Respect Unit Active Listening Lesson Plan:
Materials Needed:
Respect Cards (created during introduction lesson) Popsicle Sticks in Different Colors
Listen and Learn by Cheri J. Meiners Whiteboard and Dry-Erase Markers
Madison Metropolitan School District Standards:
Make appropriate choices and discuss consequences of inappropriate choices
Describe different ways of expressing emotions and feelings
Assess self and others' behavior in a variety of groups and situations
National Council for Social Studies Standards:
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of people, places, and environments
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of individual development and identity
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions
Objectives:
Students will learn what active listening is and how to be active listeners
Students will identify the people who are listening and who are not in the illustrations of Listen and Learn
Students will recalland share a time someone did not listen to them and how it made them feel
Students will create a list of ways to show someone that you are listening to them
Students will participate in a game that requires them to use their active listening skills
Lesson Opening:
Have the students gather on the carpet. Hold up each respect card and have the students read what it says. Then choose one student to elaborate on what the card means and how it relates to showing respect. Make sure to hold up the “listen” card last. After the student talks about this card, tell the students that listening is a part of respect for others. Then tell them that today they will be learning about a special type of listening called active listening.
Procedure:
1. Read Listen and Learn to the students. During the story, ask the students who is listening in the pictures and how they know. Ask them who is not listening and how they can tell. While the students are answering these questions, make lists on the board of the ways that you can tell someone is listening and ways you can tell that someone is not listening. After finishing the book, ask the students if they would like to add any other ideas to the two lists.
2. Tell the students that this book was not just about listening, but about active listening. Describe what active listening is to the students. And circle the items on the lists that are a way to be an active listener. Ask the students if they think there are any other ways to be an active listener that should be on the list. Have the students write the ways to be an active listener (circled items on the lists) in their unit journals. Tell them that it is important to be active listeners because it shows respect for the speaker and lets them know that you are really hearing what they are saying.
3. Next, Tell the students to think about a time when someone didn't listen to them and how it made them feel. Tell them that they can jot down some words or make a quick drawing in their unit journals to remind them of the time they are thinking about. Have the students turn-and-talk in order to share their stories with a partner. Be sure to remind the students to show their partners that they are being active listeners during their stories. Then ask the students to share the ways that they could tell that their partner was really listening to their story. If anything that is not on the list of ways to be an active listener comes up, add it to the list.
4. Tell the students that they are going to play a game that they really have to listen during in order to play it correctly. Have the students stand in a circle and give each student a popsicle stick. Next, give directions using the colors of the sticks, such as:
▪ Stomp your feet if you have a red stick
▪ Step into the circle if you have a blue stick
▪ Trade with someone if you have a yellow stick
▪ Everyone pass your stick to the person on your right
▪ Jump up and down if you have a green stick
5. Have the students sit back down on the carpet. Ask the students what they thought about the game. Discuss the importance of listening carefully and thinking about what is said during the game. Also, be sure to point out that the students were only using some of the active listening skills during the game since they were not listening for a story or specific content, but just for directions. Tell the students that whenever a teacher or any other adult in the classroom community is giving instructions for something, they should be active listening so that they will know what is expected of them and so that the teacher/adult can tell that they are listening to the instructions.
Lesson Closure:
Review the list of ways to be an active listener that was compiled earlier in the lesson and remind the students to make sure to be active listeners all the time in order to show respect for others.
Assessment:
Throughout the lesson, observe the students to assess their understanding of active listening and their use of the ways to show active listening. Also, the teacher can assess the students' active listening skills throughout the rest of the school year.
Extension Ideas:
Students can play "Simon Says" in order to further develop their listening skills.
Students can be asked to draw something through listening to oral instructions from the teacher. Make sure that the drawing is simple as use shapes and size terms that the students are familiar with during the oral instructions. After all of the instructions for the drawing have been given, have the students compare their drawings to the original drawing. Let the students discuss why their own and their peers' drawings were different or the same as the original drawing.
Students can write a story about the time that they were not listened to that they thought about and shared during this listen in their unit journals.
Students can create two contrasting acrostic poems using their names. One would include words showing how they feel when someone shows them respect through listening to them, and the other would include words showing how they feel when someone disrespects them by not listening to them.
Read It's Mine by Leo Lionni to the students and ask them how the story would have differed if the frogs had actively listened to the toad's advice. You could have the students act out or write their alternative endings to the story.
