Seventeen oracy activities that put one pupil centre stage and give the whole class a job. Pick one on the whiteboard and it deals a fresh prompt, runs a countdown everyone can see, and shows the audience their listening task. Most will model a worked example to the class first, so nobody has to guess what a good answer sounds like. Load a class and it picks the next speaker for you — or print the sheet and run it at tables.
What is a speaking and listening activity?
A speaking and listening activity is a short, structured task where one or two children talk while the rest of the class listens for something specific. The structure is what makes it work: a time limit, a clear job for the speaker, and a clear job for everyone else, so it never becomes the same three confident children answering every time.
How do you model an oracy activity to a class?
You show them one before you ask them to do one. Most activities here have a Model it first screen that puts a worked example on the board — a real exchange, the sentence stems the children can borrow, and what the class should be listening for. Children who have seen a good turn produce far better ones than children who have only been told the rules.
What does the rest of the class do while one child speaks?
Every activity gives the audience a Class Job — an active listening task like counting filler words, catching banned words or voting for the most convincing argument. It is on the board the whole time, so the class listens with a purpose rather than waiting for their turn.
Can these be run away from the whiteboard?
Yes — every activity has a Print button that builds a PDF sheet (it opens in a new tab), so groups can work at tables without a screen.
Can it pick pupils for me?
Yes — load one of your saved classes on the setup screen and Who's up next? picks a random speaker, working through the whole class before anyone repeats.
Do I need an account?
No. Every activity's setup screen is open — you can see exactly what you would be running, and model it to a class, before anyone asks you for anything. Starting an activity uses a free trial token, and a Sage Pro subscription lifts the limit.
More speaking and English work: ESL & Oracy for language-learner activities with printables, Teaching Routines for talk structures like Think Pair Share, Reading Activities for comprehension work, and Spin the Wheel for picking pupils at random.
Written by a practising primary school teacher, who built Sage Teachers to use in their own classroom. Every activity here is free to try with no sign-up.