Effective communication
National Curriculum Links KS2 – England and Wales
PSHE & Citizenship
4c Identify and respect the differences and similarities between people
English En3
2 Develop their writing on paper and on screen
9bInform and explain, focusing on the subject matter and how to convey it in
sufficient detail for the reader
National Curriculum Links KS2 – Northern Ireland
Personal Development and Mutual Understanding
• Understanding that similarities and differences between people arise from a
number of factors
English – Writing
• Create, organise, refine and present ideas using traditional and digital
means, combining text, sound or graphics
• Write for a variety of purposes and audiences, selecting, planning and using
appropriate style and form
5-14 Curriculum – Scotland
Personal Development
• Demonstrate respect and tolerance towards others
Key objectives
To encourage pupils to understand how to effectively communicate with deaf
people. To design and produce an information poster to promote effective
communication with deaf people.
Communication
English – Writing
• To convey information (functional writing)
Design a poster of ‘Tops Tips’ for communication
In small groups the pupils to write a list of ‘Top
tips’ for effective communication with a deaf person.
These might include:
• Face the person
• Stand still
• Keep your face clear
• Make sure the person is ready to listen
• Speak clearly
• Speak normally (do not shout, whisper, speed up or slow down)
• Speak one at a time
• Limit background noise (think about the playground, lunch hall and so on)
• Use facial expressions
• Have light on your face
• Gently tap them on the shoulder/flash lights on and off/wave hand to
attract attention
• Repeat if not understood/ write it down
• Give space between yourself and the person so they can see you clearly
activityactivity
Discuss the lists the pupils made in their small groups.
Ask pupils to get into pairs and design a poster to put up around the
school/classroom to promote good communication with deaf people.
Posters should include the ‘Top tips’ for good communication and should
be designed to a high standard and accessible for all ages of pupils in the
school.
Communication
Resources
• Large paper and markers
• Computer
• Rough paper
• Information books
• Poster paper
• Pencils and colour
Aids for Communication
National Curriculum Links KS2 – England and Wales
PSHE & Citizenship
4c Identify and respect the differences and similarities between people
English En1
1 Speak/sign clearly, fluently and confidently to different people
2 Listen/watch, understand and respond to others
National Curriculum Links KS2 – Northern Ireland
Personal Development and Mutual Understanding
• Understanding that similarities and differences between people arise from a
number of factors
English – Talking and Listening
• Talk/sign with people in a variety of formal and informal situations
5-14 Curriculum – Scotland
Personal Development
• Demonstrate respect and tolerance towards others
English – Talking and Listening/ Watching
• To establish relationships and interact with others (listening for information,
instructions and directions; conveying information, instructions and
directions)
Communication
Key objectives
To develop pupils awareness of the additional aids deaf people can use when
communicating. To enhance pupils understanding of how to communicate with
others without using spoken English.
Lipreading
Lipreading is the ability to read lip patterns. It is
difficult to learn, but many children will naturally try
to lipread when they are communicating. We all lipread, especially in noisy
environments or any situations where it is difficult to hear clearly.
However, it would be very difficult for most deaf children to rely solely on
lipreading to communicate, as they can only pick up a small percentage of
what is being said. So lipreading would usually be used alongside other
communication approaches. Lipreading involves utilising clues from the
topic of conversation, facial expression, the eyes, the rhythm of speech
and body language.
Explain to the pupils that some deaf people use lipreading to support their
understanding of spoken English.
Ask pupils to get into pairs and lipspeak, without using their voice, the
following instructions for their partner to complete (see resource sheet
‘Lipspeaking’). Encourage pupils to use non-verbal features to help each
other understand, for example, facial expression and body language.
• clap your hands
• touch your toes
• put your tongue out
• scratch your chin
• blink your eyes
• wiggle your fingers
• touch your nose
• nod your head
As a class discuss how they found following lipreading. Have they got any
suggestions how to improve their lipreading skills?
• I have eight green apples
• Benny has eighteen mugs
• Penny has eighteen bugs
• I’ve got to take that path
• I’m going to take a bath
• I have five red apples
As a class, discuss how they found following the lipreading. How can they
make it easier for deaf pupils to listen and lipread the teacher during
lessons or lipread themselves during playtimes and lunchtime?
Resources
• Resource sheet – Lipspeaking
Activites continue over page
Communication
activity one
Now get them to try lipreading the following phrases using their own
suggestions to improve their skills. Ask them to record what they think
has been said (see resource sheet ‘Lipspeaking’).
activity two
Non-verbal Communication
In pairs, pupils take it in turns to make a natural
gesture without speaking to demonstrate the phrases
below. They have to guess the message that is being conveyed by their
partner. They will need to use good facial expressions (see resource sheet
‘Non-verbal communication’).
