Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning

Lesson 5E Lesson
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What Great Speakers and Listeners Actually Do

Speaking and Listening

K20 Center, Jessica Morrison | Published: November 18th, 2022 by K20 Center

  • Grade Level Grade Level 2nd
  • Subject Subject English/Language Arts
  • Course Course
  • Time Frame Time Frame 4-5 class period(s)
  • Duration More 300 minutes

Summary

The students will engage in a lesson that explores speaking and listening in a variety of circumstances. Students will discover how successful speaking and listening can influence our discussions with other individuals and how it can affect the success and clarity in which we share information and ideas with each other. Students will learn about communication in a range of ways, from playing a game of telephone to considering real-world school problems. This lesson is infused with activities involving hands-on experiences, peer discussions, exploration, and opportunities to apply learning to real-world situations.

Essential Question(s)

Why is effective communication through the use of speaking and actively listening important?

Snapshot

Engage

Students engage in a game of "Telephone" to highlight the need for effective communication and the frustrations of ineffective communication.

Explore

Students explore various types of communication to discover the traits that make an effective/ineffective listeners and speakers.

Explain

Students identify positive and negative speaking/listening traits while small groups apply effective speaking/listening skills during role play discussions.

Extend

Students identify a problem within the school that could be solved through effective communication. They use a template to devise a plan to rectify the problem.

Evaluate

Students use exit tickets as a reflection and/or assessment tool.

Materials

  • Chart or poster paper

  • Walkie Talkies (This item can also be eliminated if not available.)

  • Cup/string phones

  • Student devices with internet access

  • Art supplies/paper

  • 3-2-1 Exit Ticket handout (attached)

  • Communication Tools Instructions handout (attached)

  • Easy Scripts handout (attached)

  • Exit Ticket handout (attached)

  • Presentation Sample Scripts handout (attached)

  • School Problem Identification Template handout (attached)

  • Statement Ideas handout (attached)

Engage

Begin by teaching students about the game of "telephone". The goal of the game is to communicate a set of instructions through multiple people, in this case the students in the classroom, so that the last person is able to repeat or perform the instructions just as they were given originally. Let the student know that if they pass along the instructions accurately, they will be rewarded.

Organize students so that they can whisper to each other. Model the activity by hiding your mouth and whispering a set of instructions to the first student. Then have that student whisper the instructions to the next student and so forth until the last student has received the information. Be sure to write the instructions down beforehand to show that they were delivered accurately to the first student after the task is completed.

After the message has been passed through every child, the last student completes the task and reveals the interpreted message to the class.

Ask various students in the chain what they heard when the information was communicated to them. Use an Anchor Charts strategy to record each answer on chart or poster paper for the class to see and reference. Next, show students the instructions you wrote down and said to the first student. Ask students to consider and discuss why they ended up with such varying pieces of information.

Here is an example of an anchor chart after completion. This class discussed how the information they heard became less detailed with each student until finally, it didn't resemble the initial instructions at all. In some cases, it did not even make sense.

Introduce the essential question, which will guide the lesson: Why is effective communication through the use of speaking and actively listening important?

Explore

Group students in pairs or small groups to explore various ways to communicate with each other. Arrange stations around the classroom, each with one communication tool or strategy (and instructions for use) and two copies of a chosen script. At each station, the students must communicate the message in the script to each other using the tool.

Communications tools and strategies include walkie-talkies, cup and string phones, closed and monitored online chats. drawing/graphic tools, and vocal discussion.

Explain each method of communication, being careful to not offer too much information on how to use the items. Allow the students ample time (approximately 20-25 minutes) to explore the various tools using the given scripts at each station. This can be done as a free choice exploration or as a timed rotation (five to seven minutes per rotation) depending on your classroom needs and schedule restraints.

After exploring the stations, lead the students in a discussion about what they noticed, what was frustrating, and what worked well. What factors made communication easier or what made it harder in each scenario?

Ask students to list the traits of a good listener and poor listener, as well as a good speaker and poor speaker. Create another anchor chart to list and organize these observations. Ask students, “How could each of the traits help or hurt someone who is trying to communicate important information?”

Now, allow the students to explore the communication tools again, this time without a script. Instruct students that they must have a continuous conversation with their partner for an extended length of time. Allow 15–20 minutes for this activity.

After the students have had an opportunity to explore communications without a script, pose the following questions:

"What caused discussions to last longer?"

"What caused the discussions to be shorter?"

"How could your discussion have involved more information?"

Add any new information from students to a new anchor chart.

