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Active Listening

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Lesson Plan

Active Listening Blueprint

Students will learn and practice active listening by identifying speaker intent, paraphrasing content, and asking clarifying questions through individual reflection, paired mapping exercises, and role-plays.

Active listening strengthens relationships, reduces misunderstandings, and builds empathy—critical skills for 8th graders navigating social and academic situations.

Audience

8th Grade

Time

50 minutes

Approach

Engage with audio prompts, visual mapping, and role-play to reinforce listening skills.

Materials

Prep

Lesson Preparation

10 minutes

Step 1

Soundscape Focus

5 minutes

  • Have students close their eyes and listen to the Soundscape Focus audio.
  • Ask them to note feelings, specific sounds, and speaker tone.
  • Briefly discuss how attentive listening captures details beyond words.

Step 2

Introduction to Active Listening

5 minutes

  • Define active listening and its benefits using examples from daily life.
  • Highlight core skills: paraphrasing, asking clarifying questions, and observing nonverbal cues.
  • Point students to key definitions in the Active Listening Blueprint.

Step 3

Guided Listening and Reflection

10 minutes

  • Project the Listen & Reflect Slides.
  • Play each audio snippet; after each, students write a paraphrase and two open-ended questions.
  • Facilitate a short class discussion comparing paraphrases and question types.

Step 4

Conversation Mapping

10 minutes

  • Distribute the Conversation Mapping Sheet.
  • In pairs, students listen to a scripted dialogue and map speaker thoughts, emotions, and questions.
  • Circulate to offer feedback and model mapping strategies.

Step 5

Role-Play Practice

15 minutes

  • Provide each pair with a scenario from Role-Play Dialogues.
  • Students alternate as speaker and listener, practicing paraphrasing and follow-up questions.
  • Encourage use of eye contact, nods, and verbal affirmations to show understanding.

Step 6

Debrief and Reflection

5 minutes

  • Reconvene as a whole group and invite volunteers to share key insights.
  • Ask: “When might you use active listening outside this classroom?”
  • Summarize the day’s takeaways and encourage ongoing practice.
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Slide Deck

Listen & Reflect

In this activity, you will:
• Listen carefully to short audio snippets.
• Write a paraphrase of what you heard.
• Develop two open-ended questions to learn more.

Introduce the activity. Emphasize that students will sharpen listening skills by paraphrasing and asking questions after hearing short audio clips.

How to Complete Each Snippet

  1. Play the audio clip.
  2. Pause and write a paraphrase in your own words.
  3. Craft two open-ended questions (who, what, when, where, why, how).
  4. Be prepared to share your paraphrase and questions.

Explain how to use this slide for each audio clip. Instruct students to pause the slide, play the clip, then fill in their responses.

Audio Snippet #1

[Play Audio Clip 1]

• Paraphrase:
• Question 1:
• Question 2:

Play Audio Snippet #1 here. After playing, give students 2–3 minutes to write their paraphrase and questions.

Audio Snippet #2

[Play Audio Clip 2]

• Paraphrase:
• Question 1:
• Question 2:

Play Audio Snippet #2 here. After playing, give students 2–3 minutes to write their paraphrase and questions.

Key Active Listening Tips

• Paraphrase to confirm understanding.
• Ask open-ended, clarifying questions.
• Observe tone and nonverbal cues.
• Use verbal nods (“I see,” “Go on”) to show attention.

Review key active listening techniques and encourage students to apply these strategies during the rest of the lesson.

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Worksheet

Conversation Mapping Sheet

Instructions: As you listen to the scripted dialogue, fill out the sections below for each speaker to capture their words, thoughts, emotions, and possible follow-up questions.

Speaker A

Role/Name: ___________________________


What was said (paraphrase):





Thoughts (What might they be thinking?):





Emotions (What might they be feeling?):





Clarifying Questions (What would you ask to understand better?):





Speaker B

Role/Name: ___________________________


What was said (paraphrase):





Thoughts (What might they be thinking?):





Emotions (What might they be feeling?):





Clarifying Questions (What would you ask to understand better?):





Reflection & Summary

Summarize the main ideas and insights from this conversation:










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Activity

Role-Play Dialogues

Instructions: In pairs, one student takes the role of Speaker A using the prompt below, and the other is Speaker B. Speaker B listens closely, then paraphrases what they heard and asks two open-ended, clarifying questions to deepen understanding. After 5 minutes, switch roles and try the next scenario.

Scenario 1: Group Project Frustration

Context: You and your classmates have a big project due tomorrow.

Speaker A:
"I can’t believe my group partners haven’t done their parts, and now I’m stuck writing the entire report. The deadline is tomorrow and I’m totally stressed."

Speaker B: Practice paraphrasing Speaker A’s concern and ask two open-ended questions.


Scenario 2: Feeling Left Out

Context: Your friends went out over the weekend without you.

Speaker A:
"All my friends went to the movies last night and didn’t even invite me. I felt really hurt and alone."

Speaker B: Practice paraphrasing Speaker A’s feelings and ask two open-ended questions.


Scenario 3: Test Anxiety

Context: You have an important science test coming up.

Speaker A:
"I studied for hours, but I’m still so nervous about this test. What if I blank out or freeze during the exam?"

Speaker B: Practice paraphrasing Speaker A’s worries and ask two open-ended questions.


Scenario 4: Sibling Conflict

Context: Your younger sibling used your things without permission.

Speaker A:
"My sister borrowed my jacket without asking and got it dirty. When I asked her to clean it, she rolled her eyes and ignored me. I feel disrespected."

Speaker B: Practice paraphrasing Speaker A’s experience and ask two open-ended questions.


After completing each scenario, switch roles so every student practices both speaking and active listening. Be mindful of tone, body language, and verbal affirmations as you listen.

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Warm Up

Soundscape Focus

Instructions:

  • Close your eyes and listen carefully to the audio track.
  • As you listen, note the following:
    • Specific sounds you hear.

    • The feeling or mood the sounds evoke.

    • Any shifts in tone or volume and what they might suggest.



    Partner Share:
  • Turn to a neighbor and share one sound you noticed and what emotion or story you think it conveys.
  • Discuss how paying attention to subtle auditory details can deepen understanding beyond just hearing words.

Time: 5 minutes

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