• it’s hot
• it’s cold
• I’m hungry
• it’s noisy
• I don’t know
• I’m late
• they’re silly
• you’re naughty
• where is my drink?
• I’m tired
• good, well done
As a class discuss how they this found activity using facial expression
alone to communicate. How does using clear facial expressions aid
understanding for deaf pupils?
Fingerspelling
Explain to pupils that some deaf people use
British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate.
BSL has it’s own alphabet and it is used to aid communication and to spell
out words that have no sign. It is the alphabet but the letters are not
written or spoken they are spelt with our hands.
Fingerspell the alphabet as a whole class then give out the fingerspelling
cards and ask pupils to learn to fingerspell their name and where they live.
(use fingerspelling sheet)
In pairs to fingerspell different words for example colours, food, sports,
topic Vocabulary and so on. and their partner to read the words they are
spelling.
Resources
• Fingerspelling sheet
Communication
activity three
Resources
• Resources sheet – Non-verbal gestures
How we listen
National Curriculum Links KS1 – England and Wales
Science Sc2
1b Animals, including humans, move, feel, grow, use their senses and reproduce
2gSenses that enable humans and other animals to be aware of the world
around them
Science Sc4
3d Sounds travel away from sources, getting fainter as they do so, and they are
heard when they enter the ear
National Curriculum Links KS1 – Northern Ireland
The World Around Us – Science
• Ourselves, for example, how we grow, move and use our senses, including
similarities and differences between ourselves and other children
• Sounds in the local environment
5-14 Curriculum – Scotland
Environmental Studies – Science
• The use of the senses as a means of keeping safe should be explored (the
processes of life)
• Vibrations identified and explored as the source of sound
Listening
Being able to effectively listen and pay attention are important skills. Some
children develop these skills more quickly and more effectively than others.
Hearing and listening are two different things.
If you have a deaf child in your class, present listening activities carefully,
being sensitive to that child’s ability. Listening exercises are not to highlight
how poorly the deaf child performs.
The activities below can be used to foster listening skills, they can be adapted
to suit individual circumstances.
Communication
Key objectives
To encourage children to think about how they listen, and how they use their
own hearing.
Listen to class sounds
Begin with having the class quiet and listen to all the sounds
they can hear.
• This begins with general listening. After a short time of quiet, ask the
class for their ideas about what they heard. Then focus the children on
listening to distant sounds and sounds nearby, and identifying which
direction they came from
activity one
• Point out that quiet sounds can be identified even when a louder sound
is present. Then talk about how different people hear different things.
• Some children may mention the internal sounds of their body, for
example, their heart beat.
• Talk about sleeping in noisy environments. People who live near busy
roads or train lines ‘stop hearing’ the sounds after a while, but a person
new to the area can be disturbed by them.
• Discuss how we use our ears to scan our environment, for warnings of
danger perhaps, for example, talk to a child about how they would not
cross the road if they could hear a car coming.
Listen to tape of sounds
Use tapes of sounds with pictures. Remember to make
sure that the sounds you use are within the detection
and hearing range of any deaf children in the group
• Match identical sound makers from a sequence, i.e. sound one is the
same as sound five
• Using musical instruments, place one child behind a screen who makes
a sound, which the other one needs to match with the picture.
• Perhaps ask children to record some sounds in their homes, and bring
them in so that others can listen to the tapes and guess the what makes
the sounds.
Resources
• Tapes of sounds with pictures
activities continue
Communication
activity two
• First play a sound and ask the children to identify the sound maker (for
example, a piano, or a car)
Exploring rhythm
Rhythm is the basis of all music and many
languages. Many deaf children have just as good a
sense of rhythm as hearing children. There are a number of extensions to
just beating a drum and getting the child to do the same.
When you start these activities, make sure the children can see the source
of the sound and only move onto the next stage when they are able to do
the first.
activity three
For rhythmic body movement try:
• body clapping, mirroring someone and then looking at themselves in a
mirror
• start with something simple like clapping in a repetitive beat and then
extend to music and ultimately with syncopation
• check out some African rhythmic dancing, its great fun.
Pass the rhythm: Extension of body clapping:
• someone starts a rhythm and it is passed on in a circle
• this can then include chants when the clapping and stamping is good
Actions like rowing, dancing and work movements can be a natural
extension into exploring rhythmic movements and listening carefully
Rhythmic language work: Rhythm patterns:
• Guess name by their rhythm beaten out on a drum or tone bar or
matching patterns of sound to language.
Communication
Resources
• Drums, tone bar, or other percussion instruments
Volume of everyday sounds
National Curriculum Links KS1 – England and Wales
Science Sc1
1 Pupils should be taught that it is important to collect evidence by making
observations and measurements when trying to answer a question.
