Make (or get the children to make) a huge pair of cardboard lips and an ear. Two pupils sit on chairs at the front of the classroom. The teacher identifies who will be the speaker and who will be the listener. The teacher (or another pupil) holds the lips and ear and passes them to the chosen pupils when ready. If they have the ear they must be listening and ready to respond when they are given the lips. If they have the lips they need to talk about the chosen topic. The concept may need to be demonstrated by the teacher and a teaching assistant but once the children have got the idea they can have their own set of lips and ears and practise the activity in threes. You can give the children specific topics to talk about and this can be linked to items in the news or matters relevant to the class

Louise Payne is a Year 56 teacher at Collingwood Primary, South Woodham Ferrers, Essex