Turn-Taking and Active Listening

Learning goal: I can take turns, listen actively and build a conversation with ideas and questions.

• Take turns in pair and group talk.
• Stay on topic, listen carefully and respond to what another person says.
• Contribute ideas in class, group and pair discussions.
• Interact appropriately with peers, teachers and visitors.
• Ask useful open, closed, when, why and how questions.

Steps to use

Listen → Wait turn → Speak clearly → Respond to idea → Ask/question

Conversation moves

Use one talk move at a time

Curriculum Coverage & Elaborations

The content description is the required target. The elaborations below are taught as examples and contexts, not as disconnected checklist wording.

• E1: using turn-taking in group and pair work
• E2: building a conversation by staying on topic, supporting other speakers, eliciting responses, listening supportively and attentively, asking relevant questions, providing useful feedback and prompting
• E3: participating in informal and structured class, group and pair discussions about content area topics, ideas and information
• E4: interacting appropriately with peers, teachers and visitors
• E5: formulating different types of questions to ask a speaker, such as open and closed questions and “when”, “why” and “how” questions

• Waiting only to talk — Listen for the idea before responding.
• Too quiet/fast — Use classroom volume and clear pace.
• New idea ignores partner — Connect to what was already said.

1. Talk move practice — Use one sentence stem in a partner discussion.
   I agree because...
2. Listening check — Repeat one idea your partner said.
   You said...
3. Question build — Ask one question that helps the discussion continue.
   Why do you think...?

Quick checks

• What is active listening?
• Give a useful response stem.
• Why take turns?
• Ask a question that keeps talk going.

I am ready when I can

• I can take turns in pair and group talk.
• I can stay on topic, listen carefully and respond to what another person says.
• I can contribute ideas in class, group and pair discussions.
• I can interact appropriately with peers, teachers and visitors.
• I can ask useful open, closed, when, why and how questions.

Curriculum equivalents for Interaction skills including turn-taking, speaking clearly, using active listening behaviours...

Mapped skill: use interaction skills including turn-taking, speaking clearly, using active listening behaviours and responding to the contributions of others, and contributing ideas and questions

These references identify matching or closely related learning. Curriculum sequence, terminology and depth vary, so teachers should use the mapped skill and lesson difficulty to confirm suitability.

Australian Curriculum v9.0 is the canonical source for this SkillrHub lesson. Victoria and NSW entries name the closest published state codes or outcomes; international entries are planning references rather than claims of identical curricula.