For our second lesson, we practiced our listening skills by listening to the music video "Walk, Walk, Walk" and counted how many times we heard the word empathy. Next, we did an activity where students were divided into groups and had to start alphabetically and name items they would bring on a journey. Each student had to listen and pay attention to remember what letter they were on along with what items had already been mentioned, because each student had to recite the entire list of items that had been mentioned.
This activity reminded students of the importance of listening with attention because all of the groups were talking at the same time and it may have been difficult for students to hear exactly what the other group members had said. We talked about what listening with attention means (not just listening with our ears, but showing that we are actively listening and focused on the speaker), and we also talked about how listening with attention is a skill that takes practice, much like playing a musical instrument or playing sports. Next, we watched a video about a student who wasn't listening with attention to his friend.
After the video, students were asked to share with their partners how they could tell the student wasn't listening. There were several answers given: he wasn't looking at the speaker, he was thinking about other things, he he didn't know what the speaker had said, he interrupted the speaker. We talked about how the speaker felt when he realized the student wasn't listening, and how we would feel if it had happened to us. We talked about the importance of treating others with respect, and how listening with attention is a way to show that we are care about the person speaking as well as what they are saying.
Finally, we watched a second video where the student was able to listen with attention, and we looked for clues that showed he was listening. Students saw several indications that the student was listening: he made eye contact, he asked questions, he repeated what the speaker said, and he didn't interrupt. We discussed the importance of body language when others were speaking and how it shows others whether we are or aren't listening.
You can view my prezi for this lesson here:
http://prezi.com/ncile0nnippq/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share
