the first place.

Listening, questioning and group talk, explained

In lower Key Stage 2 talk happens in every subject: predicting in science, weighing up evidence in history, explaining a method in maths, working in role in drama. Children are expected to use language in a greater variety of situations, for more audiences and purposes: a partner, a group, the class, a visitor. Spoken language is a statutory part of the curriculum for every year from 1 to 6, and teachers pitch it to the age of the children.

Listening at this age is active. A child might listen to a talk in order to note down three key facts, or listen for the answer to a question they have set themselves. Teachers also show them how to respond to what was actually said rather than waiting for a turn: nodding, saying “I agree because…” or “So you’re saying…”, and asking for clarification: “Do you mean…?” The same applies to adults. Children are expected to follow instructions with several steps and to ask for help in a sensible way when they do not follow.

Questions are taught as a skill. A closed question has a short fixed answer (“Do seeds need water?”). An open question invites explanation (“What would happen to a seed that never got any water?”). Teachers encourage children to listen for a gap in what they have heard and to ask about that, and they teach question openers such as why, how, what if and how do we know. The curriculum asks for relevant questions that extend understanding and knowledge, not questions asked for the sake of it.

When children meet a word they do not know, they are taught what to do about it: read around the word for clues, look for a familiar root, prefix or ending (“invisible” is “in-” plus “visible”), ask someone, check a dictionary, and then try the word out loud. Subject words such as habitat, evaporate and invade are taught on purpose. Some schools have a word of the week, though that is a school choice. The aim is a broader, richer vocabulary for talking about a wider range of topics.

One distinctive part of this stage is that pupils help to develop, agree on and evaluate rules for discussion. A class might draft ground rules such as “Everyone gets a turn”, “Build on what people say” and “Disagree with ideas, not with people”. After a discussion the children judge how well the rules worked and change them. Schools often give group members roles, such as chair, note-taker and reporter, though which roles are used is a school’s decision. The skill underneath is that everyone, including the child who talks too much and the child who says nothing, contributes fairly.

Words your child will hear

Open question: A question that needs an explanation rather than yes or no, such as “Why do you think that?”
Closed question: A question with a short, fixed answer, such as “Is it a mammal?”
Clarify: Make something clearer, often by asking, “Do you mean…?”
Build on: Add to someone else’s idea instead of starting a new one.
Summarise: Say the main points in a few words.
Context clue: A hint in the words around an unknown word that helps you work out its meaning.
Ground rules: The rules a group agrees about how a discussion will work.

What the National Curriculum says

In Years 3 and 4, pupils should be taught to:

Listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers
Ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge
Use relevant strategies to build their vocabulary
Maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: turning a closed question into one that extends learning

A class has just listened to a talk about how seeds grow. Priya wants to ask something to help her understand more. How can she improve “Do seeds need water?”

Listen for what was said and what wasn’t. Priya notes that the speaker said seeds need water and warmth to start growing, but not what happens when a seed does not get them.
Check the question. “Do seeds need water?” is closed, and the talk has already answered it. It would not extend what she knows.
Choose a gap. What she does not yet know is what happens without water.
Rewrite it as an open question: “What would happen to a seed that never got any water?”
Listen to the answer, then build on it. The speaker says the seed would stay a seed and would not start to grow. Priya responds, “So a dry seed can wait for a long time. Does that mean the seeds in a packet are still alive?” That is a new open question that grew out of what she heard.

“What would happen to a seed that never got any water?” is better because it comes from a gap in what Priya heard, it needs an explanation rather than yes or no, and it leads to a follow-up question.

Common mistakes and how to help

Believing a question shows you were not paying attention, or are not clever

Children can read a hand going up for a question as an admission that they did not understand, especially if they think the others did.

What helps: Say that the best questions come from the best listeners. Ask your own “I wonder” questions out loud, and praise a good question as much as a right answer.

Asking a question that has just been answered, or is off the topic

Children sometimes ask to be noticed, or to join in, rather than to find out. Others were not listening for what was missing.

What helps: Before they ask, ask, “What do you already know, and what would you like to know next?” That sets them looking for a gap.

Thinking a discussion is about talking the most, or winning

Confident and loud children often take over, and others learn to stay silent. Children can end up thinking that is how it is supposed to work.

What helps: Try giving each person a number of counters, one to spend each time they speak. Praise contributions that build on someone else’s idea.

Skipping over unfamiliar words and pretending to understand

Asking what a word means can feel embarrassing, so many children nod and move on, and the gap quietly grows.

What helps: Make “What does that mean?” normal in your house by asking it yourself. Then follow three steps: read around the word, break it into parts, ask.

How to help at home

An open question at tea. Each person asks one open question about something they heard that day, such as “Why do you think that happened?” Others answer, and the asker then builds on the answer.
Draw up family talk rules. Before a family decision, such as where to go at the weekend, agree on two or three rules for the discussion. Afterwards, ask which rule helped most and whether it needs changing.
Be a word detective. When you meet an unfamiliar word in a book, a sign or a conversation, guess its meaning from the words around it before looking it up. Then try to use it in conversation before bedtime.
Listen for three. After a relative tells a story, or after watching or reading something together, ask your child to tell you three things they heard and one question they would still like to ask.
Pass the ball. Sit in a circle and pass a soft ball. Whoever holds it speaks, and must begin by adding to what the last person said. A soft toy or a rolled-up pair of socks works indoors.

Builds on

Key Stage 1: Listening and joining in conversations
Key Stage 1: Explaining, describing and sharing ideas
Key Stage 1: Speaking clearly to an audience

Leads on to

Years 5 and 6: Active listening and discussion
Years 5 and 6: Arguing, hypothesising and evaluating
Years 5 and 6: Public speaking, performance and register