Students need 50% communication skills and 50% knowledge to prosper. Communication activities for kids, like public speaking, are crucial nowadays. These activities not only help students express themselves but also help them become a go-getter. That said, every age group has communication activities fit for their cognitive development. Communication isn't just listening and answering kids’ answers. It's more than that. Let's see what activities can help improve communication for kids.
What are Communication Activities? Communication activities are ways of communicating and exchanging information with your class, teammates, and friends. Most importantly, communication activities help in personality development for kids. Such activities teach kids to develop various skills rather than just talking to each other. Furthermore, effective communication activities help students to enhance their listening abilities and body language. The different types of communication activities for kids are:
1. Non-verbal Communication Activities Non-verbal communication activities help kids understand each other through facial expressions, body language, and eye contact. Such activities include Mirror, You don’t say, Mimes, dumb charades, and more.
2. Verbal Communication Activities Verbal communication includes activities that involve words. In this mode of communication, children rely on words to communicate with each other. Activities that enhance verbal communication include debates, famous pairs, and more.
3. Visual Communication Activities Visual communication takes place through graphical images and other pictorial representations. Visual communication is the best way to enhance students’ basic and essential skills. Activities like dumb charades, and feeling corner help you to hone your visual communication skills.
4. Written Communication Activities Written communication includes interacting with each other through written messages. These messages are usually in form of letters, emails, and notes. Common written communication activities include book reading and writing session, journal writing and more.
5. Auditory Communication Activities Auditory communication is an essential communication skill. It lets kids enhance their listening skills and communicate through noises, music, and sound. Classic auditory communication activities include broken telephone games, piano lessons, and more.
Why must Kids Learn various Communication Activities? Communication activities for kids trigger their subconscious mind, which helps them become articulate individuals when they grow up. Moreover, communication activities also help students to show respect and value other individuals’ point of view. Kids become more responsible and tolerant when they grow up.
Here is how effective communication skills are essential for children:
Helps children to build and maintain relationships as adults
Increases innovative ideas among young students
Allows individuals to work in a team
Help young professionals to excel in their professional lives
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15 Communication Activities for Kids Communication activities for kids are as crucial as eating and breathing. Every age group requires different actions based on maturity and intelligence. So, let's see 5 communication activities for different age groups that they love and enjoy.
5 communication activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers Communication activities for toddlers and preschoolers require listening and understanding facial expressions to respond emotionally. Here are some games best suited for ages 1 to 5yrs:
1. Peek-a-boo Peek-a-boo is the hide-and-seek for babies and toddlers. You cover and uncover your face and keep saying “peekaboo” to your child.
This game will help your baby to:
Create a strong bond with you
Learn visual tracking
Learn essential motor skills
Learn social skills
2. Go Shopping Games Go-shopping games are one of the most engaging games for toddlers and preschoolers. You collect your child's favorite toys in this game and create a shop setting. You can participate as a shopkeeper or buyer and make your child learn new words while playing it.
This game will help your child to:
Develop good communication skills
Learn essential life skills
Learn monetary vocabulary
Learn the concept of queues and turns
Learn public speaking from an early age
3. Show and Tell Show and tell is a unique activity that teaches your kids to express their interests without being shy. In this game, children need to show an object in front of the class and tell why they like it. Each student can speak and listen to their classmates to find common interests.
This game will help your child to:
Express their likes and dislikes without fear
Learn simple oratory skills
Develop listening skills
Develop conceptual thinking
Develop emotional intelligence
4. Who am I? “Who am I” is an exciting game for kids in preschool, where each player describe an object without telling their name. The other player has to guess the answer and announce it. “Who am I” is a great activity to help kids develop good communication skills early on.
