Lesson Plan
Listening Lab Plan
Equip a 9th grade student with active listening strategies and practice through guided drills, exercises, and feedback to enhance emotional connection and communication skills.
Active listening fosters empathy, strengthens relationships, and builds emotional intelligence by teaching students to engage fully, reflect accurately, and respond thoughtfully.
Audience
9th Grade Student
Time
25 minutes
Approach
One-on-one coaching with interactive drills and real-time feedback.
Materials
Prep
Material Preparation
5 minutes
- Review Ears Open Slides to familiarize with key listening strategies.
- Prepare copies of Partner Listening Exercise prompts.
- Examine the Listening Skills Rubric criteria for feedback focus.
- Read through the Prompting Questions Script to guide questioning effectively.
Step 1
Introduction to Active Listening
5 minutes
- Present the concept of active listening via Ears Open Slides.
- Discuss benefits: empathy, relationship building, conflict resolution.
- Highlight core skills: eye contact, nonverbal cues, reflective responses.
Step 2
Guided Listening Drill
7 minutes
- Teacher reads short statements; student practices paraphrasing and reflection.
- Use Prompting Questions Script to prompt deeper listening responses.
- Provide immediate feedback on accuracy and engagement.
Step 3
Partner Listening Exercise
8 minutes
- Engage in one-on-one Partner Listening Exercise.
- Student listens while teacher shares a brief personal story, then summarizes and asks clarifying questions.
- Switch roles: student shares while teacher listens, applying learned skills.
Step 4
Feedback and Reflection
5 minutes
- Assess student performance using Listening Skills Rubric.
- Offer targeted feedback: strengths and areas to improve.
- Student reflects on key takeaways and sets a personal listening goal.
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Slide Deck
Active Listening: Ears Open
• What is active listening?
• Why it matters in relationships and communication
• Today’s focus: definition, benefits, core techniques, and quick tips
Welcome the student and set the purpose: introduce the concept of active listening and frame today’s session.
Definition of Active Listening
Active listening means fully focusing on the speaker, understanding their message, and responding thoughtfully. It goes beyond just hearing words—it involves genuine attention and engagement.
Explain the definition in simple terms and check for student understanding.
Benefits of Active Listening
- Builds trust and empathy
- Reduces misunderstandings
- Strengthens relationships
- Improves conflict resolution
- Enhances learning and retention
Discuss each benefit, tie it back to real-life student scenarios (friendships, family, group projects).
Core Active Listening Techniques
• Maintain eye contact and open posture
• Use nonverbal cues (nodding, facial expressions)
• Paraphrase: “What I hear you saying is…”
• Ask clarifying questions
• Reflect feelings: “It sounds like you’re feeling…”
Introduce the core techniques one by one, demonstrate or model each.
Quick Tips for Practice
• Pause before responding to fully absorb the message
• Avoid interrupting or jumping ahead
• Summarize key points aloud
• Notice tone and body language
• Set a goal: focus on one technique per conversation
Provide quick, actionable tips the student can try immediately.
Next Steps: Putting It Into Practice
In our Guided Listening Drill, you’ll paraphrase statements and reflect emotions. Then, in the Partner Exercise, you’ll take turns sharing and summarizing. Ready to open your ears?
Prepare the student for the upcoming drills and exercises in the Listening Lab Plan.
Activity
Partner Listening Exercise
Objective: Practice active listening in a realistic one-on-one conversation, applying paraphrasing, emotional reflection, and clarifying questions to strengthen empathy and understanding.
Duration: 8 minutes
Materials: None (optional print-out of prompts)
### Instructions
1) Teacher Shares (1–2 minutes)
• Teacher tells a brief personal story (e.g., a memorable day at school, a challenge overcome).
• Student listens attentively: maintain eye contact, open posture, and nonverbal cues.
2) Student Paraphrases (1–2 minutes)</> • Student begins: “What I hear you saying is…”
• Summarize the key facts: who, what, when, where.
3) Reflect Emotions (1 minute)</> • Use phrases like “It sounds like you felt…” or “I imagine you were…”
• Check: “Is that how you felt?”
