Students are prompted to talk about Helen's childhood and answer comprehension questions aloud (e.g., "Ask your child to describe why living in Helen's environment could be frustrating..."). The lesson asks students to read their descriptive paragraphs aloud while a partner (the parent) listens, guesses, and provides suggestions (e.g., "Let her read the paragraph aloud without naming the object. Then you can guess..." and "Then you can read the paragraph and provide suggestions..."). Several activities instruct students to "discuss" topics such as how Helen used her senses and which music tones suit Helen's song, which requires verbal exchange.

Students are asked to think of three or four questions while reading and then ask those questions aloud and discuss them with an adult, which creates a spoken discussion activity. The guidance tells students to "answer verbal and written questions in complete sentences," and to "present" a written speech to an audience, implying practice with speaking to others. The lesson also tells students to "review the idea that a speaker addresses a person or group of people in a respectful way," which explicitly references respectful speaking.

Students are asked to discuss farm life and the book one-on-one with a parent (Introduction: ask your child what he knows about farm life and whether he would enjoy living on a farm). Activity 3 instructs the parent to read two or three picture books about friendship and "encourage your child to discuss the characters and their relationships with one another." The unit also tells students to answer verbal questions in complete sentences and to discuss similarities between friendships in different stories as they read.

The lesson repeatedly directs the child to take part in oral activities: selecting questions to use "in a discussion," reading scenarios aloud, and answering discussion prompts (e.g., predicting neighbors, discussing stereotypes, and responding to scenario tasks). The lesson also includes guided discussion prompts such as "Discuss why it is wrong..." and "Ask your child how Winnie acted..." that require students to speak about the text and respond to others' ideas.

Students are asked to answer two or three questions in their journal and discuss the others with a parent, creating an explicit one-on-one discussion opportunity. The Activities repeatedly prompt students to 'discuss' topics (e.g., relationship between pets and owners, reactions to the Garbers' new dog), requiring verbal exchange and responding to prompts. The Wrapping Up section asks students to summarize Chapter 4 aloud and produce sentences in different tenses, which requires speaking and listening during discussion.

Students plan and perform scripted interviews where one person acts as the reporter and others act as characters, with an explicit suggestion to pass a pretend microphone back and forth as questions are asked and answered. The Student Activity Pages and rubric require students to develop oral questions and give answers that are easy to understand and to act out roles in a believable way. The Skills list asks students to choose and adapt spoken language appropriate to audience, purpose, and occasion, and to use verbal and nonverbal communication for introductions and directions.