School Sparks - Kindergarten Readiness

Why listening to directions is important

As parents, I don’t really need to tell you why it is important for children to be able to follow directions! Anyone who lives with a child hopes that he will cooperate and comply with directions. But these worksheets help children practice more than simply following directions - they help a child practice attending to oral language and interpreting what they hear. So these worksheets provide valuable opportunities for children to listen carefully to specific sentences and understand the meaning of the words they hear.

Tips for using these Listening to Directions worksheets

Begin by letting your child know that you will be reading the words on his worksheet and he will need to listen and look at the picture when you read. Tell him that one sentence you say will be correct and one sentence will not be correct. Also let him know that you will read both sentences before he decides which sentence is correct. Then he can use his pencil to draw a line through the incorrect sentence. A young child may need to tell you which sentence is correct and then you can point out the words in the incorrect sentence for him to cross out. After he crosses out the incorrect sentence, you can reread the correct one to reinforce his choice.

In the beginning worksheets, there may be a few words that are unfamiliar to your child. If he asks for clarification, such as "What is a shutter?" you may certainly point it out on the picture. Asking the question shows that your child was listening to your words. Parents may also want to glance at the pictures and the sentences and explain a picture before reading the sentences aloud.

The intermediate worksheets present a bigger challenge because there are four, not two, sentences about each picture. Also, some of the sentences ask children to interpret the picture rather than simply describe the picture. Again, parents may wish to glance at the pictures and the sentences before reading the sentences aloud. In some instances, it may be helpful to ask your child to describe what he sees in the picture before you read the sentences. This will give you an opportunity to clarify or answer questions about the picture before beginning the auditory processing portion of the worksheets.

As with the beginning worksheets, parents can point to sentences the child names as correct or incorrect so that he can accurately cross out those he feels are false.

Additional activities to promote auditory processing skill development

• Look at a magazine picture or illustration in a story book. Play a “True or False” game with your child and make a comment about something in the picture. Your child will need to tell you if your statement is accurate.
• Play an oral "Which one is different?" game. Tell your child that you will say three sentences. Two will go together and one will not belong with the others. Ask him to tell you which sentence does not belong. Here is an example: 1. The sky is blue. 2. The sun is shining in the sky. 3. I have brown shoes. Clearly the first two sentences are talking about the same subject while the third sentence is unrelated. Use your imagination and have fun. Your child will, too!