A fun activity to develop oracy skills of collaborative talk

Published 15 Jan 2026, with Alan Howe

An activity to get your class talking to each other after the holidays

On creating a moment to say thank you

Sentence starters to help your pupils or loved ones reflect

A great way to get students used to talking to different people

A structure which develops speaking and listening, and can be used across the curriculum

Would you rather spend most of your time indoors or outdoors? And more

How one teacher got everyone thinking, talking, listening and learning

Children thinking about choices in Jack and the Beanstalk

Harness the benefits of collaborative talk

Six challenges for pupils to try in pairs

An oracy game where pupils can see each other's thinking

Including free preview and where to buy

Use talking points to get students thinking and talking about a painting

A great way of revisiting prior learning by speaking to different people

Oracy skills development - using different volumes

A game to help children practise giving compliments… plus an announcement!

A simple way to take turns in small groups

Pupils instruct each other to make a hidden model

An oracy game, a mental workout, and an opportunity to practise respectful challenge

Develop your pupils’ listening and reasoning

Opportunities to use talk structures

Six things you can do to help pupils gain the skills and confidence to speak to a room full of people

Enable your pupils to recognise effective dialogue

Reading aloud the same content several times can be very useful

Why not ask?

More useful resources, including a Talk Tally to get pupils listening closely

Another simple-yet-effective talk game

“They didn’t want to stop!” Play this engaging game with your students to develop listening and collaborative thinking

A fun game to develop listening and thinking

Seasonal versions of some well-known oracy games

An oracy game, a mental workout, and an opportunity to practise respectful challenge

Develop your pupils’ listening and reasoning

A go-to structure that helps every child to speak and give reasons

Fun plus learning

Develop pupil thinking and gain insight into concerns

Can your class come up with convincing definitions for the new words they invent?

A physical, fun game that can be played face-to-face or virtually

Community-building activities which are good for wellbeing as well as vocabulary development

A quick, active game that helps pupils reflect on their own talk

A professional development opportunity for P4C leads and teachers on Thursday 24th September

Tips, games and stimuli to help you maintain high-quality P4C in these unusual times

Get students thinking and talking with a game that only takes moments to set up.

Seven quick activities to develop talk, listening and non-verbal communication

Invest time in connection before content.

A resource which may be helpful for children who are not at school

Generating dialogue, comparing concepts, deepening understanding.

An energising warm-up game which will help children (and adults!) to focus.

A lovely example of a game which generates creative thinking and can give children ownership of their talk.

Tips for playing this popular P4C warm-up game which develops creative thinking plus turn-taking, listening, responding, and recognising shapes.

Celebrating a useful and fun resource.

Ways to play Odd One Out - the reasoning and P4C warm-up game.

Two fun warm-up games that you can use in your P4C practice.