Listening Walk Adventure
To develop focused listening and sound discrimination through environmental exploration.
- Framework: EYFS
- Unit: EYFS Communication & Language
- Learning area: Communication and Language
- Level: EYFS 3-4
Objectives
- Identifies common sounds
- Distinguishes between sounds
- Maintains focused listening
- Describes sounds using vocabulary
Materials
- Listening walk recording sheets with pictures
- Sound recording equipment (optional)
- Sound matching games
Instructions
Build excitement before you set off: 'Today we're going on a listening walk. We need to be very quiet and use our best listening ears. I wonder what sounds we'll discover?' Give each child a simple clipboard with picture prompts of things they might hear.
Model being a listener yourself. Stop frequently, cup your hand to your ear, and wonder aloud: 'Wait... I can hear something... it's high up... tweet tweet... a bird! Did you hear it too?' Your enthusiasm is infectious.
When children identify sounds, explore them together: 'Yes! A car! Was it loud or quiet? Was it close or far away? What do you think it was doing?' Extend their thinking beyond simple identification.
Use comparative language: 'That aeroplane was louder than the bird, wasn't it? The wind in the leaves is such a soft, rustling sound.' This builds vocabulary for describing sounds.
Encourage children to close their eyes briefly to focus: 'Let's stand very still and close our eyes. What can you hear right now?' This removes visual distraction and sharpens listening.
Back inside, recall the walk together: 'What sounds did we hear? Can you remember?' Create a sound map or list together. If you recorded sounds, play them back: 'What's this one? Where were we when we heard it?'
Extend learning with sound lotto games matching recorded sounds to pictures. Make your own using sounds from your setting—the doorbell, the taps running, the kitchen trolley. Children love recognising familiar sounds.
Connect to phonics gently: 'You're becoming brilliant listeners! Soon we'll listen to the tiny sounds inside words too. But first, can you hear... [make an environmental sound]?'