This activity will also help your child to:
Relax and enjoy
Learn initial non-verbal communication skills
Learn to describe things
5. Feeling Corner Emotions are the hardest to explain in words; therefore, children sometimes have trouble describing their feelings. Feeling Corner help, kids understand and express their feelings to elders. In this activity, teachers or parents create designated areas for children with images of various images of emotions stuck on the wall. The kids have to go and point out the emotions they feel.
This activity will help children to:
Develop self-management skills
Develop Self-awareness
Develop listening skills
Develop relationship skills
5 Communication activities for Elementary Kids Communication activities for elementary kids help them take the first step to public speaking. These activities are a little more challenging than toddlers’ activities and help children share more detailed information with their peers. Here are some communication games for elementary kids.
1. Broken Telephone Telephone is an exciting communication game that encourages teamwork, builds trust, and teaches listening ability in children. This game requires all the students to sit in a circle, and the teacher will whisper one word or sentence in a student’s ears. Then that student will whisper it to the student sitting next to them. The game will continue till the word comes back to the teacher. Once it comes back, they will compare the original term with the one it became.
This game will help the child to:
Develop detailed listening skills
Expand children’s vocabulary
Develop patience in children
Encourage creative thinking
2. Dumb charades Dumb charades is a word-guessing game that helps new students socialize with classmates. In this game, students are divided into two teams. Teachers give each team a name of a book, personality, or movie that students have to enact, guess and tell.
Dumb charades help kids to:
Develop interpersonal skills
Understand body language
Develop verbal and non-verbal communication skills
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3. Book Reading and Writing Sessions Book reading is one of the most outstanding public speaking activities for kids, as it helps them improve their literacy. For book reading sessions, teachers provide a book to each child that students need to take back home and read by themselves. Once they have finished the books, these students have to narrate or write the story in their words and explain why they liked it.
Book reading sessions help students to:
Improve their language literacy
Improve general knowledge and trivia
Improve writing habits
Inculcate healthy social habits
Inculcate storytelling habits
Inculcate the habit of impromptu public-speaking habits
4. Role-Playing Games Skits and role-playing is a fun game that helps students to be empathetic and find ways to respond to challenging situations. In this game, teachers assign students the role of adults that students have to enact in front of the class.
Here is how role-playing helps students with their communication:
Let students make mature decisions
Increases their creativity
Students learn to handle real-world scenarios
Enhances public speaking skills
Express emotion through facial expression
5. Tongue Twisters Tongue twister helps students speak loud and clear and let them gain verbal literacy. Tongue twisters are tricky phrases that kids repeat multiple times quickly. Elementary kids enjoy this game, and teachers can plan less for this activity. Students like to play tongue twisters in recess, and it's just the teacher's job to encourage them.
Tongue twisters help students in:
Verbal communication
Speaking clearly in the class
Understand which sound is complex for them
5 Communication activities for Middle and High schoolers Communication activities for middle and high school students are more complex than thosefor elementary kids. These activities and games involve public speaking and word games that help them prepare for college.
Here are some exciting games and activities fit for middle and high schoolers:
1. Public speaking games Games like "The best part of our school" help students confidently present their points of view. For example, "the best part of our school" is a great activity conducted over three days. On the first day, each student list 10 things that they like about their school. Next, they split into groups and shortlist these things into lesser numbers. And finally, on the final day, they present their list collectively in front of others.
This communication game helps students in:
Building complex communication skills
Enhancing presentation skills
Building advanced oratory skills
Enhancing higher self-esteem
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2. Electric Fence The Electric Fence is a physical game where each student's challenge is crossing a fence. However, everyone has to start again if one student touches the fence. This game helps students learn several things. Students can play this game during their gym time once every week.
Electric fence team building games help students to:
Cooperate effectively in professional lives
Non-verbal communication
Trust among one another
Leadership skills
3. Collaborative Projects Collaborative projects like class assignments and debates help students enhance their research skills. For these projects, students are divided into teams of two and given a task to complete. One team has to speak for the topic, and the other has to speak against the topic.
