What is oracy? 

Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language. At Bradley, oracy is a powerful tool for learning; by teaching students to become more effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them. 

At Bradley Primary School we recognise that oracy skills are crucial to a children’s success both in school and in their life beyond. Through our participation in the Voice 21 oracy schools programme, we are committed to enabling all of our pupils to access and benefit from a high-quality oracy education. Our aim is to ensure every pupil leaves our school as an effective communicator, who is confident using their voice in a wide range of situations.  

 

In school we believe spoken language is essential for learning. Throughout the curriculum, we use sentence stems. This provides a scaffolding to help students communicate effectively, clarify information, reinforce vocabulary and respond to questions. Talk and discussion is highly valued and we offer regular opportunities for pupils to showcase their oracy skills in debate, presentations, drama, storytelling, Talking Points in Art, Geographical Glimpses in Geography and Bright Ideas time in Science.  

 

Oracy is learning through talk. Opportunities for exploratory talk encourage pupils to engage with each other and by creating guidelines within our classrooms, pupils understand the expectations of speaking and listening and the value it can add to their learning.  

 

Promoting oracy at home 

 

1 – Oracy Games 

Play games that develop oracy skills in your children. Popular games include: 

  • Guess who  

  • Charades  

  • Headbandz 

 

Games such as ‘would you rather’ require no resources and are also fantastic at developing your child’s oracy skills. 

  

2 – New Vocabulary 

Spend time discussing/explaining the meaning of new words your child encounters.  

  

3 – Word of the day 

Come up with a ‘word of the day’.  Challenge your child to use the new word in their writing or talk.  

  

4 – After School Conversations 

At pick up time invite your child to tell you about their day. Think of using sentences and questions such as these below.  

  • Tell me the highlight of your day  

  • What was the worst and best part of your day?  

  • What was the most interesting part of your day? 

  

5 – Reading  

Discuss your child’s reading book with them and ask them a variety of questions. This will not only support their oracy skills but also their comprehension.  

  

6 – Examples of Oracy  

Listen to and watch different examples of oracy. This could be podcasts, poetry, radio shows, TV programmes, speeches, comedy or music.  

  

7 – Listening walk  

Listening is a fundamental part of oracy and this activity can be used with the youngest of children. Take them on a walk and encourage your child to listen carefully to the sounds around them and describe them.  

  

8 – TV  

Watch a TV programme or news programme together and discuss it.