Here is an example of an anchor chart for Good/Poor Listeners from the previous activity. The teacher continually questioned until the needed information had been gathered the relevant points had been made to continue the lesson.
Here is an example of an anchor chart for Ineffective/Effective speakers from the previous activity.
Here is an example of an anchor chart for communication issues not specifically related to the speaker or listener, but that still hindered students' ability to be successful as either a listener or a speaker.

Next, lead students in a "Vote with Your Feet" strategy. Vote with Your Feet is an instructional strategy in which students express their opinions by standing in different areas of the classroom. This strategy allows participants to compare and discuss their personal opinion with those of others in a group and to explore the various reasons behind different viewpoints.

Before the activity, create a series of statements on a topic(s) that will evoke an opinion from participants. Several examples are provided in the attached document or you may use your own. Divide the classroom into four areas, each representing one of the following choices: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. Explain to the meaning of each choice to your students.

Pose one of the statements to the class and then explain that students can choose to stand in whichever quadrant best expresses how they feel about the statement. Students will silently move in order to place themselves in the appropriate quadrant. It is useful to read the prompt once so students have time to consider their response and then have them move once the response is read a second time.

Once the students have voted and are in their chosen quadrants, invite individual, paired, and/or full group reflection on individual and collective positions or responses.

Instructions for the follow-up discussion might include:

"Remember that you are expressing your opinion only."

"There are no right or wrong answers for this activity."

"Remember to be respectful of each other’s opinions."

"No one has to speak. People can say 'pass' or 'It’s been said.'"

"If your opinion changes at any time during the discussion, you may move."

Next, ask the students to someone who is standing near them and discuss why they chose their response. Give the students no more than one minute to discuss and then begin questioning. Repeat the activity with other statements to give students more opportunities to vote with their feet and practice listening to the prompts. Ideally, you should play two to three rounds if time permits.

After discussion points, ask students the following questions:

"Was it difficult to explain your reasons for choosing your position?"

"What made explaining your position easier?"

"What made doing so harder?"

"Did something your partner or another classmate say influence you to change your stance?"

"Is being prepared with your thoughts, ideas, and supporting reasons important to effectively communicating your ideas?"

Add any new information to the Speaker/Listener anchor chart.

Explain

Next, the class will discuss the skills necessary for communication to be active and effective, as opposed to ineffective and indifferent, based on the information they have gathered and added to the communication anchor charts.

The students will demonstrate the application of positive communication skills with two or more peers in a positive and constructive manner through effective speaking, active listening, thoughtful questions, and articulate responses.

Introduce an Exclaim and Question strategy. Break student into small groups. Ask each group to prepare a role play discussion that demonstrates effective speaking and listening skills.

Students should pair in groups of two to five, either self- or teacher-selected. The sample scripts attached each have three speakers. Tell students they will be responsible for giving an oral presentation, either live or recorded for the class to view. Presentations should last one to two minutes. Allow groups 5–10 minutes to prepare their presentations.

Ask each group to present and then give time for constructive feedback following the Exclaim and Question model, emphasizing presentation strengths and encouraging the audience to ask questions. Make an anchor chart to document the comments and questions for each group of presenters.

Here is an example of a completed anchor chart following the Exclaim and Question activity. In keeping with time restraints and the attention spans of second-grade students, allow about 30 seconds for discussion of presentation and limit the exclaims and questions to one or two of each.

Extend

Now, the students will apply the knowledge they have acquired to propose a solution to a problem at their school. Introduce the School Problem Identification Template. The students may choose a topic they feel is not effectively communicated throughout the school and devise a plan to resolve that issue through the use of effective and active communication.

Evaluate

Evaluate students' learning based on whether they can apply their communication skills to new situations.

Formative assessment is happening continually through discussions among students, small groups, and whole class. In addition, use an Exit Ticket strategy to document students' ideas about what they have learned. This strategy can serve as both an assessment and a reflection piece for students.

Resources

Publisher

K20 Center

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Downloads

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Standards

Oklahoma Academic Standards for English Language Arts (Grade 2)
2.1.R.1: Students will actively listen and speak using appropriate discussion rules.
2.1.R.3: Students will engage in collaborative discussions about appropriate topics and texts with peers and adults in small and large groups.
2.1.R.4: Students will restate and follow multi-step directions.

Learner Handouts

Click on a file type icon to download an attachment.

  • 3-2-1-Exit-Ticket
  • Communication-Tools-Instructions
  • Easy-Scripts
  • Exit-Ticket
  • Presentation-Sample-Scripts
  • School-Problem-Identification-Template
  • Statement-Ideas

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