A practicum was designed to increase teacher awareness of how the diversity and dynamics of oral language impacted student participation in the classroom. Participation in classroom activities, such as following directions and group discussions, was influenced by each student's ability to express ideas and to remember, process, and retrieve information. To increase teacher awareness, lessons were developed and demonstrated in five elementary classrooms (grades 1-3) to show how students' ability to use oral language strategies impacted on their participation. Each lesson incorporated the use of a language strategy to develop a specific skill, using appropriate grade level materials. This classroom-based intervention was supported by collaboration between teachers and the practicum developer. When compared with pre-demonstration teacher responses, analysis of the post-demonstration data revealed that teacher awareness increased. Additionally, results showed that a model including demonstration and collaboration could be used as a teacher education tool. (Contains four tables of data. Appendixes contain practicum forms such as the interview questions, teacher awareness scale, follow-up questionnaire for teachers, and teacher self-report; classroom lesson plans; and staff development material.) (Author/SR)