Debates help students to:
Enhance Research Skills
Link ideas to make concepts more meaningful
Synthesize wide bodies of complex information
Implement different methods of knowledge
Want to excel as a debater? Learn how to prepare for a debate and stand apart from your classmates.
4. Famous Pairs Famous pair is a game where students create a list of well-known pairs. For example, some famous pairs are tart and jelly, stapler and pins, and Romeo and Juliet. Each player is given a note with one-half of the pair on the back. Students move around, asking each student three questions and figuring out who they are. Once they have found who they are, they go on and find their partners.
This game helps students to:
Enhance research skills
Share ownership
Build healthy relationships among peers
Foster a healthy learning environment in class
5. Blindfold Game The blindfold game teaches students to overcome obstacles as a team. In this game, students nominate someone to become the "blind man." The “blind man” must feel objects around them to find their classmates. On the other hand, the classmates will spread out so that the blind man cannot catch them. If the blind man catches someone and guesses their name correctly, that student becomes the blind man.
The blindfold game helps students to:
Get a sense of sight without seeing
Communicate without speaking
Enhance leadership skills by keeping a distance and focusing on details
6 Effective Communication Tips for Parents Kids can learn communication skills only if an adult teaches them. We don’t expect babies to run the day they are born.
If you want your child to learn and communicate effectively, you must take the right actions. These tips are for parents who wish their child to excel as humans and professionals. Here are some top tips to help your kids learn to communicate:
1. Listen to what they have to say Active listening is one of the best examples of good communication. Parents or teachers who listen to what their kids say usually make children feel validated and secure. In return, kids feel the urge to speak and express themselves. A warm smile from your end or a nodding gesture is a sign to make your kids understand that you are talking to them.
2. Listen and answer Reflective listening is a terrific way to make your kids understand that you pay attention to what they say. Moreover, it lets your children believe you care about their state of mind and opinion. For example, if your child comes to you and says, “I don’t like eating oranges," you can reply, "May I know why you don’t like such a delicious fruit?” This will give your child the space to say what they want.
3. Clear speaking Be precise while speaking to your children. It will help your children understand that clear verbal communication is better and more effective. For example, if your child comes to you and says, “Can I eat ice cream?” Don’t say NO! Instead, explain why they cannot eat ice cream now and what it would do to their health. However, do remember not to belittle or insult your kid. It will have a negative impact on their mind.
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4. Don’t bribe your kids Don’t bribe your child for behaving properly. It will set wrong expectations in them and make them feel entitled and greedy in their later lives. Also, such behavior on your part will weaken your bond with your kids. Set clear expectations and calmly handle situations to encourage better behavior from your child.
5. Express and explain the feelings Help your child to grow their emotional intelligence by expressing and explaining their feelings. If you don't like something or expect them to behave better, present it without showing anger. It will help them to come to terms with their feelings. Moreover, try to understand their perspective. Understand your kids’ fear, anger, and sadness, and help them express it through words.
6. Praise your children We all love praises, don’t we? It helps us to feel confident and achieve better. Similarly, when you praise your child, they feel sure of themselves, and their confidence reflects their attitude. You can use words like "good job" or "I am proud of you" to encourage your child’s intelligence. Moreover, such expressions of praise make them feel noticed and emotionally nourished.
FAQs What is effective communication? Effective communication allows people to connect with each other's ideas. Effective communication is not about getting others to do what you want. Effective communication helps you and others click on a deeper level and cooperate to get jobs done. Why does my kid need to learn effective communication? Your kid needs to learn effective communication to grow as a professional. No one in this fast-paced world can prosper with just hard skills. Hard skills with no communication abilities will never help them to achieve their goals. What challenges will my kids face if they don't learn to communicate? There are several challenges that one has to face without proper communication skills. They will not learn how to express themselves, and they will not learn to listen to others. Moreover, they will need to know which channel to use while communicating and won't also learn to evaluate their flaws.
