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25 Fun and Engaging Listening Activities for Kids

listening activities for kids

June 15, 2022 //  by Seda Unlucay

This collection of active listening activities includes games, songs, and dances, giving kids plenty of opportunities to develop this foundational skill while having lots of fun.

1. Broken Telephone

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Broken Telephone, also called Pass the Message or Whisper is a classic and fun game and a great way to teach patience, develop vocabulary, and improve working memory skills.

Age Group: Preschool, Elementary

Learn more: Empowered Parents

2. Simon Says

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Simon Says is an active listening game that develops communication skills and is an easy way to incorporate fun facial expressions and physical exercises for kids.

Age Group: Preschool, Elementary

Learn more: Considerable

3. Traffic Light

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Traffic Light, sometimes called Red Light, Green Light, is a simple listening game that helps develop concentration and active listening skills.

Age Group: Preschool, Elementary

Learn more: Help My Kid Learn

4. Alliteration Game

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Alliteration or the repetition of initial sounds is more than just tongue twisters, but is also a literary device that can be used to craft beautiful poetry or prose.

Age Group: Elementary

Learn more: The Measured Mom

5. Teacher Says

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This game develops students' ability to follow oral, 1-step, and multi-step directions. It's a fun way to build social and emotional skills while helping kids master important and tricky listening skills.

Age Group: Elementary

Learn more: Coffee Cups and Crayns

6. Musical Chairs

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Musical Chairs is a classic party game for all age groups as well as an active way to develop listening skills while strengthening social and problem-solving skills.

Age Group: Elementary, Middle School, High School

Learn more: The Genius of Play

7. Sound Hunt

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This fun activity teaches kids to the important life skill of listening with intent to all sorts of interesting sounds such as dogs barking, birds chirping, and rivers rippling.

Age Group: Preschool, Elementary

Learn more: Artful Parent

8. Guess The Animal Sounds

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This engaging listening game includes twenty pictures of animals ranging from domestic animals to farm animals to wild animals. It's an excellent way to improve students' focus and memory skills as they have to associate different animal names with the correct sounds.

Age Group: Preschool

Learn more: Plays

9. Listen to an Audio Story

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There's no better way to develop active listening skills than with audio stories. This free archive of children's audiobooks includes bedtime stories, myths, fairytales, and fables to keep your young learner entertained for hours.

Age Group: Elementary

Learn more: Story Nory

10. Group Story Activity With Imagination

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Telling a collective story is an excellent way to develop advanced communication skills as it requires participants to creatively exchange a story by demonstrating a deeper understanding of plot structure and character development.

Age Group: Elementary, Middle School

Learn more: Fatherly

11. Freeze Dance

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This classic game is excellent fun for the entire class, including shy children. Kids will have to pay careful attention to hear when the music stops and starts all while dancing to their favorite beats.

Age Group: Elementary

Learn more: Organized Chaos

12. 2-Step Directions

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This collection of 2-step direction cards is an easy way to improve poor listening skills and incorporates fun activities such as jumping, spinning, and moving like different animals.

Age Group: Elementary

Learn more: Teachers Pay Teachers

13. Draw My Picture Game

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This simple drawing game requires only a few everyday items and improves students' ability to give and receive verbal instructions, enhances vocabulary practice, and can be adapted to learn shapes or colors.

Learn more: Homeschool with Love

14. Dance Along to Action Songs

This collection of songs combines music and movement to get kids clapping, stomping, and jumping their way to developing comprehension skills through kinesthetic practice.

Age Group: Preschool, Elementary

Learn more: The Singing Walrus - English Songs For Kids

15. Read a Traditional Story

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Reading to children is a time-honored way to develop their listening skills.  This collection of books takes their learning one step further by incorporating themes of following instructions and the social etiquette of being a good listener in conversations.

Age Group: Elementary

Learn more: Parents

16. Play a Matching Sound Game

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This activity for preschoolers is a hands-on way to develop active listening skills. Kids are sure to love shaking these colorful eggs and guessing the objects inside.

Age Group: Preschool

Learn more: Confidence Meets Parenting

17. Make Sound Bottles

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This sensory activity challenges students to arrange sounds from softest to loudest and share their reasoning for their choices, thereby building their communication skills.

Age Group: Elementary

Learn more: Living Montessori Now

18. Musical Listening Game

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This musical listening activity is a great way to learn the names and sounds of different instruments while practicing different rhythmic responses.

Learn more: Let's Play Music

19. 1-2-3 Step Directions

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Why not turn following instructions into a fun game? This clever listening game requires no materials and challenges kids to follow multi-step directions.

Age Group: Preschool

Learn more: Inspirational Laboratories

20. Lego Listening Game

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In this fun twist on Lego, students cannot see each other's creations and are challenged to build the same tower as their partner by relying solely on verbal instructions.

Age Group: Elementary

Learn more: Stories and Cjildren

21. Listening Activity with Blocks

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Apart from teaching active listening skills, this activity is also great for developing color recognition and counting skills.

Age Group: Preschool

Learn more: Hands On As We Grow

22. Noisy Neighbors

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Noisy Neighbors is a fun board game that challenges players to guess what their teammates are doing solely by listening to them act out different activities.

Age Group: Elementary, Middle School

Learn more: Board Game Geek

23. Mother, May I?

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Sometimes called Captain, May I? this active game has students taking a baby or giant step toward a finish line by crawling, leaping, or hopping.

Age Group: Preschool, Elementary

Learn more: Jennifer Dukes Lee

24. Bean Game

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In this popular listening game, students have to move according to the type of bean that is called out. Kids are sure to love turning into jelly beans that make silly movements, jumping beans that hop around, and broad beans that stretch out on the floor.

Age Group: Elementary

Learn more: Teaching Ideas

25. Guess The Sound Game

This collection of interesting everyday sounds will keep kids guessing and giggling for hours. It's an excellent way to develop their sensory perception while learning about the world around them.

Age Group: Preschool, Elementary

Learn more: Mister Teach

Related posts:

30 Music Jokes for Kids That Hit ALL The Right Notes!
20 Preschool Building Activities for Future Architects and Engineers
30 Classic Picture Books for Preschool

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