2f Explore, using the senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste as
appropriate, and make and record observations and measurements
2hMake simple comparisons and identify simple patterns or associations
2i Compare what happened with what they expected would happen, and try to
explain it, drawing on their knowledge and understanding
Science Sc4
3c That there are many kinds of sound and sources of sound
National Curriculum Links KS1 – Northern Ireland
The World Around us – Science
• Sounds in the local environment
• Pupils should be enabled to explore ‘me’ in the world
5-14 Curriculum – Scotland
Environmental studies – Science
• The use of the senses as a means of keeping safe should be explored (the
processes of life)
• Vibrations identified and explored as the source of sound
Key objectives
To encourage children to think about the volume of everyday sounds, and the
sounds we make when we speak. To get children to think about and discuss
the sounds they produce, and what they think would improve the listening
conditions in the classroom.
Communication
Investigative Work
• Preparing for tasks
• Carrying out tasks
• Reviewing and reporting on tasks
activity
Experiment with a sound level meter
Get children to use the sound level meter to record the
loudness and quietness of different sounds. Examine the
sound levels when children shout and whisper into it. Get
children to look at how loud normal classroom sounds are, for example,
the whir of a computer, moving chairs, general classroom chatter, and
noises near an open window. Ask children to make different sounds into
the meter, for example, ‘sh’, ‘th’, ‘ee’, ‘ooh’ etc. Look at the loudness of
each one.
You can also arrange for children to check a sound level meter throughout
a lesson. Place the sound level meter in the classroom, and set times for
different children to check the meter every few minutes. Ask them to write
down their observations, and write what they thought they could hear.
Afterwards, have a class discussion about classroom noises. Get children
to talk about the sounds they hear, and the sounds they make. Ask the
children what they think would make their classroom more deaf friendly.
Communication
Resources
• Sound level meter
Vibrations
National Curriculum Links – England and Wales
Science Sc2 KS1
1b Animals, including humans, move, feed, grow, use their senses and
reproduce
2gSenses that enable humans and other animals to be aware of the world
around them
Science Sc4 KS2
3e Sounds are made when objects vibrate, but that vibrations are not always
directly visible
National Curriculum Links – Northern Ireland
The World Around Us – Science KS1
• Ourselves, for example, how we grow, move and use our senses, including
similarities and differences between ourselves and other children
• The variety of living things in the world
KS2
• How sound travels
5-14 Curriculum – Scotland
Key objectives
To encourage children to think and talk about how vibrations make sound. Also
to get children to think about how deaf people use their senses to understand
the world around them, in particular, touch.
Communication
Environmental Studies – Science
• The use of the senses as a means of keeping safe should be explored (the
processes of life)
• Vibrations identified and explored as the source of sound
activity
Sound and vibration
Evelyn Glennie is a profoundly deaf percussionist. She is
considered world class in her skills and talent. She cannot
hear many of the sounds that she creates, but she plays barefoot.
She does this because she has developed her ability to ‘listen’ with the
soles of her feet. Her feet pick up the vibration and give her a lot of the
information she needs to perform well.
Get children to bang on some drums and feel the vibrations that the skins
make. You can use a range of percussion instruments to do this exercise.
Ask the children to tap them lightly, and hit them hard, and get them to
feel the difference in vibrations. Also, get them to bang on a drum, then
immediately hold it close to their bodies, and gradually move it away. This
should help them to understand how sound vibrations move through the
air.
Communication
Resources
• Percussion instruments
Hearing dogs for deaf people
National Curriculum Links KS1 – England and Wales
Science Sc2
2gSenses that enable humans and other animals to be aware of the world
around them
National Curriculum Links KS1 – Northern Ireland
The World Around Us – Science
• Ourselves, for example, how we grow, move and use our senses, including
similarities and differences between ourselves and other children
• The variety of living things in the world
5-14 Curriculum – Scotland
Environmental Studies – Science
• The use of the senses as a means of keeping safe should be explored (the
processes of life)
activity
Hearing dogs for deaf people
Some deaf people have hearing dogs. Hearing dogs can help deaf
people by alerting them to things they might otherwise not know
about, like alarms or a doorbell. Hearing dogs use their paws to get their
owners attention, and will then either lead the person towards the sound,
or will lie down to show their owner that the sound is alerting them to a
danger. Hearing dogs are trained by a charity called Hearing Dogs for Deaf
People.
You can contact Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and ask if a deaf person and
their hearing dog could come to your school. They could explain how their
hearing dog helps them, and children could ask questions. Then ask
children to write about the visit, and what it helped them to learn.
Resources
• www.hearingdogs.org.uk
Communication
Key objectives
To understand how and why some deaf people benefit from having a hearing
dog to support them.