ALEX Learning Activity

This activity provides a teacher-created Google Slides Presentation meant to engage and inform students about the importance of active listening skills in everyday life as well as academic life. It includes tips and tricks for improving active listening skills, a link to a student self-assessment, a handout for taking notes while listening to a podcast, and a brief practice exercise. 

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

Students will be able to define active listening and explain why it is an important life skill.

Students will be able to identify at least one way they can improve their own listening skills.

Students will engage prior knowledge and use a graphic organizer to take notes while listening to a brief audio clip.

Students will engage in conversation with peers.

This activity is intended as a whole group or small group activity. Students will need a partner for the turn & talk portions of the activity.

Project the Google Slides presentation for the class to view.

Slides 1-2 have a photo for students to use in a turn & talk activity. Students should identify that the woman in the photograph is not listening to the man in the photograph. They should deduce that this couple is not engaged in a meaningful conversation because the woman is not listening.

Slide 3 includes a link to a Student Self-Assessment of Listening Skills. This may be printed in advance and distributed to students. Allow time for them to complete the activity on their own. They may then share their results with a partner or in a class discussion.

Sides 4-6 contain an explanation of active listening skills and their importance through a video by TED-Ed. The portion of the video in slide 4 focuses on personal communication. Slide 6 focuses more on academic listening. 

Slide 7 gives students an opportunity to talk about the differences in conversational vs academic listening.

Slides 8-12 offer tips for students to improve listening skills for academic work. 

Slide 13 contains a link to print the graphic organizer Podcast Listening Notes.

Slide 14 refers to page 1 of the graphic organizer, which students will complete before listening to the podcast. This page guides students through brainstorming, making predictions, and identifying strategies they will use to increase comprehension of the podcast.

Side 15 refers to page 2 of the graphic organizer, which students will complete during and after listening. The graphic organizer asks students to identify the setting and people involved in the story, take notes in a way that works best for them, then answer 3 open-ended questions.

Slide 16 has a link to listen to an episode of the Kind World Podcast. The episode is titled "She's 'Drew's Feet' so He Can Be in the Marching Band." It is about a student with Spina Bifida and how a senior band member made it possible for Drew to actively participate in marching band. The episode is 6 minutes long.

Allow students time to complete the first page of the organizer prior to playing the podcast.

Students will listen to the podcast and complete their graphic organizer.

After listening, allow students a few moments to answer the three open-ended questions.

Slide 17: Turn & Talk. Students will discuss their notes with their partner, sharing something they learned, what they think is the main idea or theme of the episode, and a question they could ask at the end of the episode.

Students will complete an exit ticket at the end of class, answering the questions "Why is listening an important skill?" and "What is one way you can improve your listening skills?" 

Walk around the room during the turn and talk sections to gauge student participation & understanding. 

Take up the student handouts to review their before & during notes for accuracy and understanding.

Exit Tickets: Evaluate to see if students accurately identified a reason that listening is important and a way to improve their own listening skills.

View the Slides presentation before presenting it to familiarize yourself with its contents and make any necessary changes to fit your students' needs. Be sure to watch the embedded videos and listen to the podcast prior to sharing with students in order to anticipate questions.

Print copies of the Student Self-Assessment of Listening Skills.

Print copies of the note-taking handout.

Print copies of exit tickets.

This could be used in an individual setting if the student needs more 1:1 attention and coaching. In this case, the teacher would serve as the partner in a turn and talk.

Students who are deaf or hard of hearing or who have auditory processing disorders or delays: Use closed captions on the videos. Provide them with a printout of the transcript from the podcast.

This activity can be used as a stand-alone activity or together with the following activities as a complete lesson:

• Active Listening With Podcasts: The Worst Video Game Ever? (During)
• Active Listening With Podcasts Independent Assessment (After)