Interactive games listening skills

Games to Improve Listening Skills for Kids

Using games to teach effective listening to children is a fun way to develop auditory skills and social development. Listening is key to following directions and developing the ability to remember concepts taught in the classroom. Games serve as repetitive activities that enhance these skills and cultivate auditory and literacy development. You can even use games as a way to exercise the brain and promote retention of academic content. Listening activities condition children to develop new vocabulary and recognize appropriate grammar.

Hide And Seek

Following directions is a beginning listening concept that is critical for young children. Try hiding a small toy or treat and use verbal cues to help your child find the item. Use simple directions but emphasize that finding the treasure hinges on their ability to listen to you. Older children can hone their listening skills by working together to decipher a verbal puzzle. For example, pick a famous person and tell the group they can ask 20 questions to figure out the name of the person. Impress upon the children that listening and connecting the information shared is the key to success.

Follow The Leader

Facilitate an old-fashioned game of Simon Says as a way to emphasize the importance of focus and following directions. Try saying, "Simon says touch your toes and then say sit on the floor." If your child follows the second direction without hearing Simon says, they lose. This game reinforces how effective listening relates to following directions. For older children, use a picture that includes geometrical shapes. Give the child a blank piece of paper and then describe the picture and ask them to draw what they hear. Compare the two pictures and discuss how listening to directions played a role in replicating the picture.

Copycat

The ability to grasp rhythmic patterns encourages the development of listening skills and helps young children learn language skills. Try clapping simple patterns and ask your child to clap it back to you. Older children can benefit from an awareness of how listening can impact a final outcome of a project. Whisper a sentence to one child and ask them to repeat the sentence to the person sitting next to them. Continue this until everyone has heard the sentence. Ask the final child to say the sentence aloud. Ask the group why the sentence changed and stress the importance of listening in everyday life.

Guess Who

Playing games with varying sounds helps children learn to identify and connect sounds with objects. This promotes perception and language development. Try making animal sounds or use a recording and ask your child to identify the corresponding animal. If they identify the animal, show them a picture to reinforce their learning. This listening and identification activity will reinforce the connection between sounds and symbols. Share 10 key concepts with a group of older children and ask them to write down five of them. Repeat this three or four times and give a prize to the child that recalls the most. This game connects listening with memory and content retention.

Related Articles