Free 9th Grade Active Learning Through Play Lesson Plan

Topic: Active listening

Objectives & Outcomes

• By the end of this lesson, students will be able to demonstrate the ability to actively listen to others by using good body language, asking appropriate questions, and avoiding distractions.

Materials

• Pretzels
• Small pieces of paper
• Pencils

Warm-up

• Ask students to spend a few moments thinking about a recent interaction they had with someone (friend, family member, etc.).
• Have them write down two things that the person did well during the interaction and one thing that they could have done better.
• Ask students to share their responses with a partner.
• During this process, look for instances of students providing positive feedback and offering constructive criticism.

Direct Instruction

• Introduce the concept of active listening and explain how it is an important part of effective communication.
• Explain that active listening involves listening not just to the words that someone is saying, but also to their nonverbal cues (facial expressions, body language, etc.).
• Discuss the importance of nonverbal cues in understanding what the person is really trying to say.
• Demonstrate active listening by listening to a short conversation and identifying the nonverbal cues.

Guided Practice

• Divide the class into small groups.
• Give each group a set of trading cards or other small, tactile objects.
• Ask the group to choose a speaker and a listener. The speaker will hold a trading card up to the front of their body, using it as a prop to tell a story or describe something. The listener will use active listening skills to fully understand what the speaker is trying to say, paying attention to both the words and the nonverbal cues.
• Have the groups practice this skill with a few different trading cards.

Independent Practice

• Have the students work in small groups again, this time using their own ideas and objects to practice active listening.
• Encourage the groups to use different physical poses and gestures to demonstrate active listening.
• Allow the groups to work on this for a few minutes, then discuss how active listening can be used in real-life situations.

Closure

• Review the importance of active listening and the gestures and poses that can be used to demonstrate it.
• Ask the students to share one example of active listening that they used during the activity.
• Thank the students for their participation and effort.

Assessment

• Observe the students during the independent practice activity and provide feedback on their use of gestures and poses to demonstrate active listening.