Acquire Information (A)

(View grades 4 – 12 by strand)

Listening (A.2) (view pdf of this strand)

As students progress through the grade levels, they should use more attentive and sophisticated listening skills to comprehend complex oral communications. In addition to those skills explicitly stated below, students may be expected to apply the benchmarks for specific reading skills, from the Reading strand, to listening situations.

The benchmarks for effective listening progresses across the grades in the following area:

A.2.1 Listening Skills

A.2.1.1 following directions
A.2.1.2 identifying main idea and details
A.2.1.3 summarizing
A.2.1.4 paraphrasing
A.2.1.5 analyzing
A.2.1.6 working in teams

These benchmarks are described in greater detail below.

GRADES 4 – 5

A.2.1.1.4-5 Follow relatively short, clearly sequenced spoken instructions to perform specific tasks, to answer questions and to solve problems. (ADP B1)
A.2.1.2.4-5 Identify the thesis of a speech that is organized in a mostly linear pattern with a clear main idea which may be explicitly stated at the opening and identify ideas that support the main idea. For example, students may produce a story-telling video in which students perform or act out a story. (ADP B4)
A.2.1.3.4-5 Summarize information presented orally by others in which the main idea and details are explicitly stated, including the purpose, main ideas and supporting details or evidence. (ADP B2)
A.2.1.4.4-5 Paraphrase accurately relatively brief, uncomplicated ideas and information presented orally by others. (ADP B3)
A.2.1.5.4-5 Identify purpose, style and organizational structure of a relatively uncomplicated speech. (ADP B5)
A.2.1.6.4-5 Listen actively in group discussions by asking clarifying questions and by recognizing and managing external barriers (e.g., physical setting) to aid comprehension. (ADP B7)

GRADES 6 – 8

A.2.1.1.6-8 Follow multi-step spoken instructions to perform single tasks, to answer questions and to solve problems. (ADP B1)
A.2.1.2.6-8 Identify the thesis of a speech in which the main idea may be explicitly or implicitly stated, concepts may be more abstract and extended metaphors may be used, and determine the essential elements that elaborate it. For example, John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address "Ask not what your country can do for you" and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream." (ADP B4)
A.2.1.3.6-8 Summarize information presented orally by others in which the main ideas may be explicitly or implicitly stated, including the purposes, major ideas and supporting details or evidence. (ADP B2)
A.2.1.4.6-8 Paraphrase accurately challenging ideas and information presented orally by others. (ADP B3)
A.2.1.5.6-8 Analyze the ways in which the style and structure of a more challenging speech support or confound its meaning and purpose, taking into account the speaker’s nonverbal gestures. (ADP B5)
A.2.1.6.6-8 Listen actively in group discussions by asking clarifying and elaborating questions and by managing internal (e.g., emotional state, prejudices) and external (e.g., physical setting, difficulty hearing, recovering from distractions) barriers to aid comprehension. (ADP B7)

GRADES 9 – 10

A.2.1.1.9-10 Follow multi-tasked or multi-dimensional spoken instructions to perform a specific role in a task, answer difficult questions and solve challenging problems. (ADP B1)
A.2.1.2.9-12 Identify/infer the thesis of a complex speech in which the ideas may be abstract, theoretical, and philosophical and in which the organization is not necessarily linear, but may proceed from point to point, and distinguish the essential and less-important details that may subtly elaborate it. For example, Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death," George Washington's "Farewell Address," Mahatma Gandhi's "Quit India speech" or Nelson Mandela's "I am prepared to die." (ADP B4)
A.2.1.3.9-12 Summarize concisely information presented orally by others including the purposes (explicit and implicit), major ideas (explicit and implicit) and supporting details or evidence, and demonstrate the ability to distinguish more important from less important details. (ADP B2)
A.2.1.4.9-12 Paraphrase accurately multiple, challenging ideas and information presented orally by others. (ADP B3)
A.2.1.5.9-10 Analyze the ways in which the style, structure and rhetorical devices of a challenging speech support or confound its meaning or purpose, taking into account the speaker’s nonverbal gestures, credibility and point of view. (ADP B5)
A.2.1.6.9-12 Listen actively in group discussions by asking clarifying, elaborating and synthesizing questions and by managing internal (e.g., emotional state, prejudices) and external (e.g., physical setting, difficulty hearing, recovering from distractions) barriers to aid comprehension. (ADP B7)

GRADES 11 – 12

A.2.1.1.11-12 Follow extended multi-tasked or multi-dimensional spoken instructions to perform a specific role in complex tasks, answer complex questions and solve complex problems. (ADP B1)
A.2.1.2.9-12 Identify/infer the thesis of a complex speech in which the ideas may be abstract, theoretical, and philosophical and in which the organization is not necessarily linear, but may proceed from point to point, and distinguish the essential and less-important details that may subtly elaborate it. For example, Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death," George Washington's "Farewell Address," Mahatma Gandhi's "Quit India speech" or Nelson Mandela's "I am prepared to die." (ADP B4)
A.2.1.3.9-12 Summarize concisely information presented orally by others including the purposes (explicit and implicit), major ideas (explicit and implicit) and supporting details or evidence, and demonstrate the ability to distinguish more important from less important details. (ADP B2)
A.2.1.4.9-12 Paraphrase accurately multiple, challenging ideas and information presented orally by others. (ADP B3)
A.2.1.5.11-12 Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the ways in which the style, structure and rhetorical devices of any speech support or confound its meaning or purpose, taking into account the speaker’s nonverbal gestures, credibility and point of view. (ADP B5)
A.2.1.6.9-12 Listen actively in group discussions by asking clarifying, elaborating and synthesizing questions and by managing internal (e.g., emotional state, prejudices) and external (e.g., physical setting, difficulty hearing, recovering from distractions) barriers to aid comprehension. (ADP B7)