News- telling supports children's oral language development and learning in variety of ways. They learn about an oral recount and the important elements to include. They learn to:
speak to an audience for a particular purpose (to share an event or personal experience)
sequence information in the right order when speaking about events that have happened
use the past tense
listen,question and respond
Children's ability with news-telling and their speaking skills are best enhanced when they are provided with considerable support from the teacher. The development of listening skills and behaviours-for example, looking at the speaker, paying attention, listening without interruption and thinking about what the speaker is saying- requires clear, consistent teacher guidance.