4) Ask Clarifying Questions (1–2 minutes)</> • Examples: “Can you tell me more about…?”, “What was the hardest part for you?”
• Aim for 1–2 open-ended questions.
5) Role Switch (Remaining time)</> • Student shares a short personal experience (1–2 minutes).
• Teacher practices the same steps: paraphrase, reflect, ask questions.
### Reflection & Feedback
• After both rounds, discuss:
- Which listening technique felt most natural?
- Which step was challenging?
- What’s one specific goal for your next conversation?
Use the Listening Skills Rubric to guide feedback on accuracy, empathy, and engagement.
Rubric
Listening Skills Rubric
| Criteria | Exceeds Expectations (4) | Meets Expectations (3) | Developing (2) | Beginning (1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eye Contact & Nonverbal Cues | Consistently maintains strong eye contact, open posture, nods, and facial expressions that show engagement. | Regularly maintains eye contact and appropriate nonverbal cues with only minor lapses. | Occasionally makes eye contact but often looks away or shows closed posture. | Rarely makes eye contact, exhibits closed posture, and shows little nonverbal engagement. |
| Paraphrasing Accuracy | Accurately restates the speaker’s message with detailed facts and nuanced understanding. | Restates main ideas correctly with only minor omissions or slight rephrasing needed. | Attempts to paraphrase but misses important details or slightly distorts meaning. | Does not paraphrase or paraphrases inaccurately, leading to misunderstanding. |
| Emotional Reflection | Insightfully identifies and verbalizes the speaker’s emotions, demonstrating strong empathy. | Correctly reflects basic emotions and shows understanding of speaker’s feelings. | Sometimes recognizes emotions but reflections are vague or lack depth. | Fails to identify or reflect on the speaker’s emotions. |
| Clarifying Questions | Asks multiple thoughtful, open-ended questions that probe deeper into the speaker’s experience. | Asks at least one relevant, open-ended question to clarify key points. | Asks yes/no or limited questions; few attempts to clarify deeper meaning. | Does not ask questions or asks irrelevant/closed questions that do not clarify understanding. |
| Overall Engagement | Fully engaged throughout: no interruptions, offers supportive verbal/nonverbal feedback, and stays focused. | Engaged with occasional minor distractions; provides basic supportive feedback. | Shows partial engagement; some distracting behaviors or minimal supportive feedback. | Disengaged: interrupts, appears distracted, and provides no supportive feedback. |
Script
Prompting Questions Script
Use this script during the Guided Listening Drill in the Listening Lab Plan. Say each line word-for-word and follow the prompts to guide deeper listening.
1. Setting Up the Drill
Teacher: "Okay, let’s practice! I’m going to read a short statement. When I finish, I’ll pause and invite you to respond. Ready?"
Pause and wait for student acknowledgment.
2. Paraphrasing
Teacher: "Now, summarize what I just said in your own words. You might begin with, ‘What I hear you saying is…’ Go ahead."
If the student hesitates or misses key details:
Teacher: "Try to capture the main ideas—who, what, when, where. What stood out to you most?"
3. Reflecting Emotions
Teacher: "Great summary! Next, think about how I felt when I said that. You can start with, ‘It sounds like you were feeling…’"
If the student struggles to identify feelings:
Teacher: "Listen to my tone and notice my words—what emotion do you hear or sense?"
4. Asking Clarifying Questions
Teacher: "Nice work. Now ask me a question to clear up anything you're unsure about. For example, ‘Can you tell me more about…?’ or ‘What did you mean when you said…?’"
If the student asks only yes/no questions:
Teacher: "Try an open-ended question. You could ask, ‘How did that situation affect you?’ or ‘What was the most challenging part?’"
5. Deepening Understanding
Teacher: "Excellent. Let’s go deeper. Ask a follow-up question that helps you understand my perspective or the bigger picture."
Example prompts to model if needed:
• "What was the hardest part of that experience for you, and why?"
• "How did that moment change the way you think about things?"
Teacher: "You’re doing fantastic listening! Let’s try a new statement and repeat these steps."
Use these prompts for every short statement to build your paraphrasing accuracy, emotional insight, and questioning skills.