ORACY WALKTHRUs

This page brings together a set of practical tools to help teachers make talk purposeful, inclusive and embedded in everyday lessons. Drawing on our collaboration with Voice 21, you’ll find WalkThrus, frameworks and strategies that translate key principles of oracy into clear, actionable classroom practice.

VOICE 21.

A powerful collaboration with Voice 21.

This new series of WalkThrus, developed in collaboration with Voice 21, translates key principles of oracy into practical classroom techniques. Each WalkThru supports teachers to embed purposeful, inclusive talk into everyday lessons - helping all students think more deeply, articulate their ideas and engage in learning through talk.

Go to the voice 21 website →

Developing the core strands of student oracy.

Setting expectations and valuing talk to build strong student oracy.

Embedding purposeful talk into everyday teaching.

Using questioning to drive student talk and thinking.

QUESTIONING FOR ORACY.

Developing students' oracy through high-quality classroom questioning.

These WalkThrus focus on practical questioning techniques that improve classroom talk, thinking and participation. They support teachers to prompt, extend and refine students’ responses through structured dialogue. Used consistently, they help make talk a reliable tool for learning across the classroom.

Selecting students to answer; involving everyone in thinking.

A routine for structured discussion.

Generating improved verbal responses.

Questioning as a set of probing exchanges.

How do we know what we know?

Dealing with 'I don't know' responses

A routine for students to ask questions.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ORACY.

Practical approaches to creating opportunities for effective student talk.

This set of WalkThrus helps teachers scaffold verbal responses, develop vocabulary and create regular opportunities for students to explain, rehearse and refine their thinking. Used together, they make high-quality talk a routine part of learning in every classroom.

Routines for securing fluency and confidence with words.

Repeating and improving the quality of explanations.

Adaptations for supporting all students to engage in questioning.

Organising a discussion so everyone participates.

Structures to support students to form good responses.

A choral response strategy for vocabulary development.

Making thought processes explicit

Exploring schema with Why and How questions

Using students as resources for each other

PURPOSES & AUDIENCES.

Structured opportunities for students to speak, present and perform.

This set of WalkThrus focuses on extending students’ oracy through purposeful speaking opportunities. From debate and talk for writing to presentations and performance, each approach supports students to organise, articulate and communicate their ideas with increasing clarity and confidence.

Steps to setting up in-class debates.

Oral rehearsal as a precursor for writing.

Involving students in teaching parts of lessons.

Preparing to speak to an audience.

Students presenting ideas to class.

Performing speeches and poetry learned by heart.

LEARNING WALKTHRUs.

Supporting students to build their own oracy skills.

This set of Learning WalkThrus is written directly for students, supporting them to develop their own oracy through clear structures, prompts and practice. Each approach helps students focus their thinking, organise their ideas and communicate with increasing clarity.