Practical Ideas for Embedding Oracy into the Classroom
By Laura Spargo
This article offers practical ideas for embedding oracy into the classroom, providing simple strategies to raise the profile of spoken language and enhance student communication skills across all areas of learning.
The importance of oracy is inescapable and backed by a plethora of educational research. Most recently the Oracy Education Commission’s report, ‘We need to talk, 2024’, argues that oracy should ‘become the fourth “R” of education – of equal status to reading, writing and arithmetic’. Oracy can be defined as encapsulating the skills of learning ‘through talk and to talk’ outlined in the impactful work of the UK’s oracy education charity, Oracy 21. It is one thing to acknowledge the importance of providing high-quality, impactful oracy opportunities which empower pupils with the skills needed to talk effectively, however, it is not always so simple to understand the ways in which we can deliver, embed and promote these.
Below are some ideas, which are intended to be easy to implement, with maximum impact on raising the profile of the spoken word. These suggestions seek to provide opportunities which can be implemented in day-to-day learning experiences and effectively embedded into routines and environments.
Warming up the words
More often than not, as educators, we spend a focused amount of time selecting rich and ambitious vocabulary to elevate learning experiences. These words may appear on slides, as resources and in classroom environments. However, how often are these words and phrases uttered by the children themselves? Playing with words is integral for pupils to be able to gain an ownership over them. In ‘warming up the words’ they have the opportunity to:
- Say the words in different ways (this can also be coupled with a ‘my turn, your turn’ approach) perhaps loudly/quietly, in a high/low pitch, in a spooky voice, adding emphasis to different sounds in the word, in the style of their favourite cartoon character – the list really does go on!
- Play “tennis” with the words, verbally sending the word back and forth between themselves and their partners. Adding in the tactile element of ‘striking’ the word with their invisible tennis racket not only promotes physical movement but makes exploring the vocabulary fun.
- Make it competitive! Many students thrive when the stakes are high. Creating opportunities for pupils to play against each other in collaborative word generation games encourages them to apply the vocabulary that they have learnt. For example, they may be considering synonyms for a word or creating lists linked to technical vocabulary. Working in teams increases the opportunity for saying (and discussing) word choice aloud.
- Popcorn! An alternative to hands-up which can promote passivity in a class. As with popcorn in a microwave, the class are invited to share their responses and ideas simultaneously, with a scribe noting down key words and phrases (more on this below). This is a useful activity for pupils to practise the volume of their responses as well as waiting for a lull in feeding back, which allows for their idea to be heard.
- A point here on talk partners. Potentially one of the most common methods for raising the amount of talk in a classroom is asking the children to discuss a question or a concept and feeding back. Once again, a little shift can go a long way. Ensuring that the students understand who is speaking first, giving each partner a timer for their allocated speaking slot and the strategy which I have seen to have the most success – ask the pupil to feedback what their partner said. The accountability for listening, engaging and digesting the talk is immediately increased.
My go-to for further ideas, when warming up the words, is Pie Corbett and Julia Strong’s fantastically practical book ‘Jumpstart Grammar’, which contains stand-alone activities and starters which can be used across the curriculum.
Collaborative writing opportunities
Establishing an effective writing cycle, which incorporates elements of learning from a model and applying key skills in an independent piece, is common place in the English writing curriculum. It is also important to consider what oracy opportunities are being provided. I would argue that this goes beyond word-level activities as shared above. Paired writing is a concept that I have seen implemented with success, enjoyment and accelerated progress in the UK and internationally.
- The concept is based on pupils completing a piece of writing with a partner and would be best placed in the middle of the cycle, once a model has been internalised and ahead of an independent piece.
- The oral element of this is the importance placed on the partners creating, testing out, dissecting and evaluating their ideas, sentence by sentence. Using clear success criteria grids, they know the grammatical features which are required and should have access to tier 3 vocabulary to include.
- Through testing out their sentences aloud, the pairs are thinking like writers, carefully considering how their sentences will impact their readers.
- Paired writing is not only effective in English lessons. It can be used as an approach whenever an extended piece of writing is required, across the curriculum. Considering the purpose of, and audience for, the writing is key here.
- When first embedding ‘paired writing’ teacher modelling is integral. Demonstrate to the pupils how testing out words, moving clauses and changing punctuation, affects how the writing is received – and then let them loose! Productive noise will absolutely ensue.
Creating an oracy-rich learning environment
When planning for oracy opportunities, much thought is often put into lessons and resourcing but is enough attributed to promoting this in our classroom environments? As educators, we often place key words and phrases on displays and working walls, but what is their function beyond this? Hopefully the ideas linked to ‘warming up the words’ will help you to begin to lift these off the walls and into the mouths of your pupils, yet there is more that we can do.
- Using thresholds. Claire Gadsby’s wonderfully inventive book ‘Dynamically Different Classrooms’ is packed with practical ideas to elevate your learning environments. One of my favourites of these is making the most out of every moment that you have with your students and an easy way to embed this is considering your pupils’ movements in and out of doorways. Consider how many times your class enter and leave the classroom in a day. Now imagine placing a key word/phrase on the floor that your pupils have to say out loud (as they jump over it). Couple this with a ‘warming up the words’ activity and the buzz around playing with key words and phrases will be palpable.
- Passwords and greetings. Another idea to use your environment effectively is to consider using your doorway as an opportunity for children to apply previous knowledge to enter the room. This idea works across the curriculum. Perhaps they need to tell you a key word relating to electricity or to share an aspect of Ancient Egyptian Life which is still commonplace today.
- Sticky back plastic. Keep your displays fresh. Speaking from experience, time pressure can often impact the frequency to which vocabulary and sentence stems displayed in a classroom are updated and relevant. Laminate is notoriously tricky to wipe clean – enter sticky back plastic! Covering paper/card/backing paper in sticky back plastic allows for a wipeable surface which expertly enhances working walls with minimal effort. Pairing these spaces as collections from your popcorn activity and perhaps the outcome of any competitive word-warm ups ensures pupils have a resource to support them in their retrieval and application. Dual code these words with pictures and symbols and another element of inclusivity is unlocked.
As conversations around the importance of oracy continue to sit high on the government’s agenda, it is clear that carefully considering how talk is promoted and embedded in everyday practice is exceptionally important. Of equal weighting, I would argue, are the methods and approaches that we use to do so. Oracy could be in danger of being seen as an additional consideration, a tick-box to be attached to quality assurance processes and potentially worst of all – a buzz word. Finding simple, intentional shifts when crafting learning experiences and honestly auditing the effectiveness of the environments that your pupils move around and sit in every day, I believe, is a manageable and authentic place to start.
References:
Oracy Education Commission: We need to talk, 2024 – Oracy Commission
Oracy 21: What is oracy? – Voice 21
Recommendations:
Jumpstart! Grammar: Games and activities for ages 6 – 14
Dynamically Different Classrooms: Create spaces that spark learning
