UK
← All Year 5 English

Listening & responding

Year 5 · Speaking & listening

Hear a main point without losing a qualification or alternative view.

Choose a game

Take your time, try a game and collect stars.

Activities to try together away from the screen

Take it beyond the game

Use one example in a real piece of reading, writing or discussion.

  1. Choose an example and explain it to a partner who can listen and respond.
  2. Invite a relevant question, then clarify or develop the explanation.
  3. Agree on one useful improvement and try the example again.

Helping your child with listening & responding

The Year 5 focus

Year 5 listening practice asks children to retain a main point together with a qualification or another viewpoint. A message may report increased library use while refusing to claim a single proven cause. Viewpoint listener uses six saved messages that reward accurate summaries rather than a response based on one striking phrase. Replaying supports attention to words that limit or balance a claim.

Work through an example

Discuss why more visits after later opening do not by themselves prove that the changed opening time caused every additional visit. The speaker explicitly asks the listener to retain that limitation. In a real discussion, practise repeating the point fairly before agreeing or challenging it. The aim is to understand what was said before deciding what you think about it.

Use the skill beyond the screen

Listen again whenever necessary and identify the part of the message that changes the response. A readable alternative supports access and shared discussion. Extend the task through a real conversation in which the listener can ask for clarification, summarise what they understood and wait for another person’s reply. The game checks prepared message matches and does not record or assess a child’s voice.

Curriculum connection

Spoken-language requirements are shared across Years 1–6. These tasks prepare selected skills at a level intended for Year 5. Read the official English programme of study.

Questions families ask

What does the game check?

It checks a prepared response to a spoken message, with a text alternative. It does not record or automatically assess speech.

Is this a separate statutory Year 5 programme?

The National Curriculum groups reading and writing in Years 5 and 6. These Year 5 examples provide a practice progression within that shared programme; schools can sequence the content differently. Spoken-language requirements apply across Years 1–6.