Listening and Responding

ELAR-Grade-8 Foundational Skills Listening and Responding
Students practice active listening to interpret messages. First, they listen to an excerpt of a speech and summarize it and make comments. Then, they listen to a message containing instructions, and they ask relevant clarifying questions. Finally, they practice giving and following clear, multi-step oral instructions.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

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Here are the teacher pack items for Listening and Responding:

Preview - Scene 1
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Overview

In this experience, students practice active listening to interpret messages. First, they listen to an excerpt of a speech and summarize it and make comments. Then, they listen to a message containing instructions, and they ask relevant clarifying questions. Finally, they practice giving and following clear, multi-step oral instructions.

Students will work in pairs in scene 4.

Much of the oral language used throughout this experience is routine classroom vocabulary. Ensure that ELL students are able to follow the various instructions, and tell them to ask for clarification as necessary.

Objectives

  • Listen actively and summarize messages.
  • Ask relevant questions.
  • Make relevant comments.
  • Follow complex oral instructions.
  • Give complex oral instructions clearly.

Duration

One class period


You hear, read, write, and speak messages throughout the day. From casual conversation to social media posts to notes passed during a class, modern communication is full of different ways of sending messages. In this experience, you will practice listening to messages and responding to them.

Objectives

  • Listen actively and summarize messages.
  • Ask relevant questions.
  • Make relevant comments.
  • Follow complex oral instructions.
  • Give complex oral instructions clearly.


a message in a floating bottle

An illustration by Édouard Riou for
In Search of the Castaways by Jules Verne (1860)


One way of sending messages that originated in ancient times is to write a note on paper, put it into a bottle, and then throw the bottle into the ocean. This isn’t a very reliable way to deliver a message to a specific person, but it is a method that has led to some interesting circumstances.

In 1979, during a cruise to Hawaii, Dorothy and John Peckham placed notes and $1 bills into bottles and threw them overboard the cruise ship. In the note they asked anyone who found the message to contact them.


Suppose you found one of the bottles. How would you respond?

Post your answer

This question is just a teaser to get students thinking about how they respond to messages. The end of the story may interest them:

In 1983, the Peckhams received a response from Hoa Van Nguyen, a former soldier in the Vietnamese Army. He and his younger brother had found one of the bottles off the coast of Thailand while they were escaping the communist regime in Vietnam. The bottle gave them hope. The Peckhams continued to write to Van Nguyen, and the couple eventually helped Van Nguyen and his family move to the United States.


In this experience, you will focus on oral messages. 


When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.

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The Complete List of Learning Experiences in Foundational Skills Unit.
ELAR-Grade-8 Foundational Skills Building Vocabulary: Greek and Latin Roots
Building Vocabulary: Greek and Latin Roots
ELAR-Grade-8 Foundational Skills Listening and Responding
Listening and Responding
ELAR-Grade-8 Foundational Skills Dictionary Usage Skills
Dictionary Usage Skills
ELAR-Grade-8 Foundational Skills Using Context for Meaning
Using Context for Meaning
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