Teaching students to listen is no easy task. Sometimes, I feel like I am trying to herd a bunch of cats! I use a “Whole Body Listening” poster in my classroom. The speech pathologists and ABA teachers at my school introduced me to “Whole Body Listening.” They use a Whole Body Listening Social Story they created through Boardmaker to give the students an idea of what whole body listening looks like. The idea behind the social story is based on an article written by Susanne Poulette (Truesdale) called “Whole-Body Listening: Developing Active Auditory Skills.” As you know, many students on the spectrum struggle with eye contact while speaking. I have found that through my years of mainstreaming, the social story worked well for all of my students. It is a great way to remind students of what active listening involves. I decided to make these posters to refer to when I wanted my students to actively listen. The mini-posters can be cut laminated and taped down to students’ desk. These are great for non-verbal cues. Now, when I need students to listen, I simply say “Whole Body Listening.” Click the picture above to download my posters and class-made book activity for free. I have always used this book, Listen and Learn by Cheri J. Meiners as an introduction to listening in my classroom. Another adorable book is called Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen by Howard Binkow. Through a bit more internet searching, I found this book called Whole Body Listening Larry at School!. It was also inspired by Susanne Poulette's article. I think this book would be great to read to your students on the first few days of school. Please, do not make "Whole Body Listening" a rule. Most students cannot sit still for long periods of time. In my own classroom, I allow students to stand to do do work as long as they push their chair in and stand behind it. I find they like to stand during center time and while creating art projects. I also ask my OT therapists to borrow "Movin' Sit Cushions," these help the especially fidgety children by letting them bounce or move a bit in their chair while still sitting down. Another tip would be to place Velcro inside the student's desk. He/ she can run his/her fingers along the soft and hard Velcro instead of playing with things in his/her desk. I hope these freebies help your students! For more listening ideas and to link up with yours, go to Blog Hoppin' by clicking below. Here is a link for an article about Susanne Poulette. *Susanne Poulette, a New York speech pathologist coined the term "Whole-Body Listening" with this article (click {here} to read it): Whole-Body Listening: Developing Active Auditory Skills, Susanne P. Truesdale Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools Vol.21 183-184 July 1990.