"For every child to find their voice, metaphorically and literally."

Peter Hyman

"Oracy is what the school does to support the development children's capacity to use speech to express their thoughts and communicate with others."

Alexander 2016

"Children are born with the capacity to learn language but they need help to learn how to use it."

As a school, we are beginning our Oracy journey by explicitly teaching talk skills. The skills the children are learning will weave their way through all aspects of the curriculum and will enhance their learning. 

Oracy develops a range of skills in different areas. 

Oracy encourages less teacher talk and more child discussion. This allows children to build on their friend's ideas and deepen their understanding through talk.

Games are a great way to get children talking. Have a go at this one and see where it takes you!

Would you rather...

be a lion or a zebra?

be able to fly or be invisible?

Model using the sentence stem,

I would rather be... because...

This encourages children to talk in full sentences and give the reasoning behind their answer.  It also helps them appreciate that different people have different ideas - but that's ok.  It is important to accept other's ideas, whilst still holding on to your own!