Years 5 and 6 English · Key Stage 2 · Spoken language

Years 5 and 6 listening and discussion skills: a parent guide

By Years 5 and 6, spoken language is expected to be more thoughtful and more independent. Children listen for meaning as well as detail, ask questions that push a discussion forward, build the vocabulary to talk about abstract ideas, and take part in group talk where they start ideas, respond to others and keep everyone on the topic. Secondary school relies heavily on these habits in every subject.

Active listening and discussion, explained

Active listening means listening with a job to do: to decide whether you agree, to spot the strongest piece of evidence, or to notice what has been left out. Children may jot brief notes while someone speaks. They are taught to show they have understood by paraphrasing, which means putting it in their own words (“So what you’re saying is…”), and by checking when they are unsure. Responding appropriately to adults and peers also includes tone and courtesy, particularly when someone disagrees with them.

The curriculum asks for relevant questions that extend understanding and knowledge. In upper Key Stage 2 these become probing questions: “What evidence is there for that?”, “How does that link to what we said earlier?”, “What would change your mind?”. Children use them to interview a visitor, to question a presenter, and to dig into a text or a historical source. A question can clarify, challenge or extend, and children learn to tell which one they are asking.

Vocabulary now moves towards abstract ideas, such as fairness, loyalty, freedom and responsibility. These are harder than naming objects because there is nothing to point at. Teachers help children use strategies for working out and remembering words: looking at the parts of a word (a prefix, a suffix, a root), using the sentence for clues, finding words that mean nearly the same or the opposite, and checking a dictionary or thesaurus. Children are encouraged to try new words aloud before they write them, where a mistake costs little.

In collaborative conversations, children are expected to initiate as well as respond. That might mean opening a discussion (“Shall we list the options first?”), bringing in a quieter member of the group, keeping the discussion on topic by parking an interesting but unrelated idea, and summing up where the group has got to. Teachers give guidance and feedback on the quality of explanations and contributions, so a child might hear, “You linked your point to Ravi’s, and that moved the group on”. Which roles and routines a class uses is up to the school.

These habits matter well beyond English. Some reading and maths reasoning questions in the Year 6 tests ask children to explain and justify, and a child who can do that aloud is better placed to do it on paper. Secondary school lessons depend on being able to follow a spoken argument and contribute to it. Spoken language is not tested in the Key Stage 2 tests, so teachers judge it from what they hear in class. Public speaking, performance and debate are also developed in these years.

Words your child will hear

Paraphrase: Say what someone else said in your own words to check that you understood.
Probing question: A question that digs deeper, such as “What makes you say that?”
Contribution: What a person adds to a discussion: an idea, a question, a summary.
Consensus: An agreement that the whole group can accept.
Abstract idea: An idea you cannot see or touch, such as fairness or courage.
Tone: The feeling in the way something is said, such as friendly, impatient or calm.
Chair: The person who leads a discussion, makes sure everyone has a turn and keeps it on track.

What the National Curriculum says

In Years 5 and 6, 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: taking a full part in a group discussion

A group of four in Year 6 is discussing, “Should our playground have a quiet area?” Show how one child, Noor, takes a full part.

Noor starts the discussion: “Shall we begin by listing what a quiet area would be used for, then decide?” She has set a focus instead of waiting for someone else.
Sam says it would help children who find playtime too noisy. Noor paraphrases to check: “So you’re saying it would be a place for people to recharge?” Sam says yes.
Noor asks a probing question: “Where could it go without taking space from the football area?”
Leah says football matters too. Noor uses an abstract idea to move on: “That is a question of fairness. How can we share a small space so that both groups get something?”
Tom starts talking about new football kits. Noor says, “That’s interesting, but let’s park it and come back to the space.”
Noor sums up: “So we agree on a small quiet area by the fence, we’ll try it for half a term, and then we’ll review it.” She checks that the others agree.

Noor started the discussion, listened and checked her understanding, asked a question that extended the thinking, used an abstract word (fairness) to name the problem, kept the group on topic and finished with a summary. Every contribution moved the group forward.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking that listening means waiting for your turn

A child who is planning what to say is not taking in what is being said, and the reply can miss the point or repeat what someone else just said.

What helps: Try “say it back first”: before giving your own opinion you must summarise the last person’s point. It slows the conversation down in a useful way.

Equating a good contribution with a loud or frequent one

Confident children often speak first and most. Quieter children may have the best ideas and say nothing, or think they should say more.

What helps: Talk about quality, not quantity: “One clear point that moves us on is worth three that repeat.” Invite quieter family members in by name, giving them time to think first.

Avoiding new or abstract words in speech for fear of getting them wrong

It can seem safer to use the words everyone knows, and a misused big word may get a laugh.

What helps: Treat a wrong guess as useful. Ask what they thought it meant, work it out from the sentence, and reuse it later in the day.

Following every interesting idea instead of staying on topic

Children aged ten and eleven make lots of connections quickly. Every new link feels worth saying, so the discussion wanders.

What helps: Use a “parking space”: write the idea down to come back to later. It is respected, not dismissed, and the main conversation continues.

How to help at home

Say it back. Before replying to something your child says, put it in your own words and check: “So you think…?” Then ask them to do the same for you when you speak. It is surprisingly hard, and very useful.
Run a family decision. Choose a real decision, such as a day out or where to put a bookshelf. Give someone the job of chair and someone the job of summariser, and aim for an agreement everyone can accept.
Interview someone. Help your child prepare five questions for a relative or neighbour, including two follow-ups to ask depending on the answer. Afterwards, ask which question got the best answer, and why.
An abstract word of the week. Pick a word such as fairness, trust or courage. Ask your child to explain it using an example from their own life rather than a definition, and notice when it comes up in conversation.
Ask what they would ask. After a book chapter, a news item suitable for children or a story from your day, ask, “What would you want to ask the person involved?” and why that question matters.

Builds on

Years 3 and 4: Listening, questioning and group talk
Years 3 and 4: Explaining and justifying ideas
Years 3 and 4: Presenting, performing and debating

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Speeches, presentations and debates
Key Stage 3: Improvising and performing scripts and poetry