Begin by asking students: "What does it really mean to listen to someone? Is it just hearing the words?" Allow a few students to share their initial thoughts. Introduce the idea that listening is more than just hearing – it's an active process. Briefly introduce the term 'active listening'.

Use the Ears & Empathy Slide Deck to guide a discussion on the key components of active listening:

• Paying Attention: Emphasize eye contact, body language (facing the speaker, nodding), and minimizing distractions.
• Showing You're Listening: Discuss non-verbal cues (like nodding) and verbal affirmations ("Mm-hmm," "I see").
• Asking Clarifying Questions: Explain how asking questions like "Can you tell me more about that?" or "What do you mean by...?" helps ensure understanding.
• Summarizing/Paraphrasing: Teach students to briefly repeat back what they've heard in their own words, e.g., "So, what I hear you saying is..." to confirm understanding. Ask students to share examples of when these skills would be helpful.

Transition to the Whisper Challenge Game to put their listening skills into practice. Explain the rules of the game clearly:

• Divide the class into small groups (4-5 students).
• The teacher will whisper a sentence to the first student in each group.
• That student will then whisper the sentence to the next student, and so on, down the line.
• The last student in the group will say the sentence aloud.
• Compare the final sentence to the original sentence the teacher whispered. Discuss as a class how accurate each group was and why.
• Encourage students to think about what made it difficult or easy to listen actively during the game.

Briefly recap the main points of active listening. Ask students: "How can practicing active listening help you in your friendships, at home, or even with your schoolwork?" Encourage them to try using active listening skills in their daily interactions this week.